Haha. Critics are people who have never been part of an online community. They are way better than IRL communities."Critics maintain that any social group which has no corporeal location and no face-to-face components cannot be recognized as a community,"
Not a chance. You can't grab a beer or go golfing with your online buddies; you can't fuck your online girl; you can't chat over a cup of coffee with your online pal. I like Hubski as much as the next guy, but there's no substitute for human contact.They are way better than IRL communities.
Those are friendships (and fuckbuddies :P) not communities though. IRL friendships surpass online ones. Online communities surpass IRL communities. IRL communities are mostly drama filled democratic pieces of shit where everyone talks too much and no one cares to listen. Think about it. Where in the real world do you have a group of likeminded individuals coming together to hang out and talk and consistently enjoying themselves? Conventions (most of which today are either sales/marketing bullshit or IRL meetups for online communities)? Boy Scouts? Homeowners Associations? The "ignore" functionality is also harder to implement in real life.
I am inclined to agree with you. The lines between IRL and online are definitely blurring and more than ever having a substantive relationship with someone in a digital space is fulfilling. However, I'd much rather be sitting face-to-face with most all of you. There are a number of people that I have met on Hubski first and then met in real life. In fact, you are one of them. I have yet to think to myself "damn, I wish I would have left that relationship online and never met them in person." One of the points that theadvancedapes makes in his global brain presentation is that currently, the Internet far supersedes our travel capabilities. Hopefully, his theory proves correct, and we will be able to more easily travel to one another in the not too distant future, thus making in real life and digital the type of distinction that is no longer made. Friendships will be friendships no matter where they originated. We are already seeing this in how couples meet each other in romantic settings. It is no longer unusual to hear someone say they met on an online dating site.