Quality of online life.

I have had a few conversations with a few friends recently about life online and how communication is different there. I'm a big fan.

I picked up a book at home called "The Virtual Community" and began to read. This was written in 1993, by Howard Rheingold (who my boss happens to be talking to about GNE).

Even though i'm only one chapter in, i'm already enjoying the consciousness-raising style of the book. It tells stories of Howard's online life, and illustrates the potency, fulfilment and frustrations that online relationships can have. I was very interested to find out that he was already considering the impact of virtual socialisation on community in 1993. Turns out people were theorising about communities existing "on-line" as early as 1968, when the Advanced Research Projects Agency Net (ARPANET) was being conceived. I didn't know this.

Many of the discussions with friends I mentioned revolve around the 'personality' of online interaction. Where is it? What is it? Can it be trusted?

Still figuring out what I want to say on the matter.