重思網路社群：網路主題樂園團體

Rethinking Internet Community: Internet Theme-park Group

本文要問的問題很簡單，也已經是一個常常被問的老問題：網路上的群體是否能夠稱為社群？本文將指出網路上的團體是多元性質、不同型態與導向的群體。重點應是得先了解人們為何與如何在網路上建立團體，本文從網路群體與次文化的親和性著眼，提出一個「網路主題樂園團體」的觀點。這些次文化的參與者，或許不是在追尋社群，而是一個他們的樂園。網路主題樂園團體對次文化有重要的貢獻，讓許多人獲得他們所想要的資訊與找到同好。許多網路社群研究處理社群情感的凝聚過程，但未注意到網路群體有著更多的可能性。面對未來呼之欲出的網路社會，我們很可能坐在一輛名為網際網路的特快車上，這輛車一邊的輪子是社群，然而另一邊則為主題樂園團體。

The question of this paper is simple and old: are internet groups communities? This paper argues that internet groups have many different types and goals. It is imperative that we know why and how people make groups in the Internet. This paper starts from the connection between groups in the internet and sub-culture to formulate the concept of internet theme park group. The participants may not want form a community, but instead, they want a funny land. Internet theme park groups have important contributions for sub-culture, in which the participants find information and friends. Many internet community researches focus on the interactions without paying attention to other aspects. Both communities and Internet theme park groups exist as the core constituencies of internet society.