Why are virtual communities created?
As well as the features already mentioned above, virtual communities, despite the fact that they represent widely differing realities, also share two other features that refer to the notions of information and participation. These two features regulate the affiliation of the members of the community: the interest in gaining access to specific information and the desire to participate in a system based on social relations (Micelli, 2000). The notion of information refers to the fact that membership of a community is linked to the possibility of gaining access to specific information regarding areas or issues of interest (didactic materials, reports, data bases, etc.), whilst the notion of participation refers to the search for moments of interaction during which one can share, with others, one’s passions, interests and experiences that are close to one’s set of emotions. These two features are not in conflict with one another and nor are they incompatible. Rather, they constitute one of
