The Virtual Community Concept

The electronic or e-community is a virtual community often representing constituents with common interests linked only by telecom and network technology, yet independent of "place."

TeleClans are organically formed by members (TeleConstituents) of a TeleCommunity that typically evolves from a genuine and (sometimes passionate) desire to interact on a mutually shared cause or belief, and (sometimes anonymously) participate and contribute to a dialog within the perceived safety of a virtual community "space."

TeleClans often seem incredibly democratic and egalitarian in nature, since their TeleConstituents are free to interact and contribute their ideas regardless of their gender, race, religion, color, or disability.

However, the requirement to adequately read and write is an obvious prerequisite for meaningful participation in this societal structure. Somewhat devoid of the typical constraints of command and control hierarchies, community leaders emerge based on the perceived merit of their ideas -- essentially creating a pure meritocracy.

Therefore the social ranking implications of an individual's literary skills, or the lack thereof, are no less pertinent in the realm of the virtual community than they are in the physical communities where we already reside. Furthermore, as you might expect, some TeleClans and their respective TeleCommunities are formed specifically for commercial purposes.