The internet is probably the single most important piece of infrastructure in our current world, with over 50 percent of the world’s population having direct access to the internet. It is one of our best sources of information, and especially with the recent pandemic and accompanying lockdown, many of us are spending a good chunk of our time online.

There are many conveniences brought by the internet that we take for granted every day; the internet gives us knowledge from all around the world, is accessible to anyone with a connection, and allows people to reach anyone around the world through a computer screen.

Having so much power at our fingertips may be helpful for schools and companies during a pandemic, but where the power of the internet truly shows itself is through online communities.

A brief intro to online communities

1975 – BBS (bulletin board systems)

One of the earliest forms of online communities came in the form of BBS’s. These crude messaging sites were accessed by dialing a specific number through a modem (using ancient telephone lines), and earlier versions only supported a single modem, so users had to take turns connecting.

While they weren’t exactly convenient to use, they facilitated communication between computer hobbyists and set the groundwork for modern forums and other messaging sites. These forums became (relatively) popular and were used primarily as chat rooms for tech-savvy individuals to chat between 1975 and 1990.

1985 – The WELL (Whole Earth ‘Lectronic Link)

The WELL was originally a dial-up BBS when it was created in 1985 and later became a dial-up ISP in the early 1990s. After the original owners sold the site to other companies. It changed hands multiple times before being bought by The WELL Group Inc, a group of eleven long-time members who wanted to preserve the site mainly for nostalgic purposes.

2004 – 4chan

4chan, launched by Christopher “moot” Poole in 2003 as an English counterpart to the Japanese imageboard Futaba Channel, is an anonymous bulletin board with everything and anything, ranging from serious political discussions, video game guides, memes, and NSFW (not safe for work) content.

2005 – Reddit

Reddit is a primarily American social news aggregator. It was founded by college roommates Steve Huffman and Alexis Ohanian in 2005, and (as of February 2021) is the 7th most visited website in the USA.

Reddit is similar to 4chan in the makeup of their consumer bases, with memes and jokes being widely popular and numerous subreddits dedicated to everything and anything, with the difference being that Reddit is more tame and friendly because users have to log in to comment or post, and there are stricter moderators and rules.

Online communities’ impact on the world

Online communities, as one may have noticed, have had no small impact on the world; not only do they allow people with similar opinions, hobbies, and ideas to meet each other anywhere in the world, they can also change the world around them.

There are many examples of how internet communities have impacted the world in a positive way. One good example is the capture of Kevin Mitnick by hackers from the WELL community.

Many other achievements by online communities include 4chan identifying the Portland shooter, exposing cat abuser Kenny Glenn, and (allegedly) locating a Syrian rebel base.

The GameStop affair

One more recent example was Reddit’s stunt with GameStop. This year, on January 22nd, the subreddit r/wallstreetbets decided Gamestop was undervalued, so they made posts and jokes saying they were buying up GameStop options, which drove up the stock price of GameStop, trolling about 5 billion dollars in GameStop positions from short-sellers.

Wikipedia

There are lots of people and communities on the internet dedicated to helping others, one good and well-known example is Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia that has an article on everything worth knowing. The site was launched in January 2001 by Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger.

Wikipedia can be maintained and updated by anyone. Someone can post an article, and others update and edit it until the knowledge is accepted by everyone. While this means that some articles may contain bias or false information, most of the articles are factually correct, and they provide users with up-to-date and accurate information.

Negative communities

However, while the internet can be great sometimes, its got a bad side. With the widespread popularity and (relative) anonymity of the internet, people often show their darker sides, and online harassment and toxicity are very common.

Some of the more anonymous message boards have had lots of problems, mainly about users sending illegal content. 4chan, a well-known example, has many issues such as the iPhone Wave hoax and #cut4beiber, and even really illegal things such as child porn. The site has been suspended more than once, but the 4chan community is still going strong (thankfully the really bad things have been moderated more closely).

4chan is also known for hosting several political movements such as Anonymous and Alt-right.

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The internet is a great resource for everyone to use, capable of having a great impact on the world. It has many great features and communities created for everybody.

However, this power is often abused by people to do terrible things. The internet is a resource for everybody to use, and it is the duty of the user to do so responsibly to create a better environment for others.