Re: Virtual Community
"That was one of the first phenomena to be documented, even in the very early days of UUCP-based Usenet."
Before that, even. BBSes were known for their idiosyncrasy, and even Community Memory brought like-minded people together from across the Bay Area. (I got a lift to Day On The Green on July 13th, 1974 via a Community Memory message. The people with the car are still friends of mine.)
In the old days, we had the town well and bread oven.