The elements that make up a real-life community are mostly present in the virtual equivalent. The primary purpose of communities is the create a place for social interaction, where we feel safe and confident and can discuss subjects with other interested participants. Communities generally may be thematic or general and may be accidental or deliberate. Most of us participate in at least one accidental community: the neighbourhood we live in. And we are all participating now in a deliberate and purposeful community, the University.