Sure we can say that the internet is a great revolution in the way that people receive Textual and Media Data. However it seems that just about everything 'Unique' on the internet has been break offs of other sites or ideas. Taking one thing, making it better by adding or removing aspects of other sites/ideas that already preexist.

For example,

• Standard Mail led to Emails
• Emails led the concept of having group emails (mailing lists)
• Mailing lists led to Forums (Messages stored in one area and categorized indefinitely)
• Forums led to general communities (or forums)
• Communities led to specialized communities (area or interest based)
• Spec. Communities led to community specific improvements (galleries, lists, data indexes, Q&A's, etc)
• All of these improvements that generally already existed in the 'real' world (Scrapbooks/slide projectors, paper lists, card catalogs, etc) were implemented into newer and more efficient forms (computer/internet based) were then used by other communities.

However finding what has not been created and may actually be successful is the problem that we as developers and webmasters alike face now. We all want a community of our own, however many of us lack the ability, time, or resources to make such things happen.

My questions are:
Do you agree on the above that one idea leads to another idea?

And do you think it has become harder to form communities today than in 2000? What contributes to that?

Also, what do you think makes a good community?

Just some questions I came up with and was wondering what kind of response you folks may have.

I agree that ideas are spawned from other ideas. Does it bother me? Not really...that's evolution. I often get ideas from other sources, and other sites, and then turn them into my own thing.

Don't know whether it's harder to form communities today than in 2000, since I've never tried either. I would suspect it is, however, since the growth rate of the Internet in terms of a userbase and specifically a userbase interested in community participation would be proportionately less than the growth in number of communities.

Good members make a good community. That's the prime factor. Anything else is just steps in the road.

Great ideas spawn into better ideas. This is the initial concept of evolution and revolutionary technology; our technology is always expanding and always will expand.

The fact is that there will always be unique ideas and concepts. Yes, maybe sites will copy ideas and one another, but there will always be a unique idea created. I don't think there is such thing as a limited originality; I believe originality and creativity and infinite.

I see what you mean, it seems the web has kind of reaching its saturation point of all current ideas past and present. but i still think its open for the nw and unique ideas but unlike say even 10 years ago when it seems that if u ahd a idea and u knew how to publish on the web u were one of (if not the) only person to publish it. but now its more get in quick or get out.

Dan.

I agree with the idea that one idea leads to another. That's the way it's always been with most things. Every so often you get something completely unique and then people fill it up with new versions of old things.

I don't know that it's easier or harder to build communities than it was in 2000. There were certainly less of them in 2000 so in a sense it was easier, but there are probably more people looking to join a community now. Both supply and demand have increased.

I think what makes a great community is the same thing that has always made a great community whether we're talking about an online forum or a group of cavmen hunting dinosaurs. It's the people who make up the community that make a community what it is. It's also those at the top who direct how the community evolves and where it moves.

Think about this forum. I think WT is one of the friendlier forums I've encounter. We do get the occasional flame war going, but it's minimal compared to a lot of other places I've seen. Why is that? It's because the people here are generally friendly. Tim set the forum up to be that way so it attracted friendly people some of whom in turn became friendly moderators who try to keep things friendly.

And that direction in turn attracts more friendly people.

I think that there are currently tons of unqiue things on the internet.

People will not stand having repetitive content, everything online is good. You are on a forum. A webmaster forum to be exact, there are many like it but none are the same