Hi Ozgirl, welcome to the forums.

When I read the words "virtual communities" I can't help but think of 2nd life or WoW.

This is a forum community and the majority of subjects that are covered within this community are not virutal, rather real life issues so I am confused by your use of the word virtual.

BUT to answer your questions:

"Do you feel you are part of a community and why"

Yes I feel that I am part of a community of internet users. In the case of this particular forum, internet users with an interest in religion. I am atheist and this forum absolutely allows me to reach out to others that have no belief in god (and some that do) and enjoy sharing life stories and opinions with the group.

"what was the reason you wanted to join this group in the first place"

As with all the internet forums I joined and participate in: Interest in forum subjects.

If you have more specific questions just ask!

Absolutely, if the "real sense of the word" involves communication. I suppose the only difference with a traditional community is the means by which people communicate. Letter writing would have to be the closest thing historically to this kind of forum. If someone were to leave a small town for the city in Dickensian England, but kept writing letters, are they still part of the community? I would argue that they were (that is, provided someone is there willing to communicate with them, and they haven't been shunned).

Also note that there's a shunning mechanism (designating someone as a "Troll&quot, authoritative elders (moderators & founders), and open dissenters who are still part of the community without being shunned (theists).

One odd feature, and the one that attracted me to the site even more than, say, the atheism or Kelly's boobs (which have their own presence and implied moral gravity on the site) is the meritocracy of reason. Members are rewarded in the community for having strong arguments or raising interesting points of discussion. Because of the skeptical theme, strong arguments are often able to trump formal social standing, so that a normal member can challenge a member labelled even as a founder or "core member" and the result is (from what I've seen) appreciation of the member's ideas. That dynamic runs counter to any social heirarchy I've seen outside the scientific community.

That said, it's unusual to see that kind of challenge be successful, what with the level of education among the moderators (which makes sense in an intellectual meritocracy) but arguments and ideas still trump social standing.

I hope that helps to answer your questions.

It's kind of a double edged sword here. I think being a true atheist causes one to be brutally honest. One has no fear of missing out on heaven and going to hell. No God, parents, pastors, spouses or anyone to please. So I believe one can be real here, no hidden agendas as on other forums.

So, I suppose it's kind of therapy for all the damage religion has done. But then you can be hurt by the unbridled honesty of others. If people think your opinions are BS they just tell you.

This is a unique time in history, when people around the world communicate anonymously. In the future, the Internet will probably no longer be anonymous. We may look back on this time nostalgically.

Hi ozgirl, and hi Renee. Been a while.

In response to your questions:

This is definitely a community, and though I may be a relatively quiet part of it, I am definitely part of it.

I wanted to join in the first place for a few reasons. First, I had just moved, and the only people in the new place that I knew (my coworkers) were hardcore theists. I didn't really like that at the time, being more of an agnostic. When I finally became an atheist, I decided to seek out others and study philosophy so that I could really learn and understand my own position further, which was thencetofore an intuitional/non-rational one, rather than rational.

Secondly, I found out that these people had a chat room, and I've always enjoyed talking with people and making them laugh, while occasionally making them think. If you look at some of my other posts, I would at least hope you get to think a little!

Thirdly, I respect people who speak out for what they believe, but only if they've actually THOUGHT about what they believe, first. That made this forum ideal for me. I have much respect for Todangst and deludedgod and everyone, even the few theists who don't hold to the standard ideas.

Finally, most of the people here seem to be enlightened, humorous, and willing to think about what someone says before commenting on it. That's a big pull for me.

Over time, this place, Dr. Stephen Law's blog (http://stephenlaw.blogspot.com), debunking Christianity (http://debunkingchristianity.blogspot.com), and Pharyngula (http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula) have honed my agnosticism into a razor sharp atheism. I thank them all for that on a regular basis, although not to their faces, so it's a bit of a hack.

I'm sure if you sent Sapient a message, and told him what it was for, he'd let you know.