Can Internet communities like Ask.com and Blurtit.com, can they ever replace the small-town farming-type communities that we are now losing so quickly?

And we are paying such a high price, as people no longer find it easy to be part of a close-knit group, and so life becomes much more difficult...

What is the potential of the Internet; can we form authentic communities of the kind that have nurtured humankind for so long?

They can help but never replace face to face human interaction. I'm afraid those good old days are gone Virginia. It'll never be the same again. I wish it was and it still is in different parts of the country. Up where my youngest son lives near Medicine Bow Wyoming, it's still a close knit community and he loves it there. These can be formed on the Internet but as I have recently found? It's just cyber space and no actual physical being. It'll never replace those old close knit communities. It's a shame but true.

Social interaction has slowly been going the electronic route. The warmth of group friendships and interactions is slowly becoming a thing of the past. Sure, we can have virtual parties and share virtual pizza on Blurtit and have a good time doing it but it doesn't take the place of actually sharing a table with other humans.

Individualism is being nurtured by ear buds, iPads and cell phones while electronic entertainment is geared toward the individual to enjoy on their little screens while alone. I don't find fault in the young generation for this, it's how they were raised. Kids don't roam the neighborhood looking for friends as we did in the "old days", for fear of abduction, harm, etc.

I wouldn't ponder a guess at what the world and it's citizens are heading towards, socially, in the future but I sure don't think they'll be sitting on cracker barrels around a potbellied stove discussing life.

The friendships on a site like this are very real; rather like those we made with pen pals when snail mail was the way to go.

Yes, we are a community. Yes, we can give each other much support. But no, we cannot give somebody a hug when they need it.

In a way, Internet communities can be more intimate than physical ones. Because of our relative anonymity we can share thoughts and ask for help about things we would NOT discuss with our neighbours.

Blurtit (like Ask before it) has created such an opportunity. It takes skillful moderation to keep the site from self-destructing, but the fact that we do interact so easily is a tribute to the high standard of moderation.

I think community interaction is possible using a computer. When I started using BBS's (bulletin board services) back in the 80's we all met one night a week for coffee or in a bar (all were of legal age). This brought us closer together. In small countries, where people speak the same language, it would be possible to meet occasionally, but English speaking areas are so widely dispersed that we will have to wait for cheap long distance transportation before we will achieve this.  Long time coming I fear.

I drove around my neighborhood with a friend this past summer looking for kids playing singing u dont see any of that. The kids are on the computer talking to people all over the world. Things are changing i dont like it. But it must change things move on for the better

Internet is potentially strong to create such an atmosphere. I believe the form of authentic close-knit group with internet is possible. However, it is form in a different perspective, therefore many people would disagree and believe that any type of communication filtered by internet is unreliable and unacceptable. The concept of "real" and "virtual" hunts  down most of the people. So the internet has the potential but the people do not have the capacity to go on with it. Although the new generation seem to cope with it. It's not as successful as we could expect. Many trouble and failures throughout the communication suffered the young people and furthermore even adults. It is highly depends of how people treat it. How they understand and face the angles of internet and it's communication.

Personally i have had this amazing experience interacting with people around the world and discovering good friends which we share all kind of moments together and helping each other as much as we can.

The most flaw of internet is the unsafe factor which happens to be a flaw of life! Because life is unsafe. But i assume the "virtual" aspect of internet makes it more unpleasant and insecure to people. But internet has this ability to help you to find people who knows the answer of your problem. Who shares the same experience. Who can understand you and those who share the same thoughts or favorites. And be a help through many difficult times.

If people learn how to handle themselves in internet. How to take the steps. How to behave and how and when to establish trust. How start to know someone. Get experienced of recognizing between fakes and reals. And set themselves boundaries and certain principles to filter people by them. Internet is an amazing tool have such close-knit group.

Internet can be a tremendous communication environment if THIS does not happen either.

I live in a small town in a county that is very active in helping. I am so glad to be here. While I enjoy my internet friendships, there is nothing like seeing people who come together to help their neighbors. The town I live in organized a group to go over to my old hometown to clear the mess behind after the hurricane. A tree had fallen and killed a woman and her live-in boyfriend couldn't bring himself to deal with cutting up the tree and removing the debris. About 20 from my new town got together. The local diner fed the group for free before they went and Dunkin Donuts donated coffee, tea, and donuts for them to take with them.

There is also a couple who live in my hometown who are dealing with a very sick pup. Their story is actually gone viral. Here is a link to a video about them.

http://www.news965.com/videos/news/man-makes-wagon-for-dog-with-cancer/vDrNLC/