i don’t have access to this article but sounds great.

ref:
A Sounding Board for the Self: Virtual Community as Ideology, by Matei, Sorin Adam, Journal of Technical Writing & Communication; 2005, Vol. 35 Issue 4, p345-365, 21p

abstract:
Claims about the emergence of a new type of social aggregation–”virtual community”–cover a type of ideological discourse about social interactions. The main cultural resource fueling this ideology is the counterculture and its social project. Virtual community, both as a discursive and as a social practice, is a culmination rather than a resolution of the modern conflict between community and individuality. Presenting virtual community as a panacea for modern social tensions, especially that between individualistic and communitarian ideals, hides from sight not only some of the negative aspects of on-line social life (cliquish behavior and incivility) but also the role played by communication technology in fragmenting modern society.