This thesis examines a number of community computer networks in British Columbia, Canada, focusing on questions of human community. Particular attention is given to the nature and character of the place-based communities that these networks are claimed to embody and promote, and the ways in which the networks are said to build and enrich local community.

Community networks are a form of computer-mediated communications (CMC) that emphasize serving local and geographically-defined communities, rather than purely non-spatial communities of common interest. Community networks are thus compared to and contrasted with the virtual communities of interest said to be present on many CMC systems.

Interviews were conducted with volunteers from several British Columbian community networks, including Vancouver, Victoria, Campbell River, Nanaimo, Parksville-Qualicum Beach, Prince George and Vanderhoof. Generally, respondents did not consider the building of local community to be a priority of their organizations, although they did recognize it as being one of the general objectives of the community network movement.

The thesis concludes that there is a gap between the views of many community network advocates, who frequently hold the building of local community as a primary goal, and the volunteers with the systems surveyed, who generally focused on the building of public space on the information infrastructure as their primary goal. Some of the significant barriers - economic, political and internal - to achieving this goal are also examined.

I extend special thanks to my thesis supervisor, Dr. Nicholas Blomley, for his extraordinary patience.

I would also like to thank all of the individuals - hardworking volunteers all - who agreed to be interviewed for this thesis.

Finally, thanks to all the regulars on EFnet #ecto and DALnet #indigo-girls for their friendship and support.