Large forums are interest-specific, so although all the members have one thing in common (RVing in my case), there is too much activity and variation to allow a community to form. Some of these type sites do have get-2-gethers, but those only involve a small number of the participants.

Other sites that involve personal "space" are more fluff than substance. Pages of pictures, videos, and music. I personally avoid any site that asks about my school. The other blog sites have run-on articles that don't allow for comment in the same way that the Blogster format does.

I have watched how circles of buddies form on Blogster. Similar to neighborhoods in a city. We are each free to travel outside of our neighborhood (and I think most of us do, as I am doing now), but we usually return to the same circle of blogs. Each blogger's site is like a personal message board. But unlike a message board, there is no Administrator or Moderator to control the content. If there is any censorship, it is self-imposed.

So, I won't take up any more space on your page, but I think this gives you some idea of how I view the online world of personal communication. There is also something called the "One percent rule" that I'll blog about some day. It's basically a breakdown of how many people out of 100 contribute, and in what way. Research on the Internet itself has barely begun, but there will be some fascinating studies available for future graduate students.
Have a good night,
John