Question
I'm aware of mutual support from within family units, tight knit and long established residential and religious communities and self help groups but I don't know of previous parallel support efforts existing in such a diversified, business oriented and loosely connected gathering of people.
While it might only represent a small percentage of total users and be more obvious here at here where a number of like minded individuals have come together, it seems to have existed almost from the beginning on eBay and is still found throughout a large number of boards and forums.
Is it unique, where are it's roots and what has contributed to it's existance?
Answer
Is it unique, where are it's roots and what has contributed to it's existance?
Sorry to be cynical in an answer to something that sounds like such a positive statement, Ray but, you asked
My thoughts about this (and as it seems to get worse, I think about it more and more) are that it started with that fabled beginning of eBay...that community of users all working in something new and wonderful.
It grew with eBay's perpepuation of the idea of "community"
It remained and is now almost a necessity because the community is what eBay found out it can save big bucks making continued use of to do what it damn well should be spending some of those big bucks to do.
Without the dedicated 'volunteers' on the eBay boards (and places like here) how many people would ever find answers to their problems?