Much of what I know about Australia in general, and Victoria in particular, comes from my frequent “travels” there through the global information infrastructure commonly referred to as the Internet. As noted in Chapter 2, while the Internet has focused considerable popular and academic attention on the role computer-mediated communication plays in articulating community without propinquity, the community networking movement's principal objective is to facilitate communication within place-based communities.

Thus, community computer networks manifest the central paradox of computer-mediated communication. On one hand, community networks exist to improve community relations, revitalize civic life, and support cultural production and economic development efforts on the local level. On the other hand, however, community networks are an integral part of an emerging global communication system and play a significant role in promoting and sustaining a global dialogue on a scale and scope unprecedented in human history. Viewed in this light, Victoria's Network (VICNET) provides a vehicle not only to consider this phenomenon, but also to become an active participant in this global conversation.