The article linked to below is long but absolutely fascinating and of relevance to the community here. It's interesting because the basic premise is that online social groups are their own worst enemy, and yet it winds up effectively explaining why the community here at RinkWorks works.

If there is one thing I've heard repeatedly from regulars, newbies, and even a couple people who were regulars here years ago and left for one reason or another, it's that RinkWorks is an unusual and special place, socially speaking, but while so many of us have acknowledged this fact, I don't know that anybody really knew why. The article doesn't entirely answer the question, but it points out an awful lot of points of failure, and it's interesting to think about how RinkChat and the forum have more or less avoided them. Maybe it also points the way toward ways to improve things, too; I'd be interested in further discussion in this thread about that.

The article touches on a little of everything, of group mentalities; the interconnection of social groups and the technologies they use to communicate; past and present groups that succeeded or failed and why, like Usenet, LJ, /., and others; and an awful lot more. Check it out.