At Ouishare we believe virtual communities are important because:

• We see organisations as movements, people who are striving for a common purpose; the only organisations that survive are the ones people care about and community is a powerful way to bring people together around things they care about. 
• The power of communities and networks is that they help things to happen and they create the ecosystem for connections while fostering knowledge and resource sharing. 
• They offer a support-system of like-minded people who can help and trouble-shoot quickly and without bureaucratic barriers.
• They help people to keep their finger on the pulse of what is happening in the world and in different communities while creating conditions for sharing inside information in a trusting way.
• They facilitate the blending of diversey and diverging views and provide members with opportunities to receive feedback from people with different perspectives.

• To identify with a group and feel that they belong.
• To learn from peers they identify with. 
• To share a common purpose or find ideas they believe in.
• To find a safe space in which to grow and experiment.
• To create their own ecosystems with their own set of rules, for instance, decentralisation, non-hierarchy, trust.

• Is it a choice? If you see organisations as platforms or movements then every organisation could potentially evolve into a community.
• If you believe in community, inter-being, decentralisation, collective knowledge, diversity, care, and trust to create more effective solutions and sustainable futures for individuals and the planet, then a virtual community is right for you.
• If you are prepared enough to invite some chaos, conflict, emergence to what you do and are willing to invest time and care because you believe in the process and values.

https://www.artofmanliness.com/articles/communities-vs-networks-to-which-do-you-belong/