Communities on the Net

This week I experienced the benefits of communities on the net (by being able to sell my car on Craigslist). But I have also watched a number of other communities develop. I am fascinated how well technology can build new communities of interest. Blogs, markets and chats are all examples of this. One that interested me is called Zaadz. I met the founder about two years ago who seemed to be partially a contradiction. On the one hand he spouted a number of new age banalities and on the other he seemed to be controlling in the relationships that I observed him be involved with. But in the end, I concluded that what he was offering was harmless. Then I encountered a counter-site which expanded dramatically on the negative qualities that I had noticed. It is hard to tell where the reality exists. The idea of the Zaadz community is to link new age philosophy (most of which I think is pretty loopy) with new age businesses (some of which are very sound). The question when I read the negative site is should web providers be able (even with some false presentation of their rules) be able to betray their stated purposes?

As you think about it the only answer can be yes. I do not find new age philosophy useful or even often intelligible. But if a group of consumers finds this stuff useful and are willing to play by the developer's rules - fine. If the developer is too far from his stated missions or goals the site will not be profitable. That should be his problem not anyone else's. A free market always allows for frauds.