ABSTRACT
The objection that I encounter most frequently when presenting this work is that physical space is irrelevant in the age of the Internet. According to this argument, cyberspace is becoming a favored site of encounter and the need for physical gathering places correspondingly diminishes. Sitting here writing in Tango Palace, my neighborhood café, surrounded by other regulars who are reading newspapers or chatting in groups, this objection intuitively seems incorrect or at least exaggerated. We may all have checked our email this morning, but email is not a substitute for the diffuse sociality of the café.1 Nevertheless, cyberspace does provide a powerful means of communication that challenges us to reassess the importance of public space. Cyber-romantics have argued that the World Wide Web is a utopia of free speech where individuals can publicize their views and reach vast numbers of potential sympathizers.2 They claim that the Web, by radically decreasing the cost of publication and undermining the power of intermediaries (publishers and distributors), provides a public forum that is much more effective than public space.
