| Through the case of one online disputant, Minerva, this study intended to see the possibilities of online communities as the public sphere. Minerva's postings and comments were analyzed using discourse analysis and ground theory.;It was found that the online community did act as the public sphere at that time, such as setting agenda and developing public opinions. Not only did it meet Habermas' institutional criteria as the public sphere but also the limitations that scholars had set on public spheres were not found in the community. Surprisingly, the distinct feature of the Korean public sphere; repetitive patterns of public's demand and system oppression was shown in the community as well.;The results showed that new media literacy was learnt by the community of practice and the collectivity of online communications helped to lower the thresholds of requiring a new media literacy level. Furthermore, in their discussions, dialectic developments were found although the pattern of dialectics was different from the traditional patterns. Considering online communication's characteristics, a new approach was necessary in evaluating the communications. The new dialectic pattern was named "multiple-parallels dialectic.".;It also studied the differences of the online public sphere and the offline public sphere. In this community, four characteristics—relying on individual gurus, the size of the community, a noisy but intimate atmosphere, and relation with the media, enabled the online community to be part of the public sphere. It is concluded when the public needs a venue for discussing public matters, online communities which inherently have the collectivity and mechanisms of a community of practice, can be served as the public sphere. |
