Professional community networks: Has f2f gone the way of Morse code?

This article aims to analyse the design of community systems in two real‐world professional communities that employ a mix of communication modes, that is, face‐to‐face communication and computer‐mediated communication.

The paper analyses the present situation in the area of community networks and the more traditional means of communication, like f2f.

The article finds that the online environment is not yet fully ready to replace more traditional means of communication like f2f.

This work adds to the body of knowledge on communication modes and makes some suggestions, which could improve its potential in an online world.