Web-based communities scholarship: from silence to dialogue

The IADIS International Conference on Web Based Communities 2004 is examined through a critical lens to understand the extent of conference subject coverage, the inclusion of both research and practice, web-based communities as a multidisciplinary field of research, and the voices engaged in this academic production. This critical examination places at center stage the interests and priorities privileged at WBC 2004 and those rendered invisible: under-represented voices in cybercommunities, their participation or non-participation in research and their non-representation at the conference. This paper concludes with new possibilities to enhance the coverage and process of future WBC scholarly exchange and production through dialogue.