Community networks, often called "civic networks" or "free-nets," are computer networks that have been developed for public access in broad support of a geographic community. The developers of community networks hope to create long-lived public institutions that focus on digital communication much as public libraries, at least historically, have placed their focus on books and other printed material. Community networks apply the notions of free and uncensored access for everybody, both as producer and consumer, to the text, graphic, audio, and other resources found in cyberspace.

Although there is no precise definition of community networks, they have several common characteristics. Community networks aggregate a wide variety of information and communication services in a central, though "virtual," location, becoming, in effect a nonprofit "portal." Community networks are general purpose and strive to support the six "community core values," defined by Douglas Schuler (1996) as conviviality and culture; education...