The Internet introduces something quite new into ordinary everyday communication. It is now possible to carry on extensive interactions with other people without being fully present or even identifying oneself. While this has always been the case to some extent with the use of written and printed communication, as well as with telephone, radio, and television communication, the Internet takes these trends to new levels of abstraction. The Internet provides: (1) abstract representations of place and information--such as virtual libraries, virtual offices, and virtual communities; (2) abstract representations of self and other--through text descriptions and avatars; and (3) abstract representations of interactions--such as intelligent tutoring systems and automated workflow processes. This paper stresses for the importance of physical place and physical presence in how people construct meanings in their lives, how they form personal biographies and public histories, and how they develop living communities. The paper contrasts this stance with the consequences of the abstractions of place and presence in virtual, on-line communities. (Contains 13 references.) (Author/SWC)