This paper is an essay on the discursive politics of education. Data from a small study, combined with a review of the related literature, suggest that the overarching concept "community" lacks coherence when used in online education. At least three contrasting forms of connection can be discerned: communion among participants, exchange between participants, and attachment to an ideal. In turn, we believe that this incoherence is not a trivial semantic problem, but rather a central concern in current efforts to remodel, reform and globalize distance education. (Contains 3 tables.)