It is important to know how users are using your community network. At one time the Cleveland Freenet had 14,000 calls a day, but no way of measuring who was doing what, and toward what end. Since successful models of for-profit community networks have not yet appeared, this threat is less that it was, but is likely to return in another form. The ideal situation would be to find a sustainable financial model which serves the public good. If you can't clearly define community networking, many organizations will not embrace the opportunity to support your network.
Citizens are at different stages of awareness and technophobia is common.
Use of technology often represents perceived threats to self-esteem. Philanthropic organizations, typically controlled by elderly boards, have been slow to understand what the Internet represents, and are threatened by the risks of potential access to pornography within projects they might fund. Many foundations and organizations with real leadership potential have backed away from any involvement in 'community networking,' unofficially finding it too difficult to define, facilitate, and evaluate. For those looking to create community networks, its vitally important to know what we don't know about human adaptation of Internet tools for social collaboration. Human behavior changes slowly, as do social norms, expectations, and worldviews.