An affinity space is a place where learning happens. According to James Paul Gee, affinity spaces are locations where groups of people are drawn together because of a shared, strong interest or engagement in a common activity. Often but not always occurring online, affinity spaces encourage the sharing of knowledge or participation in a specific area, and informal learning is a common outcome. In his coining of the term, Gee takes the notion of participatory cultures and reframes it to the idea of "space". To Gee, what is happening in these online cultures is not merely a "culture" – and far different from a "community". In Gee's view, the word "community" conjures up images of belongingness and membership (p. 70). Instead, he has defined these worlds as "spaces" – a term that allows for the "robust characterization of the ebbs and flows and differing levels of involvement and participation exhibited by members"