A ProtoCommunity is something we expect to become a "real" community (by whatever measures) in the future. A wiki between SeedPosting and independent existence may be considered to be such a proto community, if one accepts that a wiki can be a community.

A clearer example is the way an EpistemicCommunity can become an IntentionalCommunity as people deliberately move closer to each other, and perhaps also ultimately a GatedCommunity, if they shut out outsiders. Many religious communities follow this pattern, and EcoVillage creation also usually is formed by similar steps.