Claiming to know everyone in town often means relational placement, not acquaintance

Evidence

It seems possible that much of the personal knowing in small settlements is of this character. That is, not all residents who claim to “know everyone in town” may actually have such inclusive acquaintanceships. What they have, rather, is extensive knowledge of or about many of their fellow citizens-recognizing some by face and/or name, others only by placement in some sort of relational network (Bill’s friend who sold him that car, Emily’s sister, and so forth). This type of knowing probably greatly increases the size of a settlement that can be experienced as nonanonymous. — Lyn H. Lofland, World of Strangers_ Order and Action in…, 1072

Categorization

• QUESTION: Worth chasing: does this ‘knowing by placement’ scale mechanism explain why some dense cities still feel community-like? A promising thread for the urban anonymity analysis.