For the social aspect. There was a famous story about some University's computer lab (I forget the details) where they got fed up of the coffee machine. There

For the social aspect. There was a famous story about some University's computer lab (I forget the details) where they got fed up of the coffee machine. There was a perfectly good cafeteria close by where the students could get coffee. Plus they had to keep the machine stocked, service it, etc. It was just a pain in the ass, so they got rid of it. Within about a week, their TAs were swamped with demands on their time from students. They had to take on like 2 extra people to meet the demand. Turned out, that coffee machine was a social hub, and people would chat about their problems, ask each other for tips and advice, and solve a large percentage of their problems on their own. So they bought a replacement coffee machine. Now I'm imagining those students doing all the work on their computers in their dorm rooms on their own. Hmm. Sure, there's lots more connectivity these days and places you can ask for help, but when learning/starting out that sort of personal contact etc is quite useful.