View source for The WELL

The Whole Earth 'Lectronic Link, also called The WELL, is one of the oldest virtual communities in continuous operation. It was started by [[Stewart Brand]] and [[Larry Brilliant]] in 1985, and the name is partially a reference to the Whole Earth Catalog.

The WELL began as a dial-up bulletin board service (BBS). It then became one of the original dial-up Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in the early 1990s when commercial traffic was first allowed, and changed into its current form as the Internet and web technology evolved. It is best known for its Internet forums, but also provides email, shell accounts, and web pages.

From 1994 to 1999 The WELL was owned by Bruce Katz, founder of Rockport, a manufacturer of walking shoes. Since April 1999 it has been owned by Salon.com, several of whose founders such as Scott Rosenberg had previously been regular participants. It currently has about 4,000 members. 

==Links==
*Wikipedia article about The WELL: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_WELL

[[Category:Services]]