Salon to sell The Well
p2pnet.net News:- The Well, one of the Net’s most famous assets set up in 1985, is being sold off.
“For twenty years, The WELL has been a literate watering hole for thinkers from all walks of life,” says the site. “The remarkable people who frequent this place include all kinds of artists, programmers, journalists, educators, activists and others who make a point of returning frequently to engage in discussion, swap information, express their convictions and greet their friends in the famous online forums known as WELL Conferences.”
It, “helped to define the basic ethic and etiquette of online life,” says the BBC.
“Many of the early members of The Well have gone on to become the guiding lights of net as it has risen to its current level of prominence.”
It was bought in 1999 by the Salon Media Group $5m (£2.79m) in stock when it had about 6,000 members. But Salon, “now wants to concentrate on eponymous magazine,” says the Beeb.
“The Well, or Whole Earth ‘Lectronic Link, was started by Stewart Brand – one of the key members of the counter-culture movement in the 60s that, among many other things, spawned the personal computer and the first virtual communities.
“The name was inspired by the Whole Earth Catalog which Brand published and which became a bible for the civil libertarians, activists and hippies swept up in the 60s radical movement.
“When it started The Well was a bulletin board that swiftly became the place to hang out for those inspired by the potential of cyberspace and the online world. As it grew and moved to the web, it attracted tens of thousands …”
Early Well members included Mitch Kapor and John Perry Barlow, who went on to found the EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation).
Salon promised not sell to the “first buyer that made an offer” but will look for a “good match,” adds the story.
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See:-
BBC – Pioneering net community sold off, August 19, 2005
