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Anybody here a member of The Well? It seems (judging from their ads) to be a Hatrackish type of forum associated with Salon.com. It costs $10 a month to participate in it though, which is why I haven't explored it.
Posts: 16059 | Registered: Aug 2000
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I've heard of it. A friend of mine reads and posts in it. In fact, last weekend we compared fluff threads.
From what I've heard, it sounds like a somewhat more liberal-bent forum than here (due to the general political make-up of the salon readers).
Posts: 1261 | Registered: Apr 2004
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That's what I figured dabbler. I lean a little to the left myself, but I think I prefer a more balanced perspective than something like that would provide. Still, I'd like to check it out. I've been thinking about joining Salon for some time now, and I notice that a Well membership comes with it. Maybe I'll go ahead and sign up, and then see what it's all about.
Posts: 16059 | Registered: Aug 2000
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The WELL was originally started by folks at the Whole Earth Catalog/Whole Earth Review (WELL standing for Whole Earth 'Lectronic Link). I've never been to the WELL, but I've heard good things about it, and I remember reading that Neil Gaiman used to post to it.
Posts: 2911 | Registered: Aug 2001
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Out of curiosity, what other forums do people frequent? I mostly hang out here, Sakeriver, GreNME, and Galactic Cactus. I've been hitting MadOwl more frequently since mack gave me a cool title, but I don't think I'd quite count as a regular there. Oh, and I check Plasticastle's forum now and then, but it's pretty much inactive.
Posts: 16059 | Registered: Aug 2000
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The only non-Hatrack web fora I frequent (though not slavishly, like here), are the arstechnica.com Programming, Gaming, Lounge, and Soap Box, as well as the sonsofsamhorn.com Red Sox forum.
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I've been over to arstechnica a few times--I may even have an account there. I occasionally surf over to thisSong of Ice and Fire board, but after an intital readthrough there's rarely anything new and interesting to be found there, in my experience.
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I've sporadically joined the well off and over many years, and have never clicked with it. Some of the smartest people on the planet post(ed) there, my favorites being the already mentioned Neil Gaiman, but also Bruce Sterling.
The EFF came from The Well.
The last time I joined was a few months a go, and it appeared to be dying. Though, it's hard to say because I found their interface to be very klunky, I didn't see that many people posting any more. Let's face it, in this day and age, paying for a service like the well, much less at the rate of ten to fifteen bucks a month for the love of pete, is really not going to fly when there are so many free communities out there.
I think the well will ultimately devolve into what it started--as a thing basically for californians, specifically in the san fran area, to get together and socialize, rather than a national forum.
On kind of a tangential note, it makes me nostalgic for the days of BBS, which were much more locally oriented. Imagine if most of the people on Hatrack were in the same city....
Posts: 13123 | Registered: Feb 2002
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My recollection is that The WELL distinguished itself not only by the quality of interaction but by the non-anonymous nature of participation. People were Responsible (big R) for their words, and a high premium has always been placed on that.
It was sold to Bruce Katz (multimillionaire Rockport shoe company executive/owner) in the early 90s, and the character of the community became more commercially-driven from the top down (and thus less representative of the interests of its participants, IIRC). The participation there went through some sort of slump (either in numbers or quality or both -- not sure, as I wasn't paying attention at that point), and the sale to Salon.com hasn't yet picked it back up, if rumors are correct.
That being said, the articles are good and the discussion looks to be interesting (although I am only judging on the non-member access parts, as I do not have member access). It may not be what it once was, but all communities morph over time. I've always heard generally positive things about it, and many people I knew found an online home there.
[Well, whaddaya know. I'd forgotten that our Salon subscription comes with a WELL membership, and it looks like Opera can just "wand" me in. ]
[ September 15, 2004, 04:08 PM: Message edited by: Sara Sasse ]
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I check my own forum as well as Sakeriver, GreNME, Mad Owl, Galaciciciacticus or whatever that one is, and a few others.
Posts: 5422 | Registered: Dec 2001
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Yes, it's more of a static chat room when we get going on a topic. Witness the top one in the gaming forum. I've actually been having some thread ideas, though. Mostly I like having it around as someplace I can brag about my son when needed.
Noemon, I am an 'Archive Enthusiast' for the original DnD game at Sakeriver. Can't get enough!
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(just re: earlier discussion -- there is a Salon.com article on The Well's 15th birthday as a BB back in 2000, including about 7 well-written an interesting personal stories. Also, I think Tom has at least a nodding acquaintance with the site, as he has mentioned it in passing before.)
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Let's face it, in this day and age, paying for a service like the well, much less at the rate of ten to fifteen bucks a month for the love of pete, is really not going to fly when there are so many free communities out there.![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
