What is The WELL?

Welcome to a gathering that's like none other — remarkably uninhibited, intelligent and iconoclastic.

The regulars in this place include noted authors, programmers, journalists, activists and other creative people who swap info, test their convictions and banter with one another in wide-ranging conversations, using their real names.

The WELL, launched in 1985 as the Whole Earth 'Lectronic Link, provides a literate watering hole for some articulate and unpretentious thinkers. [more about The WELL...]

Doug Masson, attorney
I am a political junkie, and the heat-to-light ratio in the Politics conference is very favorable -- there's a lot of substantial discussion without a lot of name-calling. The Sports conference features the day-to-day discussion of all kinds of sporting events, but the best things about the conference are the annual football and March Madness pools. Finally, the Legal conference is where I go to share war stories and get advice and dark humor from the grizzled old war horses. [more people, more recommendations...]