Conferences are the Heart of The WELL

When we talk about The WELL, we are usually talking about the conferences. The conferences are where the magic happens: where posts develop into conversations, and members become a community.

Much like forums, message boards, or subreddits elsewhere, The WELL’s conferences are each organized around a specific topic, like politics, sports, travel, books, or music. Each conference has a distinct flavor as a gathering place, Participants check in regularly, actively visiting one, five or even dozens of favorite conferences.

Within each conference there are topics (similar to threads or conversations elsewhere), you might find community members discussing the latest news, offering their expertise, or sharing gossip, information, and general banter.

Most of our conferences are open to all WELL members. A few are open for the world to view as anonymous guest readers. Some limit access to an invited group, and allow you to request membership if you are interested, while still others are private and not listed here by request of their hosts. Take a look at the list in the right-hand column of this page to get an idea of the wide variety of conferences available to WELL members.

Sound interesting? Join us!

Art courtesy of Gabe Pine

World-readable Conferences
(WELL account not required to read)

Authors and Ideas: Inkwell.vue bubble
Songs of The Dead: Deadsongs.vue bubble

Featured Conferences
(WELL account required, open to all)

Arts and Entertainment
Movies, TV, Books, Pop Culture, Photography …

Music
Rock, Jazz, Classical, The Grateful Dead …

News and Society
Current Events, Media, Activism…

Home and Private Life
Parenting, Pets, Generations, LGBTQ …

Mind and Body
Health, Fitness, Drugs, Religion …

Recreation and Adventure
Sports, Biking, Outdoors …

Hobbies and Pastimes
Travel, Gardening, Fashion, Food …

Cities, Regions, and Countries
San Francisco, The Rockies, East Coast, Britain …

Science and Technology
Mac, Linux, The Web, Science …

Making a Living
Freelance Writing, Investing, Work …

Around and About The WELL
WELLcome, News, Tips …

Strange and Random
Weird, Obsessions, Miscellaneous, Night Owls …

Limited-Access Conferences  (WELL account required, contact host(s) for entry)

Recovery, LGBTQ, Elder Care, For Women Only…

Alphabetical list of Featured Conferences
List continuously updated

Independent Conferences
Created by members, managed by members