| Title: | Take my advice, you'd be better off DEAD |
| Notice: | It's just a Box of Rain |
| Moderator: | RDVAX::LEVY ::DEBESS |
| Created: | Wed Jan 02 1991 |
| Last Modified: | Fri Jun 06 1997 |
| Last Successful Update: | Fri Jun 06 1997 |
| Number of topics: | 580 |
| Total number of notes: | 60238 |
An old hippie friend of mine is now a manager at WELL, and well
I thought you all might be interested.
-Arthur
The WELL
by John Coate
I work at the WELL, WHole Earth's online computer conferencing network.
The WELL itself sits in an air-conditioned closet at the Whole Earth
office. A bunch of phone lines come into the building. There's a modem
for each phone line. These modems in turn are wired up to a VAX
computer. The Vax is about the size of a large dishwasher. We can
handle up to 23 callers at a time, which we often do with over a
thousand people logging in each month. When people visit us they like
to go in and look at the equipment. When you see the lights on the
modem flickering you know that conversations are happening. Minds are
meeting.
Personal computers are amazing communications tools. Put a computer
together with a modem and you can converse simultaneously with several
people, collaborate on writing projects, find work, gather and refine
ideas, get technical updates, swap some stories, argue politics, and
get a recommendation on a good restaurant and movie without getting up
from your desk. Online conferencing networks can be both a place where
you meet people - like a neighborhood pub - and a tool for gathering
and storing information.
As I sit at my desk in the WELL office shuttling between conferences,
doing mail, writing pieces like this one, and talking online as well
as on the phone to new users, I check to see who's logged in every few
minutes. I know most of the names. Because we have a lot of social
gatherings I know many faces to go along with the names. Many have
become my good friends.
Sometimes when I'm working I feel like I'm in the wheelhouse of a big
Mississippi riverboat. On the decks people are strolling and talking
as they lean against the rail. There's a casino and parlors and places
to eat. Way down below they're talking shop with the machinists.There
are regulars and newcomers. Everyone has a unique point of view.
Sometimes it's choppy, but usually it's steady as she goes.
WELL stands for Whole Earth 'Lectronic Link. It's the collaborative
brainchild of Whole Earth's Stewart Brand and Larry Brilliant, best
known for his work with the SEVA Foundation and head of Network
Technologies (NETI). Whole Earth and NETI each own half of the WELL.
After spending time working in projects through the EIES network,
Stewart and Larry conceived the WELL as a place where a variety of
people could meet online without spending an arm and a leg. Early on,
Stewart said the WELL is the "kind of thing coffee shops were supposed
to be about, but are pretty hard to find these days."
Although there is a lot of useful information stored on the WELL like
in a library, it is through conversing in conferences, electronic
mail (email) and real-time that the fabric of the community is knit.
There are over ninety WELL conferences. Some are computer specific,
some are technical, and some consist of people throwing out their
ideas, telling their stories, or arguing about social and political
issues. After talking with people about all kinds of different things
over time you get the feeling that you know that person even if you
have never met face to face.
So you cruise around to different conferences and you find out what
people think about things. The information moves "horizontally" among
the peer group of the participants. Anyone can start a discussion
topic in a conference. Topics can be linked between different
conferences. After a while I think the word "community" begins to
describe what goes on better than does "network". In a community, the
interactions are ongoing. You run into some of the same people every
day. Over time, professional and personal interaction can overlap.
There becomes a sense of place to it. It often reminds me of an
electronic Greenwich Village. Logging in can be like going down to the
street to check the action.
We don't have a lot of rules; we manage the WELL in a very low key
style. It really can't be done any other way. The keystone of the WELL
organization is the conference hosts. Every conference has a host.
That word was very deliberately chosen. Public online conferences are
a lot like ongoing parties and someone has to make sure there's ice in
the cooler, food on the table, continuity in the discussions, and good
general organization.
Online conferencing is talking by writing. You set up the context, get
to the point, and get out. Because it's conversation between sometimes
fairly large groups, you don't want to "dominate the rap" and you
don't want to be repetitive. You have to remember that people are
looking at computer screens, which seem to put unique demands on
people's ability to focus on long-winded pieces. If your "posting"
runs longer than one or two screen lengths, it had better be pretty
interesting. And you will hear from people if they think you ramble
too much.
The flip side of that, though, is if you have a good story to tell or
enjoy quality repartee, or can lay out and quickly back up an argument
or insight, then the chemistry can be there for a kind of ad hoc think
tank that has soul and is fun. We talk about everything from war and
law, music, work, birth, death, where this "info age" is going, and
AIDS to online talk shows, tales of past experiences and exploits,
online gift notifications (better known as Pokeybux), your thoughts on
human relationships, bugs in the lastest version of PageMaker, reports
of WELL weather, the Maddog Improvement Society, and critiques of the
latest Grateful Dead show.
As yes, the Deadheads. There's plenty of action around the Grateful
Dead. The Grateful Dead Conference is the WELL's largest, with people
logging in from all over the country. It's mostly good talk, but some
online collaboration happens too. Once we designed a WELL t-shirt
together. We chose the design, had someone take the money and another
person got them printed up.
The WELL is a confluence of social and cultural elements. Similar to
the Chesapeake Bay, where nine rivers merge the WELL's character comes
from hackers, writers, artists, Deadheads, knowledge workers,
fugitives from the counter-culture, educators, programmers, lawyers,
musicians, and many more.
The Info conference , for example, is regularly visited by a magazine
editor, a college journalism teacher, an author, a consultant to a
state assembly committee, an info age muckraker, a retired Army colonel
turned info age pioneer, a manager from Pacific Bell, a librarian, and
members of the Congressional Office of Technology Assessment. We
evaluate news, laws, discuss government hearings, and theorize about
the forces at play that are attempting to capture their piece of the
action as these new information tools become more widespread. It's
exciting, relevant stuff because it has to do with basic Constitutional
freedoms. In these discussions, age, race, sex, or culture don't
matter. Your contribution to the discussion is the only thing that
counts.
I think if the WELL establishes one thing it is meeting through
computers doesn't have to be a step toward an Orwellian society with
people droning away at isolated terminals. There is a kind of magic to
the fact that real human emotions, "vibes" if you will, can carry
through the chips and the wires.
If you can get your computer and modem to dial a phone number, you can
log in to the WELL. Usually the default settings that come with the
communications program work fine. The WELL does cost money to use, but
at $8.00/month plus $3.00/hour the rates are among the lowest in the
country for comparable facilities.
Actually, the phone company makes more on this than we do. But we have
ways of tipping the balance sheet more in your favor on the cost of
the phone call. If you live outside of the San Francisco Bay Area you
can save substantial money on the phone call by reaching the WELL via
CompuServe. If you live in the Bay Area call us and we'll give you tips on
cheaper phone access through special local lines. In addition, the
WELL is one of the few places where an individual account has full
access to the worldwide UNIX community through USENET and UUCP mail.
________________________________________________________________________
To sign up just call 415/332-6106 with your modem and type "newuser"
<cr> at the Login: prompt. Or call us at 415/332-4335 if you'd like
more information.
________________________________________________________________________
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From: [email protected] (John Coate)
Message-Id: <[email protected]>
To: exit26::saarinen
Subject: Re: ROCK'N ON!
| T.R | Title | User | Personal Name | Date | Lines |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 165.1 | More on The Well | GR8FUL::WHITE | Without love in a dream... | Wed Jul 17 1991 23:13 | 35 |
The entry in .0 is pretty goog but some of the info is a bit dated. For example, it's been quite a while since The WELL was on a VAX 750. It's been on a Sequent with symmetric multiprocessing for a while now... In the following entries is (or will be as soon as I get done typing this note :-) some more info on The WELL. One should find: - Section 1 of The WELL's manual with lots of info on how to contact and sign up for The WELL - A list of conferences on The WELL (with the userid's of the hosts (=moderators) censored. - A list of topics in the GD conference - A list of topics in the TAPES conference - A list of topics in the DEADLIT conference As many of you know, I've been pretty agreesive in protecting the privacy and the words of those who write on The WELL. I've thought about these postings and don't believe they violate the "you own your own words" policy of The WELL and feel comfortable with these postings. If anyone, especially a lurking WELLHead, disagrees, let me know and I'll delete it forthwith. My entire purpose in posting this stuff here is to provide information on another opportunity to connect electronically with other Deadheads and other interesting people. Disclaimer: I have no commercial or financial interest in The WELL or any of its affiliated organizations/firms except as a satisfied customer... Bob | |||||
| 165.2 | WELL user's Manual - Section 1 | GR8FUL::WHITE | Without love in a dream... | Wed Jul 17 1991 23:13 | 515 |
________________________________________________________________________
THE WELL USER'S MANUAL
[ Section: 1 ]
(The Whole Earth 'Lectronic Link)
Version 4.0.4 Jan, 1991.
________________________________________________________________________
1. Introduction
1.1 How Much Does The Well Cost?
1.2 Well Policies
1.2.1 Canceling Your Well Account
1.3 Well Etiquette
1.4 About This Manual
1.5 Important!
1.6 Reaching The Well
1.7 Direct Modem Numbers For The Well
1.8 Long Distance Well Access
1.8.1 Compuserve Packet Network (CPN)
1.8.2 PC Pursuit
1.8.3 Galaxy Starlink
1.9 Registering With The Well
1.9.1 Picking A Password
1.10 Logging On
________________________________________________________________________
1.0 INTRODUCTION
The WELL is a low-cost, computerized conferencing system centered in the
San Francisco Bay Area. Because there is national and international
access, The WELL is a blend of the Bay Region and any part of the rest of
the country or planet where a phone line will reach. Quickly you will
notice that there is a definite "sense of place" to it.
The system runs on a Sequent minicomputer with a capacity of 48 phone ports
at the offices of the Whole Earth Catalog and Whole Earth Review in the
heart of the houseboat section of Sausalito. Our link to the CompuServe
Packet Network (CPN) adds the potential of thirty more simultaneous
callers.
The WELL can be used in a variety of ways:
Conferencing - Conferences are the public forums on The WELL. These are
the main discussion areas. There is a broad diversity of public dialogue,
with over one hundred separate conferences addressing different areas of
interest. The conferencing software used by The WELL is called PicoSpan.
Its basic format is:
Conferences...........which have
Topics........which have
Responses.
Any group or business may have a private conference area. Call The WELL
office for details.
Email - Electronic Mail providing private, person-to-person messages at no
extra charge. The WELL also has mail links to the vast UUCP and BITNET
networks.
Send/Reply - Instant, screen-to-screen messages between two people who are
logged on at the same time.
Program Libraries - Hundreds of selected public domain programs are
available for downloading in such conferences as Macintosh, Amiga, Atari,
etc. It's an informal, fair-trade arrangement where users are encouraged
(but not required) to upload their favorite public domain programs as well
as download them.
File Transfer and Storage - Each user is allowed up to 500K of free file
storage on The WELL's hard disks. Uploading & downloading is supported for
both binary and text transfers. File compression is also available.
Full Access to UNIX Environments - Users are free to move about and utilize
the system with most standard UNIX commands, including access to a variety
of editors, formatters and compilers. C shell and Bourne shell are
available. There are interactive tutorials for the C programming language
and the vi editor.
Worldwide Communications via USENET - USENET is a vast, international UNIX
network linking universities, research facilities and corporations.
Netmail - UUCP and Bitnet are international, non-private, mail networks
which are companions to USENET. The WELL is in regular contact with UUCP
sites around the world.
1.1 How Much Does The WELL Cost?
Membership in The WELL is by subscription only, with a basic monthly
charge of $10.00, plus an online charge of $2.00 for every hour of use.
For new accounts, the first five hours of online time are free. The
monthly charge accrues to your account until you cancel your WELL
membership. (See section 1.2.1, for instructions.) The online charge
of $2.00 per hour is the same regardless of whether you use a 300, 1200,
or 2400 baud connection.
There is no charge for disk storage up to 500K (this includes files in
your home directory as well as any email you have waiting to be read).
Above that, there is a monthly charge based upon average storage
measured throughout the billing month. Monthly storage charges are as
follows:
0 - 500K FREE
501 - 1500K $ 50.00 (Prorated)
1501 - 2500K $100.00 (Flat fee)
2501 - 3500K $100.00 (Flat fee)
3501 - 4500K $100.00 (Flat fee)
So, for example, averaging 1 MB storage during a given month would cost
you $25. Averaging 1501K would cost you $150. (500K free, $50 for the
first megabyte over, $100 for exceeding one megabyte over.) Accounts
reaching 4 megabytes will be suspended and The WELL will require that
files be removed upon re-activation. The great majority of users do not
use their allotted 500K and receive no storage charges. When you
logoff, The WELL informs you of your current disk storage.
Pacific Telephone's access charges appear on your regular phone bill.
If you reach The Well through CPN ($4.00/hr additional for callers
within the 48 contiguous United States), those charges will appear as
WELL charges on your credit card's monthly statement or your WELL bill
(depending on how you choose to set up your account).
*Prices subject to change with 30 days (online) notice.
NOTE: If you connect to The WELL from outside the 48 contiguous United
States, there are additional international surcharges which will be
added to your WELL bill, so please call The WELL offices for
instructions and charges.
1.2 WELL Policies
As a user of The WELL, you own the words you write. That means you are the
publisher. You take responsibility for their content, and no one may reuse
them without your permission. Hosts of conferences (see section 3.7 for a
full explanation of hosts and their role on The WELL), in the community
interest, may delete a comment, but may not edit it. In the event that a
user has a comment deleted by the host of a conference, and disagrees with
the deletion, the user has a number of options: email the host and discuss
the deletion privately, start his or her own topic, post the deleted
message in a read-only file with a pointer in the conference, quit the
conference, post a complaint in the Hosts conference, or change his or her
tack to make the presentation more acceptable within the conference. The
WELL's administration does not and will not impose explicit rules upon
hosts governing such deletions. To do that would, we think, undermine the
freedom of hosts to exercise their creativity in handling their
conferences. Hosts are also empowered, under duress, to ban a nuisance
member from their conference. Nevertheless, because hosts are not always
present online, or necessarily knowledgeable, they cannot be held
responsible for damaging comments that may appear in their conferences.
Responsibility rests with the writer. The WELL reserves the right to
refuse service to anyone.
Policy updates are posted to topic 20 in the Policy Conference, online.
1.2.1 Canceling Your WELL Account
There are three ways to cancel your WELL account:
1. Call The WELL offices (voice) at 415-332-4335. Please make a
note, for your records, of the date, the time, and the person with whom you
spoke.
2. Mail a letter to The WELL via the U.S. Postal Service informing
us of your wish to terminate. Please keep a copy of your correspondence
for your records. The address is:
The WELL
27 Gate Five Road
Sausalito, CA 94965
3. Email accounts (command: m accounts). You should receive
return email with confirmation of your request to terminate. Please keep a
copy of your correspondence for your records. If you do not intend to
logon again to receive confirmation, or if you are uncertain as to how to
send and receive email, please use method 1 or 2 above.
1.3 WELL Etiquette
The WELL is a community of people which functions on mutual respect and
cooperation. Computer conferencing is a very different medium from
face-to-face communication. The facial expressions, tones of voice, and
other nuances we use in live conversations are totally lost in
conversations and statements made on The WELL.
All that travels over the phone lines is words. Please pay careful
attention to how you use those words. Sarcasm, for example, doesn't travel
well -- which is why people sometimes use such symbols as :-) ...(look at
it sideways)... when they want to let someone know that a statement is
meant to be humorous.
Remember that words you might enter in a burst of inspired passion or
indignant anger will be there for you (and everyone) to read long after
your intense feelings have disappeared. This isn't meant to discourage
spontaneity and the expression of feelings on The WELL. It's merely to
remind you to be aware of the long-term existence and effects of what you
write.
Please remember that it's safer, more polite, and more persuasive to take
issue with a person's comments rather than with the person him- or herself
when you find that you disagree with what they have said -- especially since
you may never have met the person.
People on The WELL generally avoid "obscene" language (no, we're not going
to try to define that here) except in conferences where such language is
acceptable -- or even encouraged. There are no rigid rules about this.
Just remember we are a heterogeneous community of individuals with varying
standards and that there may be minors present.
Naturally, information on passwords for this and other systems, credit card
numbers or any other information which was gained or can be used illegally
is not allowed.
You are encouraged to make full use of the Entry, Help, and Test
conferences during your first days on The WELL. Please don't leave
requests for help (and complaints about The WELL) in every conference you
enter. The Entry and Help conferences are for asking questions. The Test
conference is for practice and will be used extensively for examples in
this manual.
If you have any question on what's appropriate in a particular conference,
just ask the conference host(s). They'll be glad to help you out. We'll
explain how you can contact them online after we've covered registering and
logging in.
1.4 About This Manual
This manual is arranged as a tutorial. It assumes that you, the reader,
are intelligent but have no prior experience on The WELL. It also hopes
you have a sense of humor. The examples given will make more sense, and be
of the most benefit to you, if you try them out as you go along.
Our aim in its design has been to explain things thoroughly as the manual
progresses, never using terms before they have been defined. Where such
usage is unavoidable, it is acknowledged where it occurs. Thus, you can
read the manual from front to back without having to skip around to look-up
a lot of definitions. For quick reference to commands on The WELL, the
reader is referred to The WELL Map and Command Card included with this
manual.
If you are interested in finding information on a particular subject, the
index at the back of the manual will be your primary guide.
Any manual on a full-featured UNIX system like The WELL could easily run
into volumes. This manual seeks to present only that information which is
useful for the beginner-to-intermediate-level user in day-to-day use of The
WELL. Wherever possible, however, pointers are given to where more
advanced users may find additional information.
1.5 Important!
All commands on The WELL are followed by a carriage return unless
otherwise stated.
Throughout this manual, prompts and other displays, as they appear
on your computer screen, are presented in courier normal. Commands which
you type, yourself, are presented in courier boldface.
1.6 Reaching The WELL
Connecting to The WELL is done with your modem and telecommunications
software. (Numbers are listed below.) Please see your software's
documentation for specific instructions on how to dial out via modem. The
WELL office's voice number (415-332-4335) should not be dialed via modem.
However, if you need help reaching The WELL, please don't hesitate to call
and ask for assistance. The WELL office is open from 9 AM to 5 PM (Pacific
Time), Monday through Friday.
1.7 Direct Modem Numbers For The WELL
To call The WELL directly via modem, you can use the following numbers:
1200 baud: 415-332-6106
2400 baud: 415-332-7398
1.8 Long Distance WELL Access
If you connect to The WELL via long distance, there are several
alternatives which may be considerably less expensive than regular long
distance telephone company rates. Three of these alternatives are
discussed in the following sections 1.8.1 through 1.8.3.
1.8.1 CompuServe Packet Network (CPN)
CPN is a long distance packet switching network, distinct from the
CompuServe Information Service. You do not have to join CompuServe to use
CPN. CPN charges are passed on to you directly by The WELL in addition to
The WELL's own connect charges.
Within the USA's contiguous 48 states, the cost of using CPN is $4/hr (at
all times). Calls from Hawaii and Alaska incur an additional $4/hr
surcharge which brings the hourly CPN rate up to $8/hr.
INTERNATIONAL CALLERS: To connect to The WELL via CPN from outside of The
United States, first call The WELL office (voice 415-332-4335) to inquire
about additional surcharges and special procedures for logging-on from your
part of the world. Before an international account can be setup, you'll
need to call The WELL via modem over a direct line and register as
described below in section 1.9.
To find out your nearest CPN access number in the U.S., you can call CPN
customer support at 1-800-848-8980, or, if you are on the WELL,
Type: cpnlist (...followed by your area code...)
EXAMPLE:
Type: cpnlist 202
to see a list of CPN access numbers for area code 202.
You can also get a complete listing of CPN access numbers on CompuServe's
free "g phones" service.
TO REACH THE WELL THROUGH CPN:
The following procedure is for CPN access to The WELL from within the USA's
48 contiguous states.
1. Dial the local CPN access number with your modem.
2. When you get a connection, hit a carriage return. You will then see
this prompt:
Host Name:
At this prompt, type: well
3. That's all there is to it. You should be connected to The WELL almost
immediately and you can proceed to logon as usual. (Logging-on is
explained in sections 1.9 and 1.10.)
If you need more information on CPN access from your area, call The WELL
office (voice 415-332-4335), or email nancy.
1.8.2 PC Pursuit
PC Pursuit can provide a cheaper alternative to CPN if you use it only
during non-prime-time hours (6pm - 7am, Mon-Fri; and 6pm Fri - 7am Mon).
The monthly charge for use during these hours is $30 for 30 hours or $50
for 60 hours. Special rates are available for disabled users ($30 for 90
hours). During prime time business hours (7am - 6pm, Mon-Fri), PC Pursuit
charges are significantly higher: $10.50/hr.
Billing for PC Pursuit is completely separate from The WELL. When you sign
up with PC Pursuit, you are not limited only to using The WELL. You can
connect via modem to sites in most major cities in the U.S. PC Pursuit
does not offer international access.
To use PC Pursuit, you must first set up an account with PC Pursuit. They
will then send you a package containing your PC Pursuit I.D. and materials
explaining how to use PC Pursuit.
To sign up, call 1-800-736-1130 and ask to speak to a PC Pursuit
representative. If you mention that you are a member of the WELL, you will
receive a 50% discount off the one-time $30 registration fee.
1.8.3 Galaxy Starlink
Like PC Pursuit, Galaxy Starlink's inexpensive access rates are limited to
non-business hours. Depending on what arrangement you choose with them,
rates vary from $1.50 to $4/hr. The rate for prime time business hours is
$14/hr. There is a one-time sign-up fee of either $35 or $50 depending on
what billing method you choose.
For information and to request a registration packet, call Starlink
customer service at 1-505-881-6988. You can also register via modem by
dialing: 1-505-881-6964.
Galaxy Starlink offers international access from Hawaii, Alaska, Canada and
any country with its own national packet-switch network. For further
information, contact Starlink customer service.
1.9 Registering With The WELL
If you're logging on for the first time to register with The WELL, you need
to have your credit card number (Visa or MasterCard) and its expiration
date handy. Alternatively, you may request to be billed with a regular
invoice, but in order to establish your account this way you must first
send a $25 processing fee to:
The WELL
27 Gate Five Road
Sausalito, CA 94965
Connect to The WELL using any of the methods explained above. As soon as
you are connected to The WELL, you'll see something like this:
This is The WELL
Type your user name or "newuser" to register
login:
This last line is called the login prompt.
NOTE: If you dial-up The WELL with a 2400 baud modem, it may happen that
the only available modem on The WELL is a 1200 baud modem. If you get
connected to one of these 1200's, garbage text which appears something like
this:
'~'fxf~fffx'x'xf"f~3~~ff~f"ff"~xfx~f'ff'x~~
may appear on your screen. The reason for the appearance of such garbage
text is that your computer can't talk to a 1200 baud modem with the telecom
program set for 2400. Should the above happen (and it is rare), you can
fix the problem from your end by doing the following:
1. Change your communications software's baud-setting
to 1200.
2. Hit control-c on your keyboard, or a string of
@@@@@'s. (NOTE: a "control-c" is produced by
holding down the "control" key on your keyboard
while typing the letter 'c'.)
In most cases, that will take care of the problem.
Since this section of the manual covers registering with The WELL, we will
assume that you've never logged on before. (If you have already
registered, skip ahead to the next section.) At the login prompt,
Type: newuser
Then hit a carriage return. You'll see a series of questions which will
lead you through registering with The WELL.
You'll choose a user identification (userid) and a password during the
registration procedure. Your userid will appear in all of your
communications on The WELL, both public and private, so choose something
you like. Your password, however, will always remain secret.
1.9.1 Picking A Password
Your password should have 6 to 8 characters. Be careful not to pick a
password that is too easy to guess, like a personal name, or words like
"sex" or "love", or sequences of letters like "cbc". Also, avoid any word
from the dictionary. You can use both UPPER and lower case letters in
passwords, as well as numbers or any of the following special characters:
~'!$%^&*()-_+=[]{}\|/<>.,;:
Picking a good password is an art-form (or perhaps a sport), all on its
own. The ideal password is one which mixes upper and lower case letters,
numbers, and special characters, yet is something you can remember. Here
are a few extra precautions you can take to make sure your password remains
secure: Don't write your password down near your computer. Don't put it
in a login script that others have access to. Don't let people watch you
type your password.
1.10 LOGGING ON
After you have registered, it will be a day or so before you'll be able to
log onto The WELL and begin using it. The short delay is necessary for us
to verify credit card numbers and set up your account. Once your WELL
account has become active, you can log onto The WELL using the following
procedure:
1. Dial The WELL with your modem.
2. As soon as you are connected, you'll see something like this:
This is The WELL
Type your user name or "newuser" to register
login:
This is the same screen you saw when you called the first time to register.
This time, however, instead of typing "newuser", you will type the userid
you chose when you registered. For example, if you chose "harpo" for your
userid, at the login prompt you would
Type: harpo
Next you will see a "password" prompt at which you will type the secret
password you chose when you registered with The WELL. When you type this
password, it will not appear on your screen. This is a security measure
for your protection. The password is case sensitive, so be sure to type it
exactly as you entered it during your registration. If you make a mistake,
The WELL will let you know, and you'll be given another try. If you've
forgotten your password, call The WELL at 415-322-4335, and we'll install a
new one for you.
3. If you have entered the correct userid and password, you'll see
something like this:
You have reached the WELL (Whole Earth 'Lectronic Link)
Material posted on this system is the sole property of
its author. Reproduction without permission is strictly
prohibited.
PicoSpan T3.2; designed by Marcus Watts copyright 1984
NETI: all rights reserved.
The system will pause for a moment while the WELL's conferencing software
loads for you, then you'll see something like this:
This is the Entry conference
and a bit more information. You will then find yourself at a new and
exciting prompt:
OK (Enter Command or Type: o ...for options):
This prompt is the gateway into all of your travels on The WELL. It is the
end of your approach to The WELL, and the beginning of your actual use of
it. We'll be explaining what you can do at this prompt very shortly.
________________________________________________________________________
[ end of section 1 ]
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| 165.3 | Conferences on The WELL | GR8FUL::WHITE | Without love in a dream... | Wed Jul 17 1991 23:16 | 131 |
CONFERENCES ON THE WELL
WELL "Screenzine" Digest (g zine)
Best of the WELL - vintage material - (g best)
Index listing of new topics in all conferences - (g newtops)
Business - Education
----------------------
Apple Library Users Group(g alug) Agriculture (g agri)
Brainstorming (g brain) Classifieds (g cla)
Consultants (g consult) Consumers (g cons)
Design (g design) Desktop Publishing(g desk)
Disability (g disability) Education (g ed)
Energy (g energy91) Entrepreneurs (g entre)
Homeowners (g home) Investments (g invest)
Kids91 (g kids) Legal (g legal)
One Person Business (g one) Periodical/newsletter(g per)
Telecomm Law (g tcl) The Future (g fut)
Translators (g trans) Travel (g tra)
Work (g work)
Electronic Frontier Foundation (g eff)
Computers, Freedom & Privacy (g cfp)
Social - Political - Humanities
---------------------------------
Aging (g gray) AIDS (g aids)
Amnesty International (g amnesty) Animal Rights (g arights)
Archives (g arc) Berkeley (g berk)
Buddhist (g wonderland) Christian (g cross)
Couples (g couples) Current Events (g curr)
Dreams (g dream) Drugs (g dru)
East Coast (g east) Emotional Health****(g private)
Erotica (g eros) Environment (g env)
Firearms (g firearms) First Amendment (g first)
Fringes of Reason (g fringes) Gay (g gay)
Gay (Private)# (g gaypriv) Geography (g geo)
German (g german) Gulf War (g gulf)
Hawaii (g aloha) Health (g heal)
History (g hist) Interview (g inter)
Italian (g ital) Jewish (g jew)
Liberty (g liberty) Mind (g mind)
Miscellaneous (g misc) Men on the WELL** (g mow)
Nonprofits (g non) North Bay (g north)
Northwest (g nw) Parenting (g par)
Peace (g pea) Peninsula (g pen)
Poetry (g poetry) Philosophy (g phi)
Politics (g pol) Psychology (g psy)
Psychotherapy (g therapy) San Francisco (g sanfran)
Scam (g scam) Sexuality (g sex)
Singles (g singles) Southern (g south)
Spirituality (g spirit) Transportation (g transport)
True Confessions (g tru) Unclear (g unclear)
WELL Writer's Workshop***(g www) Whole Earth (g we)
Women on the WELL* (g wow) Words (g words)
Writers (g wri)
**** Private Conference - mail xxxxx for entry
***Private conference - mail xxxxx for entry
** Private conference - mail xxxxx for entry
* Private conference - mail xxxxx for entry
# Private Conference - mail xxxxx for entry
Arts - Recreation - Entertainment
-----------------------------------
ArtCom Electronic Net (g acen) Audio-Videophilia (g aud)
Bicycles (g bike) Bay Area Tonight**(g bat)
Boating (g wet) Books (g books)
CD's (g cd) Comics (g comics)
Cooking (g cook) Flying (g flying)
Fun (g fun) Games (g games)
Gardening (g gard) Kids (g kids)
Nightowls* (g owl) Jokes (g jokes)
MIDI (g midi) Movies (g movies)
Motorcycling (g ride) Motoring (g car)
Music (g mus) On Stage (g onstage)
Pets (g pets) Radio (g rad)
Restaurant (g rest) Science Fiction (g sf)
Sports (g spo) Star Trek (g trek)
Television (g tv) Theater (g theater)
Weird (g weird) Zines/Factsheet Five(g f5)
* Open from midnight to 6am
** Updated daily
Grateful Dead
-------------
Grateful Dead (g gd) Deadplan* (g dp)
Deadlit (g deadlit) Feedback (g feedback)
GD Hour (g gdh) Tapes (g tapes)
Tickets (g tix) Tours (g tours)
* Private conference - mail xxxxx for entry
Computers
-----------
AI/Forth/Realtime (g realtime) Amiga (g amiga)
Apple (g app) Computer Books (g cbook)
Art & Graphics (g gra) Hacking (g hack)
HyperCard (g hype) IBM PC (g ibm)
LANs (g lan) Laptop (g lap)
Macintosh (g mac) Mactech (g mactech)
Microtimes (g microx) NeXt (g next)
OS/2 (g os2) Printers (g print)
Programmer's Net (g net) Siggraph (g siggraph)
Software Design (g sdc) Software/Programming (software)
Software Support (g ssc) Unix (g unix)
Word Processing (g word)
Technical - Communications
----------------------------
Bioinfo (g bioinfo) Info (g boing)
Media (g media) Netweaver (g netweaver)
Networld (g networld) Packet Radio (g packet)
Photography (g pho) Radio (g rad)
Science (g science) Technical Writers (g tec)
Telecommunications (g tele) Usenet (g usenet)
Video (g vid) Virtual Reality (g vr)
The WELL Itself
---------------
Deeper (g deeper) Entry (g ent)
General (g gentech) Help (g help)
Hosts (g hosts) Policy (g policy)
System News (g news) Test (g test)
| |||||
| 165.4 | GD Conference Topics | GR8FUL::WHITE | Without love in a dream... | Wed Jul 17 1991 23:17 | 187 |
Topic - Number of responses - Header 1 7 Welcome to the GD conference <topic is frozen> 2 103 Conference business, Well information, etc. <topic is frozen> 17 159 Further into the WELL--Pointers to other conferences 136 351 Deadhead Yellow Pages <topic is frozen> 376 243 Where Are You Coming From? 464 114 The soldier, the sailor, and the lady in the fire <linked topic> 500 299 Feedback to the Grateful Dead Hour <topic is frozen> <linked topic> <scribbled> 519 302 "I wasn't sure where to put this, so I'm putting it here" <topic is frozen> 521 392 Happy Birthday! <topic is frozen> 529 112 Sunshine Daydream <linked topic> 544 78 Video of the day 547 276 Introductions <topic is frozen> 550 276 VINCE WELNICK - NEW DEAD KEYBOARDIST 561 77 DeadBase IV <topic is frozen> 562 135 Who Covered The Dead? 591 89 East Coast Announcements 597 74 First Draft Lyrics 598 127 Drumming at the Edge of Magic 599 85 A Box Of Rain - Collected Lyrics of Robert Hunter 612 123 Donna's vocals: Useless Mindwrenching Caterwaul? 615 130 Other Bands And Artists 617 27 ** EUROPEAN TOUR VIDEO ** 619 79 Deadhead Yellow Pages 622 125 Holiday Card List 623 12 A New Years Carol 625 250 "Saw a Deadhead sticker on a Cadillac" 626 40 _Outside the Show_ comments 629 104 Thanks and Farewell to the Golden Road <topic is frozen> 632 96 I need nine good men.....(or women) 633 56 1991 First Tune Choice! 634 122 Predictions for Bill's entrance at midnight 635 32 It Was Ten Years Ago Today: Remembering John Lennon 638 40 Books for the Deadhead 639 357 Question conversation <topic is frozen> 641 70 Resurecting Brents Songs. 644 42 Questions for a paper on "Deadhead sociology" 645 40 Student Papers From Rebecca Adams 648 8 IN THE REALM OF THE WIZARD GARCIA 649 25 Grateful Dead BBS's 651 193 Announcements <topic is frozen> 659 57 BEST SHOW(S) OF 1990 660 60 GD (and GD-related) albums 661 65 The BAD and the UGLY, the Worst Show(s) of 1990 663 32 Grateful Dead and Deadhead Jokes 665 375 Song of the day 668 61 WOMEN ARE SMARTER FOOLS 669 51 Why'd Ya Do It Bob? 672 56 Place Your Wellbeams Here 674 48 Amazing Grace: Music and Spirituality [cont] <linked topic> 675 38 Smoking at Dead Shows - Are you Kind? 677 76 Please, FADE AWAY for gopod's sake! Let's end "THE CHANT". 679 26 STANDING ON THE MOON I SEE THE BATTLE RAGE BELOW 680 20 Elect whom president of UCB and regain the right for the Grateful dead to play the Greek Theatre. Like wise, elect whom to what and regain the Kyzer venue. 681 154 CD Concert Releases <topic is frozen> 682 202 Bring on the teleprompters and cue cards... 684 23 What Am I Getting Into Here ?! 685 56 Sending Dead tapes to the troops 686 192 TOP TEN VAULT CD's ATTENTION DAN HEALY. <topic is frozen> <linked topic> 688 11 SONGS OF OUR OWN: Tales of Transformation On The Bus 689 37 How could it be the walstib and plo were born on the same day? Hmmmm 690 166 Is this the Question Conversation Topic again? 691 60 Sports, Anyone? 692 20 Grateful Dead Hour - is it playing in your town? 693 5 Community Memory Deadhead Forum 694 25 Deadheads for Peace <linked topic> 696 247 I Just Wanted To Say <topic is frozen> 697 13 Grateful Dead Karaoke--This Year's Vaporware Project 698 78 A Year to Remember <linked topic> 699 9 Blast from the past: 1969 story from Crawdaddy 700 72 The 700 Club 701 235 The Deadhead Merit Badge 702 80 The Wharf Rat Group 703 44 Hall of Fame Dead??? 704 12 WELL volleyball team 705 25 Dead Kind Caress, This Address regards Free Speech and Assembly... 706 39 Questions for Dan Healy 707 31 More on the Meadowlands security guard issue. 708 36 Keep a little grace 709 18 Old New Speedway Boogie? 710 68 Tell a non Deadhead why you are one 711 259 "Deadicated" 712 94 New Wellhead Is On Its Way!!!! <topic is frozen> <linked topic> 714 10 Some Blues for Allah: The Dead play the Persian Gulf 715 6 Rx for drug addiction <linked topic> 716 103 Voting, the consent of the governed, etc. 717 178 What was the date of your first Dead show? 718 16 Surviving With Style 719 50 When the Grateful Dead stop touring... 720 266 Media Mentions of the Grateful Dead <topic is frozen> 721 148 Hello everyone! 722 3 Violence during the New Year's run? 724 4 GRATEFUL DYKES <linked topic> 725 36 Dead Head Recovery 726 55 GDM T-Shirt Gouging 729 249 I Just Wanted to Know <topic is frozen> 732 38 1st Grader's Club Revisited 733 170 G R A T E F U L I D E A S ! ! ! 734 73 SPEND A LITTLE TIME ON THE MOUNTAIN 735 114 Big Apple Boogie 736 11 Disappointing response from BGP re: First Ammendment Suit against Paul Simon 737 5 KPFA write on air proposal 738 51 Book of [insert time period here] 739 69 Proselytizing 740 59 Deadhead Relatives 741 73 DeadBase '90 and DeadBase V Coming Soon 742 10 Autzen, The Untold Story. 743 193 Bay Area Announcements 745 11 Dream Lists 746 7 Perfect schedule one of the leastest dead heads, GDTS 747 24 Inspiration, move me brightly! 748 242 CD of the day 749 47 Rebop's Dilemma.. 750 116 Happy Birthday!!! 751 116 CD Concert Releases, continued <linked topic> 752 29 Backstage with Jerry and Bob, a WELL novelette... 753 124 In the strangest of places, we find deadheads 754 6 at the skpeed of scroll. 755 114 Stupidest Thing Done in Pursuit of the Dead 757 237 I just wanted to say..... <topic is frozen> 758 109 Earplugs - The one essential thing to always bring to a Dead concert? <linked topic> 759 58 Down the aisle 760 20 Bill of Rights Tour 761 50 The Photo bug in all of us 762 251 Stuck in Traffic - Tape of the Day 763 162 Los Angeles Announcements 765 10 MOST MAGICAL THING IN PURSUIT. 766 221 Media Mentions of the Grateful Dead 767 79 GAY/BISEXUAL DEADHEADS: READ THIS <linked topic> 768 2 Gratefuldeadhead Naturelovers... 771 44 The Adam Katz Case 773 45 Bob Weir GAP Poster 774 275 Status Report 26 <topic is frozen> 775 24 GD Retirement plans 776 21 Rex Radio <linked topic> 777 28 Grateful Dead Comix 778 29 Grateful Dead Hour program logs <linked topic> 779 42 I Just Wanted to Say... 780 38 I Just Wanted to Know... 781 234 Status Report 3^3 782 36 Announcements 783 10 Grateful Dead Hour STATIONS topic <linked topic> 784 16 GD stuff in SF? 785 70 J E R R Y S I G H T I N G S 787 63 Memorable moments. 788 18 Worst Moments at Grateful Dead Shows 789 2 LA Well Picnic at Polliwog Park in Manhattan Beach - Sat 7/20 11:00am 790 4 Lines Heard at a Grateful Dead Show 791 1 Grateful Dead CD-ROM 792 0 Grateful Dead Extra Credit | |||||
| 165.5 | TAPES Conference Topics | GR8FUL::WHITE | Without love in a dream... | Wed Jul 17 1991 23:17 | 58 |
Topic - Number of responses - Header 1 82 Tape Trading Topic <topic is frozen> 17 236 Grateful Dead Video 30 217 Tapes of Other Bands 36 135 Your favorite Dark Star 44 329 Tech Talk for Tapers, Two <linked topic> 47 431 Tape trades wanted & offered <topic is frozen> 51 111 Hi-fi VHS for me <linked topic> 52 85 Feedback on Quad PA 53 29 Personics--Anybody Used It? <linked topic> 58 222 New deck ... What to buy? <linked topic> 59 72 Radio tape trading topic <linked topic> 60 107 Types of tape to copy on <linked topic> 70 252 Storm Watch: DAT, CD, Eraseable CD, micro-DAT--What next? <linked topic> 73 9 Reggae anyone? 78 61 A twenty-dollar cassette <linked topic> 89 23 HOT TUNA tapes 90 3 Netmail for DAT people (from Sean Kennedy) 91 15 Hunter Tapes 92 20 Going to purchase a home DAT but have ?????? 94 43 The Sony DAT (recordable) Walkman! 95 25 Wrong identities on tapes 96 42 Classic Dead Tapes All Should Have 97 211 Tape trades wanted and offered <topic is frozen> 98 192 TOP TEN VAULT CD's ATTENTION DAN HEALY. <topic is frozen> <linked topic> 99 16 Brooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooce 100 53 Overrated and Underrated Shows 102 34 MIDI & the Grateful Dead 103 6 MICROPHONE ADVICE 104 70 Avoiding Low Levels <linked topic> 105 9 New Cassette Deck...what to buy? 106 72 GD on CD <linked topic> 108 15 Tape/DAT Storage and Security 109 5 copy a two hour tape in five minutes adopt whose struggling masses yearning to b e f r e e 110 20 Classic Combinations. 111 67 Deadicated II 112 20 Trading tapes - how do you decide who gets what? 113 40 Soundboard tapes: where do they come from and why? 114 95 Tape trades: wanted and offered 115 8 Taping Tales 116 7 AWESOME VOCAL SEGMENTS | |||||
| 165.6 | DEADLIT Conference Topics | GR8FUL::WHITE | Without love in a dream... | Wed Jul 17 1991 23:18 | 57 |
Topic - Number of responses - Header 20 0 Welcome to "deadlit" <topic is frozen> 21 22 The Musical Eras 22 114 The soldier, the sailor, and the lady in the fire <linked topic> 23 18 Roots 24 15 Image patterns 25 17 Hunter And Barlow Songs About The Same Thing 26 10 ATJT's _Snake Talk_ by Naomi Newman 27 64 Point of View in Dead Lyrics 28 50 Cliff's Notes -- Deadlit for Lowbrows 8-) 29 17 GD and Deadhead sightings, references, etc. 30 9 Friend of the Devil 31 60 Hunter vs. Barlow lyrics 32 12 Interplay of words and music 33 227 Grateful Dead Double-entendres (OR, What you don't mean can't hurt you!) <topic is frozen> 34 60 Song lyrics which change over time. 36 74 The Vinyl Analysis 37 77 What's the Big Idea? 38 106 Dead Ching (the San Francisco Oracle) 39 11 "WELL plots my stic communion tour for DARK STAR Hunters" 40 25 Romantic songs 41 8 I Been All Around This World 42 16 Mountains of the Moon 43 11 Empty Cups? Blind leading the Blind? Comes a Time? 44 3 Good stuff from other sources 45 68 Weir's MIAs 46 20 A place to talk about books 47 8 Impossible Request? 48 95 The meanings of obscure-sounding lyrics 49 50 Author's Query: More Than Deadhead? 50 15 Changing lyrics 52 21 A story made of GD lyrics 53 1 IN THE REALM OF THE WIZARD GARCIA 54 33 Uncle John's Band 55 29 Black Throated Wind 56 73 .....something, something, something...... 57 19 Rolling Away the Dew 58 6 Paganism and the Dead 59 11 Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead 60 39 GD GEOGRAPHY 61 13 Hunter's Duino Elegies 62 30 "Can You See Rollo?" - Charles Ives and the Dead <linked topic> 63 23 By and By quiz 64 5 Instruments 65 3 Robert Hunter in the I-J 5/14/91 66 34 Songs in the Key of "F" (quiz #2) 67 42 Shared Vocals (Quiz #3) 68 24 The Triple Slot Song - Quiz #4 69 33 The BACK INTO Quiz - Quiz #5 70 49 The Not All There Quiz (Quiz #6) 71 8 The no lead vocal quiz. | |||||
| 165.7 | LEDS::MRNGDU::YETTO | discover the wonders of nature | Tue Aug 11 1992 13:46 | 9 | |
Can anyone tell me how one would go about subscribing to the WELL (ie. phone number etc...) Also, are there other comparable netwerks for a Dave to peruse from home? :-) Any that might make it possible for him to send mail to the love of his life? (me dammit!) :-) | |||||
| 165.8 | WELL update | GR8FUL::WHITE | Without love in a dream... | Tue Aug 11 1992 14:08 | 29 |
Re: <<< Note 165.7 by LEDS::MRNGDU::YETTO "discover the wonders of nature" >>> > Can anyone tell me how one would go about subscribing to the WELL > (ie. phone number etc...) See .2 The numbers are buried in there... > Also, are there other comparable netwerks for a Dave to peruse from > home? :-) Any that might make it possible for him to send mail to > the love of his life? (me dammit!) :-) There are Dead related/Deadicated bulletin board services, e.g. Terrapin Station, but I've never accessed those. Email can be sent to/from the WELL over internet. For example, my address on the WELL is "[email protected]". The WELL has also just signed for Internet ftp access. It also has available the Internet newsgroups. One bummer about the WELL, the just increased their monthly fee to $15 but it's still $2/hour + access. I pay $4/hour for 1200 baud CPN (local call) and $4/hr + long distance to Framingham for 2400 baud access. I haven't checked (yet) on 9600/14.4K access. Bob | |||||
| 165.9 | You *want* mail from a Dave??? | DRINKS::WEISS | Eight Canadian dollars I'll never spend. | Tue Aug 11 1992 15:54 | 13 |
> Also, are there other comparable netwerks for a Dave to peruse from > home? :-) Don't know if this is what you're looking for, but there is a way to get yourself an account on some machine somewhere that you can dial-up from home (local call) and access the internet (and related stuff). I know someone who has one for $15/month -- unlimited usage and 1 hour a day (or something) of free news reading (usenet). However, this person lives in DC and is someone I haven't spoken with for sometime (and don't plan to). I would assume that there are similar services in this area... Dave | |||||
| 165.10 | FTP TO the Well possible? | ESGWST::MIRASSOU | We're gonna need another Timmy! | Tue Aug 11 1992 16:27 | 7 |
Hey Bob,
Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the internet access the Well is
setting up going to make it possible to ftp TO the Well? Which should
help save long distance/CPN charges?
John
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| 165.11 | telnet to the Well possible. | ESGWST::MIRASSOU | We're gonna need another Timmy! | Thu Aug 13 1992 16:02 | 9 |
To answer my own question...
Yes, it should be possible to telnet (I said FTP before. duh....) to
the Well, though the connection is currently in beta-test mode. Let me
know if you want more information on getting there. Or, if you join
up, you should automatically be registered for a conference which will
give you lots of useful tips for finding your way around.
j
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