San Francisco Chronicle columnist Jon Carroll is my friend and neighbor, here in Oakland and also in cyberspace. Here is his column about our online home, The WELL, which recently survived a major challenge and is now owned by a group of its users. We’re both hoping to bring some smart, articulate, curious, and generous people into the deep, informative, and constructive conversation we’ve been participating in for 25 years and counting.
One of the points of the Well is to test your hypothesis against the worldviews and life experience of others. People sometimes spend considerable effort researching their responses; that’s part of the social capital. Be a jerk online, and your social capital is reduced.
I hope you’ll read the whole column, and I hope you’ll consider joining the WELL. It’s been a great place for me to learn and laugh and grow, and we’re always happy to welcome thoughtful new people.