psc@lzaz.UUCP (Paul S. R. Chisholm) (03/01/86)
< Oxygen is for people who can't take New Jersey > In article <1240@brl-smoke.ARPA>, DEP%SLACVM.BITNET@wiscvm.wisc.edu writes: > The WELL ... "Whole Earth 'Lectronic Link" is such an interesting BBS > that I thought I would pass on my observations about it to readers of > this list. . . . Thanks to DEP, whoever you are, for your comments. I'd just read more about WELL in the latest WHOLE EARTH REVIEW (from the people who brought you the rather good WHOLE EARTH SOFTWARE CATALOG). Some more info from there: > Even though you can "chat" on The WELL in real-time, most > information is exchanged within conferences where you post and read > comments on your own schedule - The Well is open 24 hours a day. > There are now 120 active conferences on everything from various kinds > of computers (especially the newer ones) to spirituality, legal > questions, and sexuality. Increasingly, The Well includes previews of > material eventually published in WHOLE EARTH REVIEW. . . . > > Although it's primarily a regional system, people from outside > the San Franciso Bay Area can reach The Well at discount rates via > Uninet, a nationwide networking service. . . . > > How much does it cost? Uninet's rate during non-prime time > (evenings and weekends) is approximately $4/hour for phone access. A > subscription to The Well costs $8/month plus $2/hour. Your online > charages from, say, New York would be $6/hour. That compares > favorably with other teleconferencing systems (e.g., Source $10.75; > Compuserve $12.50/hour at 1200 baud). A simple long-distance phone > call at night rates is about $10/hour. To find your closest Uninet > access number, call customer service at 800/821-5340 or 800/221-2444. > > For more WELL information, contact me at 415/332-4335, or use > your modem to sign up by dialing 415/332-6106. Just answer the > questions, and your in The Well. -Matthew McClure But I've got some questions: o Are WELL conferences moderated? Some, most, all, none? o I've noticed ...!well!foo on netnews. Can you send and receive Unix mail as a vanilla WELL user? Are netnews articles cross-posted? Vice versa? o Is the user interface such that your can write a script for your terminal program to read all your mail and download all your conference messages? (I like reading off-line.) Come to think of it, how would BIX users answer those same questions? (I know BIX doesn't offer Unix mail.) Or other conference services? -- -Paul S. R. Chisholm, ihnp4!lznv!psc or {pegasus,ihnp4}!lzaz!psc or attmail!psrchisholm or AT&T Mail !psrchisholm (TLX 150249361) The above opinions might not be shared by any telcomm company. NOMINATE MARK LEEPER (mtgzz!leeper): HUGO AWARD FOR BEST FAN WRITER IN 1986
tenney@well.UUCP (Glenn S. Tenney) (03/06/86)
In article <514@lzaz.UUCP> psc@lzaz.UUCP (Paul S. R. Chisholm) writes: > ... > But I've got some questions: > > o Are WELL conferences moderated? Some, most, all, none? Each conference has a "host". I am the co-host of the Amiga conference (btw, a VERY active conference). A host is a bit different than a moderator. I feel the host's job (btw, unpaid!) is to help users, help focus postings into the appropriately titled topics, help manage the online upload library (the Amiga conference has acquired over 100 items in the last month or two), and generally keep the "room" neat and the conference active. This type of moderation does not usually entail censorship, but would if the need arose. > o I've noticed ...!well!foo on netnews. Can you send and receive >Unix mail as a vanilla WELL user? Are netnews articles cross-posted? >Vice versa? Yes. Any user can post netnews and/or mail and can receive net mail. Although, some users just want the tele-conferencing benefits of the Well and don't want to deal with long strings of paths. The Well runs a 4.2bsd system, so much (all?) of Unix is available to the knowledgable user. > o Is the user interface such that your can write a script for your >terminal program to read all your mail and download all your conference >messages? (I like reading off-line.) Yes. You can write a various scripts in different shells to handle mail and netnews. PicoSpan (the conferencing software used on the Well) also supports scripts that would let you capture all unread items of interest in those conferences of interest. (ie. You can selectively join conferences as well as selectively read topics within each conference.) > Come to think of it, how would BIX users answer those same >questions? (I know BIX doesn't offer Unix mail.) Or other >conference services? I personally feel that other systems such as BIX and CSI are poor price performers because the useful information content is very low compared to the number of messages making each useful tidbit very expensive. I also use Delphi because it is less expensive than BIX/CSI and has worldwide access, but I've found access to usenet mail and netnews to be VERY valuable (I missed it for a long time). All in all, since the Well now has Uninet access, it might start being used by people worldwide as an economical alternative as well as a gateway to UseNet. Besides Uninet, there is PCPursuit which would cost (I believe) $25/month flat rate for telecom access to various cities including to the Well. At 10 hours a month of Well usage, this would come to $4.50/hr inclusive. Hmmm, the more hours you use PCPursuit the cheaper it is /hr (20hrs=$3.25/hr). >-- > -Paul S. R. Chisholm, ihnp4!lznv!psc or {pegasus,ihnp4}!lzaz!psc > or attmail!psrchisholm or AT&T Mail !psrchisholm (TLX 150249361) > The above opinions might not be shared by any telcomm company. >NOMINATE MARK LEEPER (mtgzz!leeper): HUGO AWARD FOR BEST FAN WRITER IN 1986 -- Glenn Tenney UUCP: {hplabs,glacier,lll-crg,ihnp4!ptsfa}!well!tenney ARPA: well!tenney@LLL-CRG.ARPA Delphi or MCI Mail: TENNEY As Alphonso Bodoya would say... (tnx boulton) Disclaimers? DISCLAIMERS!? I don' gotta show you no stinking DISCLAIMERS!
abm@ptsfa.UUCP (Al Margolis) (03/06/86)
In article <514@lzaz.UUCP>, psc@lzaz.UUCP (Paul S. R. Chisholm) writes: > But I've got some questions: [regarding the well] I subscribe and will answer as best I can ... > > o Are WELL conferences moderated? Some, most, all, none? Apparently all conferences are moderated, but there seems to be less "supervision" than netnews mod conferences ... this can be good or bad depending on you point of view > > o I've noticed ...!well!foo on netnews. Can you send and receive > Unix mail as a vanilla WELL user? Are netnews articles cross-posted? > Vice versa? The conferences are run on a bbs called Picospan. Underneath is some version of Berkely UNIX running on a vax. You can "!" escape to UNIX commands from Picospan or drop into a standard shell. There is no cross-posting to netnews as a matter of course, but netnews is available. > > o Is the user interface such that your can write a script for your > terminal program to read all your mail and download all your conference > messages? (I like reading off-line.) I haven't tried, but it looks possible. Since the system runs under UNIX, I would guess that there is some way to read the files directly. The well has an interesting mix of conferences and users. Right now they are suffering from success: too many new users and not enough VAX, but I suspect they will get this straightened out. It's cheap enough that you can afford to try it for a month if you are at all interested. The system manager is Mike McLure ... you can send him mail on {ihnp4, dual}!ptsfa!well!mmc ... I didn't ask but I'm SURE its ok with him ... or he'll let me know :-) Al Margolis {dual, ihnp4}!ptsfa!abm or {dual, ihnp4}!ptsfa!well!abm
mojo@kepler.UUCP (Morris Jones) (03/07/86)
In article <1199@ptsfa.UUCP> abm@ptsfa.UUCP (Al Margolis) writes: >The system manager is Mike McLure ... you can send him mail on >{ihnp4, dual}!ptsfa!well!mmc Make that Matthew McClure... -- Mojo ... Morris Jones, MicroPro Product Development {lll-crg,ptsfa,dual,well,pyramid}!micropro!kepler!mojo