An early experiment in online communities, the WELL (Whole Earth ‘Lectronic Link), a revolutionary virtual community founded by Stewart Brand, originator of The Whole Earth Catalog, and Larry Brilliant, visionary philanthropist and software engineer, was an indispensable contribution to the evolution of the Web. Katie Hafner chronicles the story of this early electronic village, and analyzes the many reasons for how the WELL’s success came to shape the Internet as we know it today. See the original story in Wired Magazine.