Its location in the San Francisco bay area has flavored the nature of the community and the character of its content. The WELL is considered the primary example of a mature virtual community. While many BBS systems were established years before the WELL emerged, the WELL was one of the first to adopt the Internet into its system and many of its members moved on to be movers and shakers on the Internet. The WELL has hosted some of the most important conferences to discuss net happenings. Its conference options are incredibly broad.
Members range from hackers to artists to deadheads, journalists, and photographers.
Some have characterized the WELL as a rough place, where opinions need to be defended and where people can get very worked up over their differences of opinion. There is definitely an elite corps of WELL users who rule the roost. While this may be true, it is arguably less of a rough environment for opinion than some other similarly sized communities, like ECHO in New York City. WELL conferences are moderated, but with a reasoned hand that steers clear of social control and frustrating anarchy. The WELL's conferences are notable for the quality of their content.