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By Kevin Kanarek More on MAIN:

Online Resources I. General A. The Whole Earth Catalog: Since 1968, their slogan has been "Access to Tools," empowering individuals to shape their own environment, education, and social structures. The tools have changed, but the idea has stayed relevant over time; many have even been adopted by the mainstream. The Whole Earth Review is a quarterly supplement to the Catalog. B. The WELL: The WELL (Whole Earth 'Lectronic Link) made personal computers and networks safe for Humanism all the way back in the early '80s. Growing out of the same communities and individuals as The Whole Earth Catalog, The WELL was a San Francisco-based bulletin board system with writers, artists, activists, and others who shared common visions and interests. It was for many a first experience with online community. It has since evolved into a larger and more general-purpose ISP. C. ECHO: The East Coast Hang Out was created by WELL denizen Stacy Horn in 1990 as an online community with a distinctly New York flavor. It focuses on culture, politics, and angst. D. Howard Rheingold's "Virtual Community": Published in 1995, this is Howard Rheingold's account of the beginnings of the above communities. II. Areas of Interest at MAIN A. "Community Networks at a Crossroads": An essay by Wally Bowen about the relation between content and access, creating and consuming. B. "MAIN TIIAP Project Narrative": An anecdotal document explaining why MAIN came about. C. Business information provided at MAIN D. The Weather and Climate Page: Weather is a big deal in the mountains. Rain quickly translates to flash floods, and snow on the roads can make them unpassable. And the weather forecast varies from one microclimate to the next. E. Chris Johanssen's homepage: A little philosophy, a little music... III. Other Community Networks B. Road Runner: Time Warner's high-bandwidth cable modem test sites in Elmira, New York, and Akron, Ohio, among other places. C. @home: A cable modem Internet service and content provider, based in California. A. Boulder (Colorado) Community Network D. Big Sky (Montana) Telegraph IV. Information about Intentional Communities on the Net The theory and practice of intentional community has several forums on the Web: A. Cohousing: For people actively involved in developing cohousing, or collaborative housing communities. Includes a mailing list that generates about 300 messages per month. B. "Who We Are: An Exploration of What Intentional Community Means": Dan Questenberry has compiled responses from communitarians everywhere and presents them in this article. C. The Intentional Communities Web site: Comprised of ecovillages, cohousing, residential land trusts, communes, student co-ops, urban housing cooperatives and other related projects. D. The Farm: Located in south Tennessee, the Farm has pioneered a wide range of social and physical technologies appropriate to low-cost, high satisfaction community living. Their social history page offers historical background on the Intentional Communities movement. E. "Mainstreamer's Search for Community": Sacramento Bee reporter Vivian Taylor recounts her 1992 community odyssey. Includes observations about the Celo Community in North Carolina.