Feature: From the first email through the WELL and USENET: a pre-history of social networking

Johnny Ryan’s A History of the Internet and the Digital Future has just been released and is already drawing rave reviews. Ars Technica is proud to present three chapters from the book, condensed and adapted for our readers.

This third installment is adapted from Chapter 6, “Communities based on interest, not proximity,” and it traces the development of online communities from the first email lists through the WELL and later developments.

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