text: Craigslist Craigslist founder Craig Newmark joined the WELL shortly after moving to San Francisco in 1993, and was inspired by members’ discussions about internet community, as well as by examples of members offering other members time and professional help without compensation. In 1995, he started sending out an email list of events and job opportunities to friends. Even after this list expanded to a public LISTSERV and incorporated as a for-profit, Newmark said he viewed it as a community trust and emphasized, "The purpose of the Internet is to connect people to make our lives better."
  Salon
  Salon.com was founded in the wake of the San Francisco newspaper strike of 1994 by a group of journalists that included WELL members. "The Well [sic] is where a lot of us got our first experience online," Salon co-founder Scott Rosenberg wrote. "In Salon's formative days in 1995 we actually used a private conference [on the WELL] to plan our launch." Salon hired WELL management team member Cliff Figallo in 1998 and WELL conference host Mary Elizabeth Williams to direct its online community, Table Talk. After Salon purchased the WELL in 1999, WELL community manager Gail Ann Williams (no relation) became a Salon employee.