2
50
121
-
https://www.queerdigital.com/files/original/cbc0ed9cf9dd0d4ccef4cadedbe369f3.png
7a09d0b5c06cece8f997663a0be3edc5
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Queer Digital Community Catalog
Language
A language of the resource
English
Description
An account of the resource
<p dir="ltr"><span>This catalog collects basic information and resources on LGBTQ-related online communities prior to 2010, particularly those from the so-called Web 1.0 period. Each catalog entry includes information on the group’s format, its approximate dates of activity, its audience and topical focus, and links to other materials discussing the group, such as editorial columns, personal essays, or archival materials.</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>One of the driving impulses for the creation of this catalog was to offer a starting place for research into early LGBTQ life online. In early web research, simply knowing the name of a place or person could, in some cases, be key to one's success. Beyond just its research utility, however, this catalog is also meant to preserve the memory, if not the content, of communities and groups whose names might otherwise be lost or forgotten.<br /></span></p>
<h2>Why a Catalog?</h2>
<p dir="ltr">The QDHP has chosen to focus on a catalog, as opposed to an archive, for several reasons. Firstly, at its most basic level, an archive is focused on primary material—in this case, the content of posts. However, archiving for most online groups from the mid-1980s up to the late 1990s is often incomplete at best, so in many cases, there’s limited to no archival material available. Instead, what exists in many cases is secondary material, writing describing or reflecting on posters’ experiences with and in these spaces. The catalog, ideally, links these disparate materials together in order to give a slightly fuller picture of the online landscape at any given time.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Secondly, posters in early LGBTQ groups often wrote (sometimes in detail) about close and personal issues in their lives under the assumption that their posts would remain private within the group. Given this, the catalog has been designed to respect posters’ initial expectation of privacy. Linked content has all been previously published in other venues, and any other detailed personal reflections submitted by users specifically for the catalog have been made public with their consent.</p>
<h2>What Qualifies A Community For Inclusion?</h2>
<p dir="ltr"><span>There are no specific criteria determining inclusion in the QDCC. However, many of the communitites currently listed in the catalog have multiple references in contemporaneous periodicals, newsletters, web guides, or other LGBTQ-related informational websites. These sources are key for establishing not only the existence of a space, but its particular attributes.</span></p>
<h2 dir="ltr"><strong>On Audience Labels</strong></h2>
<p dir="ltr">All of the communities cataloged include descriptive metadata culled from various sources, including contemporaneous listings in print publications and online reference guides. However, the terminology used in archival sources does not always match current preferred terms. <a href="http://notchesblog.com/2017/11/28/troubling-terms-the-label-problem-in-transgender-history/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">As has been discussed elsewhere</a>, retroactively applying labels with which individuals or spaces might not have identified is a politically fraught act. The QDHP's metadata practices, then, follow a policy similar to that of the <a href="https://www.digitaltransgenderarchive.net/about/policies" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Digital Transgender Archive</a>: whenever possible, we use terminology included in contemporaneous decriptions. If terminology is not used or a detailed description is not available, we categorize using terminology derived from the archival reference.</p>
<h2>Adding Communities to the Catalog</h2>
<p>This catalog is by no means complete, and the QDHP is always looking for new groups to add, if additional information is available. Please feel free to suggest a community for inclusion using <a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe9oGcXtpUNGXXhEBIYdZlb40HTj3EDzG_fk4xltxxcCck6AQ/viewform?usp=sf_link" target="_blank" rel="noopener">this form</a>, or email Curator Avery Dame-Griff directly at <a href="mailto:admin@queerdigital.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">admin@queerdigital.com</a>.</p>
BBS
A computer server running software that allows users to connect remotely via modem. to the system using a terminal or a terminal emulator. Sometimes also called a computer bulletin board service (CBBS).
Exterior References
Attached ad from <a href="https://archive.org/details/BAR_19951130/page/n53" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nov 30, 1995 issue of the </a><em><a href="https://archive.org/details/BAR_19951130/page/n53" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bay Area Reporter</a>.</em><br />
<ul>
<li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/19961019162416/http://bytenet.com/online/index.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Archived copy of telnet gateway, bytenet.com</a> (archived Oct 19, 1996)</li>
</ul>
Area Code
Area Code of BBS
415
City and State/Province
San Francisco, CA
Abbreviations/Alias
Any other names used to refer to this forum
Love Bytes
Baud Rate
9600
Intended Audience
The forum's intended audience
Gay people
Primary Language
Primary language used by participants
American English
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Love Bytes
bbs
gay people
-
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Queer Digital Community Catalog
Language
A language of the resource
English
Description
An account of the resource
<p dir="ltr"><span>This catalog collects basic information and resources on LGBTQ-related online communities prior to 2010, particularly those from the so-called Web 1.0 period. Each catalog entry includes information on the group’s format, its approximate dates of activity, its audience and topical focus, and links to other materials discussing the group, such as editorial columns, personal essays, or archival materials.</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>One of the driving impulses for the creation of this catalog was to offer a starting place for research into early LGBTQ life online. In early web research, simply knowing the name of a place or person could, in some cases, be key to one's success. Beyond just its research utility, however, this catalog is also meant to preserve the memory, if not the content, of communities and groups whose names might otherwise be lost or forgotten.<br /></span></p>
<h2>Why a Catalog?</h2>
<p dir="ltr">The QDHP has chosen to focus on a catalog, as opposed to an archive, for several reasons. Firstly, at its most basic level, an archive is focused on primary material—in this case, the content of posts. However, archiving for most online groups from the mid-1980s up to the late 1990s is often incomplete at best, so in many cases, there’s limited to no archival material available. Instead, what exists in many cases is secondary material, writing describing or reflecting on posters’ experiences with and in these spaces. The catalog, ideally, links these disparate materials together in order to give a slightly fuller picture of the online landscape at any given time.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Secondly, posters in early LGBTQ groups often wrote (sometimes in detail) about close and personal issues in their lives under the assumption that their posts would remain private within the group. Given this, the catalog has been designed to respect posters’ initial expectation of privacy. Linked content has all been previously published in other venues, and any other detailed personal reflections submitted by users specifically for the catalog have been made public with their consent.</p>
<h2>What Qualifies A Community For Inclusion?</h2>
<p dir="ltr"><span>There are no specific criteria determining inclusion in the QDCC. However, many of the communitites currently listed in the catalog have multiple references in contemporaneous periodicals, newsletters, web guides, or other LGBTQ-related informational websites. These sources are key for establishing not only the existence of a space, but its particular attributes.</span></p>
<h2 dir="ltr"><strong>On Audience Labels</strong></h2>
<p dir="ltr">All of the communities cataloged include descriptive metadata culled from various sources, including contemporaneous listings in print publications and online reference guides. However, the terminology used in archival sources does not always match current preferred terms. <a href="http://notchesblog.com/2017/11/28/troubling-terms-the-label-problem-in-transgender-history/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">As has been discussed elsewhere</a>, retroactively applying labels with which individuals or spaces might not have identified is a politically fraught act. The QDHP's metadata practices, then, follow a policy similar to that of the <a href="https://www.digitaltransgenderarchive.net/about/policies" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Digital Transgender Archive</a>: whenever possible, we use terminology included in contemporaneous decriptions. If terminology is not used or a detailed description is not available, we categorize using terminology derived from the archival reference.</p>
<h2>Adding Communities to the Catalog</h2>
<p>This catalog is by no means complete, and the QDHP is always looking for new groups to add, if additional information is available. Please feel free to suggest a community for inclusion using <a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe9oGcXtpUNGXXhEBIYdZlb40HTj3EDzG_fk4xltxxcCck6AQ/viewform?usp=sf_link" target="_blank" rel="noopener">this form</a>, or email Curator Avery Dame-Griff directly at <a href="mailto:admin@queerdigital.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">admin@queerdigital.com</a>.</p>
BBS
A computer server running software that allows users to connect remotely via modem. to the system using a terminal or a terminal emulator. Sometimes also called a computer bulletin board service (CBBS).
Exterior References
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.gaycalgary.com/Magazine.aspx?id=158&article=5509" target="_blank" rel="noopener">"Men For Men BBS – What Gay Geeks did in the early ’90s"</a> - Column by sysop Steve Polyak on the history of Men For Men</li>
<li><a href="http://www.gaycalgary.com/Magazine.aspx?id=156&article=5420" target="_blank" rel="noopener">"25th Anniversary of Men For Men/GayCalgary"</a> - Column by sysop Steve Polyak on the changes with Men for Men and GayCalgary </li>
</ul>
Name
Name of Forum
Men for Men BBS
Area Code
Area Code of BBS
403
City and State/Province
Calgary, Alberta
Year Founded (approximate)
1992
Last Year Active (approximate)
2006
Network/Platform
Networks or Platforms the forum participated in
FidoNet
Intended Audience
The forum's intended audience
Gay men, bisexual men
Primary Language
Primary language used by participants
Canadian English
Abbreviations/Alias
Any other names used to refer to this forum
MFM BBS
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Men for Men BBS
bbs
bisexual people
gay people
-
https://www.queerdigital.com/files/original/c37e4d97183ebba2e8d4259e23aa3c54.png
9ebf6205d3adbf7ce20da1a02c52b06e
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Queer Digital Community Catalog
Language
A language of the resource
English
Description
An account of the resource
<p dir="ltr"><span>This catalog collects basic information and resources on LGBTQ-related online communities prior to 2010, particularly those from the so-called Web 1.0 period. Each catalog entry includes information on the group’s format, its approximate dates of activity, its audience and topical focus, and links to other materials discussing the group, such as editorial columns, personal essays, or archival materials.</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>One of the driving impulses for the creation of this catalog was to offer a starting place for research into early LGBTQ life online. In early web research, simply knowing the name of a place or person could, in some cases, be key to one's success. Beyond just its research utility, however, this catalog is also meant to preserve the memory, if not the content, of communities and groups whose names might otherwise be lost or forgotten.<br /></span></p>
<h2>Why a Catalog?</h2>
<p dir="ltr">The QDHP has chosen to focus on a catalog, as opposed to an archive, for several reasons. Firstly, at its most basic level, an archive is focused on primary material—in this case, the content of posts. However, archiving for most online groups from the mid-1980s up to the late 1990s is often incomplete at best, so in many cases, there’s limited to no archival material available. Instead, what exists in many cases is secondary material, writing describing or reflecting on posters’ experiences with and in these spaces. The catalog, ideally, links these disparate materials together in order to give a slightly fuller picture of the online landscape at any given time.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Secondly, posters in early LGBTQ groups often wrote (sometimes in detail) about close and personal issues in their lives under the assumption that their posts would remain private within the group. Given this, the catalog has been designed to respect posters’ initial expectation of privacy. Linked content has all been previously published in other venues, and any other detailed personal reflections submitted by users specifically for the catalog have been made public with their consent.</p>
<h2>What Qualifies A Community For Inclusion?</h2>
<p dir="ltr"><span>There are no specific criteria determining inclusion in the QDCC. However, many of the communitites currently listed in the catalog have multiple references in contemporaneous periodicals, newsletters, web guides, or other LGBTQ-related informational websites. These sources are key for establishing not only the existence of a space, but its particular attributes.</span></p>
<h2 dir="ltr"><strong>On Audience Labels</strong></h2>
<p dir="ltr">All of the communities cataloged include descriptive metadata culled from various sources, including contemporaneous listings in print publications and online reference guides. However, the terminology used in archival sources does not always match current preferred terms. <a href="http://notchesblog.com/2017/11/28/troubling-terms-the-label-problem-in-transgender-history/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">As has been discussed elsewhere</a>, retroactively applying labels with which individuals or spaces might not have identified is a politically fraught act. The QDHP's metadata practices, then, follow a policy similar to that of the <a href="https://www.digitaltransgenderarchive.net/about/policies" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Digital Transgender Archive</a>: whenever possible, we use terminology included in contemporaneous decriptions. If terminology is not used or a detailed description is not available, we categorize using terminology derived from the archival reference.</p>
<h2>Adding Communities to the Catalog</h2>
<p>This catalog is by no means complete, and the QDHP is always looking for new groups to add, if additional information is available. Please feel free to suggest a community for inclusion using <a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe9oGcXtpUNGXXhEBIYdZlb40HTj3EDzG_fk4xltxxcCck6AQ/viewform?usp=sf_link" target="_blank" rel="noopener">this form</a>, or email Curator Avery Dame-Griff directly at <a href="mailto:admin@queerdigital.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">admin@queerdigital.com</a>.</p>
BBS
A computer server running software that allows users to connect remotely via modem. to the system using a terminal or a terminal emulator. Sometimes also called a computer bulletin board service (CBBS).
Exterior References
BBS Advertisement retrieved from <a href="http://artifacts.textfiles.com/206/206-783-7979/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">textfiles.com</a>.<br />
<ul>
<li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/19980202184326/http://www.serv.net/~wakawaka" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Waka Waka BBS homepage</a> (initally archived Feb 2, 1998)</li>
<li><a href="https://archive.org/details/factsheet_five_43/page/n61/mode/2up" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Reviewed in <em>Factsheet Five</em> #43</a> (1991)</li>
<li><a href="http://ledmuseum.net/sixth/memorial.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Memorial Site for Paul Casey, Waka Waka sysop (includes BBS screenshots)</a></li>
<li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210802000340/https://slbbs.com/files/graphics.html#" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Archived copy of a site hosting several ads for Waka Waka BBS</a></li>
</ul>
<p>Animated advertisements for Waka Waka BBS, sourced from <a href="https://www.slbbs.com/files/graphics.html">Searchlight BBS Support</a> and emulated in DOSBox:</p>
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/rr7vGvtcuXM" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe><br /><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/jzAmM0SxN70" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
Name
Name of Forum
Waka Waka BBS; Paul's Waka Waka BBS
Area Code
Area Code of BBS
206 Area Code
City and State/Province
Seattle, WA
Year Founded (approximate)
1989
Last Year Active (approximate)
2006
Baud Rate
33.6k baud line; offered telnet access
Intended Audience
The forum's intended audience
gay people; specifically branded for "chubbies and chasers"
Primary Language
Primary language used by participants
American English
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Waka Waka BBS
bbs
gay people
-
https://www.queerdigital.com/files/original/3ba5c9e2ba6bb0558293744c5d54c3ae.jpeg
7b29f86c045f50e2ed8baacef4c79798
https://www.queerdigital.com/files/original/5efed384a2d343c7f13b0dd91c330d39.jpg
cc2131cba9a309f59c887768bb86804b
https://www.queerdigital.com/files/original/4a2dda6ce9468bf8b441cbe890fe8492.jpg
d1e8a914595c7faf35c21de89d2e8fde
https://www.queerdigital.com/files/original/d571d57a7b2b268b86ade55929cb54da.jpg
5e20d728e422a627287c50fa2af9143f
https://www.queerdigital.com/files/original/cc528fa1f2f5f4f31678aaf825183a86.pdf
7123de8eb533c62c07275ae0a8567307
https://www.queerdigital.com/files/original/0a992094dba4c846916884e6a8d7515d.jpg
8fe13e199a975060de238ec292286060
https://www.queerdigital.com/files/original/a201fc329d8c4617baf286229a6789a7.jpg
250efe9d6dade55b696bbb7bdbbe6c66
https://www.queerdigital.com/files/original/2f93010ab9ccd357da5f599947af3295.jpg
82f57a14f0d469322acd3f097933dc2f
https://www.queerdigital.com/files/original/85e98cc625994bd4e61ee97295722644.jpg
3cdf45de066b1cc6e147bc49682f79d0
https://www.queerdigital.com/files/original/676f474549af0bdc2b66914ba2329228.jpg
cb8b78c79270af8005c8552bcf7e4f7e
https://www.queerdigital.com/files/original/67872b8b4c44c8615e07c4b8f1a124f1.jpg
226f928e86d2626bcc513e98c88fc792
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Queer Digital Community Catalog
Language
A language of the resource
English
Description
An account of the resource
<p dir="ltr"><span>This catalog collects basic information and resources on LGBTQ-related online communities prior to 2010, particularly those from the so-called Web 1.0 period. Each catalog entry includes information on the group’s format, its approximate dates of activity, its audience and topical focus, and links to other materials discussing the group, such as editorial columns, personal essays, or archival materials.</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>One of the driving impulses for the creation of this catalog was to offer a starting place for research into early LGBTQ life online. In early web research, simply knowing the name of a place or person could, in some cases, be key to one's success. Beyond just its research utility, however, this catalog is also meant to preserve the memory, if not the content, of communities and groups whose names might otherwise be lost or forgotten.<br /></span></p>
<h2>Why a Catalog?</h2>
<p dir="ltr">The QDHP has chosen to focus on a catalog, as opposed to an archive, for several reasons. Firstly, at its most basic level, an archive is focused on primary material—in this case, the content of posts. However, archiving for most online groups from the mid-1980s up to the late 1990s is often incomplete at best, so in many cases, there’s limited to no archival material available. Instead, what exists in many cases is secondary material, writing describing or reflecting on posters’ experiences with and in these spaces. The catalog, ideally, links these disparate materials together in order to give a slightly fuller picture of the online landscape at any given time.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Secondly, posters in early LGBTQ groups often wrote (sometimes in detail) about close and personal issues in their lives under the assumption that their posts would remain private within the group. Given this, the catalog has been designed to respect posters’ initial expectation of privacy. Linked content has all been previously published in other venues, and any other detailed personal reflections submitted by users specifically for the catalog have been made public with their consent.</p>
<h2>What Qualifies A Community For Inclusion?</h2>
<p dir="ltr"><span>There are no specific criteria determining inclusion in the QDCC. However, many of the communitites currently listed in the catalog have multiple references in contemporaneous periodicals, newsletters, web guides, or other LGBTQ-related informational websites. These sources are key for establishing not only the existence of a space, but its particular attributes.</span></p>
<h2 dir="ltr"><strong>On Audience Labels</strong></h2>
<p dir="ltr">All of the communities cataloged include descriptive metadata culled from various sources, including contemporaneous listings in print publications and online reference guides. However, the terminology used in archival sources does not always match current preferred terms. <a href="http://notchesblog.com/2017/11/28/troubling-terms-the-label-problem-in-transgender-history/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">As has been discussed elsewhere</a>, retroactively applying labels with which individuals or spaces might not have identified is a politically fraught act. The QDHP's metadata practices, then, follow a policy similar to that of the <a href="https://www.digitaltransgenderarchive.net/about/policies" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Digital Transgender Archive</a>: whenever possible, we use terminology included in contemporaneous decriptions. If terminology is not used or a detailed description is not available, we categorize using terminology derived from the archival reference.</p>
<h2>Adding Communities to the Catalog</h2>
<p>This catalog is by no means complete, and the QDHP is always looking for new groups to add, if additional information is available. Please feel free to suggest a community for inclusion using <a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe9oGcXtpUNGXXhEBIYdZlb40HTj3EDzG_fk4xltxxcCck6AQ/viewform?usp=sf_link" target="_blank" rel="noopener">this form</a>, or email Curator Avery Dame-Griff directly at <a href="mailto:admin@queerdigital.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">admin@queerdigital.com</a>.</p>
BBS
A computer server running software that allows users to connect remotely via modem. to the system using a terminal or a terminal emulator. Sometimes also called a computer bulletin board service (CBBS).
Name
Name of Forum
Multicom-4
Area Code
Area Code of BBS
716 Area Code
City and State/Province
Rochester, NY
Abbreviations/Alias
Any other names used to refer to this forum
MC4
Year Founded (approximate)
1979
Last Year Active (approximate)
1999
Intended Audience
The forum's intended audience
gay people; lesbian people; bisexual people
Primary Language
Primary language used by participants
American English
Exterior References
Attached images courtsey of board sysop.<br /><br /><strong>Location of Public Terminals:</strong><br />
<ul>
<li>Bachelor Forum, Rochester NY</li>
<li>Rochester Spa & Body Club, Rochester NY</li>
<li>Rochester Custom Leathers, Rochester NY</li>
<li>Muther’s Bar, Rochester NY</li>
<li>Buddie’s Bar, Buffalo NY</li>
</ul>
<strong><strong>Attached Images (donated by board sysop Chaz Antonelli):<br /></strong></strong>
<ul>
<li>Business card for CACTUS-800, Multicom's predecessor (1979)</li>
<li>Advertisment for Multicom-3, ran in <em><a href="https://www.rochestercitynewspaper.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Rochester City Newspaper</a>, </em>Rochester, NY (1988)</li>
<li>Advertisement for Rochester Custom Leathers and Multicom-4, one of several that ran in <a href="https://outalliance.org/empty-closet/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>The Empty Closet</em></a>, Rochester, NY (September 1989 to January 1999)</li>
<li>Informational Brochure on Multicom-4 (1993)</li>
<li>Logon screens for Multicom-4 (1996-1997)</li>
<li>Web logo for Multicom-4</li>
</ul>
<strong>External Links:</strong><br />
<ul>
<li><a href="https://mc4bbs.livejournal.com/246094.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">History of Multicom-4</a>, as recounted by sysop</li>
<li><a href="http://www.lib.rochester.edu/IN/RBSCP/Databases/Attachments/Closet/1991/1991_MAY.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Article on Multicom-4, <em>The Empty Closet</em> (Rochester, NY), May 1991 (p.17)</a></li>
<li>Ranked #26 in 1992 edition of the <a href="ftp://ftp.altexxanet.org/textfiles.com/inbox/FOC/bw100.txt">Boardwatch 100</a></li>
<li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/19961111160108/http://www.multicom.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Multicom website</a> (initally archived Nov 11, 1996)</li>
<li><a href="https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Multicom4/info" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Yahoo! Group for former users (Restricted Group)</a>
<ul>
<li>Former member meetup also held in Rochester, NY through 2000s</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Multicom-4
bbs
bisexual people
gay people
lesbian people
-
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Queer Digital Community Catalog
Language
A language of the resource
English
Description
An account of the resource
<p dir="ltr"><span>This catalog collects basic information and resources on LGBTQ-related online communities prior to 2010, particularly those from the so-called Web 1.0 period. Each catalog entry includes information on the group’s format, its approximate dates of activity, its audience and topical focus, and links to other materials discussing the group, such as editorial columns, personal essays, or archival materials.</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>One of the driving impulses for the creation of this catalog was to offer a starting place for research into early LGBTQ life online. In early web research, simply knowing the name of a place or person could, in some cases, be key to one's success. Beyond just its research utility, however, this catalog is also meant to preserve the memory, if not the content, of communities and groups whose names might otherwise be lost or forgotten.<br /></span></p>
<h2>Why a Catalog?</h2>
<p dir="ltr">The QDHP has chosen to focus on a catalog, as opposed to an archive, for several reasons. Firstly, at its most basic level, an archive is focused on primary material—in this case, the content of posts. However, archiving for most online groups from the mid-1980s up to the late 1990s is often incomplete at best, so in many cases, there’s limited to no archival material available. Instead, what exists in many cases is secondary material, writing describing or reflecting on posters’ experiences with and in these spaces. The catalog, ideally, links these disparate materials together in order to give a slightly fuller picture of the online landscape at any given time.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Secondly, posters in early LGBTQ groups often wrote (sometimes in detail) about close and personal issues in their lives under the assumption that their posts would remain private within the group. Given this, the catalog has been designed to respect posters’ initial expectation of privacy. Linked content has all been previously published in other venues, and any other detailed personal reflections submitted by users specifically for the catalog have been made public with their consent.</p>
<h2>What Qualifies A Community For Inclusion?</h2>
<p dir="ltr"><span>There are no specific criteria determining inclusion in the QDCC. However, many of the communitites currently listed in the catalog have multiple references in contemporaneous periodicals, newsletters, web guides, or other LGBTQ-related informational websites. These sources are key for establishing not only the existence of a space, but its particular attributes.</span></p>
<h2 dir="ltr"><strong>On Audience Labels</strong></h2>
<p dir="ltr">All of the communities cataloged include descriptive metadata culled from various sources, including contemporaneous listings in print publications and online reference guides. However, the terminology used in archival sources does not always match current preferred terms. <a href="http://notchesblog.com/2017/11/28/troubling-terms-the-label-problem-in-transgender-history/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">As has been discussed elsewhere</a>, retroactively applying labels with which individuals or spaces might not have identified is a politically fraught act. The QDHP's metadata practices, then, follow a policy similar to that of the <a href="https://www.digitaltransgenderarchive.net/about/policies" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Digital Transgender Archive</a>: whenever possible, we use terminology included in contemporaneous decriptions. If terminology is not used or a detailed description is not available, we categorize using terminology derived from the archival reference.</p>
<h2>Adding Communities to the Catalog</h2>
<p>This catalog is by no means complete, and the QDHP is always looking for new groups to add, if additional information is available. Please feel free to suggest a community for inclusion using <a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe9oGcXtpUNGXXhEBIYdZlb40HTj3EDzG_fk4xltxxcCck6AQ/viewform?usp=sf_link" target="_blank" rel="noopener">this form</a>, or email Curator Avery Dame-Griff directly at <a href="mailto:admin@queerdigital.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">admin@queerdigital.com</a>.</p>
Mailing List
E-mail Mailing Lists
Exterior References
<ul>
<li>Archived copy of <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/19981203034919/https://www.apocalypse.org/sappho/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">mailing list home page</a> (First archived December 3, 1999).
<ul>
<li>NOTE: Page text can be accessed by looking at the Page Source.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/19980129143113/http://www.sappho.org/pub/sappho/history.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">History of the SAPPHO mailing list</a> (Archived January 29, 1998)
<ul>
<li>NOTE: Full page text can be accessed by looking at the Page Source.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Mentioned in <a href="http://xahlee.org/p/computer_porno.txt" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Abernathy, Joe. "Computer porno: a keystroke away." <em>Houston Chronicle</em></a> (June 10, 1990).</li>
<li>Discussed in Eva Isaksson's essay "<a href="http://www.sappho.net/lesbian-lists/lll.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Living with </a><br /><a href="http://www.sappho.net/lesbian-lists/lll.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lesbian lists</a>."</li>
<li>Discussed in Kira Hall's chapter in the 1996 book <em>Computer-Mediated Communication: Linguistic, Social, and Cross-Cultural Perspectives, </em>"<a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/270105508_Cyberfeminism" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Cyberfeminism</a>."</li>
</ul>
Intended Audience
The forum's intended audience
Lesbian people; Queer women; Transsexual Women
Years Active
Approximate years group was active online
Mid 1980s to Unknown
Primary Language
Primary language used by participants
American English
Year Founded (approximate)
1987
Last Year Active (approximate)
2018
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
SAPPHO mailing list
lesbian people
mailing list
queer women
transgender women
-
https://www.queerdigital.com/files/original/ef914b5c945fd4acb412ba3925bd6776.png
8839c3f5a211d8ee770e11d32f2101e1
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Queer Digital Community Catalog
Language
A language of the resource
English
Description
An account of the resource
<p dir="ltr"><span>This catalog collects basic information and resources on LGBTQ-related online communities prior to 2010, particularly those from the so-called Web 1.0 period. Each catalog entry includes information on the group’s format, its approximate dates of activity, its audience and topical focus, and links to other materials discussing the group, such as editorial columns, personal essays, or archival materials.</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>One of the driving impulses for the creation of this catalog was to offer a starting place for research into early LGBTQ life online. In early web research, simply knowing the name of a place or person could, in some cases, be key to one's success. Beyond just its research utility, however, this catalog is also meant to preserve the memory, if not the content, of communities and groups whose names might otherwise be lost or forgotten.<br /></span></p>
<h2>Why a Catalog?</h2>
<p dir="ltr">The QDHP has chosen to focus on a catalog, as opposed to an archive, for several reasons. Firstly, at its most basic level, an archive is focused on primary material—in this case, the content of posts. However, archiving for most online groups from the mid-1980s up to the late 1990s is often incomplete at best, so in many cases, there’s limited to no archival material available. Instead, what exists in many cases is secondary material, writing describing or reflecting on posters’ experiences with and in these spaces. The catalog, ideally, links these disparate materials together in order to give a slightly fuller picture of the online landscape at any given time.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Secondly, posters in early LGBTQ groups often wrote (sometimes in detail) about close and personal issues in their lives under the assumption that their posts would remain private within the group. Given this, the catalog has been designed to respect posters’ initial expectation of privacy. Linked content has all been previously published in other venues, and any other detailed personal reflections submitted by users specifically for the catalog have been made public with their consent.</p>
<h2>What Qualifies A Community For Inclusion?</h2>
<p dir="ltr"><span>There are no specific criteria determining inclusion in the QDCC. However, many of the communitites currently listed in the catalog have multiple references in contemporaneous periodicals, newsletters, web guides, or other LGBTQ-related informational websites. These sources are key for establishing not only the existence of a space, but its particular attributes.</span></p>
<h2 dir="ltr"><strong>On Audience Labels</strong></h2>
<p dir="ltr">All of the communities cataloged include descriptive metadata culled from various sources, including contemporaneous listings in print publications and online reference guides. However, the terminology used in archival sources does not always match current preferred terms. <a href="http://notchesblog.com/2017/11/28/troubling-terms-the-label-problem-in-transgender-history/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">As has been discussed elsewhere</a>, retroactively applying labels with which individuals or spaces might not have identified is a politically fraught act. The QDHP's metadata practices, then, follow a policy similar to that of the <a href="https://www.digitaltransgenderarchive.net/about/policies" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Digital Transgender Archive</a>: whenever possible, we use terminology included in contemporaneous decriptions. If terminology is not used or a detailed description is not available, we categorize using terminology derived from the archival reference.</p>
<h2>Adding Communities to the Catalog</h2>
<p>This catalog is by no means complete, and the QDHP is always looking for new groups to add, if additional information is available. Please feel free to suggest a community for inclusion using <a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe9oGcXtpUNGXXhEBIYdZlb40HTj3EDzG_fk4xltxxcCck6AQ/viewform?usp=sf_link" target="_blank" rel="noopener">this form</a>, or email Curator Avery Dame-Griff directly at <a href="mailto:admin@queerdigital.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">admin@queerdigital.com</a>.</p>
BBS
A computer server running software that allows users to connect remotely via modem. to the system using a terminal or a terminal emulator. Sometimes also called a computer bulletin board service (CBBS).
Area Code
Area Code of BBS
212 or 516
City and State/Province
Long Island, NY
Baud Rate
28.8 K
Intended Audience
The forum's intended audience
Gay people
Primary Language
Primary language used by participants
American English
Exterior References
Attached advertisement from <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=NGNpFuAXu70C&pg=PA351&lpg=PA351&dq=%22male+forum%22+bbs&source=bl&ots=KJxJaFzvGv&sig=mt6iLi0kbTMahlbRKik7xBBjGao&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwichoe01NnbAhUmwlkKHauoBDEQ6AEINzAC#v=onepage&q&f=false"><em>PC Magazine</em> (May 14, 1996)</a>.<br />
<ul>
<li>Listing included in <em><a href="https://archive.org/stream/internetbbss00rich#page/n241/mode/2up/search/Male+Forum">Internet BBSs: A Guided Tour</a></em>.</li>
</ul>
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Male Forum
bbs
gay people
The Male Forum
-
https://www.queerdigital.com/files/original/dd572a6a57c4e29f10cc0a6859a23293.png
0ed69f1ed65b57cee212791e9bb84001
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Queer Digital Community Catalog
Language
A language of the resource
English
Description
An account of the resource
<p dir="ltr"><span>This catalog collects basic information and resources on LGBTQ-related online communities prior to 2010, particularly those from the so-called Web 1.0 period. Each catalog entry includes information on the group’s format, its approximate dates of activity, its audience and topical focus, and links to other materials discussing the group, such as editorial columns, personal essays, or archival materials.</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>One of the driving impulses for the creation of this catalog was to offer a starting place for research into early LGBTQ life online. In early web research, simply knowing the name of a place or person could, in some cases, be key to one's success. Beyond just its research utility, however, this catalog is also meant to preserve the memory, if not the content, of communities and groups whose names might otherwise be lost or forgotten.<br /></span></p>
<h2>Why a Catalog?</h2>
<p dir="ltr">The QDHP has chosen to focus on a catalog, as opposed to an archive, for several reasons. Firstly, at its most basic level, an archive is focused on primary material—in this case, the content of posts. However, archiving for most online groups from the mid-1980s up to the late 1990s is often incomplete at best, so in many cases, there’s limited to no archival material available. Instead, what exists in many cases is secondary material, writing describing or reflecting on posters’ experiences with and in these spaces. The catalog, ideally, links these disparate materials together in order to give a slightly fuller picture of the online landscape at any given time.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Secondly, posters in early LGBTQ groups often wrote (sometimes in detail) about close and personal issues in their lives under the assumption that their posts would remain private within the group. Given this, the catalog has been designed to respect posters’ initial expectation of privacy. Linked content has all been previously published in other venues, and any other detailed personal reflections submitted by users specifically for the catalog have been made public with their consent.</p>
<h2>What Qualifies A Community For Inclusion?</h2>
<p dir="ltr"><span>There are no specific criteria determining inclusion in the QDCC. However, many of the communitites currently listed in the catalog have multiple references in contemporaneous periodicals, newsletters, web guides, or other LGBTQ-related informational websites. These sources are key for establishing not only the existence of a space, but its particular attributes.</span></p>
<h2 dir="ltr"><strong>On Audience Labels</strong></h2>
<p dir="ltr">All of the communities cataloged include descriptive metadata culled from various sources, including contemporaneous listings in print publications and online reference guides. However, the terminology used in archival sources does not always match current preferred terms. <a href="http://notchesblog.com/2017/11/28/troubling-terms-the-label-problem-in-transgender-history/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">As has been discussed elsewhere</a>, retroactively applying labels with which individuals or spaces might not have identified is a politically fraught act. The QDHP's metadata practices, then, follow a policy similar to that of the <a href="https://www.digitaltransgenderarchive.net/about/policies" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Digital Transgender Archive</a>: whenever possible, we use terminology included in contemporaneous decriptions. If terminology is not used or a detailed description is not available, we categorize using terminology derived from the archival reference.</p>
<h2>Adding Communities to the Catalog</h2>
<p>This catalog is by no means complete, and the QDHP is always looking for new groups to add, if additional information is available. Please feel free to suggest a community for inclusion using <a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe9oGcXtpUNGXXhEBIYdZlb40HTj3EDzG_fk4xltxxcCck6AQ/viewform?usp=sf_link" target="_blank" rel="noopener">this form</a>, or email Curator Avery Dame-Griff directly at <a href="mailto:admin@queerdigital.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">admin@queerdigital.com</a>.</p>
BBS
A computer server running software that allows users to connect remotely via modem. to the system using a terminal or a terminal emulator. Sometimes also called a computer bulletin board service (CBBS).
Area Code
Area Code of BBS
514
City and State/Province
Montreal, QC
Year Founded (approximate)
1990
Last Year Active (approximate)
2001
Network/Platform
Networks or Platforms the forum participated in
GayCom, StudsNet, AEGIS
Intended Audience
The forum's intended audience
Gay Men, Lesbians
Primary Language
Primary language used by participants
Québécois French and Canadian English
Exterior References
Attached advertisement from <a href="https://archive.org/details/quebec-micro-no.-01/page/n23/mode/2up" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Québec Micro No. 01</a> (Nov 1995)<br />
<ul>
<li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/19961105024740/http://www.gai.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Archived version of S-TEK website</a>, archived November 5, 1996</li>
<li>Possibly involved in compiling/hosting <a href="https://queerdigital.com/items/show/49" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the Gay & Lesbian BBS List</a></li>
</ul>
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
S-TEK
AEGIS Network
bbs
gay people
GayCom
lesbian people
S-TEK
STUDSNet
-
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Queer Digital Community Catalog
Language
A language of the resource
English
Description
An account of the resource
<p dir="ltr"><span>This catalog collects basic information and resources on LGBTQ-related online communities prior to 2010, particularly those from the so-called Web 1.0 period. Each catalog entry includes information on the group’s format, its approximate dates of activity, its audience and topical focus, and links to other materials discussing the group, such as editorial columns, personal essays, or archival materials.</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>One of the driving impulses for the creation of this catalog was to offer a starting place for research into early LGBTQ life online. In early web research, simply knowing the name of a place or person could, in some cases, be key to one's success. Beyond just its research utility, however, this catalog is also meant to preserve the memory, if not the content, of communities and groups whose names might otherwise be lost or forgotten.<br /></span></p>
<h2>Why a Catalog?</h2>
<p dir="ltr">The QDHP has chosen to focus on a catalog, as opposed to an archive, for several reasons. Firstly, at its most basic level, an archive is focused on primary material—in this case, the content of posts. However, archiving for most online groups from the mid-1980s up to the late 1990s is often incomplete at best, so in many cases, there’s limited to no archival material available. Instead, what exists in many cases is secondary material, writing describing or reflecting on posters’ experiences with and in these spaces. The catalog, ideally, links these disparate materials together in order to give a slightly fuller picture of the online landscape at any given time.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Secondly, posters in early LGBTQ groups often wrote (sometimes in detail) about close and personal issues in their lives under the assumption that their posts would remain private within the group. Given this, the catalog has been designed to respect posters’ initial expectation of privacy. Linked content has all been previously published in other venues, and any other detailed personal reflections submitted by users specifically for the catalog have been made public with their consent.</p>
<h2>What Qualifies A Community For Inclusion?</h2>
<p dir="ltr"><span>There are no specific criteria determining inclusion in the QDCC. However, many of the communitites currently listed in the catalog have multiple references in contemporaneous periodicals, newsletters, web guides, or other LGBTQ-related informational websites. These sources are key for establishing not only the existence of a space, but its particular attributes.</span></p>
<h2 dir="ltr"><strong>On Audience Labels</strong></h2>
<p dir="ltr">All of the communities cataloged include descriptive metadata culled from various sources, including contemporaneous listings in print publications and online reference guides. However, the terminology used in archival sources does not always match current preferred terms. <a href="http://notchesblog.com/2017/11/28/troubling-terms-the-label-problem-in-transgender-history/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">As has been discussed elsewhere</a>, retroactively applying labels with which individuals or spaces might not have identified is a politically fraught act. The QDHP's metadata practices, then, follow a policy similar to that of the <a href="https://www.digitaltransgenderarchive.net/about/policies" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Digital Transgender Archive</a>: whenever possible, we use terminology included in contemporaneous decriptions. If terminology is not used or a detailed description is not available, we categorize using terminology derived from the archival reference.</p>
<h2>Adding Communities to the Catalog</h2>
<p>This catalog is by no means complete, and the QDHP is always looking for new groups to add, if additional information is available. Please feel free to suggest a community for inclusion using <a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe9oGcXtpUNGXXhEBIYdZlb40HTj3EDzG_fk4xltxxcCck6AQ/viewform?usp=sf_link" target="_blank" rel="noopener">this form</a>, or email Curator Avery Dame-Griff directly at <a href="mailto:admin@queerdigital.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">admin@queerdigital.com</a>.</p>
Proprietary Forum
Forum on a proprietary platform (AOL, Livejournal, etc.)
Network/Platform
Networks or Platforms the forum participated in
America Online (AOL); hosted by AOL Gay and Lesbian Community Forum (GLCF)
Year Founded (approximate)
1991
Abbreviations/Alias
Any other names used to refer to this forum
Abbreviated as TCF; founded as America Online Gender Group (AOLGG)
Last Year Active (approximate)
Unknown
Platform-specific rules, information, etc.
Platform-specific aspects of the community structure, governance, etc.
<ul>
<li>AOL Keywords:
<ul>
<li>Gender (1992-1996)</li>
<li>TCF (1997-Unknown)</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Housed 2 48-person chat rooms, including The Gazebo</li>
</ul>
Exterior References
<ul>
<li>Short article in <em>TS-TV Tapestry</em> about <a href="https://archive.org/stream/tvtstapestry6819unse#page/78/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the America Online Gender Group</a> (Summer 1994)</li>
<li><a href="http://heartcorps.com/subversive/sub015.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Discussion by group founder of relationship between America Online Gender Group (AOLGG) and Gay and Lesbian Community Forum (GLCF)</a>, <em>The Subversive</em> #15 (Date Unknown)</li>
<li><a href="http://heartcorps.com/subversive/sub032.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Discussion by group founder of process for founding AOLGG</a>, <em>The Subversive</em> #32 (Date Unknown)</li>
<li><a href="http://www.rheingold.com/electricminds/html/vcc_dir_transgender.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Entry for the TCF in the Virtual Community Center</a>, maintained by Howard Rheingold to accompany <em>The Virtual Community</em> (1997)</li>
<li><a href="https://archive.org/stream/mac_The_Official_America_Online_for_Macintosh_Tour_Guide_version_3_1997/The_Official_America_Online_for_Macintosh_Tour_Guide_version_3_1997#page/n339/mode/2up" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Brief discussion of TCF as part of Gay and Lesbian Community Forum</a> in <em>The Official America Online for Macintosh Tour Guide (Version 3)</em> (1997)</li>
<li><a href="http://www.gendertalk.com/radio/programs/150/gt150.shtml" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Interview with TCF Community Host </a><span><a href="http://www.gendertalk.com/radio/programs/150/gt150.shtml" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Gwendolyn Ann Smith</a>, GenderTalk #150 (April 22, 1998)</span></li>
<li><a href="https://www.digitaltransgenderarchive.net/files/2514nk634"><span>Interview with TCF Community Host Gwendolyn Ann Smith</span></a>, <em>Transgender Community News & Views</em>, Vol. 12 No. 10 (October 1998)</li>
<li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/19981202001905/http://members.aol.com/onqgwen">TCF Homepage</a>, maintained by Community Host <span>Gwendolyn Ann Smith (archived Dec 2, 1998)</span></li>
<li><a href="http://www.ebar.com/news///246428/transmissions:_running_the_numbers">Brief discussion of membship and participation numbers in the TCF</a>, "Transmissions: Running the Numbers," <em>Bay Area Reporter</em> (July 6, 2016)</li>
</ul>
Intended Audience
The forum's intended audience
Transgender people; Transsexual people; Crossdressers; Gender Non-conforming people
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Transgender Community Forum
AOL
chat room
crossdressers
forum
gender non-conforming people
transgender people
transsexual people
-
https://www.queerdigital.com/files/original/d22268fefa04493baabc1a385e9e1d7d.png
7575251ddf8cf807a4594da26a61ef24
https://www.queerdigital.com/files/original/b3ab9923a3eb514b64ac493ab4162247.png
331ffa047bc09eadb64c7c4bbe5de910
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Queer Digital Community Catalog
Language
A language of the resource
English
Description
An account of the resource
<p dir="ltr"><span>This catalog collects basic information and resources on LGBTQ-related online communities prior to 2010, particularly those from the so-called Web 1.0 period. Each catalog entry includes information on the group’s format, its approximate dates of activity, its audience and topical focus, and links to other materials discussing the group, such as editorial columns, personal essays, or archival materials.</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>One of the driving impulses for the creation of this catalog was to offer a starting place for research into early LGBTQ life online. In early web research, simply knowing the name of a place or person could, in some cases, be key to one's success. Beyond just its research utility, however, this catalog is also meant to preserve the memory, if not the content, of communities and groups whose names might otherwise be lost or forgotten.<br /></span></p>
<h2>Why a Catalog?</h2>
<p dir="ltr">The QDHP has chosen to focus on a catalog, as opposed to an archive, for several reasons. Firstly, at its most basic level, an archive is focused on primary material—in this case, the content of posts. However, archiving for most online groups from the mid-1980s up to the late 1990s is often incomplete at best, so in many cases, there’s limited to no archival material available. Instead, what exists in many cases is secondary material, writing describing or reflecting on posters’ experiences with and in these spaces. The catalog, ideally, links these disparate materials together in order to give a slightly fuller picture of the online landscape at any given time.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Secondly, posters in early LGBTQ groups often wrote (sometimes in detail) about close and personal issues in their lives under the assumption that their posts would remain private within the group. Given this, the catalog has been designed to respect posters’ initial expectation of privacy. Linked content has all been previously published in other venues, and any other detailed personal reflections submitted by users specifically for the catalog have been made public with their consent.</p>
<h2>What Qualifies A Community For Inclusion?</h2>
<p dir="ltr"><span>There are no specific criteria determining inclusion in the QDCC. However, many of the communitites currently listed in the catalog have multiple references in contemporaneous periodicals, newsletters, web guides, or other LGBTQ-related informational websites. These sources are key for establishing not only the existence of a space, but its particular attributes.</span></p>
<h2 dir="ltr"><strong>On Audience Labels</strong></h2>
<p dir="ltr">All of the communities cataloged include descriptive metadata culled from various sources, including contemporaneous listings in print publications and online reference guides. However, the terminology used in archival sources does not always match current preferred terms. <a href="http://notchesblog.com/2017/11/28/troubling-terms-the-label-problem-in-transgender-history/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">As has been discussed elsewhere</a>, retroactively applying labels with which individuals or spaces might not have identified is a politically fraught act. The QDHP's metadata practices, then, follow a policy similar to that of the <a href="https://www.digitaltransgenderarchive.net/about/policies" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Digital Transgender Archive</a>: whenever possible, we use terminology included in contemporaneous decriptions. If terminology is not used or a detailed description is not available, we categorize using terminology derived from the archival reference.</p>
<h2>Adding Communities to the Catalog</h2>
<p>This catalog is by no means complete, and the QDHP is always looking for new groups to add, if additional information is available. Please feel free to suggest a community for inclusion using <a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe9oGcXtpUNGXXhEBIYdZlb40HTj3EDzG_fk4xltxxcCck6AQ/viewform?usp=sf_link" target="_blank" rel="noopener">this form</a>, or email Curator Avery Dame-Griff directly at <a href="mailto:admin@queerdigital.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">admin@queerdigital.com</a>.</p>
BBS
A computer server running software that allows users to connect remotely via modem. to the system using a terminal or a terminal emulator. Sometimes also called a computer bulletin board service (CBBS).
Exterior References
<ul>
<li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/19961226220202/http://bbs.eyecon.com:80/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Archive of Eye Contact BBS website</a> (Dec 26, 1996)</li>
<li>Attached advertisements from the <a href="http://digitalassets.lib.berkeley.edu/sfbagals/Sentinal/1989_SFS_Vol17_No17_Apr_.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">San Francisco Sentinel (April 27, 1989)</a> and <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=DWQEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA60&lpg=PA60&dq=%22eye+contact%22+%22bbs%22&source=bl&ots=pTgmkWKHzc&sig=lEo9rLzzoRdZzlOHw1PLY20005U&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwic1sCI8KHZAhUJ0WMKHZNABsMQ6AEIWjAL#v=onepage&q&f=false" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>The Advocate</em> (Apr 19, 1994)</a></li>
<li><a href="https://archive.org/stream/The.Joy.Of.Cybersex.1993#page/n145/mode/2up" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Specific section on Eye Contact in </a><em><a href="https://archive.org/stream/The.Joy.Of.Cybersex.1993#page/n145/mode/2up" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Joy of Cybersex</a> </em>(1993)</li>
<li><a href="https://cdn.loc.gov/copyright/onlinesp/agents/e/eccomps.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Filing</a> of designated <span>Digital Millennium Copyright Act (</span>DCMA)<span> agent, who receives notifications when an individual claims content on the platform represents copyright infringement (1998)</span></li>
</ul>
Area Code
Area Code of BBS
415 Area Code
City and State/Province
San Francisco, CA
Year Founded (approximate)
1989
Last Year Active (approximate)
2001
Baud Rate
2400
Intended Audience
The forum's intended audience
gay people
Primary Language
Primary language used by participants
American English
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Eye Contact BBS
bbs
gay people
-
https://www.queerdigital.com/files/original/5d9e2ad90e30b3851c536e4c68b46989.txt
345962901a27d96de54856cd819d0219
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Primary Documents Collection
Description
An account of the resource
This collection holds primary documents (listings, programs, applications, etc) related to LGBTQ life online pre-2010. When possible, files have been listed with their original date of publication and source. When mirrored from established sites, their original source is attributed and linked. If you have files you would like to submit for inclusion, please feel free to contact Avery Dame-Griff at <a href="mailto:admin@queerdigital.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">admin@queerdigital.com</a>.
Born-Digital Archival Material
Materials related to or derived from a community described in the Community Catalog. Item metadata will include links to relevant catalog entries
File Format
Format of digital file(s).
TXT
Total number of files
1
Checksum (SHA-256)
A small-sized block of data, derived using an algorithm, that can be used to verify data integrity.
06b8d99965e56592352c9ea4b378a5de114330083ed7460d2b60766423697ded
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Norman Brown's Consolidated List of aids/hiv Bulletin Boards - 1994 Revision #11
Subject
The topic of the resource
HIV/AIDS-related BBSs
Description
An account of the resource
Listing of HIV/AIDS-related BBSs. Released and revised monthly.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Norman Brown
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
Mirrored from the <a href="http://www.qrd.org/qrd/aids/1994/aids.bbs.list" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Queer Resources Directory</a>.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1994 Revision #11, updated February 1, 1994
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
TXT
Language
A language of the resource
American English
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
BBS Listing
bbs listing
people living with HIV/AIDS
-
https://www.queerdigital.com/files/original/fed55bb5b230a02214c7e2dc22c18c57.pdf
c02973e379984a9465958d000eb32262
https://www.queerdigital.com/files/original/de062abba6716d7df740301d442168c9.jpg
7c1596457e50a067c13b513b64914b05
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Queer Digital Community Catalog
Language
A language of the resource
English
Description
An account of the resource
<p dir="ltr"><span>This catalog collects basic information and resources on LGBTQ-related online communities prior to 2010, particularly those from the so-called Web 1.0 period. Each catalog entry includes information on the group’s format, its approximate dates of activity, its audience and topical focus, and links to other materials discussing the group, such as editorial columns, personal essays, or archival materials.</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>One of the driving impulses for the creation of this catalog was to offer a starting place for research into early LGBTQ life online. In early web research, simply knowing the name of a place or person could, in some cases, be key to one's success. Beyond just its research utility, however, this catalog is also meant to preserve the memory, if not the content, of communities and groups whose names might otherwise be lost or forgotten.<br /></span></p>
<h2>Why a Catalog?</h2>
<p dir="ltr">The QDHP has chosen to focus on a catalog, as opposed to an archive, for several reasons. Firstly, at its most basic level, an archive is focused on primary material—in this case, the content of posts. However, archiving for most online groups from the mid-1980s up to the late 1990s is often incomplete at best, so in many cases, there’s limited to no archival material available. Instead, what exists in many cases is secondary material, writing describing or reflecting on posters’ experiences with and in these spaces. The catalog, ideally, links these disparate materials together in order to give a slightly fuller picture of the online landscape at any given time.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Secondly, posters in early LGBTQ groups often wrote (sometimes in detail) about close and personal issues in their lives under the assumption that their posts would remain private within the group. Given this, the catalog has been designed to respect posters’ initial expectation of privacy. Linked content has all been previously published in other venues, and any other detailed personal reflections submitted by users specifically for the catalog have been made public with their consent.</p>
<h2>What Qualifies A Community For Inclusion?</h2>
<p dir="ltr"><span>There are no specific criteria determining inclusion in the QDCC. However, many of the communitites currently listed in the catalog have multiple references in contemporaneous periodicals, newsletters, web guides, or other LGBTQ-related informational websites. These sources are key for establishing not only the existence of a space, but its particular attributes.</span></p>
<h2 dir="ltr"><strong>On Audience Labels</strong></h2>
<p dir="ltr">All of the communities cataloged include descriptive metadata culled from various sources, including contemporaneous listings in print publications and online reference guides. However, the terminology used in archival sources does not always match current preferred terms. <a href="http://notchesblog.com/2017/11/28/troubling-terms-the-label-problem-in-transgender-history/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">As has been discussed elsewhere</a>, retroactively applying labels with which individuals or spaces might not have identified is a politically fraught act. The QDHP's metadata practices, then, follow a policy similar to that of the <a href="https://www.digitaltransgenderarchive.net/about/policies" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Digital Transgender Archive</a>: whenever possible, we use terminology included in contemporaneous decriptions. If terminology is not used or a detailed description is not available, we categorize using terminology derived from the archival reference.</p>
<h2>Adding Communities to the Catalog</h2>
<p>This catalog is by no means complete, and the QDHP is always looking for new groups to add, if additional information is available. Please feel free to suggest a community for inclusion using <a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe9oGcXtpUNGXXhEBIYdZlb40HTj3EDzG_fk4xltxxcCck6AQ/viewform?usp=sf_link" target="_blank" rel="noopener">this form</a>, or email Curator Avery Dame-Griff directly at <a href="mailto:admin@queerdigital.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">admin@queerdigital.com</a>.</p>
BBS Network
Topical Networks of Bulletin Board Systems
Host BBS
BBS that served as primary host for network
Funded by State of California
Year Founded (approximate)
1984
Last Year Active (approximate)
Unknown
Topical Focus
Primary topics of messages shared via network
HIV/AIDS-related information and resources
Exterior References
<ul>
<li><a href="http://digitalassets.lib.berkeley.edu/sfbagals/Sentinal/1985_SFS_Vol13_No06_July_18.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">"State OKs Proposal on High Tech Data Service,"</a> <em>San Francisco Sentinel</em> (July 18, 1985) - Article discussing the CAIN network and its purpose</li>
<li><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1986/01/26/aids-sufferers-find-solace-in-computer-network/b1c3ec23-76ae-43ee-8c42-c2d8ec3b31ae/?utm_term=.f3b1db20d2cb" target="_blank" rel="noopener">"</a><span><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1986/01/26/aids-sufferers-find-solace-in-computer-network/b1c3ec23-76ae-43ee-8c42-c2d8ec3b31ae/?utm_term=.f3b1db20d2cb" target="_blank" rel="noopener">AIDS Sufferers Find Solace in Computer Network,"</a> <em>Washington Post</em> (Jan 26, 1986) - Discusses use of CAIN and AIDS-focused BBSes</span></li>
<li><a href="http://digitalassets.lib.berkeley.edu/sfbagals/Sentinal/1987_SFS__Vol15_No19_May_08.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">"AIDS information by Computer,"</a> <em>San Francisco Sentinel</em> (May 8, 1987) - Includes information on accessing CAIN </li>
<li>"<a href="https://archive.org/details/sim_infosystems_1987-07_34_7/page/28/mode/2up" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CAIN and AIDS</a>," <em>Infosystems</em> v.34, no.7 (July 1987) - Article on CAIN, including history of development and interviews with CAIN staff (see attached file for copy of article).</li>
<li><a href="http://queerdigital.com/items/show/61" target="_blank" rel="noopener">"National AIDS Clearinghouse Guide to AIDS BBSes" (April 2, 1993)</a> - Listing of CAIN member BBSes included in sci.med.aids FAQ.</li>
</ul>
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Computerized AIDS Information Network (CAIN)
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
BBS Network
bbs network
CAIN
Computerized AIDS Information Network
people living with HIV/AIDS
-
https://www.queerdigital.com/files/original/5895d58bc93c8ef7e8dc1f3a28dc1f68.png
7fe02764e4218d5d5c90fa359f027b1a
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Queer Digital Community Catalog
Language
A language of the resource
English
Description
An account of the resource
<p dir="ltr"><span>This catalog collects basic information and resources on LGBTQ-related online communities prior to 2010, particularly those from the so-called Web 1.0 period. Each catalog entry includes information on the group’s format, its approximate dates of activity, its audience and topical focus, and links to other materials discussing the group, such as editorial columns, personal essays, or archival materials.</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>One of the driving impulses for the creation of this catalog was to offer a starting place for research into early LGBTQ life online. In early web research, simply knowing the name of a place or person could, in some cases, be key to one's success. Beyond just its research utility, however, this catalog is also meant to preserve the memory, if not the content, of communities and groups whose names might otherwise be lost or forgotten.<br /></span></p>
<h2>Why a Catalog?</h2>
<p dir="ltr">The QDHP has chosen to focus on a catalog, as opposed to an archive, for several reasons. Firstly, at its most basic level, an archive is focused on primary material—in this case, the content of posts. However, archiving for most online groups from the mid-1980s up to the late 1990s is often incomplete at best, so in many cases, there’s limited to no archival material available. Instead, what exists in many cases is secondary material, writing describing or reflecting on posters’ experiences with and in these spaces. The catalog, ideally, links these disparate materials together in order to give a slightly fuller picture of the online landscape at any given time.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Secondly, posters in early LGBTQ groups often wrote (sometimes in detail) about close and personal issues in their lives under the assumption that their posts would remain private within the group. Given this, the catalog has been designed to respect posters’ initial expectation of privacy. Linked content has all been previously published in other venues, and any other detailed personal reflections submitted by users specifically for the catalog have been made public with their consent.</p>
<h2>What Qualifies A Community For Inclusion?</h2>
<p dir="ltr"><span>There are no specific criteria determining inclusion in the QDCC. However, many of the communitites currently listed in the catalog have multiple references in contemporaneous periodicals, newsletters, web guides, or other LGBTQ-related informational websites. These sources are key for establishing not only the existence of a space, but its particular attributes.</span></p>
<h2 dir="ltr"><strong>On Audience Labels</strong></h2>
<p dir="ltr">All of the communities cataloged include descriptive metadata culled from various sources, including contemporaneous listings in print publications and online reference guides. However, the terminology used in archival sources does not always match current preferred terms. <a href="http://notchesblog.com/2017/11/28/troubling-terms-the-label-problem-in-transgender-history/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">As has been discussed elsewhere</a>, retroactively applying labels with which individuals or spaces might not have identified is a politically fraught act. The QDHP's metadata practices, then, follow a policy similar to that of the <a href="https://www.digitaltransgenderarchive.net/about/policies" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Digital Transgender Archive</a>: whenever possible, we use terminology included in contemporaneous decriptions. If terminology is not used or a detailed description is not available, we categorize using terminology derived from the archival reference.</p>
<h2>Adding Communities to the Catalog</h2>
<p>This catalog is by no means complete, and the QDHP is always looking for new groups to add, if additional information is available. Please feel free to suggest a community for inclusion using <a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe9oGcXtpUNGXXhEBIYdZlb40HTj3EDzG_fk4xltxxcCck6AQ/viewform?usp=sf_link" target="_blank" rel="noopener">this form</a>, or email Curator Avery Dame-Griff directly at <a href="mailto:admin@queerdigital.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">admin@queerdigital.com</a>.</p>
BBS
A computer server running software that allows users to connect remotely via modem. to the system using a terminal or a terminal emulator. Sometimes also called a computer bulletin board service (CBBS).
Name
Name of Forum
Fog City BBS
Area Code
Area Code of BBS
415 Area Code
City and State/Province
San Francisco, CA
Year Founded (approximate)
1986
Last Year Active (approximate)
Unknown
Network/Platform
Networks or Platforms the forum participated in
Gaycom; Computerized AIDS Information Network (CAIN); AEGIS (AIDS Education General Information System) Network
Baud Rate
Unknown
Intended Audience
The forum's intended audience
Gay people, People living with HIV/AIDS
Primary Language
Primary language used by participants
American English
Exterior References
<ul>
<li><a href="http://digitalassets.lib.berkeley.edu/sfbagals/Sentinal/sfs_index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Regular advertiser in San Francisco Sentinel in 1988-1989 (advertisement attached)</a></li>
<li>Host of <a href="https://archive.org/details/hypercard_caper-in-the-castro" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Caper in the Casto</a>, first LGBTQ video game</li>
<li><a href="http://queerdigital.com/items/show/61" target="_blank" rel="noopener">"National AIDS Clearinghouse Guide to AIDS BBSes" (April 2, 1993)</a> - Listed in Guide, which is included in sci.med.aids FAQ.</li>
</ul>
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Fog City BBS
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Bulletin Board System
AEGIS Network
bbs
CAIN
gay people
GayCom
people living with HIV/AIDS
-
https://www.queerdigital.com/files/original/d7b02ee5b86c002e15c88d7f66aca657.gif
347b280010c7ff43e3f34a64b8eea673
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Queer Digital Community Catalog
Language
A language of the resource
English
Description
An account of the resource
<p dir="ltr"><span>This catalog collects basic information and resources on LGBTQ-related online communities prior to 2010, particularly those from the so-called Web 1.0 period. Each catalog entry includes information on the group’s format, its approximate dates of activity, its audience and topical focus, and links to other materials discussing the group, such as editorial columns, personal essays, or archival materials.</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>One of the driving impulses for the creation of this catalog was to offer a starting place for research into early LGBTQ life online. In early web research, simply knowing the name of a place or person could, in some cases, be key to one's success. Beyond just its research utility, however, this catalog is also meant to preserve the memory, if not the content, of communities and groups whose names might otherwise be lost or forgotten.<br /></span></p>
<h2>Why a Catalog?</h2>
<p dir="ltr">The QDHP has chosen to focus on a catalog, as opposed to an archive, for several reasons. Firstly, at its most basic level, an archive is focused on primary material—in this case, the content of posts. However, archiving for most online groups from the mid-1980s up to the late 1990s is often incomplete at best, so in many cases, there’s limited to no archival material available. Instead, what exists in many cases is secondary material, writing describing or reflecting on posters’ experiences with and in these spaces. The catalog, ideally, links these disparate materials together in order to give a slightly fuller picture of the online landscape at any given time.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Secondly, posters in early LGBTQ groups often wrote (sometimes in detail) about close and personal issues in their lives under the assumption that their posts would remain private within the group. Given this, the catalog has been designed to respect posters’ initial expectation of privacy. Linked content has all been previously published in other venues, and any other detailed personal reflections submitted by users specifically for the catalog have been made public with their consent.</p>
<h2>What Qualifies A Community For Inclusion?</h2>
<p dir="ltr"><span>There are no specific criteria determining inclusion in the QDCC. However, many of the communitites currently listed in the catalog have multiple references in contemporaneous periodicals, newsletters, web guides, or other LGBTQ-related informational websites. These sources are key for establishing not only the existence of a space, but its particular attributes.</span></p>
<h2 dir="ltr"><strong>On Audience Labels</strong></h2>
<p dir="ltr">All of the communities cataloged include descriptive metadata culled from various sources, including contemporaneous listings in print publications and online reference guides. However, the terminology used in archival sources does not always match current preferred terms. <a href="http://notchesblog.com/2017/11/28/troubling-terms-the-label-problem-in-transgender-history/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">As has been discussed elsewhere</a>, retroactively applying labels with which individuals or spaces might not have identified is a politically fraught act. The QDHP's metadata practices, then, follow a policy similar to that of the <a href="https://www.digitaltransgenderarchive.net/about/policies" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Digital Transgender Archive</a>: whenever possible, we use terminology included in contemporaneous decriptions. If terminology is not used or a detailed description is not available, we categorize using terminology derived from the archival reference.</p>
<h2>Adding Communities to the Catalog</h2>
<p>This catalog is by no means complete, and the QDHP is always looking for new groups to add, if additional information is available. Please feel free to suggest a community for inclusion using <a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe9oGcXtpUNGXXhEBIYdZlb40HTj3EDzG_fk4xltxxcCck6AQ/viewform?usp=sf_link" target="_blank" rel="noopener">this form</a>, or email Curator Avery Dame-Griff directly at <a href="mailto:admin@queerdigital.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">admin@queerdigital.com</a>.</p>
Website
A resource comprising of a web page or web pages and all related assets ( such as images, sound and video files, etc. ).
Local URL
The URL of the local directory containing all assets of the website
http://www.qrd.org/qrd/
Year Founded (approximate)
1991
Last Year Active (approximate)
Currently active
Intended Audience
The forum's intended audience
Gay people; Lesbian people; Bisexual people; Transgender people; Queer people
Exterior References
<ul>
<li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ron_Buckmire" target="_blank">Ron Buckmire (Wikipedia)</a> - Wikipedia page on QRD founder Ron Buckmire</li>
</ul>
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Queer Resources Directory
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Website
bisexual people
gay people
lesbian people
queer people
transgender people
website
-
https://www.queerdigital.com/files/original/c787eaadbebac161357b3f5d2c033620.TXT
fcbfdd25ea0b70a88917748958293a39
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Primary Documents Collection
Description
An account of the resource
This collection holds primary documents (listings, programs, applications, etc) related to LGBTQ life online pre-2010. When possible, files have been listed with their original date of publication and source. When mirrored from established sites, their original source is attributed and linked. If you have files you would like to submit for inclusion, please feel free to contact Avery Dame-Griff at <a href="mailto:admin@queerdigital.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">admin@queerdigital.com</a>.
Born-Digital Archival Material
Materials related to or derived from a community described in the Community Catalog. Item metadata will include links to relevant catalog entries
File Format
Format of digital file(s).
TXT
Total number of files
1
Checksum (SHA-256)
A small-sized block of data, derived using an algorithm, that can be used to verify data integrity.
88e6c1acf759138863c4fc7feeb18e9e6cf95cd3552f0fe708ed08571367e82e
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
sci.med.aids FAQ - 1995
Subject
The topic of the resource
Usenet newsgroup FAQ
Description
An account of the resource
Frequently Asked Questions related to HIV/AIDS, including information and resources. Posted monthly to Usenet newsgroup sci.med.aids. Contains copies of:<br />
<ul>
<li>"Norman Brown's Consolidated List of aids/hiv Bulletin Boards, 1993 Revision #9," published Oct 1, 1993.</li>
<li>"National AIDS Clearinghouse Guide to AIDS BBSes," published April 2, 1993.</li>
</ul>
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
Posting date unknown. Last modified February 2, 1995.
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
TXT
Language
A language of the resource
American English
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
BBS Listing
bbs listing
FAQ
people living with HIV/AIDS
Usenet
-
https://www.queerdigital.com/files/original/3d2b639ec7744d0710322adb32b52b2e.txt
a17483ec3da3aa8347cb4e872f5017b4
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Primary Documents Collection
Description
An account of the resource
This collection holds primary documents (listings, programs, applications, etc) related to LGBTQ life online pre-2010. When possible, files have been listed with their original date of publication and source. When mirrored from established sites, their original source is attributed and linked. If you have files you would like to submit for inclusion, please feel free to contact Avery Dame-Griff at <a href="mailto:admin@queerdigital.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">admin@queerdigital.com</a>.
Born-Digital Archival Material
Materials related to or derived from a community described in the Community Catalog. Item metadata will include links to relevant catalog entries
File Format
Format of digital file(s).
TXT (plain text unicode)
Total number of files
1
Checksum (SHA-256)
A small-sized block of data, derived using an algorithm, that can be used to verify data integrity.
6e45e7bc93ff931c2221c792ace9c2a878722690ffaec9a76e1b82d03a2a7773
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
sci.med.aids FAQ - 1993
Subject
The topic of the resource
Usenet newsgroup FAQ
Description
An account of the resource
Frequently Asked Questions related to HIV/AIDS, including information and resources. Posted monthly to Usenet newsgroup sci.med.aids.
Contains copy of "Ben Gardiner's list of AIDS BBSes," published Dec 7, 1991 .
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
Mirrored from the <a href="http://www.softlab.ntua.gr/Miscellaneous/faq/aids/faq.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Software Engineering Laboratory at the National Technical University of Athens website</a>.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
Published Nov 10, 1993.
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
TXT
Language
A language of the resource
American English
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
BBS Listing
bbs listing
FAQ
people living with HIV/AIDS
Usenet
-
https://www.queerdigital.com/files/original/c75ed7f9401589115a28b2fe87e7a72b.txt
2b014ad594489c5dcd057bfb4177588a
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Primary Documents Collection
Description
An account of the resource
This collection holds primary documents (listings, programs, applications, etc) related to LGBTQ life online pre-2010. When possible, files have been listed with their original date of publication and source. When mirrored from established sites, their original source is attributed and linked. If you have files you would like to submit for inclusion, please feel free to contact Avery Dame-Griff at <a href="mailto:admin@queerdigital.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">admin@queerdigital.com</a>.
Born-Digital Archival Material
Materials related to or derived from a community described in the Community Catalog. Item metadata will include links to relevant catalog entries
File Format
Format of digital file(s).
TXT (plain text unicode)
Total number of files
1
Checksum (SHA-256)
A small-sized block of data, derived using an algorithm, that can be used to verify data integrity.
c36c6836b4ad0b16c8076312e726f5def9fb13c1916350ac626fc915a51a676c
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Norman Brown's Consolidated List of aids/hiv Bulletin Boards - 1993 Revision #2
Subject
The topic of the resource
HIV/AIDS-related BBSs
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Norman Brown
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
<a href="http://www.textfiles.com/sex/abbs9302.txt" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Original file</a> retrieved from "Sex, Sex Humor and Sexuality" collection on textfiles.com.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1993 Revision #2, updated February 1, 1993
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Plain Text File
Description
An account of the resource
Listing of HIV/AIDS-related BBSs. Released and revised monthly.
Language
A language of the resource
American English
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
BBS Listing
bbs listing
people living with HIV/AIDS
-
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Queer Digital Community Catalog
Language
A language of the resource
English
Description
An account of the resource
<p dir="ltr"><span>This catalog collects basic information and resources on LGBTQ-related online communities prior to 2010, particularly those from the so-called Web 1.0 period. Each catalog entry includes information on the group’s format, its approximate dates of activity, its audience and topical focus, and links to other materials discussing the group, such as editorial columns, personal essays, or archival materials.</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>One of the driving impulses for the creation of this catalog was to offer a starting place for research into early LGBTQ life online. In early web research, simply knowing the name of a place or person could, in some cases, be key to one's success. Beyond just its research utility, however, this catalog is also meant to preserve the memory, if not the content, of communities and groups whose names might otherwise be lost or forgotten.<br /></span></p>
<h2>Why a Catalog?</h2>
<p dir="ltr">The QDHP has chosen to focus on a catalog, as opposed to an archive, for several reasons. Firstly, at its most basic level, an archive is focused on primary material—in this case, the content of posts. However, archiving for most online groups from the mid-1980s up to the late 1990s is often incomplete at best, so in many cases, there’s limited to no archival material available. Instead, what exists in many cases is secondary material, writing describing or reflecting on posters’ experiences with and in these spaces. The catalog, ideally, links these disparate materials together in order to give a slightly fuller picture of the online landscape at any given time.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Secondly, posters in early LGBTQ groups often wrote (sometimes in detail) about close and personal issues in their lives under the assumption that their posts would remain private within the group. Given this, the catalog has been designed to respect posters’ initial expectation of privacy. Linked content has all been previously published in other venues, and any other detailed personal reflections submitted by users specifically for the catalog have been made public with their consent.</p>
<h2>What Qualifies A Community For Inclusion?</h2>
<p dir="ltr"><span>There are no specific criteria determining inclusion in the QDCC. However, many of the communitites currently listed in the catalog have multiple references in contemporaneous periodicals, newsletters, web guides, or other LGBTQ-related informational websites. These sources are key for establishing not only the existence of a space, but its particular attributes.</span></p>
<h2 dir="ltr"><strong>On Audience Labels</strong></h2>
<p dir="ltr">All of the communities cataloged include descriptive metadata culled from various sources, including contemporaneous listings in print publications and online reference guides. However, the terminology used in archival sources does not always match current preferred terms. <a href="http://notchesblog.com/2017/11/28/troubling-terms-the-label-problem-in-transgender-history/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">As has been discussed elsewhere</a>, retroactively applying labels with which individuals or spaces might not have identified is a politically fraught act. The QDHP's metadata practices, then, follow a policy similar to that of the <a href="https://www.digitaltransgenderarchive.net/about/policies" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Digital Transgender Archive</a>: whenever possible, we use terminology included in contemporaneous decriptions. If terminology is not used or a detailed description is not available, we categorize using terminology derived from the archival reference.</p>
<h2>Adding Communities to the Catalog</h2>
<p>This catalog is by no means complete, and the QDHP is always looking for new groups to add, if additional information is available. Please feel free to suggest a community for inclusion using <a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe9oGcXtpUNGXXhEBIYdZlb40HTj3EDzG_fk4xltxxcCck6AQ/viewform?usp=sf_link" target="_blank" rel="noopener">this form</a>, or email Curator Avery Dame-Griff directly at <a href="mailto:admin@queerdigital.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">admin@queerdigital.com</a>.</p>
Usenet Newsgroup
Individual Usenet Newsgroup
Year Founded (approximate)
1996
Abbreviations/Alias
Any other names used to refer to this forum
ASL; Later re-launched as alt.shoe.lesbians.moderated (ASLM)
Intended Audience
The forum's intended audience
Lesbian people
Primary Language
Primary language used by participants
American English
Exterior References
<ul>
<li><a href="https://shoelesbians.com/about/index.htm" target="_blank">ASLM website</a> - Information on group history, FAQ, etc.</li>
<li><a href="https://shoelesbians.com/about/index.htm" target="_blank">Google Groups: alt.shoe.lesbians.moderated</a> - Archive of ASLM posts</li>
<li><a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/bitwise/2014/08/lgbtq_nerds_and_the_evolution_of_life_online.html" target="_blank">Slate: When AOL Was GayOL</a> (2014) - Mentioned in article</li>
</ul>
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
alt.shoe.lesbians.moderated
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Usenet newsgroup
alt.shoe.lesbians.moderated
ASLM
lesbian people
Usenet
-
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Queer Digital Community Catalog
Language
A language of the resource
English
Description
An account of the resource
<p dir="ltr"><span>This catalog collects basic information and resources on LGBTQ-related online communities prior to 2010, particularly those from the so-called Web 1.0 period. Each catalog entry includes information on the group’s format, its approximate dates of activity, its audience and topical focus, and links to other materials discussing the group, such as editorial columns, personal essays, or archival materials.</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>One of the driving impulses for the creation of this catalog was to offer a starting place for research into early LGBTQ life online. In early web research, simply knowing the name of a place or person could, in some cases, be key to one's success. Beyond just its research utility, however, this catalog is also meant to preserve the memory, if not the content, of communities and groups whose names might otherwise be lost or forgotten.<br /></span></p>
<h2>Why a Catalog?</h2>
<p dir="ltr">The QDHP has chosen to focus on a catalog, as opposed to an archive, for several reasons. Firstly, at its most basic level, an archive is focused on primary material—in this case, the content of posts. However, archiving for most online groups from the mid-1980s up to the late 1990s is often incomplete at best, so in many cases, there’s limited to no archival material available. Instead, what exists in many cases is secondary material, writing describing or reflecting on posters’ experiences with and in these spaces. The catalog, ideally, links these disparate materials together in order to give a slightly fuller picture of the online landscape at any given time.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Secondly, posters in early LGBTQ groups often wrote (sometimes in detail) about close and personal issues in their lives under the assumption that their posts would remain private within the group. Given this, the catalog has been designed to respect posters’ initial expectation of privacy. Linked content has all been previously published in other venues, and any other detailed personal reflections submitted by users specifically for the catalog have been made public with their consent.</p>
<h2>What Qualifies A Community For Inclusion?</h2>
<p dir="ltr"><span>There are no specific criteria determining inclusion in the QDCC. However, many of the communitites currently listed in the catalog have multiple references in contemporaneous periodicals, newsletters, web guides, or other LGBTQ-related informational websites. These sources are key for establishing not only the existence of a space, but its particular attributes.</span></p>
<h2 dir="ltr"><strong>On Audience Labels</strong></h2>
<p dir="ltr">All of the communities cataloged include descriptive metadata culled from various sources, including contemporaneous listings in print publications and online reference guides. However, the terminology used in archival sources does not always match current preferred terms. <a href="http://notchesblog.com/2017/11/28/troubling-terms-the-label-problem-in-transgender-history/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">As has been discussed elsewhere</a>, retroactively applying labels with which individuals or spaces might not have identified is a politically fraught act. The QDHP's metadata practices, then, follow a policy similar to that of the <a href="https://www.digitaltransgenderarchive.net/about/policies" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Digital Transgender Archive</a>: whenever possible, we use terminology included in contemporaneous decriptions. If terminology is not used or a detailed description is not available, we categorize using terminology derived from the archival reference.</p>
<h2>Adding Communities to the Catalog</h2>
<p>This catalog is by no means complete, and the QDHP is always looking for new groups to add, if additional information is available. Please feel free to suggest a community for inclusion using <a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe9oGcXtpUNGXXhEBIYdZlb40HTj3EDzG_fk4xltxxcCck6AQ/viewform?usp=sf_link" target="_blank" rel="noopener">this form</a>, or email Curator Avery Dame-Griff directly at <a href="mailto:admin@queerdigital.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">admin@queerdigital.com</a>.</p>
Website
A resource comprising of a web page or web pages and all related assets ( such as images, sound and video files, etc. ).
Local URL
The URL of the local directory containing all assets of the website
www.lesbian.org
Year Founded (approximate)
Unknown
Last Year Active (approximate)
Currently active
Intended Audience
The forum's intended audience
Lesbian people
Exterior References
<ul>
<li><a href="https://archive.org/details/nc105_women" target="_blank">Interview with webmaster Amy Goodloe on PBS show Net Cafe</a> (1996)</li>
<li><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/19961109095728/http://www.lesbian.org:80/" target="_blank">Lesbian.org (archived Nov 9, 1996)</a></li>
</ul>
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Lesbian.org
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Website
lesbian people
lesbian youth
lesbian.org
website
-
https://www.queerdigital.com/files/original/0349de7eec35e8b9f79213c9a50f07bf.txt
c11ce01d4fd3bcaccbbb98de0fa7a98f
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Primary Documents Collection
Description
An account of the resource
This collection holds primary documents (listings, programs, applications, etc) related to LGBTQ life online pre-2010. When possible, files have been listed with their original date of publication and source. When mirrored from established sites, their original source is attributed and linked. If you have files you would like to submit for inclusion, please feel free to contact Avery Dame-Griff at <a href="mailto:admin@queerdigital.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">admin@queerdigital.com</a>.
Born-Digital Archival Material
Materials related to or derived from a community described in the Community Catalog. Item metadata will include links to relevant catalog entries
File Format
Format of digital file(s).
TXT
Total number of files
1
Checksum (SHA-256)
A small-sized block of data, derived using an algorithm, that can be used to verify data integrity.
cacb69ee11d9638942674ce80adb5fd0a01c7783810ff2ca2345ab929fa5ad1c
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Trial Balloon Gay BBS Listing - 1989
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
Retrieved from the ASSTR archive, which holds documents published to the alt.sex.stories newsgroup. Original copy available <a href="https://www.asstr.org/files/Collections/libertine/Collected/Gaybbs.txt" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.
Subject
The topic of the resource
Initial trial listing of active Gay & Lesbian BBSs.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Unknown
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Alt.Sex.Stories Text Repository
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
Published August 20, 1989
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
TXT
Language
A language of the resource
American English
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
BBS Listing
bbs
bbs listing
gay people
lesbian people
-
https://www.queerdigital.com/files/original/19be8cb928c41369be0ddb306639807c.png
60c811ae85eb4ebb54a63ee60fab3be5
https://www.queerdigital.com/files/original/ccde54a717f5ea0a12af7d5e8b0a75aa.pdf
91f744f671122ca16300f2037d67f7d1
https://www.queerdigital.com/files/original/92fe09d0ba983e3c87713c0b925d167f.jpg
8f2ae8a1e89cddf84295c4db6ed1f925
https://www.queerdigital.com/files/original/06516c8513fdf916c93e3afcc66885a3.jpg
5d26348c635692a66fb2fd92ce67031d
https://www.queerdigital.com/files/original/1436f4cfaf734cb4dbd17eb60550caa5.jpg
42d1c7d9deac8fa40a547144c093b706
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Queer Digital Community Catalog
Language
A language of the resource
English
Description
An account of the resource
<p dir="ltr"><span>This catalog collects basic information and resources on LGBTQ-related online communities prior to 2010, particularly those from the so-called Web 1.0 period. Each catalog entry includes information on the group’s format, its approximate dates of activity, its audience and topical focus, and links to other materials discussing the group, such as editorial columns, personal essays, or archival materials.</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>One of the driving impulses for the creation of this catalog was to offer a starting place for research into early LGBTQ life online. In early web research, simply knowing the name of a place or person could, in some cases, be key to one's success. Beyond just its research utility, however, this catalog is also meant to preserve the memory, if not the content, of communities and groups whose names might otherwise be lost or forgotten.<br /></span></p>
<h2>Why a Catalog?</h2>
<p dir="ltr">The QDHP has chosen to focus on a catalog, as opposed to an archive, for several reasons. Firstly, at its most basic level, an archive is focused on primary material—in this case, the content of posts. However, archiving for most online groups from the mid-1980s up to the late 1990s is often incomplete at best, so in many cases, there’s limited to no archival material available. Instead, what exists in many cases is secondary material, writing describing or reflecting on posters’ experiences with and in these spaces. The catalog, ideally, links these disparate materials together in order to give a slightly fuller picture of the online landscape at any given time.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Secondly, posters in early LGBTQ groups often wrote (sometimes in detail) about close and personal issues in their lives under the assumption that their posts would remain private within the group. Given this, the catalog has been designed to respect posters’ initial expectation of privacy. Linked content has all been previously published in other venues, and any other detailed personal reflections submitted by users specifically for the catalog have been made public with their consent.</p>
<h2>What Qualifies A Community For Inclusion?</h2>
<p dir="ltr"><span>There are no specific criteria determining inclusion in the QDCC. However, many of the communitites currently listed in the catalog have multiple references in contemporaneous periodicals, newsletters, web guides, or other LGBTQ-related informational websites. These sources are key for establishing not only the existence of a space, but its particular attributes.</span></p>
<h2 dir="ltr"><strong>On Audience Labels</strong></h2>
<p dir="ltr">All of the communities cataloged include descriptive metadata culled from various sources, including contemporaneous listings in print publications and online reference guides. However, the terminology used in archival sources does not always match current preferred terms. <a href="http://notchesblog.com/2017/11/28/troubling-terms-the-label-problem-in-transgender-history/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">As has been discussed elsewhere</a>, retroactively applying labels with which individuals or spaces might not have identified is a politically fraught act. The QDHP's metadata practices, then, follow a policy similar to that of the <a href="https://www.digitaltransgenderarchive.net/about/policies" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Digital Transgender Archive</a>: whenever possible, we use terminology included in contemporaneous decriptions. If terminology is not used or a detailed description is not available, we categorize using terminology derived from the archival reference.</p>
<h2>Adding Communities to the Catalog</h2>
<p>This catalog is by no means complete, and the QDHP is always looking for new groups to add, if additional information is available. Please feel free to suggest a community for inclusion using <a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe9oGcXtpUNGXXhEBIYdZlb40HTj3EDzG_fk4xltxxcCck6AQ/viewform?usp=sf_link" target="_blank" rel="noopener">this form</a>, or email Curator Avery Dame-Griff directly at <a href="mailto:admin@queerdigital.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">admin@queerdigital.com</a>.</p>
BBS
A computer server running software that allows users to connect remotely via modem. to the system using a terminal or a terminal emulator. Sometimes also called a computer bulletin board service (CBBS).
Name
Name of Forum
Gay and Lesbian Information Bureau
Area Code
Area Code of BBS
703 Area Code
City and State/Province
Arlington, VA
Abbreviations/Alias
Any other names used to refer to this forum
GLIB
Year Founded (approximate)
1986
Last Year Active (approximate)
2001
Baud Rate
Unknown
Intended Audience
The forum's intended audience
Gay people; Lesbian people; People with HIV/AIDS
Primary Language
Primary language used by participants
American English
Exterior References
Attached classified advertisement from <a href="https://digdc.dclibrary.org/islandora/object/dcplislandora%3A51265?solr_nav%5Bid%5D=70a9f12516e3eddd1db2&solr_nav%5Bpage%5D=0&solr_nav%5Boffset%5D=2#page/22/mode/1up/search/%22gay+and+lesbian+information+bureau%22" target="_blank" rel="noopener">October 18, 1991 issue of <em>The Washington Blade</em></a>.<br /><br />Attached full page advertisement from <a href="https://archive.org/details/Boardwatch_Magazine_Vol_09_03_1995_Mar" target="_blank" rel="noopener">March 1995 issue of <em>Boardwatch Magazine</em></a>.<br /><br />Attached clipping of letter from Jon Larimore published in <a href="https://digdc.dclibrary.org/islandora/object/dcplislandora%3A27720/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sept 1, 1989 issue of </a><em><a href="https://digdc.dclibrary.org/islandora/object/dcplislandora%3A27720/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Washington Blade</a>.<br /><br /></em>Attached clipping of 1994 syndicated column about GLIB by Deb Price from White Plains, NY-based<em> Journal News </em>(January 20, 1994). <span>Clipping via Newspapers.com.</span><br /><br />Attached letter of thanks mailed by President Bill Clinton to GLIB sysop Jon Larimore for their work on the campaign.<br />
<ul>
<li><a href="http://bbslist.textfiles.com/703/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">GLIB's listing in the Textfiles.com BBS List</a></li>
<li><a href="https://youtu.be/TNQHQG6g0Sc" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Gay Fairfax: Episode #26 (1991)</a> - Recorded presentation by sysop Jon Larimore about GLIB, its services, and BBSes in general</li>
<li><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1994/09/15/glib-users-are-talking-it-up/92d19833-ac76-4029-aee4-0862a7d4acaf/?utm_term=.816c8f0bbab7" target="_blank" rel="noopener">GLIB: Users are Talking It Up (Sept 15, 1994)</a> - Short Washington Post piece on GLIB</li>
<li><a href="http://queerdigital.com/items/show/61" target="_blank" rel="noopener">"National AIDS Clearinghouse Guide to AIDS BBSes" (April 2, 1993)</a> - Listed in Guide, which is included in sci.med.aids FAQ.</li>
<li><a href="https://archive.org/details/Boardwatch1993-09/page/n79/mode/2up" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Boardwatch Top 100 (1993): #5 GLIB</a> - GLIB's entry in <em>Boardwatch</em>'s listing</li>
<li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/19970228045752/http://www.glib.org:80/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">GLIB.org (archived Feb 28, 1997)</a> - Archived version of GLIB website, which BBS converted to in 1999</li>
<li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20001203044100/http://www.glib.org/whatglib.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">What is GLIB? (archived Dec 3, 2000)</a> - Informational page on the history of GLIB</li>
<li><a href="https://archive.org/details/bbs-20020906-larimore" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Interview with Jon Larimore</a> (Sept 6, 2002) - Conducted by Jason Scott for <em>BBS: The Documentary</em></li>
</ul>
Sponsor or Institutional Host
Organizations that hosted, sponsored, or maintained the forum
Community Educational Services Foundation (CESF)
Network/Platform
Networks or Platforms the forum participated in
GayCom, CAIN
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Gay and Lesbian Information Bureau (GLIB)
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Bulletin Board System
bbs
CAIN
Gay and Lesbian Information Bureau
gay people
GLIB
lesbian people
people living with HIV/AIDS
-
https://www.queerdigital.com/files/original/1bc21ea21e7df7fcfafc08e06b83acea.png
888c199d799c590e9f965bcdf5e936e0
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Queer Digital Community Catalog
Language
A language of the resource
English
Description
An account of the resource
<p dir="ltr"><span>This catalog collects basic information and resources on LGBTQ-related online communities prior to 2010, particularly those from the so-called Web 1.0 period. Each catalog entry includes information on the group’s format, its approximate dates of activity, its audience and topical focus, and links to other materials discussing the group, such as editorial columns, personal essays, or archival materials.</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>One of the driving impulses for the creation of this catalog was to offer a starting place for research into early LGBTQ life online. In early web research, simply knowing the name of a place or person could, in some cases, be key to one's success. Beyond just its research utility, however, this catalog is also meant to preserve the memory, if not the content, of communities and groups whose names might otherwise be lost or forgotten.<br /></span></p>
<h2>Why a Catalog?</h2>
<p dir="ltr">The QDHP has chosen to focus on a catalog, as opposed to an archive, for several reasons. Firstly, at its most basic level, an archive is focused on primary material—in this case, the content of posts. However, archiving for most online groups from the mid-1980s up to the late 1990s is often incomplete at best, so in many cases, there’s limited to no archival material available. Instead, what exists in many cases is secondary material, writing describing or reflecting on posters’ experiences with and in these spaces. The catalog, ideally, links these disparate materials together in order to give a slightly fuller picture of the online landscape at any given time.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Secondly, posters in early LGBTQ groups often wrote (sometimes in detail) about close and personal issues in their lives under the assumption that their posts would remain private within the group. Given this, the catalog has been designed to respect posters’ initial expectation of privacy. Linked content has all been previously published in other venues, and any other detailed personal reflections submitted by users specifically for the catalog have been made public with their consent.</p>
<h2>What Qualifies A Community For Inclusion?</h2>
<p dir="ltr"><span>There are no specific criteria determining inclusion in the QDCC. However, many of the communitites currently listed in the catalog have multiple references in contemporaneous periodicals, newsletters, web guides, or other LGBTQ-related informational websites. These sources are key for establishing not only the existence of a space, but its particular attributes.</span></p>
<h2 dir="ltr"><strong>On Audience Labels</strong></h2>
<p dir="ltr">All of the communities cataloged include descriptive metadata culled from various sources, including contemporaneous listings in print publications and online reference guides. However, the terminology used in archival sources does not always match current preferred terms. <a href="http://notchesblog.com/2017/11/28/troubling-terms-the-label-problem-in-transgender-history/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">As has been discussed elsewhere</a>, retroactively applying labels with which individuals or spaces might not have identified is a politically fraught act. The QDHP's metadata practices, then, follow a policy similar to that of the <a href="https://www.digitaltransgenderarchive.net/about/policies" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Digital Transgender Archive</a>: whenever possible, we use terminology included in contemporaneous decriptions. If terminology is not used or a detailed description is not available, we categorize using terminology derived from the archival reference.</p>
<h2>Adding Communities to the Catalog</h2>
<p>This catalog is by no means complete, and the QDHP is always looking for new groups to add, if additional information is available. Please feel free to suggest a community for inclusion using <a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe9oGcXtpUNGXXhEBIYdZlb40HTj3EDzG_fk4xltxxcCck6AQ/viewform?usp=sf_link" target="_blank" rel="noopener">this form</a>, or email Curator Avery Dame-Griff directly at <a href="mailto:admin@queerdigital.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">admin@queerdigital.com</a>.</p>
Usenet Newsgroup
Individual Usenet Newsgroup
Year Founded (approximate)
1994
Abbreviations/Alias
Any other names used to refer to this forum
ssyglb
Intended Audience
The forum's intended audience
Gay youth; Lesbian youth; Bisexual youth; Transgender youth
Primary Language
Primary language used by participants
American English
Exterior References
Attached screenshot of ssyglb.org, archived May 2002.<br />
<ul>
<li><a href="https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/soc.support.youth.gay-lesbian-bi" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Google Groups Archive for newsgroup</a></li>
<li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/19970301141627/http://youth.org:80/ssyglb/">Initial ssyglb homepage (archived March 1997)</a> - Contains basic information on accessing and posting to newsgroup</li>
<li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20020528042553/http://www.ssyglb.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Later ssyglb homepage (archived May 2002)</a> - Contains information about newsgroup, FAQ, and moderator bios</li>
<li><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/1995/07/02/us/some-on-line-discoveries-give-gay-youths-a-path-to-themselves.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>New York Times</em>: Some On-Line Discoveries Give Gay Youths a Path to Themselves (July 2, 1995)</a> - Article on use and impact of ssyglb</li>
<li><a href="https://www.wired.com/1995/08/updata-40/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>Wired</em>: We're Here, We're Queer, and Now We've Got Virtual Support (August 1995)</a> - Short piece on the newsgroup</li>
<li><a href="http://www.modemac.com/ssyglb.txt" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Post discussing origin of ssyglb, including the newsgroup's initial charter</a></li>
</ul>
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
soc.support.youth.gay-lesbian-bi
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Moderated Usenet Newsgroup
bisexual youth
gay youth
lesbian youth
soc.support.youth.gay-lesbian-bi
transgender youth
Usenet
-
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Queer Digital Community Catalog
Language
A language of the resource
English
Description
An account of the resource
<p dir="ltr"><span>This catalog collects basic information and resources on LGBTQ-related online communities prior to 2010, particularly those from the so-called Web 1.0 period. Each catalog entry includes information on the group’s format, its approximate dates of activity, its audience and topical focus, and links to other materials discussing the group, such as editorial columns, personal essays, or archival materials.</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>One of the driving impulses for the creation of this catalog was to offer a starting place for research into early LGBTQ life online. In early web research, simply knowing the name of a place or person could, in some cases, be key to one's success. Beyond just its research utility, however, this catalog is also meant to preserve the memory, if not the content, of communities and groups whose names might otherwise be lost or forgotten.<br /></span></p>
<h2>Why a Catalog?</h2>
<p dir="ltr">The QDHP has chosen to focus on a catalog, as opposed to an archive, for several reasons. Firstly, at its most basic level, an archive is focused on primary material—in this case, the content of posts. However, archiving for most online groups from the mid-1980s up to the late 1990s is often incomplete at best, so in many cases, there’s limited to no archival material available. Instead, what exists in many cases is secondary material, writing describing or reflecting on posters’ experiences with and in these spaces. The catalog, ideally, links these disparate materials together in order to give a slightly fuller picture of the online landscape at any given time.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Secondly, posters in early LGBTQ groups often wrote (sometimes in detail) about close and personal issues in their lives under the assumption that their posts would remain private within the group. Given this, the catalog has been designed to respect posters’ initial expectation of privacy. Linked content has all been previously published in other venues, and any other detailed personal reflections submitted by users specifically for the catalog have been made public with their consent.</p>
<h2>What Qualifies A Community For Inclusion?</h2>
<p dir="ltr"><span>There are no specific criteria determining inclusion in the QDCC. However, many of the communitites currently listed in the catalog have multiple references in contemporaneous periodicals, newsletters, web guides, or other LGBTQ-related informational websites. These sources are key for establishing not only the existence of a space, but its particular attributes.</span></p>
<h2 dir="ltr"><strong>On Audience Labels</strong></h2>
<p dir="ltr">All of the communities cataloged include descriptive metadata culled from various sources, including contemporaneous listings in print publications and online reference guides. However, the terminology used in archival sources does not always match current preferred terms. <a href="http://notchesblog.com/2017/11/28/troubling-terms-the-label-problem-in-transgender-history/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">As has been discussed elsewhere</a>, retroactively applying labels with which individuals or spaces might not have identified is a politically fraught act. The QDHP's metadata practices, then, follow a policy similar to that of the <a href="https://www.digitaltransgenderarchive.net/about/policies" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Digital Transgender Archive</a>: whenever possible, we use terminology included in contemporaneous decriptions. If terminology is not used or a detailed description is not available, we categorize using terminology derived from the archival reference.</p>
<h2>Adding Communities to the Catalog</h2>
<p>This catalog is by no means complete, and the QDHP is always looking for new groups to add, if additional information is available. Please feel free to suggest a community for inclusion using <a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe9oGcXtpUNGXXhEBIYdZlb40HTj3EDzG_fk4xltxxcCck6AQ/viewform?usp=sf_link" target="_blank" rel="noopener">this form</a>, or email Curator Avery Dame-Griff directly at <a href="mailto:admin@queerdigital.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">admin@queerdigital.com</a>.</p>
Usenet Newsgroup
Individual Usenet Newsgroup
Year Founded (approximate)
1991
Intended Audience
The forum's intended audience
bisexual people
Primary Language
Primary language used by participants
American English
Exterior References
<ul>
<li><a href="http://serf.org/jon/soc.bi/" target="_blank">soc.bi homepage</a> - includes FAQ, articles, and some usage statistics</li>
<li><a href="https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/soc.bi" target="_blank">Google Groups Archive for soc.bi</a></li>
</ul>
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
soc.bi
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Usenet Newsgroup
bisexual people
soc.bi
Usenet
-
https://www.queerdigital.com/files/original/48f3efc8c7de9c6da1db7ded36e3adc1.zip
eb93078584fe59a9677fddc0cc8a2e1e
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Primary Documents Collection
Description
An account of the resource
This collection holds primary documents (listings, programs, applications, etc) related to LGBTQ life online pre-2010. When possible, files have been listed with their original date of publication and source. When mirrored from established sites, their original source is attributed and linked. If you have files you would like to submit for inclusion, please feel free to contact Avery Dame-Griff at <a href="mailto:admin@queerdigital.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">admin@queerdigital.com</a>.
Born-Digital Archival Material
Materials related to or derived from a community described in the Community Catalog. Item metadata will include links to relevant catalog entries
File Format
Format of digital file(s).
ZIP archive, TXT (plain text unicode), .DIZ, .ANS
Total number of files
5
Checksum (SHA-256)
A small-sized block of data, derived using an algorithm, that can be used to verify data integrity.
43d27a53a4144d717867a807cce2478c8849b986eb52220380cec36490d94a14
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Global Gaynet network file
Subject
The topic of the resource
BBS network
Description
An account of the resource
Information on joining national BBS network Global Gaynet. Contains description, network rules, conference list, and application.
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
<span>Retrieved from </span><a href="http://cd.textfiles.com/swextrav4">Shareware Extravagana 4</a><a href="http://cd.textfiles.com/swextrav4/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">.</a><span> </span><span>Original copy </span><a href="http://cd.textfiles.com/swextrav4/swextrav4-1/bbsnet/ggo.zip" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a><span>.</span>
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1994
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
.zip file
Language
A language of the resource
American English
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
BBS network information packet
bbs network
bisexual people
gay people
Global Gaynet
lesbian people
transvestites
-
https://www.queerdigital.com/files/original/a3fd13951a284e77de022041d20a7c4e.zip
0ec3ca5c0265d8380c52bea06c21fcde
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Primary Documents Collection
Description
An account of the resource
This collection holds primary documents (listings, programs, applications, etc) related to LGBTQ life online pre-2010. When possible, files have been listed with their original date of publication and source. When mirrored from established sites, their original source is attributed and linked. If you have files you would like to submit for inclusion, please feel free to contact Avery Dame-Griff at <a href="mailto:admin@queerdigital.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">admin@queerdigital.com</a>.
Born-Digital Archival Material
Materials related to or derived from a community described in the Community Catalog. Item metadata will include links to relevant catalog entries
File Format
Format of digital file(s).
TXT (plain text unicode), LST, DIZ, APP
Total number of files
4
Checksum (SHA-256)
A small-sized block of data, derived using an algorithm, that can be used to verify data integrity.
b93bc1759430c232887f533e1f8d3c1321723e2fba4f8d67e767e38adcdc1ffd
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
International GayLink network file
Subject
The topic of the resource
BBS network
Description
An account of the resource
Information on joining national BBS network International GayLink. Contains description, network rules, conference list, and application.
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
<span>Retrieved from </span><a href="http://cd.textfiles.com/swextrav4">Shareware Extravagana 4</a><a href="http://cd.textfiles.com/swextrav4/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">.</a> <span>Original copy </span><a href="http://cd.textfiles.com/swextrav4/swextrav4-1/bbsnet/gaylink.zip" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a><span>.</span>
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1994
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
.zip file
Language
A language of the resource
American English
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
BBS network information packet
bbs network
bisexual people
gay people
International Gaylink
lesbian people
transvestites
-
https://www.queerdigital.com/files/original/35a72fc5dead6d8955519ced1e3de8d7.txt
2320e5d5609ae2320290e85736c27924
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Primary Documents Collection
Description
An account of the resource
This collection holds primary documents (listings, programs, applications, etc) related to LGBTQ life online pre-2010. When possible, files have been listed with their original date of publication and source. When mirrored from established sites, their original source is attributed and linked. If you have files you would like to submit for inclusion, please feel free to contact Avery Dame-Griff at <a href="mailto:admin@queerdigital.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">admin@queerdigital.com</a>.
Born-Digital Archival Material
Materials related to or derived from a community described in the Community Catalog. Item metadata will include links to relevant catalog entries
File Format
Format of digital file(s).
TXT (plain text unicode)
Total number of files
1
Checksum (SHA-256)
A small-sized block of data, derived using an algorithm, that can be used to verify data integrity.
49af9dc683954b5f59928a18ef93c6058d228f845d60fa653fad4978cf9e181a
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
PCBL Gay Echo List
Subject
The topic of the resource
List of Echo-Mail Conferences
Description
An account of the resource
Listing of LGBT-related Echo-Mail Conferences
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
PC Bear
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
Retrieved from <a href="http://www.textfiles.com/bbs/FIDONET/JENNINGS/GENERAL/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">textfiles.com's Tom Jennings Collection</a>, which holds files related to Tom Jennings, the creator of FidoNet. Original copy <a href="http://www.textfiles.com/bbs/FIDONET/JENNINGS/GENERAL/echoes.txt" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
Undated
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
TXT
Language
A language of the resource
American English
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Echo-Mail Listing
bisexual people
echo-mail
FidoNet
gay people
lesbian people
listing
transgender people
-
https://www.queerdigital.com/files/original/b9c901be0194188e96a66d44c04134d0.zip
7d89b7349f3892b56167524724bea59c
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Primary Documents Collection
Description
An account of the resource
This collection holds primary documents (listings, programs, applications, etc) related to LGBTQ life online pre-2010. When possible, files have been listed with their original date of publication and source. When mirrored from established sites, their original source is attributed and linked. If you have files you would like to submit for inclusion, please feel free to contact Avery Dame-Griff at <a href="mailto:admin@queerdigital.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">admin@queerdigital.com</a>.
Born-Digital Archival Material
Materials related to or derived from a community described in the Community Catalog. Item metadata will include links to relevant catalog entries
File Format
Format of digital file(s).
ZIP archive, TXT (plain text unicode)
Total number of files
63
Checksum (SHA-256)
A small-sized block of data, derived using an algorithm, that can be used to verify data integrity.
85cac8f4378734071187077039624beb91ec8fc24e0f8f06792564c7eb1a8175
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
THE GAY & LESBIAN BBS LIST Collection
Subject
The topic of the resource
Gay & Lesbian BBSs
Description
An account of the resource
This collection holds copies of THE GAY & LESBIAN BBS LIST, a monthly listing of active Gay & Lesbian BBSes. The list was maintained by Risqilly, sysop of Risqilly BBS and/or Eric Blair, sysop of S-Tek BBS in Montreal, from 1985 to August 1999 (when the final edition was published). Though many of the BBSes listed are based in North America, the list did include at various points in its existence a varied list of BBSes housed outside North America.
Currently, the .ZIP archive holds 8 years of the list, from August 1992 to August 1999. However, there are significant gaps in some years, and this file may be updated to include new copies when they become available.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Risqilly and Eric Blair
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
<span><span>All lists, except for those noted below, were r</span></span>etrieved from the copy of the alt.bbs.lists newsgroup archive, held within Archive.org's <a href="https://archive.org/details/usenethistorical"><span class="s2">Usenet Historical Collection</span></a>.<br />
<ul>
<li>November 1994 retrieved from the Queer Resources Directory's <a href="http://qrd.org/qrd/misc/text/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Miscellanious Lists</a> collection.</li>
<li>July 1995 retrieved from <a href="http://cd.textfil.es/nightowl/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cd.textfiles.com's Night Owl BBS Collection</a>, which holds copies of shareware discs from Night Owl Publishing. Original copy available on Disc #18 (1995).</li>
</ul>
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
August 1992 to August 1999
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
ZIP
Language
A language of the resource
American English
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
BBS Listing
bbs listing
bisexual people
Gay & Lesbian BBS List
gay people
lesbian people
transgender people
-
https://www.queerdigital.com/files/original/ae7a941dd7bed32a4f675c5f6b0c419c.txt
611ff35072d1e3813995204fb653ed03
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Primary Documents Collection
Description
An account of the resource
This collection holds primary documents (listings, programs, applications, etc) related to LGBTQ life online pre-2010. When possible, files have been listed with their original date of publication and source. When mirrored from established sites, their original source is attributed and linked. If you have files you would like to submit for inclusion, please feel free to contact Avery Dame-Griff at <a href="mailto:admin@queerdigital.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">admin@queerdigital.com</a>.
Born-Digital Archival Material
Materials related to or derived from a community described in the Community Catalog. Item metadata will include links to relevant catalog entries
File Format
Format of digital file(s).
TXT (plain text unicode)
Total number of files
1
Checksum (SHA-256)
A small-sized block of data, derived using an algorithm, that can be used to verify data integrity.
fb098e96bf72077455d440e2daee29cfcc9b3e16f471e2d53cb6c219d30a0be0
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
GAY & LESBIAN BBS LIST - Undated
Subject
The topic of the resource
Gay & Lesbian BBSs
Description
An account of the resource
Listing of active Gay & Lesbian BBSs. Published monthly.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Risquilly
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
<span>Retrieved from </span><a href="http://textfiles.com/sex/EROTICA/G/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">textfiles.com's Erotica/G section</a><span>. Original copy available </span><a href="http://textfiles.com/sex/EROTICA/G/gaybbs.txt" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a><span>.</span>
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
Undated
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Plain Text File
Language
A language of the resource
American English
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
BBS Listing
bbs listing
bisexual people
Gay & Lesbian BBS List
gay people
lesbian people
transgender people
-
https://www.queerdigital.com/files/original/84a04f52bf716dbbe112e22b4c1d4762.txt
39f02ff9deb1068795280810a5ee8000
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Primary Documents Collection
Description
An account of the resource
This collection holds primary documents (listings, programs, applications, etc) related to LGBTQ life online pre-2010. When possible, files have been listed with their original date of publication and source. When mirrored from established sites, their original source is attributed and linked. If you have files you would like to submit for inclusion, please feel free to contact Avery Dame-Griff at <a href="mailto:admin@queerdigital.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">admin@queerdigital.com</a>.
Born-Digital Archival Material
Materials related to or derived from a community described in the Community Catalog. Item metadata will include links to relevant catalog entries
File Format
Format of digital file(s).
TXT (plain text unicode)
Total number of files
1
Checksum (SHA-256)
A small-sized block of data, derived using an algorithm, that can be used to verify data integrity.
834d0a9312ab9041129885b0e2df05840632c957c776549835d67b98430f545a
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Puss N Boots Restricted Section Application
Description
An account of the resource
Application to access the "Restricted" sections of the Puss N Boots BBS, including "GAY/BI" and "TransGender" section.
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
Retrieved from <a href="https://textfiles.com/bbs/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">textfiles.com's BBS section</a>. Original copy available <a href="https://textfiles.com/bbs/pnbreg.frm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Application Form
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Plain Text File
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Aaron Davis
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
Unknown
Language
A language of the resource
American English
bbs
bisexual people
gay people
lesbian people
Puss N Boots
transgender people
-
https://www.queerdigital.com/files/original/cf276c1884069e2cb99d160628cdc288.png
aa82b42bf98d1d9502f3db33745a9471
https://www.queerdigital.com/files/original/b82bd8d398b59392f70d5de5ee8334de.png
9ece6eead51a94b99538ef4c096c6ae3
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Queer Digital Community Catalog
Language
A language of the resource
English
Description
An account of the resource
<p dir="ltr"><span>This catalog collects basic information and resources on LGBTQ-related online communities prior to 2010, particularly those from the so-called Web 1.0 period. Each catalog entry includes information on the group’s format, its approximate dates of activity, its audience and topical focus, and links to other materials discussing the group, such as editorial columns, personal essays, or archival materials.</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>One of the driving impulses for the creation of this catalog was to offer a starting place for research into early LGBTQ life online. In early web research, simply knowing the name of a place or person could, in some cases, be key to one's success. Beyond just its research utility, however, this catalog is also meant to preserve the memory, if not the content, of communities and groups whose names might otherwise be lost or forgotten.<br /></span></p>
<h2>Why a Catalog?</h2>
<p dir="ltr">The QDHP has chosen to focus on a catalog, as opposed to an archive, for several reasons. Firstly, at its most basic level, an archive is focused on primary material—in this case, the content of posts. However, archiving for most online groups from the mid-1980s up to the late 1990s is often incomplete at best, so in many cases, there’s limited to no archival material available. Instead, what exists in many cases is secondary material, writing describing or reflecting on posters’ experiences with and in these spaces. The catalog, ideally, links these disparate materials together in order to give a slightly fuller picture of the online landscape at any given time.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Secondly, posters in early LGBTQ groups often wrote (sometimes in detail) about close and personal issues in their lives under the assumption that their posts would remain private within the group. Given this, the catalog has been designed to respect posters’ initial expectation of privacy. Linked content has all been previously published in other venues, and any other detailed personal reflections submitted by users specifically for the catalog have been made public with their consent.</p>
<h2>What Qualifies A Community For Inclusion?</h2>
<p dir="ltr"><span>There are no specific criteria determining inclusion in the QDCC. However, many of the communitites currently listed in the catalog have multiple references in contemporaneous periodicals, newsletters, web guides, or other LGBTQ-related informational websites. These sources are key for establishing not only the existence of a space, but its particular attributes.</span></p>
<h2 dir="ltr"><strong>On Audience Labels</strong></h2>
<p dir="ltr">All of the communities cataloged include descriptive metadata culled from various sources, including contemporaneous listings in print publications and online reference guides. However, the terminology used in archival sources does not always match current preferred terms. <a href="http://notchesblog.com/2017/11/28/troubling-terms-the-label-problem-in-transgender-history/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">As has been discussed elsewhere</a>, retroactively applying labels with which individuals or spaces might not have identified is a politically fraught act. The QDHP's metadata practices, then, follow a policy similar to that of the <a href="https://www.digitaltransgenderarchive.net/about/policies" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Digital Transgender Archive</a>: whenever possible, we use terminology included in contemporaneous decriptions. If terminology is not used or a detailed description is not available, we categorize using terminology derived from the archival reference.</p>
<h2>Adding Communities to the Catalog</h2>
<p>This catalog is by no means complete, and the QDHP is always looking for new groups to add, if additional information is available. Please feel free to suggest a community for inclusion using <a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe9oGcXtpUNGXXhEBIYdZlb40HTj3EDzG_fk4xltxxcCck6AQ/viewform?usp=sf_link" target="_blank" rel="noopener">this form</a>, or email Curator Avery Dame-Griff directly at <a href="mailto:admin@queerdigital.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">admin@queerdigital.com</a>.</p>
BBS
A computer server running software that allows users to connect remotely via modem. to the system using a terminal or a terminal emulator. Sometimes also called a computer bulletin board service (CBBS).
Name
Name of Forum
Cross Connection
Area Code
Area Code of BBS
818 Area Code
Year Founded (approximate)
Unknown
Last Year Active (approximate)
Unknown
City and State/Province
Los Angeles, CA
Baud Rate
300/1200/2400 baud
Intended Audience
The forum's intended audience
transgender people; transsexual people; gender community
Primary Language
Primary language used by participants
American English
Exterior References
<p><span>Attached advertisements (in order):</span></p>
<ul>
<li><span><a href="https://www.digitaltransgenderarchive.net/files/0k225b04p" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>Cross-Talk: The Gender Community’s News & Information Monthly</em>, No. 47 (September 1993)</a></span></li>
<li><span><a href="https://www.digitaltransgenderarchive.net/files/xd07gs80t" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>Cross-Talk: The Gender Community's News & Information Monthly</em>, No. 56 (June, 1994)</a></span></li>
</ul>
Other references:<br />
<ul>
<li><span>Regular advertiser in <a href="https://www.digitaltransgenderarchive.net/catalog?f%5Bcollection_name_ssim%5D%5B%5D=Cross-Talk%3A+The+Gender+Community%E2%80%99s+News+%26+Information+Monthly" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Cross-Talk: The Gender Community's News & Information Monthly</a></span></li>
<li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210118051141/https://www.digitaltransgenderarchive.net/files/r207tp43x" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Cross-Talk: The Gender Community's News & Information Monthly, No. 60 (October, 1994)</a> - Discussion of Cross-Connection in article on gender community-specific BBSs</li>
<li><span>Appeared in </span><a href="https://www.digitaltransgenderarchive.net/catalog?f%5Bcollection_name_ssim%5D%5B%5D=Transgender+Tapestry&sort=dta_sortable_date_dtsi+asc%2C+title_primary_ssort+asc" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">TS-TV Tapestry's BBS listings</a><span> from 1991-1995</span></li>
</ul>
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Cross Connection
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Bulletin Board System (BBS)
bbs
Cross Connection
gender community
transgender people
transsexual people
-
https://www.queerdigital.com/files/original/d7b8f2df48d2f24274a24c224abec027.png
37b9b95b6251b4bd8bcee4f2379ef503
https://www.queerdigital.com/files/original/bcba959805861d997ea50724807aa3ea.png
5f142bec5b2ca930d6231d0e1696f211
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Queer Digital Community Catalog
Language
A language of the resource
English
Description
An account of the resource
<p dir="ltr"><span>This catalog collects basic information and resources on LGBTQ-related online communities prior to 2010, particularly those from the so-called Web 1.0 period. Each catalog entry includes information on the group’s format, its approximate dates of activity, its audience and topical focus, and links to other materials discussing the group, such as editorial columns, personal essays, or archival materials.</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>One of the driving impulses for the creation of this catalog was to offer a starting place for research into early LGBTQ life online. In early web research, simply knowing the name of a place or person could, in some cases, be key to one's success. Beyond just its research utility, however, this catalog is also meant to preserve the memory, if not the content, of communities and groups whose names might otherwise be lost or forgotten.<br /></span></p>
<h2>Why a Catalog?</h2>
<p dir="ltr">The QDHP has chosen to focus on a catalog, as opposed to an archive, for several reasons. Firstly, at its most basic level, an archive is focused on primary material—in this case, the content of posts. However, archiving for most online groups from the mid-1980s up to the late 1990s is often incomplete at best, so in many cases, there’s limited to no archival material available. Instead, what exists in many cases is secondary material, writing describing or reflecting on posters’ experiences with and in these spaces. The catalog, ideally, links these disparate materials together in order to give a slightly fuller picture of the online landscape at any given time.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Secondly, posters in early LGBTQ groups often wrote (sometimes in detail) about close and personal issues in their lives under the assumption that their posts would remain private within the group. Given this, the catalog has been designed to respect posters’ initial expectation of privacy. Linked content has all been previously published in other venues, and any other detailed personal reflections submitted by users specifically for the catalog have been made public with their consent.</p>
<h2>What Qualifies A Community For Inclusion?</h2>
<p dir="ltr"><span>There are no specific criteria determining inclusion in the QDCC. However, many of the communitites currently listed in the catalog have multiple references in contemporaneous periodicals, newsletters, web guides, or other LGBTQ-related informational websites. These sources are key for establishing not only the existence of a space, but its particular attributes.</span></p>
<h2 dir="ltr"><strong>On Audience Labels</strong></h2>
<p dir="ltr">All of the communities cataloged include descriptive metadata culled from various sources, including contemporaneous listings in print publications and online reference guides. However, the terminology used in archival sources does not always match current preferred terms. <a href="http://notchesblog.com/2017/11/28/troubling-terms-the-label-problem-in-transgender-history/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">As has been discussed elsewhere</a>, retroactively applying labels with which individuals or spaces might not have identified is a politically fraught act. The QDHP's metadata practices, then, follow a policy similar to that of the <a href="https://www.digitaltransgenderarchive.net/about/policies" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Digital Transgender Archive</a>: whenever possible, we use terminology included in contemporaneous decriptions. If terminology is not used or a detailed description is not available, we categorize using terminology derived from the archival reference.</p>
<h2>Adding Communities to the Catalog</h2>
<p>This catalog is by no means complete, and the QDHP is always looking for new groups to add, if additional information is available. Please feel free to suggest a community for inclusion using <a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe9oGcXtpUNGXXhEBIYdZlb40HTj3EDzG_fk4xltxxcCck6AQ/viewform?usp=sf_link" target="_blank" rel="noopener">this form</a>, or email Curator Avery Dame-Griff directly at <a href="mailto:admin@queerdigital.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">admin@queerdigital.com</a>.</p>
BBS
A computer server running software that allows users to connect remotely via modem. to the system using a terminal or a terminal emulator. Sometimes also called a computer bulletin board service (CBBS).
Name
Name of Forum
The Backroom
Area Code
Area Code of BBS
718 Area Code
Abbreviations/Alias
Any other names used to refer to this forum
Backroom BBS
Year Founded (approximate)
1985
Last Year Active (approximate)
1997
City and State/Province
New York, NY
Intended Audience
The forum's intended audience
gay people; people with HIV/AIDS
Primary Language
Primary language used by participants
American English
Exterior References
Attached advertisement from <a href="http://outweek.net/pdfs/ow_55.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Issue 55 of <em>Outweek Magazine</em> (July 18, 1990).</a><br /><br />Attached Item of Interest from <a href="https://issuu.com/rfdmag/docs/045/10" target="_blank" rel="noopener">RFD#45 (Winter 1985</a>).<br />
<ul>
<li><a href="https://archive.org/stream/Boardwatch_Magazine_Vol_06_02_1992_Apr#page/n9/mode/2up/search/backroom" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Boardwatch Magazine, Vol. 06, No. 2 (April 1992)</a> - Discussion of advertising the Backroom in <em>Boardwatch</em></li>
<li><a href="https://archive.org/stream/TheJoyOfCybersexPart3/The_Joy_of_Cybersex_Part_3#page/n17/mode/2up/search/backroom" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Joy of Cybersex (1993)</a> - Discussion of The Backroom and it's various boards</li>
<li><a href="http://bbslist.textfiles.com/718/">The TEXTFILES.COM Historical BBS List: 718 Area Code Map</a> - Description of BBS creation, history, and impact</li>
<li><a href="http://www.oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/c8ks6s66/entire_text/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">David Charnow Upper Westsider papers, 1987-1990 (Finding Aid)</a> - Collection holding printouts of posts from Backroom BBS</li>
<li>"<a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/bitwise/2014/08/lgbtq_nerds_and_the_evolution_of_life_online.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">When AOL Was GayOL," Slate (Aug 2014)</a> - Discussion of the Backroom's place within early LGBT life online. Includes scan of Backroom magazine ad</li>
</ul>
Network/Platform
Networks or Platforms the forum participated in
Host BBS of GayCom network
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
The Backroom
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Bulletin Board System (BBS)
bbs
gay people
GayCom
people living with HIV/AIDS
The Backroom
-
https://www.queerdigital.com/files/original/9205ecf720041e1213e2cadae2756967.png
0bd82c0eab97fb2899d1dd5e726e2e59
https://www.queerdigital.com/files/original/20689631c3a6cf3e4b6b609a57339c04.png
20f6529496d3f4e6c0c3e75212379478
https://www.queerdigital.com/files/original/bf2e9e7f930470d7d553dad02126bfb4.jpg
0ca34f7b8e7f98698ce89fb204a4e827
https://www.queerdigital.com/files/original/1cddb73f49e8c2921b258c4bf976f677.jpg
16f84152f0b086d428e4b0a3b2c4bdfe
https://www.queerdigital.com/files/original/f19a07a611f9ec31e30939c7666c071e.png
ef479d822f18864ecc4cfcfc067dd7cd
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Queer Digital Community Catalog
Language
A language of the resource
English
Description
An account of the resource
<p dir="ltr"><span>This catalog collects basic information and resources on LGBTQ-related online communities prior to 2010, particularly those from the so-called Web 1.0 period. Each catalog entry includes information on the group’s format, its approximate dates of activity, its audience and topical focus, and links to other materials discussing the group, such as editorial columns, personal essays, or archival materials.</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>One of the driving impulses for the creation of this catalog was to offer a starting place for research into early LGBTQ life online. In early web research, simply knowing the name of a place or person could, in some cases, be key to one's success. Beyond just its research utility, however, this catalog is also meant to preserve the memory, if not the content, of communities and groups whose names might otherwise be lost or forgotten.<br /></span></p>
<h2>Why a Catalog?</h2>
<p dir="ltr">The QDHP has chosen to focus on a catalog, as opposed to an archive, for several reasons. Firstly, at its most basic level, an archive is focused on primary material—in this case, the content of posts. However, archiving for most online groups from the mid-1980s up to the late 1990s is often incomplete at best, so in many cases, there’s limited to no archival material available. Instead, what exists in many cases is secondary material, writing describing or reflecting on posters’ experiences with and in these spaces. The catalog, ideally, links these disparate materials together in order to give a slightly fuller picture of the online landscape at any given time.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Secondly, posters in early LGBTQ groups often wrote (sometimes in detail) about close and personal issues in their lives under the assumption that their posts would remain private within the group. Given this, the catalog has been designed to respect posters’ initial expectation of privacy. Linked content has all been previously published in other venues, and any other detailed personal reflections submitted by users specifically for the catalog have been made public with their consent.</p>
<h2>What Qualifies A Community For Inclusion?</h2>
<p dir="ltr"><span>There are no specific criteria determining inclusion in the QDCC. However, many of the communitites currently listed in the catalog have multiple references in contemporaneous periodicals, newsletters, web guides, or other LGBTQ-related informational websites. These sources are key for establishing not only the existence of a space, but its particular attributes.</span></p>
<h2 dir="ltr"><strong>On Audience Labels</strong></h2>
<p dir="ltr">All of the communities cataloged include descriptive metadata culled from various sources, including contemporaneous listings in print publications and online reference guides. However, the terminology used in archival sources does not always match current preferred terms. <a href="http://notchesblog.com/2017/11/28/troubling-terms-the-label-problem-in-transgender-history/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">As has been discussed elsewhere</a>, retroactively applying labels with which individuals or spaces might not have identified is a politically fraught act. The QDHP's metadata practices, then, follow a policy similar to that of the <a href="https://www.digitaltransgenderarchive.net/about/policies" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Digital Transgender Archive</a>: whenever possible, we use terminology included in contemporaneous decriptions. If terminology is not used or a detailed description is not available, we categorize using terminology derived from the archival reference.</p>
<h2>Adding Communities to the Catalog</h2>
<p>This catalog is by no means complete, and the QDHP is always looking for new groups to add, if additional information is available. Please feel free to suggest a community for inclusion using <a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe9oGcXtpUNGXXhEBIYdZlb40HTj3EDzG_fk4xltxxcCck6AQ/viewform?usp=sf_link" target="_blank" rel="noopener">this form</a>, or email Curator Avery Dame-Griff directly at <a href="mailto:admin@queerdigital.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">admin@queerdigital.com</a>.</p>
BBS
A computer server running software that allows users to connect remotely via modem. to the system using a terminal or a terminal emulator. Sometimes also called a computer bulletin board service (CBBS).
Name
Name of Forum
AEGIS (AIDS Education General Information System)
Area Code
Area Code of BBS
714 Area Code
Abbreviations/Alias
Any other names used to refer to this forum
Founded as TerraNet
Year Founded (approximate)
1987
Last Year Active (approximate)
Unknown
Sponsor or Institutional Host
Organizations that hosted, sponsored, or maintained the forum
<ul>
<li>Initially sponsored by J2CP Information Services</li>
<li>Sponsored from 1990 to 1995 by the Sisters of St. Elizabeth of Hungary</li>
<li>From 1996 onward, BBS sponsored by non-profit organization AEGiS</li>
</ul>
City and State/Province
San Juan Capistrano, CA; later Santa Ana, CA
Baud Rate
300/1200/2400 baud
Intended Audience
The forum's intended audience
LGBT people; transgender people; transsexual people; people with HIV/AIDS
Primary Language
Primary language used by participants
American English
Exterior References
<strong>Attached Files:</strong><br />
<ul>
<li>Ad for TerraNet from <a href="https://www.digitaltransgenderarchive.net/files/hq37vn57m" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>The Transsexual Voice </em>December 1991</a></li>
<li>Letter on changes to TerraNet from <a href="https://www.digitaltransgenderarchive.net/files/nk322d54j" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>FtM Newsletter</em> #18 (January 1992)</a></li>
<li>Clipping from the <em>San Francisco Examiner</em> (July 17, 1994) on AEGIS and Sister Mary Elizabeth. Clipping via Newspapers.com.</li>
<li>Screenshot of <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/19971210235719/https://aegis.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">AEGIS.com</a>, the first incarnation of AEGIS online (archived December 10, 1997)</li>
</ul>
<strong>Secondary Documentation:</strong><br />
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.digitaltransgenderarchive.net/files/bg257f135" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Our Sorority, Issue 15 (1987)</a> - Included in listing of online resources</li>
<li><a href="https://www.digitaltransgenderarchive.net/files/fb494852w" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Twenty Minutes (February, 1991)</a> - Letter from BBS founder Sister Mary Elizabeth on recent changes to BBS</li>
<li>Appeared in <a href="https://www.digitaltransgenderarchive.net/catalog?f%5Bcollection_name_ssim%5D%5B%5D=Transgender+Tapestry&sort=dta_sortable_date_dtsi+asc%2C+title_primary_ssort+asc" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">TS-TV Tapestry's BBS listings</a> from 1991-1995</li>
<li><a href="https://www.digitaltransgenderarchive.net/files/jw827b69n" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Chrysalis Quarterly, Vol. 1 No. 6 (Fall, 1993)</a> - </li>
<li>Reprint of <em>The Reader</em> (San Diego, CA) article about the founding of AEGIS</li>
<li><a href="https://www.digitaltransgenderarchive.net/files/r207tp43x" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Cross-Talk: The Gender Community's News & Information Monthly, No. 60 (October, 1994)</a> - Discussion of AEGIS BBS in article on gender community-specific BBSs</li>
<li><a href="https://www.digitaltransgenderarchive.net/files/pn89d6567" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The 7th annual Coming Together - Working Together Convention Program Book (1993)</a> - BBS founder Sister Mary Elizabeth, SSE awarded for her community work, including TerraNet</li>
<li><a href="http://www.ocweekly.com/news/this-sister-oughta-be-famous-6395237" target="_blank" rel="noopener">OC Weekly: This Sister Oughta Be Famous (May 1999)</a> - Profile of Sister Mary Elizabeth</li>
<li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20071022055127/http://www.aegis.org/about/about.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">AEGiS.org: History of AEGIS (archived Oct 22, 2007)</a></li>
<li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Elizabeth_Clark" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Wikipedia page for Mary Elizabeth Clark</a></li>
<li><a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-history/cyberspace/social-medias-dialup-ancestor-the-bulletin-board-system" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Social Media’s Dial-Up Ancestor: The Bulletin Board System (October 2016)</a> - Brief discussion of AEGIS and Clark</li>
</ul>
Network/Platform
Networks or Platforms the forum participated in
TGNet echo
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
AEGIS (AIDS Education General Information System)
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Bulletin Board System (BBS)
AEGIS
AIDS Education General Information System
bbs
LGBT people
people living with HIV/AIDS
TerraNet
TGNet
transgender people
transsexual people
website
-
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Queer Digital Community Catalog
Language
A language of the resource
English
Description
An account of the resource
<p dir="ltr"><span>This catalog collects basic information and resources on LGBTQ-related online communities prior to 2010, particularly those from the so-called Web 1.0 period. Each catalog entry includes information on the group’s format, its approximate dates of activity, its audience and topical focus, and links to other materials discussing the group, such as editorial columns, personal essays, or archival materials.</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>One of the driving impulses for the creation of this catalog was to offer a starting place for research into early LGBTQ life online. In early web research, simply knowing the name of a place or person could, in some cases, be key to one's success. Beyond just its research utility, however, this catalog is also meant to preserve the memory, if not the content, of communities and groups whose names might otherwise be lost or forgotten.<br /></span></p>
<h2>Why a Catalog?</h2>
<p dir="ltr">The QDHP has chosen to focus on a catalog, as opposed to an archive, for several reasons. Firstly, at its most basic level, an archive is focused on primary material—in this case, the content of posts. However, archiving for most online groups from the mid-1980s up to the late 1990s is often incomplete at best, so in many cases, there’s limited to no archival material available. Instead, what exists in many cases is secondary material, writing describing or reflecting on posters’ experiences with and in these spaces. The catalog, ideally, links these disparate materials together in order to give a slightly fuller picture of the online landscape at any given time.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Secondly, posters in early LGBTQ groups often wrote (sometimes in detail) about close and personal issues in their lives under the assumption that their posts would remain private within the group. Given this, the catalog has been designed to respect posters’ initial expectation of privacy. Linked content has all been previously published in other venues, and any other detailed personal reflections submitted by users specifically for the catalog have been made public with their consent.</p>
<h2>What Qualifies A Community For Inclusion?</h2>
<p dir="ltr"><span>There are no specific criteria determining inclusion in the QDCC. However, many of the communitites currently listed in the catalog have multiple references in contemporaneous periodicals, newsletters, web guides, or other LGBTQ-related informational websites. These sources are key for establishing not only the existence of a space, but its particular attributes.</span></p>
<h2 dir="ltr"><strong>On Audience Labels</strong></h2>
<p dir="ltr">All of the communities cataloged include descriptive metadata culled from various sources, including contemporaneous listings in print publications and online reference guides. However, the terminology used in archival sources does not always match current preferred terms. <a href="http://notchesblog.com/2017/11/28/troubling-terms-the-label-problem-in-transgender-history/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">As has been discussed elsewhere</a>, retroactively applying labels with which individuals or spaces might not have identified is a politically fraught act. The QDHP's metadata practices, then, follow a policy similar to that of the <a href="https://www.digitaltransgenderarchive.net/about/policies" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Digital Transgender Archive</a>: whenever possible, we use terminology included in contemporaneous decriptions. If terminology is not used or a detailed description is not available, we categorize using terminology derived from the archival reference.</p>
<h2>Adding Communities to the Catalog</h2>
<p>This catalog is by no means complete, and the QDHP is always looking for new groups to add, if additional information is available. Please feel free to suggest a community for inclusion using <a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe9oGcXtpUNGXXhEBIYdZlb40HTj3EDzG_fk4xltxxcCck6AQ/viewform?usp=sf_link" target="_blank" rel="noopener">this form</a>, or email Curator Avery Dame-Griff directly at <a href="mailto:admin@queerdigital.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">admin@queerdigital.com</a>.</p>
BBS
A computer server running software that allows users to connect remotely via modem. to the system using a terminal or a terminal emulator. Sometimes also called a computer bulletin board service (CBBS).
Area Code
Area Code of BBS
317 Area Code
Year Founded (approximate)
Unknown
Sponsor or Institutional Host
Organizations that hosted, sponsored, or maintained the forum
Indiana Crossdressers Society (IXE)
City and State/Province
Indianapolis, IN
Baud Rate
Unknown
Intended Audience
The forum's intended audience
Transgender people; crossdressers
Primary Language
Primary language used by participants
American English
Exterior References
<ul>
<li>Information on connecting to KINKY BBS included in IXE listing in <a href="https://www.digitaltransgenderarchive.net/catalog?f%5Bcollection_name_ssim%5D%5B%5D=Transgender+Tapestry&sort=dta_sortable_date_dtsi+asc%2C+title_primary_ssort+asc" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">TS-TV Tapestry</a> from 1989-1990</li>
<li><a href="https://www.digitaltransgenderarchive.net/files/9w0323153">Cross-Port InnerView, v.5, n.9 (Sept 1989)</a> - Mention of IXE BBS</li>
<li>Appeared in <a href="https://www.digitaltransgenderarchive.net/catalog?f%5Bcollection_name_ssim%5D%5B%5D=Transgender+Tapestry&sort=dta_sortable_date_dtsi+asc%2C+title_primary_ssort+asc" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">TS-TV Tapestry's BBS listings</a> from 1991-1994</li>
<li><a href="http://karenannetaylor.orgfree.com/bbs.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">KAT's TAIL: BBS Listing</a> - Included in listing of transgender-related BBS systems</li>
</ul>
Abbreviations/Alias
Any other names used to refer to this forum
Initially named KINKY BBS
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
IXE BBS
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Bulletin Board System (BBS)
bbs
crossdressers
Indiana Crossdressers Society
IXE
IXE BBS
KINKY BBS
transgender people
-
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Queer Digital Community Catalog
Language
A language of the resource
English
Description
An account of the resource
<p dir="ltr"><span>This catalog collects basic information and resources on LGBTQ-related online communities prior to 2010, particularly those from the so-called Web 1.0 period. Each catalog entry includes information on the group’s format, its approximate dates of activity, its audience and topical focus, and links to other materials discussing the group, such as editorial columns, personal essays, or archival materials.</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>One of the driving impulses for the creation of this catalog was to offer a starting place for research into early LGBTQ life online. In early web research, simply knowing the name of a place or person could, in some cases, be key to one's success. Beyond just its research utility, however, this catalog is also meant to preserve the memory, if not the content, of communities and groups whose names might otherwise be lost or forgotten.<br /></span></p>
<h2>Why a Catalog?</h2>
<p dir="ltr">The QDHP has chosen to focus on a catalog, as opposed to an archive, for several reasons. Firstly, at its most basic level, an archive is focused on primary material—in this case, the content of posts. However, archiving for most online groups from the mid-1980s up to the late 1990s is often incomplete at best, so in many cases, there’s limited to no archival material available. Instead, what exists in many cases is secondary material, writing describing or reflecting on posters’ experiences with and in these spaces. The catalog, ideally, links these disparate materials together in order to give a slightly fuller picture of the online landscape at any given time.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Secondly, posters in early LGBTQ groups often wrote (sometimes in detail) about close and personal issues in their lives under the assumption that their posts would remain private within the group. Given this, the catalog has been designed to respect posters’ initial expectation of privacy. Linked content has all been previously published in other venues, and any other detailed personal reflections submitted by users specifically for the catalog have been made public with their consent.</p>
<h2>What Qualifies A Community For Inclusion?</h2>
<p dir="ltr"><span>There are no specific criteria determining inclusion in the QDCC. However, many of the communitites currently listed in the catalog have multiple references in contemporaneous periodicals, newsletters, web guides, or other LGBTQ-related informational websites. These sources are key for establishing not only the existence of a space, but its particular attributes.</span></p>
<h2 dir="ltr"><strong>On Audience Labels</strong></h2>
<p dir="ltr">All of the communities cataloged include descriptive metadata culled from various sources, including contemporaneous listings in print publications and online reference guides. However, the terminology used in archival sources does not always match current preferred terms. <a href="http://notchesblog.com/2017/11/28/troubling-terms-the-label-problem-in-transgender-history/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">As has been discussed elsewhere</a>, retroactively applying labels with which individuals or spaces might not have identified is a politically fraught act. The QDHP's metadata practices, then, follow a policy similar to that of the <a href="https://www.digitaltransgenderarchive.net/about/policies" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Digital Transgender Archive</a>: whenever possible, we use terminology included in contemporaneous decriptions. If terminology is not used or a detailed description is not available, we categorize using terminology derived from the archival reference.</p>
<h2>Adding Communities to the Catalog</h2>
<p>This catalog is by no means complete, and the QDHP is always looking for new groups to add, if additional information is available. Please feel free to suggest a community for inclusion using <a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe9oGcXtpUNGXXhEBIYdZlb40HTj3EDzG_fk4xltxxcCck6AQ/viewform?usp=sf_link" target="_blank" rel="noopener">this form</a>, or email Curator Avery Dame-Griff directly at <a href="mailto:admin@queerdigital.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">admin@queerdigital.com</a>.</p>
Proprietary Forum
Forum on a proprietary platform (AOL, Livejournal, etc.)
Year Founded (approximate)
1986
Section Number
Specific section of Forum
Unknown
Parent Forum
Host forum
Human Sexuality Forum, GO HSX-200
Intended Audience
The forum's intended audience
Transgender people; transsexual people
Primary Language
Primary language used by participants
American English
Exterior References
<ul>
<li>Appeared in <a href="https://www.digitaltransgenderarchive.net/catalog?f%5Bcollection_name_ssim%5D%5B%5D=Transgender+Tapestry&sort=dta_sortable_date_dtsi+asc%2C+title_primary_ssort+asc" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">TS-TV Tapestry's BBS listings</a> from 1989-1995</li>
<li><a href="https://archive.org/details/CompuServeMagazineDec1991" target="_blank" rel="noopener">"A Girl at Heart," Compuserve Magazine (December 1991)</a> - Short personal essay on the impact of Genderline on the author. Sent to all Compuserve subscribers.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.qrd.org/qrd/electronic/providers/1994/queer.areas.on.compuserve-01.15.94" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Queer Areas on Compuserve (1994)</a> - Included in list</li>
<li><a href="http://www.ebar.com/columns/column.php?sec=transmissions&article=114" target="_blank" rel="noopener">"Techno-trans plug in online," Bay Area Reporter (July 2009)</a> - Short essay recounting early history of transgender sites on digital media</li>
</ul>
Abbreviations/Alias
Any other names used to refer to this forum
HSX-200
Platform-Specific Identifiers
How forum was identified on the platform, like keywords, abbreviations, titles, or numerical identifiers.
Human Sexuality Forum, GO HSX-200
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Genderline
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Compuserve sub-section
Compuserve
Genderline
transgender people
transsexual people
-
https://www.queerdigital.com/files/original/d5e5bc8d16dfc06fcdeb1b1abcc09e73.jpg
403c3ba2ea016a52e22c56bda27a4878
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Queer Digital Community Catalog
Language
A language of the resource
English
Description
An account of the resource
<p dir="ltr"><span>This catalog collects basic information and resources on LGBTQ-related online communities prior to 2010, particularly those from the so-called Web 1.0 period. Each catalog entry includes information on the group’s format, its approximate dates of activity, its audience and topical focus, and links to other materials discussing the group, such as editorial columns, personal essays, or archival materials.</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>One of the driving impulses for the creation of this catalog was to offer a starting place for research into early LGBTQ life online. In early web research, simply knowing the name of a place or person could, in some cases, be key to one's success. Beyond just its research utility, however, this catalog is also meant to preserve the memory, if not the content, of communities and groups whose names might otherwise be lost or forgotten.<br /></span></p>
<h2>Why a Catalog?</h2>
<p dir="ltr">The QDHP has chosen to focus on a catalog, as opposed to an archive, for several reasons. Firstly, at its most basic level, an archive is focused on primary material—in this case, the content of posts. However, archiving for most online groups from the mid-1980s up to the late 1990s is often incomplete at best, so in many cases, there’s limited to no archival material available. Instead, what exists in many cases is secondary material, writing describing or reflecting on posters’ experiences with and in these spaces. The catalog, ideally, links these disparate materials together in order to give a slightly fuller picture of the online landscape at any given time.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Secondly, posters in early LGBTQ groups often wrote (sometimes in detail) about close and personal issues in their lives under the assumption that their posts would remain private within the group. Given this, the catalog has been designed to respect posters’ initial expectation of privacy. Linked content has all been previously published in other venues, and any other detailed personal reflections submitted by users specifically for the catalog have been made public with their consent.</p>
<h2>What Qualifies A Community For Inclusion?</h2>
<p dir="ltr"><span>There are no specific criteria determining inclusion in the QDCC. However, many of the communitites currently listed in the catalog have multiple references in contemporaneous periodicals, newsletters, web guides, or other LGBTQ-related informational websites. These sources are key for establishing not only the existence of a space, but its particular attributes.</span></p>
<h2 dir="ltr"><strong>On Audience Labels</strong></h2>
<p dir="ltr">All of the communities cataloged include descriptive metadata culled from various sources, including contemporaneous listings in print publications and online reference guides. However, the terminology used in archival sources does not always match current preferred terms. <a href="http://notchesblog.com/2017/11/28/troubling-terms-the-label-problem-in-transgender-history/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">As has been discussed elsewhere</a>, retroactively applying labels with which individuals or spaces might not have identified is a politically fraught act. The QDHP's metadata practices, then, follow a policy similar to that of the <a href="https://www.digitaltransgenderarchive.net/about/policies" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Digital Transgender Archive</a>: whenever possible, we use terminology included in contemporaneous decriptions. If terminology is not used or a detailed description is not available, we categorize using terminology derived from the archival reference.</p>
<h2>Adding Communities to the Catalog</h2>
<p>This catalog is by no means complete, and the QDHP is always looking for new groups to add, if additional information is available. Please feel free to suggest a community for inclusion using <a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe9oGcXtpUNGXXhEBIYdZlb40HTj3EDzG_fk4xltxxcCck6AQ/viewform?usp=sf_link" target="_blank" rel="noopener">this form</a>, or email Curator Avery Dame-Griff directly at <a href="mailto:admin@queerdigital.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">admin@queerdigital.com</a>.</p>
Usenet Newsgroup
Individual Usenet Newsgroup
Abbreviations/Alias
Any other names used to refer to this forum
Often shortened to motss; Initially categorized on Usenet as net.motss.
Primary Language
Primary language used by participants
American English
Exterior References
<p>Attached image of founder Steve Dyer in "soc.motss" shirt at first motss.con in 1988. Courtesy of <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/18578905@N02/sets/72157624770633262/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Billy Green on Flickr</a>.</p>
<h3><strong>Archival Resources:</strong></h3>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/net.motss" target="_blank" rel="noopener">net.motss Google Groups Archive</a></li>
<li><a href="https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/soc.motss" target="_blank" rel="noopener">soc.motss Google Groups Archive</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.soc-motss.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">soc-motss.org</a> - Homepage of soc.motss group (<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20010402060619/http://www.soc-motss.org:80/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Archived version</a>.)</li>
<li><a href="http://www.qrd.org/qrd/electronic/usenet/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">soc.motss FAQ and account of group's creation post</a>: Hosted by Queer Resources Directory.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Popular Press:</h3>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/bitwise/2014/08/online_gay_culture_and_soc_motss_how_a_usenet_group_anticipated_how_we_use.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The First Gay Space on the Internet</a> - Recounting of soc.motss's history and impact</li>
</ul>
<h3>motss.con: Annual convention of soc.motss members</h3>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://kenru.net/motss/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Motss.con Picture Pages</a> - Pictures from motss.con and documentary on the convention's history</li>
</ul>
Year Founded (approximate)
1983
Intended Audience
The forum's intended audience
gay people; lesbian people; bisexual people
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
soc.motss
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Usenet newsgroup
bisexual people
gay people
lesbian people
net.motss
soc.motss
Usenet
-
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Queer Digital Community Catalog
Language
A language of the resource
English
Description
An account of the resource
<p dir="ltr"><span>This catalog collects basic information and resources on LGBTQ-related online communities prior to 2010, particularly those from the so-called Web 1.0 period. Each catalog entry includes information on the group’s format, its approximate dates of activity, its audience and topical focus, and links to other materials discussing the group, such as editorial columns, personal essays, or archival materials.</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>One of the driving impulses for the creation of this catalog was to offer a starting place for research into early LGBTQ life online. In early web research, simply knowing the name of a place or person could, in some cases, be key to one's success. Beyond just its research utility, however, this catalog is also meant to preserve the memory, if not the content, of communities and groups whose names might otherwise be lost or forgotten.<br /></span></p>
<h2>Why a Catalog?</h2>
<p dir="ltr">The QDHP has chosen to focus on a catalog, as opposed to an archive, for several reasons. Firstly, at its most basic level, an archive is focused on primary material—in this case, the content of posts. However, archiving for most online groups from the mid-1980s up to the late 1990s is often incomplete at best, so in many cases, there’s limited to no archival material available. Instead, what exists in many cases is secondary material, writing describing or reflecting on posters’ experiences with and in these spaces. The catalog, ideally, links these disparate materials together in order to give a slightly fuller picture of the online landscape at any given time.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Secondly, posters in early LGBTQ groups often wrote (sometimes in detail) about close and personal issues in their lives under the assumption that their posts would remain private within the group. Given this, the catalog has been designed to respect posters’ initial expectation of privacy. Linked content has all been previously published in other venues, and any other detailed personal reflections submitted by users specifically for the catalog have been made public with their consent.</p>
<h2>What Qualifies A Community For Inclusion?</h2>
<p dir="ltr"><span>There are no specific criteria determining inclusion in the QDCC. However, many of the communitites currently listed in the catalog have multiple references in contemporaneous periodicals, newsletters, web guides, or other LGBTQ-related informational websites. These sources are key for establishing not only the existence of a space, but its particular attributes.</span></p>
<h2 dir="ltr"><strong>On Audience Labels</strong></h2>
<p dir="ltr">All of the communities cataloged include descriptive metadata culled from various sources, including contemporaneous listings in print publications and online reference guides. However, the terminology used in archival sources does not always match current preferred terms. <a href="http://notchesblog.com/2017/11/28/troubling-terms-the-label-problem-in-transgender-history/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">As has been discussed elsewhere</a>, retroactively applying labels with which individuals or spaces might not have identified is a politically fraught act. The QDHP's metadata practices, then, follow a policy similar to that of the <a href="https://www.digitaltransgenderarchive.net/about/policies" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Digital Transgender Archive</a>: whenever possible, we use terminology included in contemporaneous decriptions. If terminology is not used or a detailed description is not available, we categorize using terminology derived from the archival reference.</p>
<h2>Adding Communities to the Catalog</h2>
<p>This catalog is by no means complete, and the QDHP is always looking for new groups to add, if additional information is available. Please feel free to suggest a community for inclusion using <a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe9oGcXtpUNGXXhEBIYdZlb40HTj3EDzG_fk4xltxxcCck6AQ/viewform?usp=sf_link" target="_blank" rel="noopener">this form</a>, or email Curator Avery Dame-Griff directly at <a href="mailto:admin@queerdigital.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">admin@queerdigital.com</a>.</p>
Usenet Newsgroup
Individual Usenet Newsgroup
Year Founded (approximate)
Unknown
Intended Audience
The forum's intended audience
Transgender people
Primary Language
Primary language used by participants
Japanese
Exterior References
<ul>
<li><a href="https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/japan.soc.transgender" target="_blank">Google Groups Archive</a></li>
</ul>
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
japan.soc.transgender
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Usenet newsgroup
japan.soc.transgender
transgender people
Usenet
-
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Queer Digital Community Catalog
Language
A language of the resource
English
Description
An account of the resource
<p dir="ltr"><span>This catalog collects basic information and resources on LGBTQ-related online communities prior to 2010, particularly those from the so-called Web 1.0 period. Each catalog entry includes information on the group’s format, its approximate dates of activity, its audience and topical focus, and links to other materials discussing the group, such as editorial columns, personal essays, or archival materials.</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>One of the driving impulses for the creation of this catalog was to offer a starting place for research into early LGBTQ life online. In early web research, simply knowing the name of a place or person could, in some cases, be key to one's success. Beyond just its research utility, however, this catalog is also meant to preserve the memory, if not the content, of communities and groups whose names might otherwise be lost or forgotten.<br /></span></p>
<h2>Why a Catalog?</h2>
<p dir="ltr">The QDHP has chosen to focus on a catalog, as opposed to an archive, for several reasons. Firstly, at its most basic level, an archive is focused on primary material—in this case, the content of posts. However, archiving for most online groups from the mid-1980s up to the late 1990s is often incomplete at best, so in many cases, there’s limited to no archival material available. Instead, what exists in many cases is secondary material, writing describing or reflecting on posters’ experiences with and in these spaces. The catalog, ideally, links these disparate materials together in order to give a slightly fuller picture of the online landscape at any given time.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Secondly, posters in early LGBTQ groups often wrote (sometimes in detail) about close and personal issues in their lives under the assumption that their posts would remain private within the group. Given this, the catalog has been designed to respect posters’ initial expectation of privacy. Linked content has all been previously published in other venues, and any other detailed personal reflections submitted by users specifically for the catalog have been made public with their consent.</p>
<h2>What Qualifies A Community For Inclusion?</h2>
<p dir="ltr"><span>There are no specific criteria determining inclusion in the QDCC. However, many of the communitites currently listed in the catalog have multiple references in contemporaneous periodicals, newsletters, web guides, or other LGBTQ-related informational websites. These sources are key for establishing not only the existence of a space, but its particular attributes.</span></p>
<h2 dir="ltr"><strong>On Audience Labels</strong></h2>
<p dir="ltr">All of the communities cataloged include descriptive metadata culled from various sources, including contemporaneous listings in print publications and online reference guides. However, the terminology used in archival sources does not always match current preferred terms. <a href="http://notchesblog.com/2017/11/28/troubling-terms-the-label-problem-in-transgender-history/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">As has been discussed elsewhere</a>, retroactively applying labels with which individuals or spaces might not have identified is a politically fraught act. The QDHP's metadata practices, then, follow a policy similar to that of the <a href="https://www.digitaltransgenderarchive.net/about/policies" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Digital Transgender Archive</a>: whenever possible, we use terminology included in contemporaneous decriptions. If terminology is not used or a detailed description is not available, we categorize using terminology derived from the archival reference.</p>
<h2>Adding Communities to the Catalog</h2>
<p>This catalog is by no means complete, and the QDHP is always looking for new groups to add, if additional information is available. Please feel free to suggest a community for inclusion using <a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe9oGcXtpUNGXXhEBIYdZlb40HTj3EDzG_fk4xltxxcCck6AQ/viewform?usp=sf_link" target="_blank" rel="noopener">this form</a>, or email Curator Avery Dame-Griff directly at <a href="mailto:admin@queerdigital.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">admin@queerdigital.com</a>.</p>
Usenet Newsgroup
Individual Usenet Newsgroup
Year Founded (approximate)
Unknown
Intended Audience
The forum's intended audience
Transsexual people; Transgender people
Primary Language
Primary language used by participants
Dutch
Exterior References
<ul>
<li><a href="https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/nl.support.transseksueel" target="_blank">Google Groups Archive</a></li>
<li><a href="https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/nl.support.transseksueel/ogDpmejXsEQ" target="_blank">Newsgroup Charter</a></li>
</ul>
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
nl.support.transseksueel
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Usenet newsgroup
nl.support.transseksueel
transgender people
transsexual people
Usenet
-
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Queer Digital Community Catalog
Language
A language of the resource
English
Description
An account of the resource
<p dir="ltr"><span>This catalog collects basic information and resources on LGBTQ-related online communities prior to 2010, particularly those from the so-called Web 1.0 period. Each catalog entry includes information on the group’s format, its approximate dates of activity, its audience and topical focus, and links to other materials discussing the group, such as editorial columns, personal essays, or archival materials.</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>One of the driving impulses for the creation of this catalog was to offer a starting place for research into early LGBTQ life online. In early web research, simply knowing the name of a place or person could, in some cases, be key to one's success. Beyond just its research utility, however, this catalog is also meant to preserve the memory, if not the content, of communities and groups whose names might otherwise be lost or forgotten.<br /></span></p>
<h2>Why a Catalog?</h2>
<p dir="ltr">The QDHP has chosen to focus on a catalog, as opposed to an archive, for several reasons. Firstly, at its most basic level, an archive is focused on primary material—in this case, the content of posts. However, archiving for most online groups from the mid-1980s up to the late 1990s is often incomplete at best, so in many cases, there’s limited to no archival material available. Instead, what exists in many cases is secondary material, writing describing or reflecting on posters’ experiences with and in these spaces. The catalog, ideally, links these disparate materials together in order to give a slightly fuller picture of the online landscape at any given time.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Secondly, posters in early LGBTQ groups often wrote (sometimes in detail) about close and personal issues in their lives under the assumption that their posts would remain private within the group. Given this, the catalog has been designed to respect posters’ initial expectation of privacy. Linked content has all been previously published in other venues, and any other detailed personal reflections submitted by users specifically for the catalog have been made public with their consent.</p>
<h2>What Qualifies A Community For Inclusion?</h2>
<p dir="ltr"><span>There are no specific criteria determining inclusion in the QDCC. However, many of the communitites currently listed in the catalog have multiple references in contemporaneous periodicals, newsletters, web guides, or other LGBTQ-related informational websites. These sources are key for establishing not only the existence of a space, but its particular attributes.</span></p>
<h2 dir="ltr"><strong>On Audience Labels</strong></h2>
<p dir="ltr">All of the communities cataloged include descriptive metadata culled from various sources, including contemporaneous listings in print publications and online reference guides. However, the terminology used in archival sources does not always match current preferred terms. <a href="http://notchesblog.com/2017/11/28/troubling-terms-the-label-problem-in-transgender-history/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">As has been discussed elsewhere</a>, retroactively applying labels with which individuals or spaces might not have identified is a politically fraught act. The QDHP's metadata practices, then, follow a policy similar to that of the <a href="https://www.digitaltransgenderarchive.net/about/policies" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Digital Transgender Archive</a>: whenever possible, we use terminology included in contemporaneous decriptions. If terminology is not used or a detailed description is not available, we categorize using terminology derived from the archival reference.</p>
<h2>Adding Communities to the Catalog</h2>
<p>This catalog is by no means complete, and the QDHP is always looking for new groups to add, if additional information is available. Please feel free to suggest a community for inclusion using <a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe9oGcXtpUNGXXhEBIYdZlb40HTj3EDzG_fk4xltxxcCck6AQ/viewform?usp=sf_link" target="_blank" rel="noopener">this form</a>, or email Curator Avery Dame-Griff directly at <a href="mailto:admin@queerdigital.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">admin@queerdigital.com</a>.</p>
Usenet Newsgroup
Individual Usenet Newsgroup
Year Founded (approximate)
1999
Intended Audience
The forum's intended audience
Crossdressers; Transgender people
Primary Language
Primary language used by participants
British English
Exterior References
<ul>
<li><a href="https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/uk.people.crossdressing" target="_blank"><span><span>Google Groups Archive</span></span></a></li>
<li><span id="docs-internal-guid-eecf2494-2c86-ad65-3451-01500e1af2df"><a href="https://ukvoting.org.uk/results/748"><span>Proposal, Rationale, and Charter</span></a></span></li>
</ul>
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
uk.people.crossdressing
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Usenet newsgroup
crossdressers
transgender people
uk.people.crossdressing
Usenet
-
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Queer Digital Community Catalog
Language
A language of the resource
English
Description
An account of the resource
<p dir="ltr"><span>This catalog collects basic information and resources on LGBTQ-related online communities prior to 2010, particularly those from the so-called Web 1.0 period. Each catalog entry includes information on the group’s format, its approximate dates of activity, its audience and topical focus, and links to other materials discussing the group, such as editorial columns, personal essays, or archival materials.</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>One of the driving impulses for the creation of this catalog was to offer a starting place for research into early LGBTQ life online. In early web research, simply knowing the name of a place or person could, in some cases, be key to one's success. Beyond just its research utility, however, this catalog is also meant to preserve the memory, if not the content, of communities and groups whose names might otherwise be lost or forgotten.<br /></span></p>
<h2>Why a Catalog?</h2>
<p dir="ltr">The QDHP has chosen to focus on a catalog, as opposed to an archive, for several reasons. Firstly, at its most basic level, an archive is focused on primary material—in this case, the content of posts. However, archiving for most online groups from the mid-1980s up to the late 1990s is often incomplete at best, so in many cases, there’s limited to no archival material available. Instead, what exists in many cases is secondary material, writing describing or reflecting on posters’ experiences with and in these spaces. The catalog, ideally, links these disparate materials together in order to give a slightly fuller picture of the online landscape at any given time.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Secondly, posters in early LGBTQ groups often wrote (sometimes in detail) about close and personal issues in their lives under the assumption that their posts would remain private within the group. Given this, the catalog has been designed to respect posters’ initial expectation of privacy. Linked content has all been previously published in other venues, and any other detailed personal reflections submitted by users specifically for the catalog have been made public with their consent.</p>
<h2>What Qualifies A Community For Inclusion?</h2>
<p dir="ltr"><span>There are no specific criteria determining inclusion in the QDCC. However, many of the communitites currently listed in the catalog have multiple references in contemporaneous periodicals, newsletters, web guides, or other LGBTQ-related informational websites. These sources are key for establishing not only the existence of a space, but its particular attributes.</span></p>
<h2 dir="ltr"><strong>On Audience Labels</strong></h2>
<p dir="ltr">All of the communities cataloged include descriptive metadata culled from various sources, including contemporaneous listings in print publications and online reference guides. However, the terminology used in archival sources does not always match current preferred terms. <a href="http://notchesblog.com/2017/11/28/troubling-terms-the-label-problem-in-transgender-history/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">As has been discussed elsewhere</a>, retroactively applying labels with which individuals or spaces might not have identified is a politically fraught act. The QDHP's metadata practices, then, follow a policy similar to that of the <a href="https://www.digitaltransgenderarchive.net/about/policies" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Digital Transgender Archive</a>: whenever possible, we use terminology included in contemporaneous decriptions. If terminology is not used or a detailed description is not available, we categorize using terminology derived from the archival reference.</p>
<h2>Adding Communities to the Catalog</h2>
<p>This catalog is by no means complete, and the QDHP is always looking for new groups to add, if additional information is available. Please feel free to suggest a community for inclusion using <a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe9oGcXtpUNGXXhEBIYdZlb40HTj3EDzG_fk4xltxxcCck6AQ/viewform?usp=sf_link" target="_blank" rel="noopener">this form</a>, or email Curator Avery Dame-Griff directly at <a href="mailto:admin@queerdigital.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">admin@queerdigital.com</a>.</p>
Usenet Newsgroup
Individual Usenet Newsgroup
Year Founded (approximate)
1997
Intended Audience
The forum's intended audience
Transgender people; Transsexual people
Primary Language
Primary language used by participants
American English
Exterior References
<ul>
<li><a href="https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/alt.support.srs" target="_blank">Google Groups Archive</a></li>
<li><a href="https://rosalind.home.xs4all.nl/cha-assr.html" target="_blank">Founding Rationale and Charter</a></li>
</ul>
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
alt.support.srs
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Usenet newsgroup
alt.support.srs
transgender people
transsexual people
Usenet
-
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Queer Digital Community Catalog
Language
A language of the resource
English
Description
An account of the resource
<p dir="ltr"><span>This catalog collects basic information and resources on LGBTQ-related online communities prior to 2010, particularly those from the so-called Web 1.0 period. Each catalog entry includes information on the group’s format, its approximate dates of activity, its audience and topical focus, and links to other materials discussing the group, such as editorial columns, personal essays, or archival materials.</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>One of the driving impulses for the creation of this catalog was to offer a starting place for research into early LGBTQ life online. In early web research, simply knowing the name of a place or person could, in some cases, be key to one's success. Beyond just its research utility, however, this catalog is also meant to preserve the memory, if not the content, of communities and groups whose names might otherwise be lost or forgotten.<br /></span></p>
<h2>Why a Catalog?</h2>
<p dir="ltr">The QDHP has chosen to focus on a catalog, as opposed to an archive, for several reasons. Firstly, at its most basic level, an archive is focused on primary material—in this case, the content of posts. However, archiving for most online groups from the mid-1980s up to the late 1990s is often incomplete at best, so in many cases, there’s limited to no archival material available. Instead, what exists in many cases is secondary material, writing describing or reflecting on posters’ experiences with and in these spaces. The catalog, ideally, links these disparate materials together in order to give a slightly fuller picture of the online landscape at any given time.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Secondly, posters in early LGBTQ groups often wrote (sometimes in detail) about close and personal issues in their lives under the assumption that their posts would remain private within the group. Given this, the catalog has been designed to respect posters’ initial expectation of privacy. Linked content has all been previously published in other venues, and any other detailed personal reflections submitted by users specifically for the catalog have been made public with their consent.</p>
<h2>What Qualifies A Community For Inclusion?</h2>
<p dir="ltr"><span>There are no specific criteria determining inclusion in the QDCC. However, many of the communitites currently listed in the catalog have multiple references in contemporaneous periodicals, newsletters, web guides, or other LGBTQ-related informational websites. These sources are key for establishing not only the existence of a space, but its particular attributes.</span></p>
<h2 dir="ltr"><strong>On Audience Labels</strong></h2>
<p dir="ltr">All of the communities cataloged include descriptive metadata culled from various sources, including contemporaneous listings in print publications and online reference guides. However, the terminology used in archival sources does not always match current preferred terms. <a href="http://notchesblog.com/2017/11/28/troubling-terms-the-label-problem-in-transgender-history/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">As has been discussed elsewhere</a>, retroactively applying labels with which individuals or spaces might not have identified is a politically fraught act. The QDHP's metadata practices, then, follow a policy similar to that of the <a href="https://www.digitaltransgenderarchive.net/about/policies" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Digital Transgender Archive</a>: whenever possible, we use terminology included in contemporaneous decriptions. If terminology is not used or a detailed description is not available, we categorize using terminology derived from the archival reference.</p>
<h2>Adding Communities to the Catalog</h2>
<p>This catalog is by no means complete, and the QDHP is always looking for new groups to add, if additional information is available. Please feel free to suggest a community for inclusion using <a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe9oGcXtpUNGXXhEBIYdZlb40HTj3EDzG_fk4xltxxcCck6AQ/viewform?usp=sf_link" target="_blank" rel="noopener">this form</a>, or email Curator Avery Dame-Griff directly at <a href="mailto:admin@queerdigital.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">admin@queerdigital.com</a>.</p>
Usenet Newsgroup
Individual Usenet Newsgroup
Year Founded (approximate)
1996
Intended Audience
The forum's intended audience
Crossdressers
Primary Language
Primary language used by participants
American English
Exterior References
<ul>
<li><a href="https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/alt.fashion.crossdressing" target="_blank"><span><span>Google Groups Archive</span></span></a></li>
<li><span id="docs-internal-guid-eecf2494-27a4-ff32-2deb-e48bed3e67af"><a href="http://cydathria.com/ms_donna/afcd_main.html"><span>Founding Rationale and Charter</span></a></span></li>
</ul>
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
alt.fashion.crossdressing
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Usenet newsgroup
alt.fashion.crossdressing
crossdressers
Usenet
-
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Queer Digital Community Catalog
Language
A language of the resource
English
Description
An account of the resource
<p dir="ltr"><span>This catalog collects basic information and resources on LGBTQ-related online communities prior to 2010, particularly those from the so-called Web 1.0 period. Each catalog entry includes information on the group’s format, its approximate dates of activity, its audience and topical focus, and links to other materials discussing the group, such as editorial columns, personal essays, or archival materials.</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>One of the driving impulses for the creation of this catalog was to offer a starting place for research into early LGBTQ life online. In early web research, simply knowing the name of a place or person could, in some cases, be key to one's success. Beyond just its research utility, however, this catalog is also meant to preserve the memory, if not the content, of communities and groups whose names might otherwise be lost or forgotten.<br /></span></p>
<h2>Why a Catalog?</h2>
<p dir="ltr">The QDHP has chosen to focus on a catalog, as opposed to an archive, for several reasons. Firstly, at its most basic level, an archive is focused on primary material—in this case, the content of posts. However, archiving for most online groups from the mid-1980s up to the late 1990s is often incomplete at best, so in many cases, there’s limited to no archival material available. Instead, what exists in many cases is secondary material, writing describing or reflecting on posters’ experiences with and in these spaces. The catalog, ideally, links these disparate materials together in order to give a slightly fuller picture of the online landscape at any given time.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Secondly, posters in early LGBTQ groups often wrote (sometimes in detail) about close and personal issues in their lives under the assumption that their posts would remain private within the group. Given this, the catalog has been designed to respect posters’ initial expectation of privacy. Linked content has all been previously published in other venues, and any other detailed personal reflections submitted by users specifically for the catalog have been made public with their consent.</p>
<h2>What Qualifies A Community For Inclusion?</h2>
<p dir="ltr"><span>There are no specific criteria determining inclusion in the QDCC. However, many of the communitites currently listed in the catalog have multiple references in contemporaneous periodicals, newsletters, web guides, or other LGBTQ-related informational websites. These sources are key for establishing not only the existence of a space, but its particular attributes.</span></p>
<h2 dir="ltr"><strong>On Audience Labels</strong></h2>
<p dir="ltr">All of the communities cataloged include descriptive metadata culled from various sources, including contemporaneous listings in print publications and online reference guides. However, the terminology used in archival sources does not always match current preferred terms. <a href="http://notchesblog.com/2017/11/28/troubling-terms-the-label-problem-in-transgender-history/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">As has been discussed elsewhere</a>, retroactively applying labels with which individuals or spaces might not have identified is a politically fraught act. The QDHP's metadata practices, then, follow a policy similar to that of the <a href="https://www.digitaltransgenderarchive.net/about/policies" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Digital Transgender Archive</a>: whenever possible, we use terminology included in contemporaneous decriptions. If terminology is not used or a detailed description is not available, we categorize using terminology derived from the archival reference.</p>
<h2>Adding Communities to the Catalog</h2>
<p>This catalog is by no means complete, and the QDHP is always looking for new groups to add, if additional information is available. Please feel free to suggest a community for inclusion using <a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe9oGcXtpUNGXXhEBIYdZlb40HTj3EDzG_fk4xltxxcCck6AQ/viewform?usp=sf_link" target="_blank" rel="noopener">this form</a>, or email Curator Avery Dame-Griff directly at <a href="mailto:admin@queerdigital.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">admin@queerdigital.com</a>.</p>
Usenet Newsgroup
Individual Usenet Newsgroup
Year Founded (approximate)
1996
Intended Audience
The forum's intended audience
Transgender people; Crossdressers
Primary Language
Primary language used by participants
American English
Exterior References
<ul>
<li><a href="https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/alt.support.crossdressing" target="_blank">Google Groups Archive</a></li>
<li><a href="https://groups.google.com/forum/#!msg/alt.support.crossdressing/RZlagVGj4pM/nKEfJQuKH10J" target="_blank">Newsgroup Charter</a></li>
</ul>
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
alt.support.crossdressing
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Usenet Newsgroup
alt.support.crossdressing
crossdressers
transgender people
Usenet
-
https://www.queerdigital.com/files/original/5ba5857a18229ae1453d004d2244a301.jpg
bb08df52c8f68a168ef069d49d086a49
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Queer Digital Community Catalog
Language
A language of the resource
English
Description
An account of the resource
<p dir="ltr"><span>This catalog collects basic information and resources on LGBTQ-related online communities prior to 2010, particularly those from the so-called Web 1.0 period. Each catalog entry includes information on the group’s format, its approximate dates of activity, its audience and topical focus, and links to other materials discussing the group, such as editorial columns, personal essays, or archival materials.</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>One of the driving impulses for the creation of this catalog was to offer a starting place for research into early LGBTQ life online. In early web research, simply knowing the name of a place or person could, in some cases, be key to one's success. Beyond just its research utility, however, this catalog is also meant to preserve the memory, if not the content, of communities and groups whose names might otherwise be lost or forgotten.<br /></span></p>
<h2>Why a Catalog?</h2>
<p dir="ltr">The QDHP has chosen to focus on a catalog, as opposed to an archive, for several reasons. Firstly, at its most basic level, an archive is focused on primary material—in this case, the content of posts. However, archiving for most online groups from the mid-1980s up to the late 1990s is often incomplete at best, so in many cases, there’s limited to no archival material available. Instead, what exists in many cases is secondary material, writing describing or reflecting on posters’ experiences with and in these spaces. The catalog, ideally, links these disparate materials together in order to give a slightly fuller picture of the online landscape at any given time.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Secondly, posters in early LGBTQ groups often wrote (sometimes in detail) about close and personal issues in their lives under the assumption that their posts would remain private within the group. Given this, the catalog has been designed to respect posters’ initial expectation of privacy. Linked content has all been previously published in other venues, and any other detailed personal reflections submitted by users specifically for the catalog have been made public with their consent.</p>
<h2>What Qualifies A Community For Inclusion?</h2>
<p dir="ltr"><span>There are no specific criteria determining inclusion in the QDCC. However, many of the communitites currently listed in the catalog have multiple references in contemporaneous periodicals, newsletters, web guides, or other LGBTQ-related informational websites. These sources are key for establishing not only the existence of a space, but its particular attributes.</span></p>
<h2 dir="ltr"><strong>On Audience Labels</strong></h2>
<p dir="ltr">All of the communities cataloged include descriptive metadata culled from various sources, including contemporaneous listings in print publications and online reference guides. However, the terminology used in archival sources does not always match current preferred terms. <a href="http://notchesblog.com/2017/11/28/troubling-terms-the-label-problem-in-transgender-history/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">As has been discussed elsewhere</a>, retroactively applying labels with which individuals or spaces might not have identified is a politically fraught act. The QDHP's metadata practices, then, follow a policy similar to that of the <a href="https://www.digitaltransgenderarchive.net/about/policies" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Digital Transgender Archive</a>: whenever possible, we use terminology included in contemporaneous decriptions. If terminology is not used or a detailed description is not available, we categorize using terminology derived from the archival reference.</p>
<h2>Adding Communities to the Catalog</h2>
<p>This catalog is by no means complete, and the QDHP is always looking for new groups to add, if additional information is available. Please feel free to suggest a community for inclusion using <a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe9oGcXtpUNGXXhEBIYdZlb40HTj3EDzG_fk4xltxxcCck6AQ/viewform?usp=sf_link" target="_blank" rel="noopener">this form</a>, or email Curator Avery Dame-Griff directly at <a href="mailto:admin@queerdigital.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">admin@queerdigital.com</a>.</p>
Usenet Newsgroup
Individual Usenet Newsgroup
Year Founded (approximate)
1994
Intended Audience
The forum's intended audience
Transgender people; Transsexual people; Transvestites; Crossdressers
Primary Language
Primary language used by participants
American English
Exterior References
<span><span>Attached screenshot of <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20010124050300/http://www.firelily.com/gender/sstgfaq/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the web version of the SST FAQ</a>, first archived Jan 24, 2001.</span></span><br />
<ul>
<li><a href="https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/soc.support.transgendered" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span><span>Google Groups Archive</span></span></a></li>
<li><span id="docs-internal-guid-eecf2494-279a-0006-58f9-e3a17f55e259"><a href="https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/soc.support.transgendered/mAG9wTVR5DY"><span>Charter and FAQ</span></a><span> (posted 11/10/96)</span></span></li>
</ul>
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
soc.support.transgendered
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Usenet newsgroup
crossdressers
soc.support.transgendered
transgender people
transsexual people
transvestites
Usenet
-
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Queer Digital Community Catalog
Language
A language of the resource
English
Description
An account of the resource
<p dir="ltr"><span>This catalog collects basic information and resources on LGBTQ-related online communities prior to 2010, particularly those from the so-called Web 1.0 period. Each catalog entry includes information on the group’s format, its approximate dates of activity, its audience and topical focus, and links to other materials discussing the group, such as editorial columns, personal essays, or archival materials.</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>One of the driving impulses for the creation of this catalog was to offer a starting place for research into early LGBTQ life online. In early web research, simply knowing the name of a place or person could, in some cases, be key to one's success. Beyond just its research utility, however, this catalog is also meant to preserve the memory, if not the content, of communities and groups whose names might otherwise be lost or forgotten.<br /></span></p>
<h2>Why a Catalog?</h2>
<p dir="ltr">The QDHP has chosen to focus on a catalog, as opposed to an archive, for several reasons. Firstly, at its most basic level, an archive is focused on primary material—in this case, the content of posts. However, archiving for most online groups from the mid-1980s up to the late 1990s is often incomplete at best, so in many cases, there’s limited to no archival material available. Instead, what exists in many cases is secondary material, writing describing or reflecting on posters’ experiences with and in these spaces. The catalog, ideally, links these disparate materials together in order to give a slightly fuller picture of the online landscape at any given time.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Secondly, posters in early LGBTQ groups often wrote (sometimes in detail) about close and personal issues in their lives under the assumption that their posts would remain private within the group. Given this, the catalog has been designed to respect posters’ initial expectation of privacy. Linked content has all been previously published in other venues, and any other detailed personal reflections submitted by users specifically for the catalog have been made public with their consent.</p>
<h2>What Qualifies A Community For Inclusion?</h2>
<p dir="ltr"><span>There are no specific criteria determining inclusion in the QDCC. However, many of the communitites currently listed in the catalog have multiple references in contemporaneous periodicals, newsletters, web guides, or other LGBTQ-related informational websites. These sources are key for establishing not only the existence of a space, but its particular attributes.</span></p>
<h2 dir="ltr"><strong>On Audience Labels</strong></h2>
<p dir="ltr">All of the communities cataloged include descriptive metadata culled from various sources, including contemporaneous listings in print publications and online reference guides. However, the terminology used in archival sources does not always match current preferred terms. <a href="http://notchesblog.com/2017/11/28/troubling-terms-the-label-problem-in-transgender-history/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">As has been discussed elsewhere</a>, retroactively applying labels with which individuals or spaces might not have identified is a politically fraught act. The QDHP's metadata practices, then, follow a policy similar to that of the <a href="https://www.digitaltransgenderarchive.net/about/policies" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Digital Transgender Archive</a>: whenever possible, we use terminology included in contemporaneous decriptions. If terminology is not used or a detailed description is not available, we categorize using terminology derived from the archival reference.</p>
<h2>Adding Communities to the Catalog</h2>
<p>This catalog is by no means complete, and the QDHP is always looking for new groups to add, if additional information is available. Please feel free to suggest a community for inclusion using <a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe9oGcXtpUNGXXhEBIYdZlb40HTj3EDzG_fk4xltxxcCck6AQ/viewform?usp=sf_link" target="_blank" rel="noopener">this form</a>, or email Curator Avery Dame-Griff directly at <a href="mailto:admin@queerdigital.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">admin@queerdigital.com</a>.</p>
Usenet Newsgroup
Individual Usenet Newsgroup
Year Founded (approximate)
1992
Intended Audience
The forum's intended audience
Transgender people; Transsexual people; Transvestites; Crossdressers
Primary Language
Primary language used by participants
American English
Exterior References
<ul>
<li><a href="https://groups.google.com/forum/?hl=en#!forum/alt.transgendered" target="_blank">Google Groups Archive</a></li>
<li><span id="docs-internal-guid-eecf2494-2795-3f2d-f191-4ebcfb8ae829"><span>FAQ: </span><a href="https://groups.google.com/forum/?hl=en#!msg/alt.transgendered/k64jqMh7zSs/IIEAEo2Sb_oJ;context-place=msg/alt.transgendered/-2Mw2SbZDSw/zyte_9mrP_0J"><span>Part 1</span></a><span>, </span><a href="https://groups.google.com/forum/?hl=en#!msg/alt.transgendered/5dv_vi6YtCo/5btacvBOorsJ;context-place=msg/alt.transgendered/k64jqMh7zSs/IIEAEo2Sb_oJ"><span>Part 2</span></a><span>, </span><a href="https://groups.google.com/forum/?hl=en#!msg/alt.transgendered/-2Mw2SbZDSw/zyte_9mrP_0J;context-place=msg/alt.transgendered/k64jqMh7zSs/IIEAEo2Sb_oJ"><span>Part 3</span></a><span> (posted 12/23/93-12/24/93)</span></span></li>
</ul>
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
alt.transgendered
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Usenet newsgroup
crossdressers
transgender people
transsexual people
transvestites
Usenet
-
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Queer Digital Community Catalog
Language
A language of the resource
English
Description
An account of the resource
<p dir="ltr"><span>This catalog collects basic information and resources on LGBTQ-related online communities prior to 2010, particularly those from the so-called Web 1.0 period. Each catalog entry includes information on the group’s format, its approximate dates of activity, its audience and topical focus, and links to other materials discussing the group, such as editorial columns, personal essays, or archival materials.</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>One of the driving impulses for the creation of this catalog was to offer a starting place for research into early LGBTQ life online. In early web research, simply knowing the name of a place or person could, in some cases, be key to one's success. Beyond just its research utility, however, this catalog is also meant to preserve the memory, if not the content, of communities and groups whose names might otherwise be lost or forgotten.<br /></span></p>
<h2>Why a Catalog?</h2>
<p dir="ltr">The QDHP has chosen to focus on a catalog, as opposed to an archive, for several reasons. Firstly, at its most basic level, an archive is focused on primary material—in this case, the content of posts. However, archiving for most online groups from the mid-1980s up to the late 1990s is often incomplete at best, so in many cases, there’s limited to no archival material available. Instead, what exists in many cases is secondary material, writing describing or reflecting on posters’ experiences with and in these spaces. The catalog, ideally, links these disparate materials together in order to give a slightly fuller picture of the online landscape at any given time.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Secondly, posters in early LGBTQ groups often wrote (sometimes in detail) about close and personal issues in their lives under the assumption that their posts would remain private within the group. Given this, the catalog has been designed to respect posters’ initial expectation of privacy. Linked content has all been previously published in other venues, and any other detailed personal reflections submitted by users specifically for the catalog have been made public with their consent.</p>
<h2>What Qualifies A Community For Inclusion?</h2>
<p dir="ltr"><span>There are no specific criteria determining inclusion in the QDCC. However, many of the communitites currently listed in the catalog have multiple references in contemporaneous periodicals, newsletters, web guides, or other LGBTQ-related informational websites. These sources are key for establishing not only the existence of a space, but its particular attributes.</span></p>
<h2 dir="ltr"><strong>On Audience Labels</strong></h2>
<p dir="ltr">All of the communities cataloged include descriptive metadata culled from various sources, including contemporaneous listings in print publications and online reference guides. However, the terminology used in archival sources does not always match current preferred terms. <a href="http://notchesblog.com/2017/11/28/troubling-terms-the-label-problem-in-transgender-history/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">As has been discussed elsewhere</a>, retroactively applying labels with which individuals or spaces might not have identified is a politically fraught act. The QDHP's metadata practices, then, follow a policy similar to that of the <a href="https://www.digitaltransgenderarchive.net/about/policies" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Digital Transgender Archive</a>: whenever possible, we use terminology included in contemporaneous decriptions. If terminology is not used or a detailed description is not available, we categorize using terminology derived from the archival reference.</p>
<h2>Adding Communities to the Catalog</h2>
<p>This catalog is by no means complete, and the QDHP is always looking for new groups to add, if additional information is available. Please feel free to suggest a community for inclusion using <a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe9oGcXtpUNGXXhEBIYdZlb40HTj3EDzG_fk4xltxxcCck6AQ/viewform?usp=sf_link" target="_blank" rel="noopener">this form</a>, or email Curator Avery Dame-Griff directly at <a href="mailto:admin@queerdigital.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">admin@queerdigital.com</a>.</p>
Mailing List
E-mail Mailing Lists
Intended Audience
The forum's intended audience
Transgender people; Transsexual people; Transvestites
Year Founded (approximate)
1988
Sponsor or Institutional Host
Organizations that hosted, sponsored, or maintained the forum
Brown University
Primary Language
Primary language used by participants
American English
Exterior References
<ul>
<li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20121130090122/http://songweaver.com/lists/transgen.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Homepage for TRANSGEN</a> (Archived Nov 30, 2012) - includes information on subscribing and posting to the list, as well as list rules</li>
<li>Appeared in <a href="https://www.digitaltransgenderarchive.net/catalog?f%5Bcollection_name_ssim%5D%5B%5D=Transgender+Tapestry&sort=dta_sortable_date_dtsi+asc%2C+title_primary_ssort+asc" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">TS-TV Tapestry's BBS listings</a> from 1993-1995</li>
</ul>
Last Year Active (approximate)
2018
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
TRANSGEN
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Mailing LIst
mailing list
transgen
transgender people
transsexual people
transvestites
-
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Queer Digital Community Catalog
Language
A language of the resource
English
Description
An account of the resource
<p dir="ltr"><span>This catalog collects basic information and resources on LGBTQ-related online communities prior to 2010, particularly those from the so-called Web 1.0 period. Each catalog entry includes information on the group’s format, its approximate dates of activity, its audience and topical focus, and links to other materials discussing the group, such as editorial columns, personal essays, or archival materials.</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>One of the driving impulses for the creation of this catalog was to offer a starting place for research into early LGBTQ life online. In early web research, simply knowing the name of a place or person could, in some cases, be key to one's success. Beyond just its research utility, however, this catalog is also meant to preserve the memory, if not the content, of communities and groups whose names might otherwise be lost or forgotten.<br /></span></p>
<h2>Why a Catalog?</h2>
<p dir="ltr">The QDHP has chosen to focus on a catalog, as opposed to an archive, for several reasons. Firstly, at its most basic level, an archive is focused on primary material—in this case, the content of posts. However, archiving for most online groups from the mid-1980s up to the late 1990s is often incomplete at best, so in many cases, there’s limited to no archival material available. Instead, what exists in many cases is secondary material, writing describing or reflecting on posters’ experiences with and in these spaces. The catalog, ideally, links these disparate materials together in order to give a slightly fuller picture of the online landscape at any given time.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Secondly, posters in early LGBTQ groups often wrote (sometimes in detail) about close and personal issues in their lives under the assumption that their posts would remain private within the group. Given this, the catalog has been designed to respect posters’ initial expectation of privacy. Linked content has all been previously published in other venues, and any other detailed personal reflections submitted by users specifically for the catalog have been made public with their consent.</p>
<h2>What Qualifies A Community For Inclusion?</h2>
<p dir="ltr"><span>There are no specific criteria determining inclusion in the QDCC. However, many of the communitites currently listed in the catalog have multiple references in contemporaneous periodicals, newsletters, web guides, or other LGBTQ-related informational websites. These sources are key for establishing not only the existence of a space, but its particular attributes.</span></p>
<h2 dir="ltr"><strong>On Audience Labels</strong></h2>
<p dir="ltr">All of the communities cataloged include descriptive metadata culled from various sources, including contemporaneous listings in print publications and online reference guides. However, the terminology used in archival sources does not always match current preferred terms. <a href="http://notchesblog.com/2017/11/28/troubling-terms-the-label-problem-in-transgender-history/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">As has been discussed elsewhere</a>, retroactively applying labels with which individuals or spaces might not have identified is a politically fraught act. The QDHP's metadata practices, then, follow a policy similar to that of the <a href="https://www.digitaltransgenderarchive.net/about/policies" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Digital Transgender Archive</a>: whenever possible, we use terminology included in contemporaneous decriptions. If terminology is not used or a detailed description is not available, we categorize using terminology derived from the archival reference.</p>
<h2>Adding Communities to the Catalog</h2>
<p>This catalog is by no means complete, and the QDHP is always looking for new groups to add, if additional information is available. Please feel free to suggest a community for inclusion using <a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe9oGcXtpUNGXXhEBIYdZlb40HTj3EDzG_fk4xltxxcCck6AQ/viewform?usp=sf_link" target="_blank" rel="noopener">this form</a>, or email Curator Avery Dame-Griff directly at <a href="mailto:admin@queerdigital.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">admin@queerdigital.com</a>.</p>
Mailing List
E-mail Mailing Lists
Intended Audience
The forum's intended audience
Transgender people; Crossdressers; Transsexual people
Year Founded (approximate)
1988
Primary Language
Primary language used by participants
American English
Exterior References
<ul>
<li>Appeared in <a href="https://www.digitaltransgenderarchive.net/catalog?f%5Bcollection_name_ssim%5D%5B%5D=Transgender+Tapestry&sort=dta_sortable_date_dtsi+asc%2C+title_primary_ssort+asc" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">TS-TV Tapestry's listings</a> from 1991-1995</li>
<li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/19990117015833/http://www.swcp.com/~therev/cdf.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cd-forum homepage</a> (Archived version, collected Jan 17, 1999) - contains information on cd-forum regulations, application process, and moderatrix bio</li>
<li><a href="https://www.digitaltransgenderarchive.net/files/3b591857h" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Transgender Cyberspace</a> (1995) - Mentioned as possible resource</li>
</ul>
Last Year Active (approximate)
1995
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
CD-Forum
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Mailing List
cd-forum
crossdressers
mailing list
transgender people
transsexual people
-
https://www.queerdigital.com/files/original/fc807af7f2e2b9698ff43d91b37ce9fa.png
b638fe01e06b04543f7ea41fb5f5a8ef
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Queer Digital Community Catalog
Language
A language of the resource
English
Description
An account of the resource
<p dir="ltr"><span>This catalog collects basic information and resources on LGBTQ-related online communities prior to 2010, particularly those from the so-called Web 1.0 period. Each catalog entry includes information on the group’s format, its approximate dates of activity, its audience and topical focus, and links to other materials discussing the group, such as editorial columns, personal essays, or archival materials.</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>One of the driving impulses for the creation of this catalog was to offer a starting place for research into early LGBTQ life online. In early web research, simply knowing the name of a place or person could, in some cases, be key to one's success. Beyond just its research utility, however, this catalog is also meant to preserve the memory, if not the content, of communities and groups whose names might otherwise be lost or forgotten.<br /></span></p>
<h2>Why a Catalog?</h2>
<p dir="ltr">The QDHP has chosen to focus on a catalog, as opposed to an archive, for several reasons. Firstly, at its most basic level, an archive is focused on primary material—in this case, the content of posts. However, archiving for most online groups from the mid-1980s up to the late 1990s is often incomplete at best, so in many cases, there’s limited to no archival material available. Instead, what exists in many cases is secondary material, writing describing or reflecting on posters’ experiences with and in these spaces. The catalog, ideally, links these disparate materials together in order to give a slightly fuller picture of the online landscape at any given time.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Secondly, posters in early LGBTQ groups often wrote (sometimes in detail) about close and personal issues in their lives under the assumption that their posts would remain private within the group. Given this, the catalog has been designed to respect posters’ initial expectation of privacy. Linked content has all been previously published in other venues, and any other detailed personal reflections submitted by users specifically for the catalog have been made public with their consent.</p>
<h2>What Qualifies A Community For Inclusion?</h2>
<p dir="ltr"><span>There are no specific criteria determining inclusion in the QDCC. However, many of the communitites currently listed in the catalog have multiple references in contemporaneous periodicals, newsletters, web guides, or other LGBTQ-related informational websites. These sources are key for establishing not only the existence of a space, but its particular attributes.</span></p>
<h2 dir="ltr"><strong>On Audience Labels</strong></h2>
<p dir="ltr">All of the communities cataloged include descriptive metadata culled from various sources, including contemporaneous listings in print publications and online reference guides. However, the terminology used in archival sources does not always match current preferred terms. <a href="http://notchesblog.com/2017/11/28/troubling-terms-the-label-problem-in-transgender-history/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">As has been discussed elsewhere</a>, retroactively applying labels with which individuals or spaces might not have identified is a politically fraught act. The QDHP's metadata practices, then, follow a policy similar to that of the <a href="https://www.digitaltransgenderarchive.net/about/policies" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Digital Transgender Archive</a>: whenever possible, we use terminology included in contemporaneous decriptions. If terminology is not used or a detailed description is not available, we categorize using terminology derived from the archival reference.</p>
<h2>Adding Communities to the Catalog</h2>
<p>This catalog is by no means complete, and the QDHP is always looking for new groups to add, if additional information is available. Please feel free to suggest a community for inclusion using <a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe9oGcXtpUNGXXhEBIYdZlb40HTj3EDzG_fk4xltxxcCck6AQ/viewform?usp=sf_link" target="_blank" rel="noopener">this form</a>, or email Curator Avery Dame-Griff directly at <a href="mailto:admin@queerdigital.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">admin@queerdigital.com</a>.</p>
BBS
A computer server running software that allows users to connect remotely via modem. to the system using a terminal or a terminal emulator. Sometimes also called a computer bulletin board service (CBBS).
Exterior References
Attached advertisement from <em>TV-TS Tapestry</em> #42<br />
<ul>
<li></li>
<li><a href="https://archive.org/stream/tvtstapestry4219unse#page/50/mode/2up/search/gendernet" target="_blank" rel="noopener">GGA introduces GenderNet (1984)</a> - Announcement of GenderNet in <em>TV-TS Tapestry</em> #42</li>
<li><a href="https://archive.org/stream/tvtstapestry45unse#page/66/mode/2up/search/gendernet" target="_blank" rel="noopener">GenderNet News (1985)</a> - Update on GenderNet in<em> TV-TS Tapestry</em> #45</li>
<li><a href="http://porn-report.com/computers-distribution.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Attorney General's Commission on Pornography: Final Report</a> (1986) - Mentioned as an example of a "<span>sexually oriented national and local bulletin boards system"</span></li>
<li><a href="https://www.digitaltransgenderarchive.net/files/j098zb17n" target="_blank" rel="noopener">IFGE's 1st Annual "Coming Together-Working Together" Convention: Book of Program Transcripts</a> (1987) - Discussion of how to use and access GenderNet as a possible resource</li>
<li><a href="https://www.digitaltransgenderarchive.net/files/bg257f135" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Our Sorority, Issue 15 (1987)</a> - Included in listing of online resources</li>
<li><a href="https://www.digitaltransgenderarchive.net/files/pn89d667r" target="_blank" title="Gender Networker V.1, 2" rel="noopener noreferrer">Gender Networker v.1, no.2 (1988)</a> - Included in listing of online resources</li>
<li>Appeared in <a href="https://www.digitaltransgenderarchive.net/catalog?f%5Bcollection_name_ssim%5D%5B%5D=Transgender+Tapestry&sort=dta_sortable_date_dtsi+asc%2C+title_primary_ssort+asc" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">TS-TV Tapestry's BBS listings</a> from 1988-1989</li>
</ul>
Name
Name of Forum
GenderNet
Area Code
Area Code of BBS
408 and later 415 area code
Abbreviations/Alias
Any other names used to refer to this forum
Gender-net, Gender Net
Year Founded (approximate)
1984
Sponsor or Institutional Host
Organizations that hosted, sponsored, or maintained the forum
Gateway Gender Alliance (GGA)
City and State/Province
Sunnyvale, CA; later Oakland, CA
Baud Rate
300/1200 baud
Intended Audience
The forum's intended audience
Transsexual people
Primary Language
Primary language used by participants
American English
Last Year Active (approximate)
1989
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
GenderNet
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Bulletin Board System (BBS)
bbs
Gateway Gender Alliance
GenderNet
GGA
transsexual people
transvestites
-
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Queer Digital Community Catalog
Language
A language of the resource
English
Description
An account of the resource
<p dir="ltr"><span>This catalog collects basic information and resources on LGBTQ-related online communities prior to 2010, particularly those from the so-called Web 1.0 period. Each catalog entry includes information on the group’s format, its approximate dates of activity, its audience and topical focus, and links to other materials discussing the group, such as editorial columns, personal essays, or archival materials.</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>One of the driving impulses for the creation of this catalog was to offer a starting place for research into early LGBTQ life online. In early web research, simply knowing the name of a place or person could, in some cases, be key to one's success. Beyond just its research utility, however, this catalog is also meant to preserve the memory, if not the content, of communities and groups whose names might otherwise be lost or forgotten.<br /></span></p>
<h2>Why a Catalog?</h2>
<p dir="ltr">The QDHP has chosen to focus on a catalog, as opposed to an archive, for several reasons. Firstly, at its most basic level, an archive is focused on primary material—in this case, the content of posts. However, archiving for most online groups from the mid-1980s up to the late 1990s is often incomplete at best, so in many cases, there’s limited to no archival material available. Instead, what exists in many cases is secondary material, writing describing or reflecting on posters’ experiences with and in these spaces. The catalog, ideally, links these disparate materials together in order to give a slightly fuller picture of the online landscape at any given time.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Secondly, posters in early LGBTQ groups often wrote (sometimes in detail) about close and personal issues in their lives under the assumption that their posts would remain private within the group. Given this, the catalog has been designed to respect posters’ initial expectation of privacy. Linked content has all been previously published in other venues, and any other detailed personal reflections submitted by users specifically for the catalog have been made public with their consent.</p>
<h2>What Qualifies A Community For Inclusion?</h2>
<p dir="ltr"><span>There are no specific criteria determining inclusion in the QDCC. However, many of the communitites currently listed in the catalog have multiple references in contemporaneous periodicals, newsletters, web guides, or other LGBTQ-related informational websites. These sources are key for establishing not only the existence of a space, but its particular attributes.</span></p>
<h2 dir="ltr"><strong>On Audience Labels</strong></h2>
<p dir="ltr">All of the communities cataloged include descriptive metadata culled from various sources, including contemporaneous listings in print publications and online reference guides. However, the terminology used in archival sources does not always match current preferred terms. <a href="http://notchesblog.com/2017/11/28/troubling-terms-the-label-problem-in-transgender-history/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">As has been discussed elsewhere</a>, retroactively applying labels with which individuals or spaces might not have identified is a politically fraught act. The QDHP's metadata practices, then, follow a policy similar to that of the <a href="https://www.digitaltransgenderarchive.net/about/policies" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Digital Transgender Archive</a>: whenever possible, we use terminology included in contemporaneous decriptions. If terminology is not used or a detailed description is not available, we categorize using terminology derived from the archival reference.</p>
<h2>Adding Communities to the Catalog</h2>
<p>This catalog is by no means complete, and the QDHP is always looking for new groups to add, if additional information is available. Please feel free to suggest a community for inclusion using <a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe9oGcXtpUNGXXhEBIYdZlb40HTj3EDzG_fk4xltxxcCck6AQ/viewform?usp=sf_link" target="_blank" rel="noopener">this form</a>, or email Curator Avery Dame-Griff directly at <a href="mailto:admin@queerdigital.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">admin@queerdigital.com</a>.</p>
BBS
A computer server running software that allows users to connect remotely via modem. to the system using a terminal or a terminal emulator. Sometimes also called a computer bulletin board service (CBBS).
Name
Name of Forum
Searchlight of San Luis Obispo
Area Code
Area Code of BBS
805 Area Code
Abbreviations/Alias
Any other names used to refer to this forum
Initially named Mini Host
Year Founded (approximate)
Unknown
Last Year Active (approximate)
Unknown
Sponsor or Institutional Host
Organizations that hosted, sponsored, or maintained the forum
Gender Community Advocates
City and State/Province
San Luis Obispo, CA
Baud Rate
300/1200/2400 baud
Intended Audience
The forum's intended audience
Transgender people
Primary Language
Primary language used by participants
American English
Exterior References
<ul>
<li>Appeared in <a href="https://www.digitaltransgenderarchive.net/catalog?f%5Bcollection_name_ssim%5D%5B%5D=Transgender+Tapestry&sort=dta_sortable_date_dtsi+asc%2C+title_primary_ssort+asc" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">TS-TV Tapestry's BBS listings</a> from 1991-1992</li>
</ul>
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Searchlight of San Luis Obispo
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Bulletin Board System (BBS)
bbs
Gender Community Advocates
Searchlight of San Luis Obispo
transgender people
-
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Queer Digital Community Catalog
Language
A language of the resource
English
Description
An account of the resource
<p dir="ltr"><span>This catalog collects basic information and resources on LGBTQ-related online communities prior to 2010, particularly those from the so-called Web 1.0 period. Each catalog entry includes information on the group’s format, its approximate dates of activity, its audience and topical focus, and links to other materials discussing the group, such as editorial columns, personal essays, or archival materials.</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>One of the driving impulses for the creation of this catalog was to offer a starting place for research into early LGBTQ life online. In early web research, simply knowing the name of a place or person could, in some cases, be key to one's success. Beyond just its research utility, however, this catalog is also meant to preserve the memory, if not the content, of communities and groups whose names might otherwise be lost or forgotten.<br /></span></p>
<h2>Why a Catalog?</h2>
<p dir="ltr">The QDHP has chosen to focus on a catalog, as opposed to an archive, for several reasons. Firstly, at its most basic level, an archive is focused on primary material—in this case, the content of posts. However, archiving for most online groups from the mid-1980s up to the late 1990s is often incomplete at best, so in many cases, there’s limited to no archival material available. Instead, what exists in many cases is secondary material, writing describing or reflecting on posters’ experiences with and in these spaces. The catalog, ideally, links these disparate materials together in order to give a slightly fuller picture of the online landscape at any given time.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Secondly, posters in early LGBTQ groups often wrote (sometimes in detail) about close and personal issues in their lives under the assumption that their posts would remain private within the group. Given this, the catalog has been designed to respect posters’ initial expectation of privacy. Linked content has all been previously published in other venues, and any other detailed personal reflections submitted by users specifically for the catalog have been made public with their consent.</p>
<h2>What Qualifies A Community For Inclusion?</h2>
<p dir="ltr"><span>There are no specific criteria determining inclusion in the QDCC. However, many of the communitites currently listed in the catalog have multiple references in contemporaneous periodicals, newsletters, web guides, or other LGBTQ-related informational websites. These sources are key for establishing not only the existence of a space, but its particular attributes.</span></p>
<h2 dir="ltr"><strong>On Audience Labels</strong></h2>
<p dir="ltr">All of the communities cataloged include descriptive metadata culled from various sources, including contemporaneous listings in print publications and online reference guides. However, the terminology used in archival sources does not always match current preferred terms. <a href="http://notchesblog.com/2017/11/28/troubling-terms-the-label-problem-in-transgender-history/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">As has been discussed elsewhere</a>, retroactively applying labels with which individuals or spaces might not have identified is a politically fraught act. The QDHP's metadata practices, then, follow a policy similar to that of the <a href="https://www.digitaltransgenderarchive.net/about/policies" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Digital Transgender Archive</a>: whenever possible, we use terminology included in contemporaneous decriptions. If terminology is not used or a detailed description is not available, we categorize using terminology derived from the archival reference.</p>
<h2>Adding Communities to the Catalog</h2>
<p>This catalog is by no means complete, and the QDHP is always looking for new groups to add, if additional information is available. Please feel free to suggest a community for inclusion using <a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe9oGcXtpUNGXXhEBIYdZlb40HTj3EDzG_fk4xltxxcCck6AQ/viewform?usp=sf_link" target="_blank" rel="noopener">this form</a>, or email Curator Avery Dame-Griff directly at <a href="mailto:admin@queerdigital.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">admin@queerdigital.com</a>.</p>
BBS
A computer server running software that allows users to connect remotely via modem. to the system using a terminal or a terminal emulator. Sometimes also called a computer bulletin board service (CBBS).
Name
Name of Forum
Lunatic Fringe BBS
Area Code
Area Code of BBS
718 Area Code
City and State/Province
Bayside, NY
Baud Rate
1200/2400/9600/14400 baud
Intended Audience
The forum's intended audience
Gender community
Primary Language
Primary language used by participants
American English
Exterior References
<ul>
<li>Appeared in <a href="https://www.digitaltransgenderarchive.net/catalog?f%5Bcollection_name_ssim%5D%5B%5D=Transgender+Tapestry&sort=dta_sortable_date_dtsi+asc%2C+title_primary_ssort+asc" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">TS-TV Tapestry's BBS listings</a> from 1994-1995</li>
</ul>
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Lunatic Fringe BBS
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Bulletin Board System (BBS)
bbs
gender community
Lunatic Fringe BBS
-
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Queer Digital Community Catalog
Language
A language of the resource
English
Description
An account of the resource
<p dir="ltr"><span>This catalog collects basic information and resources on LGBTQ-related online communities prior to 2010, particularly those from the so-called Web 1.0 period. Each catalog entry includes information on the group’s format, its approximate dates of activity, its audience and topical focus, and links to other materials discussing the group, such as editorial columns, personal essays, or archival materials.</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>One of the driving impulses for the creation of this catalog was to offer a starting place for research into early LGBTQ life online. In early web research, simply knowing the name of a place or person could, in some cases, be key to one's success. Beyond just its research utility, however, this catalog is also meant to preserve the memory, if not the content, of communities and groups whose names might otherwise be lost or forgotten.<br /></span></p>
<h2>Why a Catalog?</h2>
<p dir="ltr">The QDHP has chosen to focus on a catalog, as opposed to an archive, for several reasons. Firstly, at its most basic level, an archive is focused on primary material—in this case, the content of posts. However, archiving for most online groups from the mid-1980s up to the late 1990s is often incomplete at best, so in many cases, there’s limited to no archival material available. Instead, what exists in many cases is secondary material, writing describing or reflecting on posters’ experiences with and in these spaces. The catalog, ideally, links these disparate materials together in order to give a slightly fuller picture of the online landscape at any given time.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Secondly, posters in early LGBTQ groups often wrote (sometimes in detail) about close and personal issues in their lives under the assumption that their posts would remain private within the group. Given this, the catalog has been designed to respect posters’ initial expectation of privacy. Linked content has all been previously published in other venues, and any other detailed personal reflections submitted by users specifically for the catalog have been made public with their consent.</p>
<h2>What Qualifies A Community For Inclusion?</h2>
<p dir="ltr"><span>There are no specific criteria determining inclusion in the QDCC. However, many of the communitites currently listed in the catalog have multiple references in contemporaneous periodicals, newsletters, web guides, or other LGBTQ-related informational websites. These sources are key for establishing not only the existence of a space, but its particular attributes.</span></p>
<h2 dir="ltr"><strong>On Audience Labels</strong></h2>
<p dir="ltr">All of the communities cataloged include descriptive metadata culled from various sources, including contemporaneous listings in print publications and online reference guides. However, the terminology used in archival sources does not always match current preferred terms. <a href="http://notchesblog.com/2017/11/28/troubling-terms-the-label-problem-in-transgender-history/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">As has been discussed elsewhere</a>, retroactively applying labels with which individuals or spaces might not have identified is a politically fraught act. The QDHP's metadata practices, then, follow a policy similar to that of the <a href="https://www.digitaltransgenderarchive.net/about/policies" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Digital Transgender Archive</a>: whenever possible, we use terminology included in contemporaneous decriptions. If terminology is not used or a detailed description is not available, we categorize using terminology derived from the archival reference.</p>
<h2>Adding Communities to the Catalog</h2>
<p>This catalog is by no means complete, and the QDHP is always looking for new groups to add, if additional information is available. Please feel free to suggest a community for inclusion using <a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe9oGcXtpUNGXXhEBIYdZlb40HTj3EDzG_fk4xltxxcCck6AQ/viewform?usp=sf_link" target="_blank" rel="noopener">this form</a>, or email Curator Avery Dame-Griff directly at <a href="mailto:admin@queerdigital.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">admin@queerdigital.com</a>.</p>
BBS
A computer server running software that allows users to connect remotely via modem. to the system using a terminal or a terminal emulator. Sometimes also called a computer bulletin board service (CBBS).
Name
Name of Forum
Satin & Lace
Area Code
Area Code of BBS
716 Area Code
Year Founded (approximate)
Unknown
Last Year Active (approximate)
Unknown
City and State/Province
Rochester, NY
Baud Rate
1200/2400/9600/14400 baud
Intended Audience
The forum's intended audience
Transsexual people; Transvestites
Primary Language
Primary language used by participants
American English
Exterior References
<ul>
<li>Appeared in <a href="https://www.digitaltransgenderarchive.net/catalog?f%5Bcollection_name_ssim%5D%5B%5D=Transgender+Tapestry&sort=dta_sortable_date_dtsi+asc%2C+title_primary_ssort+asc" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">TS-TV Tapestry's BBS listings</a> from 1994-1995</li>
</ul>
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Satin & Lace
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Bulletin Board System (BBS)
bbs
Satin & Lace
transsexual people
transvestites
-
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Queer Digital Community Catalog
Language
A language of the resource
English
Description
An account of the resource
<p dir="ltr"><span>This catalog collects basic information and resources on LGBTQ-related online communities prior to 2010, particularly those from the so-called Web 1.0 period. Each catalog entry includes information on the group’s format, its approximate dates of activity, its audience and topical focus, and links to other materials discussing the group, such as editorial columns, personal essays, or archival materials.</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>One of the driving impulses for the creation of this catalog was to offer a starting place for research into early LGBTQ life online. In early web research, simply knowing the name of a place or person could, in some cases, be key to one's success. Beyond just its research utility, however, this catalog is also meant to preserve the memory, if not the content, of communities and groups whose names might otherwise be lost or forgotten.<br /></span></p>
<h2>Why a Catalog?</h2>
<p dir="ltr">The QDHP has chosen to focus on a catalog, as opposed to an archive, for several reasons. Firstly, at its most basic level, an archive is focused on primary material—in this case, the content of posts. However, archiving for most online groups from the mid-1980s up to the late 1990s is often incomplete at best, so in many cases, there’s limited to no archival material available. Instead, what exists in many cases is secondary material, writing describing or reflecting on posters’ experiences with and in these spaces. The catalog, ideally, links these disparate materials together in order to give a slightly fuller picture of the online landscape at any given time.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Secondly, posters in early LGBTQ groups often wrote (sometimes in detail) about close and personal issues in their lives under the assumption that their posts would remain private within the group. Given this, the catalog has been designed to respect posters’ initial expectation of privacy. Linked content has all been previously published in other venues, and any other detailed personal reflections submitted by users specifically for the catalog have been made public with their consent.</p>
<h2>What Qualifies A Community For Inclusion?</h2>
<p dir="ltr"><span>There are no specific criteria determining inclusion in the QDCC. However, many of the communitites currently listed in the catalog have multiple references in contemporaneous periodicals, newsletters, web guides, or other LGBTQ-related informational websites. These sources are key for establishing not only the existence of a space, but its particular attributes.</span></p>
<h2 dir="ltr"><strong>On Audience Labels</strong></h2>
<p dir="ltr">All of the communities cataloged include descriptive metadata culled from various sources, including contemporaneous listings in print publications and online reference guides. However, the terminology used in archival sources does not always match current preferred terms. <a href="http://notchesblog.com/2017/11/28/troubling-terms-the-label-problem-in-transgender-history/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">As has been discussed elsewhere</a>, retroactively applying labels with which individuals or spaces might not have identified is a politically fraught act. The QDHP's metadata practices, then, follow a policy similar to that of the <a href="https://www.digitaltransgenderarchive.net/about/policies" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Digital Transgender Archive</a>: whenever possible, we use terminology included in contemporaneous decriptions. If terminology is not used or a detailed description is not available, we categorize using terminology derived from the archival reference.</p>
<h2>Adding Communities to the Catalog</h2>
<p>This catalog is by no means complete, and the QDHP is always looking for new groups to add, if additional information is available. Please feel free to suggest a community for inclusion using <a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe9oGcXtpUNGXXhEBIYdZlb40HTj3EDzG_fk4xltxxcCck6AQ/viewform?usp=sf_link" target="_blank" rel="noopener">this form</a>, or email Curator Avery Dame-Griff directly at <a href="mailto:admin@queerdigital.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">admin@queerdigital.com</a>.</p>
BBS
A computer server running software that allows users to connect remotely via modem. to the system using a terminal or a terminal emulator. Sometimes also called a computer bulletin board service (CBBS).
Name
Name of Forum
The Diva Connection
Area Code
Area Code of BBS
708 and later 313 area code
Year Founded (approximate)
Unknown
Last Year Active (approximate)
Unknown
City and State/Province
Chicago, IL
Intended Audience
The forum's intended audience
Transgender people
Primary Language
Primary language used by participants
American English
Exterior References
<ul>
<li>Appeared in <a href="https://www.digitaltransgenderarchive.net/catalog?f%5Bcollection_name_ssim%5D%5B%5D=Transgender+Tapestry&sort=dta_sortable_date_dtsi+asc%2C+title_primary_ssort+asc" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">TS-TV Tapestry's BBS listings</a> from 1993-1995</li>
</ul>
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
The Diva Connection
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Bulletin Board System (BBS)
bbs
The Diva Connection
transgender people
-
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Queer Digital Community Catalog
Language
A language of the resource
English
Description
An account of the resource
<p dir="ltr"><span>This catalog collects basic information and resources on LGBTQ-related online communities prior to 2010, particularly those from the so-called Web 1.0 period. Each catalog entry includes information on the group’s format, its approximate dates of activity, its audience and topical focus, and links to other materials discussing the group, such as editorial columns, personal essays, or archival materials.</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>One of the driving impulses for the creation of this catalog was to offer a starting place for research into early LGBTQ life online. In early web research, simply knowing the name of a place or person could, in some cases, be key to one's success. Beyond just its research utility, however, this catalog is also meant to preserve the memory, if not the content, of communities and groups whose names might otherwise be lost or forgotten.<br /></span></p>
<h2>Why a Catalog?</h2>
<p dir="ltr">The QDHP has chosen to focus on a catalog, as opposed to an archive, for several reasons. Firstly, at its most basic level, an archive is focused on primary material—in this case, the content of posts. However, archiving for most online groups from the mid-1980s up to the late 1990s is often incomplete at best, so in many cases, there’s limited to no archival material available. Instead, what exists in many cases is secondary material, writing describing or reflecting on posters’ experiences with and in these spaces. The catalog, ideally, links these disparate materials together in order to give a slightly fuller picture of the online landscape at any given time.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Secondly, posters in early LGBTQ groups often wrote (sometimes in detail) about close and personal issues in their lives under the assumption that their posts would remain private within the group. Given this, the catalog has been designed to respect posters’ initial expectation of privacy. Linked content has all been previously published in other venues, and any other detailed personal reflections submitted by users specifically for the catalog have been made public with their consent.</p>
<h2>What Qualifies A Community For Inclusion?</h2>
<p dir="ltr"><span>There are no specific criteria determining inclusion in the QDCC. However, many of the communitites currently listed in the catalog have multiple references in contemporaneous periodicals, newsletters, web guides, or other LGBTQ-related informational websites. These sources are key for establishing not only the existence of a space, but its particular attributes.</span></p>
<h2 dir="ltr"><strong>On Audience Labels</strong></h2>
<p dir="ltr">All of the communities cataloged include descriptive metadata culled from various sources, including contemporaneous listings in print publications and online reference guides. However, the terminology used in archival sources does not always match current preferred terms. <a href="http://notchesblog.com/2017/11/28/troubling-terms-the-label-problem-in-transgender-history/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">As has been discussed elsewhere</a>, retroactively applying labels with which individuals or spaces might not have identified is a politically fraught act. The QDHP's metadata practices, then, follow a policy similar to that of the <a href="https://www.digitaltransgenderarchive.net/about/policies" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Digital Transgender Archive</a>: whenever possible, we use terminology included in contemporaneous decriptions. If terminology is not used or a detailed description is not available, we categorize using terminology derived from the archival reference.</p>
<h2>Adding Communities to the Catalog</h2>
<p>This catalog is by no means complete, and the QDHP is always looking for new groups to add, if additional information is available. Please feel free to suggest a community for inclusion using <a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe9oGcXtpUNGXXhEBIYdZlb40HTj3EDzG_fk4xltxxcCck6AQ/viewform?usp=sf_link" target="_blank" rel="noopener">this form</a>, or email Curator Avery Dame-Griff directly at <a href="mailto:admin@queerdigital.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">admin@queerdigital.com</a>.</p>
BBS
A computer server running software that allows users to connect remotely via modem. to the system using a terminal or a terminal emulator. Sometimes also called a computer bulletin board service (CBBS).
Name
Name of Forum
GDANC
Area Code
Area Code of BBS
704 Area Code
Year Founded (approximate)
Unknown
Last Year Active (approximate)
Unknown
City and State/Province
Albemarle, NC
Baud Rate
Unknown
Intended Audience
The forum's intended audience
Transgender People
Primary Language
Primary language used by participants
American English
Exterior References
<ul>
<li>Appeared in <a href="https://www.digitaltransgenderarchive.net/catalog?f%5Bcollection_name_ssim%5D%5B%5D=Transgender+Tapestry&sort=dta_sortable_date_dtsi+asc%2C+title_primary_ssort+asc" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer">TS-TV Tapestry's BBS listings</a> from 1993-1995</li>
</ul>
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
GDANC
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Bulletin Board System (BBS)
bbs
GDANC
transgender people