-
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