TGNet BBS Network Map
| Instructions | Legend | |
|---|---|---|
| Use the Layers button (see Legend on the left) to switch between network lists for 1991 and 1994. (Both lists are on by default.) You can also search the BBS lists by name in "Browse Data." |  |
View data layers |
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BBS from 1991 list | |
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BBS from 1994 list | |
ABOUT
This map plots the various bulletin board systems, or BBSes, that comprised TGNet, one of the first independent international transgender digital communication networks. Unlike forums on commercial platforms of the time, TGNet was maintained by a transgender-identified sysop who also ran TGNet's host BBS, Feminet. (While TGNet did use Fidonet technology, it wasn't carried on the Fidonet backbone, the colloquial term for Fidonet's main network.)
Following Feminet's closure in 1996, the network was co-administered by Kymberleigh Richards, sysop of Cross Connections, and Russ Goodale, sysop of the Seattle-based BBS The Room Next Door. Though its final closure date is unknown, the network remained active through 1997 (mentioned in a January 1997 column of Renaissance News & Views), when Richards closed Cross Connections (due to declining membership and lack of funds).
TGNET CIRCA 1991
The TGNet 1991 BBS list comes from a list published in Petticoat Junction (1992, V.2, N.1), newsletter of the West Texas Gender Alliance. According to author Pat Allen, the list was "downloaded from AOL via SaraG." It also included a list of the Echos, or conferences, available (reproduced below).
Conferences:
| Area Name | Echo |
|---|---|
| GUYS<>GALS | Guys<>Gals (Was TransgenderNet or TV/TS) |
| TRANSITION | Transition |
| DRESS*UP | Dressing up |
| NEW_WOMEN | New women |
| NEW_MEN | New men |
| POLIGEND | Politics of gender |
| D&S_FORUM | D&S forum |
| TGNSYSOP | TGNet Sysops |
TGNET CIRCA 1994
The TGNet 1994 BBS list is derived from the listing included in William J. Shefski's Free Electronic Networks (1994), which collected listings for a variety of "free" BBS networks. Each listing in Shefski's book contains a description of the network, a list of conference topics, alongside a list of member BBSes, phone numbers, and the approximate physical location where the BBSs were based. The description and echo, or conference, list are reproduced below.
Description: TransGenderNet is specifically for persons of transitional gender, and all others having a personal or professional interest in transgender topics.
Conference Topics:
| Conference Title | Specific Topic |
|---|---|
| TRANSGENDER | Transgender |
| TRANSITION | Transition |
| DRESS*UP | Dressing up |
| NEW_WOMEN | New women |
| NEW_MEN | New men |
| POLIGEND | Politics of gender |
| D&S_FORUM | D&S forum |
| TGNSYSOP | TGNet Sysops |
| PARTNERS | SO Echo |
MAPPING THE NETWORK
In mapping this network, I've included name, area code, and a link to the Community Catalog page (if cataloged) in the relevant geographic map marker; when multiple BBSes were based in one city, I've listed all relevant BBS names. While boards could be built on Fidonet technology, not all of them participated in the Fidonet network.
Finally, it should be noted that the lists on which these maps are based are, like all BBS lists, only accurate to the moment they were published. Since BBSes were prone to disappear with warning, lists were often unreliable resources. Thus, these maps should best be understood as single snapshot of a fluctuating and shifting network.