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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. As I found in my own research, simply knowing the name of a place or person could, in some cases, be key to my archival research. 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">I’ve 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, I’ve designed the catalog to respect (to the best of my ability) 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. In my metadata practices, then, I 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, I use terminology included in contemporaneous decriptions. If terminology is not used or a detailed description is not available, I 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 I'm 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 me directly at <a href="mailto:adame@winona.edu" target="_blank" rel="noopener">adame@winona.edu</a>.</p>
BBS
Bulletin Board System
Name
Name of Forum
Feminet
Area Code
Area Code of BBS
408 area code
Year Founded (approximate)
1988
Last Year Active (approximate)
Unknown
Network/Platform
Networks or Platforms the forum participated in
Host board of TGNet
City and State/Province
Monterey Bay, CA
Baud Rate
1200/2400 baud
Intended Audience
The forum's intended audience
Transgender people; Transsexual people
Primary Language
Primary language used by participants
American English
Exterior References
<ul>
<li>Home system of TGNet</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><a href="https://www.digitaltransgenderarchive.net/files/8336h2050" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Twenty Minutes (August, 1989)</a> - Mention of BBS in IFGE 1989 report</li>
<li><a href="https://www.digitaltransgenderarchive.net/files/r207tp43x" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Cross-Talk: The Gender Community's News & Information Monthly, No. 60 (1994)</a><span> - Includes detailed information on connecting to Feminet</span></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>
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
Feminet
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
BBS
bbs
Feminet
TGNet
transgender people
transsexual people