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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. 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