1
50
121
-
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36e6eb725e14aca43add4a6780b64ea6
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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
28 Barbary Lane
Area Code
Area Code of BBS
206
City and State/Province
Seattle, WA
Abbreviations/Alias
Any other names used to refer to this forum
28BBL
Year Founded (approximate)
1985
Last Year Active (approximate)
1997
Baud Rate
300-28800 in 1997
Intended Audience
The forum's intended audience
Women, Gay Men, Bisexuals
Primary Language
Primary language used by participants
American English
Exterior References
<strong>Attached files:</strong><br />
<ul>
<li>First classified advertisement ever run for 28 Barbary Lane, from the July 24, 1987 issue of <em>Seattle Gay News</em>. Courtesy of Newspapers.com.</li>
<li>Photograph of 28 Barbary Lane landing page, pulled up on a computer monitor, from the Feb 14, 1992 issue of <em>Seattle Gay News</em>. Courtesy of Newspapers.com.</li>
</ul>
<strong>Links:</strong><br />
<ul>
<li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20030729194604/http%3A%2F%2F28bbl.com%2F" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Archived website for 2003 relaunch of 28 Barbary Lane as a web forum</a> (archived July 29, 2003)</li>
<li>"<a href="https://washingtondigitalnewspapers.org/?a=d&d=SGN19850329.1.6&srpos=10&e=-------en-20-SGN-1--txt-txIN-28+Barbary+Lane------"" target="_blank" rel="noopener">28 Barbary lane - a gay community bulletin board." <em>Seattle Gay News</em> (May 29, 1985)</a>: First offical announcement of BBS launch.</li>
<li>"<a href="https://gahistoricnewspapers.galileo.usg.edu/lccn/sn61311684/1991-08-01/ed-1/seq-1/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Gay bulletin board services offer everything from dates to debates." <em>The Southern Voice</em> Vol. 4, No. 12 (August 01, 1991)</a>: Discusses 28BBL in comparison to Atlanta, GA-based gay and lesbian BBSes.</li>
<li>"<a href="https://washingtondigitalnewspapers.org/?a=d&d=SGN19920214.1.14&srpos=1&e=-------en-20-SGN-1--txt-txIN-28+Barbary+Lane------" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Warning: CompuDykes at 9 o'clock." <em>Seattle Gay News</em> (May 24, 1991)</a>: Discusses 28 Barbary Lane.</li>
<li>"<a href="https://washingtondigitalnewspapers.org/?a=d&d=SGN19920214.1.14&srpos=1&e=-------en-20-SGN-1--txt-txIN-28+Barbary+Lane------" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Dates and chat, and handles and Sysops." <em>Seattle Gay News</em> (February 14, 1992)</a>: Discusses 28 Barbary Lane.</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
28 Barbary Lane
-
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0bd82c0eab97fb2899d1dd5e726e2e59
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https://queerdigital.com/files/original/bf2e9e7f930470d7d553dad02126bfb4.jpg
0ca34f7b8e7f98698ce89fb204a4e827
https://queerdigital.com/files/original/1cddb73f49e8c2921b258c4bf976f677.jpg
16f84152f0b086d428e4b0a3b2c4bdfe
https://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
-
https://queerdigital.com/files/original/4b8022038deb8dffb23916c7a3549d3c.png
f5bda335d4fee76bf7f766d0e72fadc5
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
415 area code, later 714 area code
City and State/Province
San Francisco, CA
Year Founded (approximate)
<ul>
<li>Founded 1986</li>
<li>Moved to Gopher in 1994</li>
<li>aidsinfobbs.org opened in 1997</li>
</ul>
Last Year Active (approximate)
Unknown
Network/Platform
Networks or Platforms the forum participated in
Computerized AIDS Information Network (CAIN); FidoNet (Node Address: 1:103/927); AEGIS (AIDS Education General Information System) Network (National Hub)
Primary Language
Primary language used by participants
American English
Exterior References
Attached classified ad from <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><br />
<ul>
<li>Archived version of <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/19971222020300/http://aidsinfobbs.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">aidsinfobbs.org</a> (Archived Dec 22, 1997)</li>
<li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/19971222020707/http://aidsinfobbs.org/description.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Description</a> of the web version, written by Ben Gardiner (Archived Dec 22, 1997)</li>
<li><a href="https://paganpressbooks.com/jpl/BEN-TAW.HTM" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Interview with Ben Gardiner</a>, first published in the New York Native (July 30, 1990)</li>
<li><a href="https://archive.org/details/BAR_19920312/page/n15/mode/1up" target="_blank" rel="noopener">"Free For All: Bulletin Board Offers Easy Access to AIDS Info,"</a> <em>Bay Area Reporter</em> (March 12, 1992)</li>
<li><a href="https://archive.org/details/bbsdocumentary-interview-gardiner-2002-07" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Audio interview with sysop Ben Gardiner</a>, conducted by Jason Scott as part of the BBS Documentary (2002)</li>
<li><a href="https://paganpressbooks.com/jpl/BEN.HTM">Obituary for Ben Gardiner</a>, by friend John Lauritsen (2010)</li>
<li><a href="https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Ben-Gardiner-dies-gay-rights-activist-actor-3271651.php" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Obituary for Ben Gardiner</a> from the SFGate (Feb 27, 2010)</li>
<li>Waters, Michael. "<a href="https://onezero.medium.com/the-long-forgotten-story-of-ben-gardiner-the-aids-activist-whose-network-transformed-the-internet-c14460a73165"><span style="font-weight: 400;">How a 1980s AIDS Support Group Changed The Internet Forever</span></a>." <em>OneZero</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
AIDS Info BBS
AEGIS Network
AIDS Info BBS
bbs
CAIN
FidoNet
people living with HIV/AIDS
-
https://queerdigital.com/files/original/39542b9e9268fc05f0d087b6f694c9bb.zip
704e8fdc5904c2a21dfc6972f67e084b
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
AIDS Info BBS: Documents
Description
An account of the resource
This collection holds files recovered from archived versions of the AIDS Info BBS website, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/19971222020300/http://aidsinfobbs.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">as archived by the Internet Archive</a>. The AIDS Info BBS, as its name suggests, hosted a variety of different information, including copies of mainstream news stories, medical research, statistics, community periodicals, and message boards.<br /><br />This collection holds files from four areas relevant to the QDHP, covering the late 1980s up to the early 2000s: <br />
<ul>
<li>"Caregivers" mailing list archive</li>
<li>"Rethink" and "quilty" mailing lists archives</li>
<li>Message archives for two BBS-based fora: "openforum" and "thisBBS"</li>
<li>AIDS-related periodicals, including a complete archive of AIDS Treatment News issues</li>
</ul>
In total, the collection holds 12,496 files, collected in four .zip archives. While their original folder hierarchy on the AIDS Info BBS has been maintained, all files have been converted (if they weren't already) to plain text files (.txt) for ease of use. Message files are titled using the order in which they were posted (ie: 001, 002, 003). Some folders also contain "desc" files, which are brief descriptions of the folder's topic and/or contents.<br /><br />However, not every message posted to the site was preserved by the Internet Archive, and such absences are reflected in these archives: while some folders contain many of the original files, others only contain one or two preserved messages. Furthermore, except for the "caregivers" mailing list, messages were not originally anonymized when posted to the AIDS Info BBS site, and have not been subsequently anonymized by the QDHP. <br /><br />If you would like messages you wrote <strong>to be redacted and/or removed from any of these folders</strong>, please contact the curator at <a href="mailto:admin@queerdigital.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">admin@queerdigital.com</a>.
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
<a href="http://queerdigital.com/items/show/92">AIDS Info BBS</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, TXT (plain text unicode)
Total number of files
772 Files
Checksum (SHA-256)
A small-sized block of data, derived using an algorithm, that can be used to verify data integrity.
6021cd5d3c15a6f17763202cf2b324eec732337f0d2b0926e9bb982793d50820
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
AIDS Info BBS: AIDS Periodicals
Description
An account of the resource
Collection of files (all in plain text [.txt] format) held in the <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20100408074507/http://aidsinfobbs.org/periodicals" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Periodicals</a> portion of the AIDS Info BBS. Newsletter age varies, but covers the late 1980s up to the early 2000s, depending on the publication. File hierarchy (listed below) mirrors original source.<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><br /></strong></span><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><br />Archiv</strong><strong>e</strong><strong> includes:</strong></span><br />
<ul>
<li><strong>actup</strong> - Treatment Issues Digest, published weekly by ACT UP/NY's Treatment Issues committee</li>
<li><strong>atn</strong> - Issues of AIDS Treatment News, published by John James</li>
<li><strong>bealive </strong>- Issues of the Los Angeles-based Being Alive Newsletter</li>
<li><strong>bealivew </strong>- Issues of the Los Angeles-based Women Being Alive Newsletter</li>
<li><strong>beta </strong>- Issues of the Bulletin of Experimental Treatments for AIDS, published by the San Francisco AIDS Foundation</li>
<li><strong>catie </strong>- Issues of the Treatment Update newsletter</li>
<li><strong>critpath </strong>- Issues of the Critical Path AIDS Project Newsletter</li>
<li><strong>eurocaso</strong> - Newsletter published in Europe, circa 1992</li>
<li><strong>focus</strong> - Newsletter published by the AIDS Health Project, which was affiliated with University of California, San Francisco</li>
<li><strong>gmhcissues</strong> - Treatment Issues, a newsletter published by the Gay Men's Health Crisis</li>
<li><strong>kairos</strong> - Newsletters from Kairos House, a support center for AIDS caregivers located in San Francisco.</li>
<li><strong>naplwa </strong>- Newsletter for the National Association of People Living With AIDS</li>
<li><strong>napwa</strong> - Newsletter for the National Association of People With AIDS</li>
<li><strong>pediatric</strong> - The Pediatric AIDS Newsletter is published by SPIN, the Service Provider Informatiion Network of the Boston AIDS Consortium</li>
<li><strong>projnform</strong> - Newsletter and documents produced by San Francisco-based organization Project Inform</li>
<li><strong>search</strong> - Newsletter of Los Angeles-based Searchlight group</li>
<li><strong>seasons</strong> - Newsletter of The National Native American AIDS Prevention Center in Oakland, CA.</li>
</ul>
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
AIDS Info BBS
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1988-2003
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
ZIP
Language
A language of the resource
American English
AIDS Info BBS
periodicals
-
https://queerdigital.com/files/original/a7908d7876feca70fb5fc2f6c31e994d.zip
c374d7e0403c777808f2220699d6edcf
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
AIDS Info BBS: Documents
Description
An account of the resource
This collection holds files recovered from archived versions of the AIDS Info BBS website, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/19971222020300/http://aidsinfobbs.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">as archived by the Internet Archive</a>. The AIDS Info BBS, as its name suggests, hosted a variety of different information, including copies of mainstream news stories, medical research, statistics, community periodicals, and message boards.<br /><br />This collection holds files from four areas relevant to the QDHP, covering the late 1980s up to the early 2000s: <br />
<ul>
<li>"Caregivers" mailing list archive</li>
<li>"Rethink" and "quilty" mailing lists archives</li>
<li>Message archives for two BBS-based fora: "openforum" and "thisBBS"</li>
<li>AIDS-related periodicals, including a complete archive of AIDS Treatment News issues</li>
</ul>
In total, the collection holds 12,496 files, collected in four .zip archives. While their original folder hierarchy on the AIDS Info BBS has been maintained, all files have been converted (if they weren't already) to plain text files (.txt) for ease of use. Message files are titled using the order in which they were posted (ie: 001, 002, 003). Some folders also contain "desc" files, which are brief descriptions of the folder's topic and/or contents.<br /><br />However, not every message posted to the site was preserved by the Internet Archive, and such absences are reflected in these archives: while some folders contain many of the original files, others only contain one or two preserved messages. Furthermore, except for the "caregivers" mailing list, messages were not originally anonymized when posted to the AIDS Info BBS site, and have not been subsequently anonymized by the QDHP. <br /><br />If you would like messages you wrote <strong>to be redacted and/or removed from any of these folders</strong>, please contact the curator at <a href="mailto:admin@queerdigital.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">admin@queerdigital.com</a>.
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
<a href="http://queerdigital.com/items/show/92">AIDS Info BBS</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, TXT (plain text unicode)
Total number of files
2,796 files
Checksum (SHA-256)
A small-sized block of data, derived using an algorithm, that can be used to verify data integrity.
baae827c8ea89b1a79bd6c8eb66b8ee5dde4ddf72f79245805aa7062acefc725
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
AIDS Info BBS: BBS Fora
Description
An account of the resource
Collection of files (all in plain text [.txt] format) held in the <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20041117001026/http://www.aidsinfobbs.org/openforum/">openforum</a> and <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20041019014656/http://www.aidsinfobbs.org/thisbbs/">thisbbs</a> folders of the AIDS Info BBS. <span>Folders contain message archvies for the openforum and thisbbs sections of the AIDS Info BBS. For more information on the AIDS Info BBS, see the <a href="http://queerdigital.com/items/show/92" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Queer Community Catalog entry</a> and the <a href="http://queerdigital.com/collections/show/5" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Documents collection</a> landing page.<br /><br /></span>Messages have not been anonymized. If you would like messages you wrote to be removed from this archive, please contact the curator at <a href="mailto:admin@queerdigital.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">admin@queerdigital.com</a>.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
AIDS Info BBS
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1987 - 1997
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
Mailing List
AIDS Info BBS
bbs
-
https://queerdigital.com/files/original/1f27b8bd052a3fad4253fdd87687ec18.zip
1804ef61e383b9179c920231b0185b00
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
AIDS Info BBS: Documents
Description
An account of the resource
This collection holds files recovered from archived versions of the AIDS Info BBS website, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/19971222020300/http://aidsinfobbs.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">as archived by the Internet Archive</a>. The AIDS Info BBS, as its name suggests, hosted a variety of different information, including copies of mainstream news stories, medical research, statistics, community periodicals, and message boards.<br /><br />This collection holds files from four areas relevant to the QDHP, covering the late 1980s up to the early 2000s: <br />
<ul>
<li>"Caregivers" mailing list archive</li>
<li>"Rethink" and "quilty" mailing lists archives</li>
<li>Message archives for two BBS-based fora: "openforum" and "thisBBS"</li>
<li>AIDS-related periodicals, including a complete archive of AIDS Treatment News issues</li>
</ul>
In total, the collection holds 12,496 files, collected in four .zip archives. While their original folder hierarchy on the AIDS Info BBS has been maintained, all files have been converted (if they weren't already) to plain text files (.txt) for ease of use. Message files are titled using the order in which they were posted (ie: 001, 002, 003). Some folders also contain "desc" files, which are brief descriptions of the folder's topic and/or contents.<br /><br />However, not every message posted to the site was preserved by the Internet Archive, and such absences are reflected in these archives: while some folders contain many of the original files, others only contain one or two preserved messages. Furthermore, except for the "caregivers" mailing list, messages were not originally anonymized when posted to the AIDS Info BBS site, and have not been subsequently anonymized by the QDHP. <br /><br />If you would like messages you wrote <strong>to be redacted and/or removed from any of these folders</strong>, please contact the curator at <a href="mailto:admin@queerdigital.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">admin@queerdigital.com</a>.
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
<a href="http://queerdigital.com/items/show/92">AIDS Info BBS</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, TXT (plain text unicode)
Total number of files
3,334 Files
Checksum (SHA-256)
A small-sized block of data, derived using an algorithm, that can be used to verify data integrity.
d0589fcc3c9120ff4ab8e79b66a32d4ec906b88e30824f72d1da407c091375ff
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
AIDS Info BBS: Caregivers Mailing List
Description
An account of the resource
Collection of files held in the <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20041101120516/http://www.aidsinfobbs.org/caregivers/">caregivers</a> folder of the AIDS Info BBS. Folders contain messages posted to the "caregivers" mailing list, which offered support for caregivers of PWAs. <span>For more information on the AIDS Info BBS, see the <a href="http://queerdigital.com/items/show/92" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Queer Community Catalog entry</a> and the <a href="http://queerdigital.com/collections/show/5" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Documents collection</a> landing page.</span><br /><br />Messages were originally anonymized by BBS sysop Ben Gardiner: poster e-mail addresses have been removed, and all posting dates have been updated to the date of their anonymization. However, if you would like messages you wrote to be removed from this archive, please contact the curator at <a href="mailto:admin@queerdigital.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">admin@queerdigital.com</a>.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
AIDS Info BBS
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
ZIP
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
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Mailing List
AIDS Info BBS
mailing list
-
https://queerdigital.com/files/original/481f234976bab0d566888c581e92d703.zip
58dab4c67c712c4799789a5a33d9191e
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
AIDS Info BBS: Documents
Description
An account of the resource
This collection holds files recovered from archived versions of the AIDS Info BBS website, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/19971222020300/http://aidsinfobbs.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">as archived by the Internet Archive</a>. The AIDS Info BBS, as its name suggests, hosted a variety of different information, including copies of mainstream news stories, medical research, statistics, community periodicals, and message boards.<br /><br />This collection holds files from four areas relevant to the QDHP, covering the late 1980s up to the early 2000s: <br />
<ul>
<li>"Caregivers" mailing list archive</li>
<li>"Rethink" and "quilty" mailing lists archives</li>
<li>Message archives for two BBS-based fora: "openforum" and "thisBBS"</li>
<li>AIDS-related periodicals, including a complete archive of AIDS Treatment News issues</li>
</ul>
In total, the collection holds 12,496 files, collected in four .zip archives. While their original folder hierarchy on the AIDS Info BBS has been maintained, all files have been converted (if they weren't already) to plain text files (.txt) for ease of use. Message files are titled using the order in which they were posted (ie: 001, 002, 003). Some folders also contain "desc" files, which are brief descriptions of the folder's topic and/or contents.<br /><br />However, not every message posted to the site was preserved by the Internet Archive, and such absences are reflected in these archives: while some folders contain many of the original files, others only contain one or two preserved messages. Furthermore, except for the "caregivers" mailing list, messages were not originally anonymized when posted to the AIDS Info BBS site, and have not been subsequently anonymized by the QDHP. <br /><br />If you would like messages you wrote <strong>to be redacted and/or removed from any of these folders</strong>, please contact the curator at <a href="mailto:admin@queerdigital.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">admin@queerdigital.com</a>.
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
<a href="http://queerdigital.com/items/show/92">AIDS Info BBS</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, TXT (plain text unicode)
Total number of files
6,366 Files
Checksum (SHA-256)
A small-sized block of data, derived using an algorithm, that can be used to verify data integrity.
a761ac1c6cebb16745f7259ca3ad3ff4ad9a0abb666d234dca3747569e50983e
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
AIDS Info BBS: Rethinking AIDS Mailing Lists
Description
An account of the resource
Collection of files held in the <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20040422173703/http://www.aidsinfobbs.org/articles/rethink/">rethink</a> and <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20041019001434/http://www.aidsinfobbs.org/articles/quilty/">quilty</a> folders of the AIDS Info BBS. Both folders contain message archives for the "rethink" and "quilty" mailing lists, both of which focused on rethinking AIDS orthodoxy. <span>For more information on the AIDS Info BBS, see the <a href="http://queerdigital.com/items/show/92" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Queer Community Catalog entry</a> and the <a href="http://queerdigital.com/collections/show/5" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Documents collection</a> landing page.</span><br /><br />Messages have not been anonymized. If you would like messages you wrote to be removed from this archive, please contact the curator at <a href="mailto:admin@queerdigital.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">admin@queerdigital.com</a>.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1994 - 2001
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
Mailing List
AIDS Info BBS
mailing list
-
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
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>
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
-
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)
1998
Intended Audience
The forum's intended audience
intergender individuals, non-binary individuals, androgyne individuals
Primary Language
Primary language used by participants
American English
Exterior References
<ul>
<li><a href="https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/alt.support.intergendered">alt.support.intergendered Google Groups archive</a></li>
<li><a href="https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/alt.support.intergendered/9arGB-gpngE">alt.support.intergendered Charter</a></li>
<li><a href="http://cydathria.com/ms_donna/asig_main.html">alt.support.intergended homepage</a></li>
<li><a href="http://cydathria.com/ms_donna/intergen.html">What is Intergendered?</a> - Essay by newsgroup founder on origins and use of term</li>
<li><a href="https://archive.org/details/transgendertapes1072unse/page/38">Androgyne Online</a> in <em>Transgender Tapestry </em>#107 (Fall/Winter, 2004) - mention of the term "intergender" in relation to a discussion of androgyne identity</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.intergendered
androgyne individuals
intergender individuals
non-binary individuals
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)
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>
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
Alternatives
Area Code
Area Code of BBS
212 area code
Year Founded (approximate)
Unknown
Last Year Active (approximate)
Unknown
City and State/Province
New York, NY
Baud Rate
2400/9600 baud
Intended Audience
The forum's intended audience
Transgender people; Transsexual people; Gay people; Lesbians; 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 1991-1993</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
Alternatives
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
BBS
Alternatives
bbs
gay people
lesbian people
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>
Usenet Newsgroup
Individual Usenet Newsgroup
Year Founded (approximate)
1994
Exterior References
<ul>
<li><a href="https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/aus.culture.lesbigay" target="_blank" rel="noopener">aus.culture.lesbigay Google Groups archive</a></li>
<li><a href="https://groups.google.com/forum/#!search/aus.culture.lesbigay/aus.culture.lesbigay/JonTXOg5EfU/PWgtgMTuDfUJ" target="_blank" rel="noopener">aus.culture.lesbigay FAQ (posted May 19, 1996)</a></li>
<li>Listed in <a href="http://www.qrd.org/qrd/trans/1995/good.tranny.guide-03.01.95" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the Good Tranny Guide</a>, a guide to trans resources specific to Australia and New Zealand (compiled March 1995)</li>
</ul>
Intended Audience
The forum's intended audience
Gay people, lesbian people, bisexual people, transgender people
Primary Language
Primary language used by participants
Australian 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
aus.culture.lesbigay
Australia
bisexual people
gay people
lesbian people
New Zealand
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>
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
Carolyn's Closet
Area Code
Area Code of BBS
612 Area Code
Year Founded (approximate)
1988
Last Year Active (approximate)
1994
Network/Platform
Networks or Platforms the forum participated in
Fidonet Node Address: 1:282/3015
Intended Audience
The forum's intended audience
Transsexual people
Primary Language
Primary language used by participants
American English
City and State/Province
Minneapolis, MN
Baud Rate
300/1200 baud
Exterior References
<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/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/r207tp43x" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Cross-Talk: The Gender Community's News & Information Monthly, No. 60 (1994)</a> - Note included in article that author "later found a discussion about [Carolyn's Closet's] demise in a Fidonet echo" (36).</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
Carolyn's Closet
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
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>
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://queerdigital.com/files/original/77de7a53ce9a3c27a109ac1b257f48f4.txt
0c76ee287466c6698de7babe2e0dbff0
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
Year Founded (approximate)
1988
Primary Language
Primary language used by participants
American English
Intended Audience
The forum's intended audience
transgendered people, crossdressers, transvestites, transsexual people
Years Active
Approximate years group was active online
1988-1995
Exterior References
<strong>Mailing List Description (circa 1993, taken from CDForum digest):</strong> "cd forum is a "safe space" digested electronic mailing list for the support of cross-dressing, transsexuality, and other gender issues. Friendly and frank discussions. No membership fees. Your address will be kept in strict confidence. Articles you submit for publication in the forum are stripped of header and signature id unless you instruct me otherwise. To subscribe, please send me a short paragraph describing your interest in cd forum, and where you heard of it. You will be requested to submit an introductory article within one month of your subscription."<br /><br /><a href="http://queerdigital.com/items/show/108" target="_blank" rel="noopener">An archive of CDForum digests covering 1988 to 1993</a> is available for request at the QDHP. <br /><br /><strong>Attached:</strong> Mailing List description held in the <a href="http://www.qrd.org/qrd/electronic/email/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mailing List section</a> of the Queer Resources Directory. Original file mirrored from <a href="http://www.qrd.org/qrd/electronic/email/cd-forum" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.
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
CDForum
cd-forum
crossdressers
mailing list
transgender people
transsexual people
transvestites
-
https://queerdigital.com/files/original/577c9b7c5865fa059c430d45b7f17df7.pdf
a895b1e51447d97297518e2c81c97c40
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 of TXT files (plain text unicode)
Total number of files
259
Checksum (SHA-256)
A small-sized block of data, derived using an algorithm, that can be used to verify data integrity.
9d2f970f17a51feeb0a26e71b7ddd377d3469a566baee9fad1bb69eafbfcf1b6
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
CDForum Archive
Description
An account of the resource
This archive contains digests for the CDForum mailing list, covering 1988 to 1993. CDForum was one of the first trans-specific email mailing lists and remained active until at least 1995. Digests 145, 175, 177, 179, and 242 are not included. <span>For more information on CDForum, see <a href="http://queerdigital.com/items/show/109" target="_blank" rel="noopener">its related catalog page</a>.</span><br /><br />Collection is organized by year of publication. Index of 1988-1991 is available at root. All email addresses have been redacted from the archival files, but messages have not been anonymized. If you would like messages you wrote to be removed from this archive, please contact the curator at <a href="mailto:admin@queerdigital.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">admin@queerdigital.com</a>.<br /><br />Requests to access this archive will be reviewed by the curatorial team. If you are interested in accessing this archive, please submit a copy of the request form attached to this page. Once the request is submitted, the curatorial team will review your request and be in contact with you.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1988-1993
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Donated by <a href="https://maryannhorton.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mary Ann Horton</a>.
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
ZIP archive
Language
A language of the resource
American English
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Mailing List
archive
cd-forum
crossdressers
mailing list
transgender people
transsexual people
transvestites
-
https://queerdigital.com/files/original/a8323eb680d4834ebf4a57656a52da17.png
2b983209173735679c16437be3b35f93
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. ).
Exterior References
<strong>Attached Files:</strong>
<ul>
<li>Screenshot of archived landing page for Chainsaw Records Message Board (archived April 13, 1997)</li>
</ul>
<strong>Links:</strong><br />
<ul>
<li><a href="https://eminism.org/michigan/19990608-chainsaw.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Archived message board thread discussing Mr. Lady Records & The Butchies choice to perform at Michigan Womyn's Music Festival</a> (MWMF) (1999)</li>
<li>"<a href="https://www.portlandmercury.com/music/who-signs-their-graffiti-22602/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Who Signs Their Graffiti?</a>," Portland Mercury (Aug 3, 2000): Article on the implementation of user registration on the message board</li>
<li><a href="https://magazine.plazm.com/post-utopic-jd-samson-on-art-sincerity-and-the-l-word-bb10886f14b1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">"Post Utopic: JD Samson on Art, Sincerity, and the L Word."</a> <em>plazm magazine </em>#28. (2008): Interview with JD Samson that discusses message board and its impact</li>
<li><a href="https://www.opb.org/article/2025/09/19/think-out-loudnorthwest-punk-band-team-dresch/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">"Pioneering Northwest punk band touring for 30th anniversary," Oregon Public Radio (Sept 19, 2025): </a>Interview with Team Dresch that discusses message board</li>
</ul>
Local URL
The URL of the local directory containing all assets of the website
<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/19970413015027/http://www.chainsaw.com/cgi-bin/post/post.pl" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Chainsaw Records Message Board (archived April 13, 1997)</a>
Year Founded (approximate)
1996
Last Year Active (approximate)
2007
Intended Audience
The forum's intended audience
queer youth
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
Chainsaw Records Message Board and Chat
message board
queer 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).
Area Code
Area Code of BBS
407
City and State/Province
Orlando, FL
Abbreviations/Alias
Any other names used to refer to this forum
CompuWho, Compu Who, members known as "Whosers"
Year Founded (approximate)
1989
Baud Rate
9600
Intended Audience
The forum's intended audience
gay people, lesbian people
Primary Language
Primary language used by participants
American English
Exterior References
<ul>
<li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20031001082443/http://www.compuwho.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Archived copy of Compu-Who website</a></li>
<li>Truesdell J. (2001). "Kingdom come: Gay days at Disney World." In Krupat K., McCreery P. (Eds.), <a href="Out at work: Building a gay‐labor alliance"><em>Out at Work: Building a Gay‐Labor Alliance</em></a> (pp. 211–231). Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. - Article discusses Compu-Who's role in the founding and development of Gay Days at Disneyworld in Orlando, FL.</li>
<li>"<a href="http://www.watermarkonline.com/2018/06/07/with-changes-to-orlandos-big-gay-weekend-coming-in-2019-we-look-back-on-the-history-of-gay-day/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">With changes to Orlando’s Big Gay Weekend coming in 2019, we look back on the history of Gay Day</a>," <em>Watermark Magazine</em> (June 7, 2018) - Article discussing Compu-Who's role in the founding and development of Gay Days at Disneyworld in Orlando, FL</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
Compu-Who
bbs
gay people
lesbian people
-
https://queerdigital.com/files/original/fed55bb5b230a02214c7e2dc22c18c57.pdf
c02973e379984a9465958d000eb32262
https://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://queerdigital.com/files/original/7ef8e2cb0624309c26c3e8319f112a27.jpg
20862290e5cbf8f748463eb7cceacbcf
https://queerdigital.com/files/original/23fa5e7d3d05a5679d09c7b428dc435d.txt
313be9bb85b713e6b2cc7e96fd887683
https://queerdigital.com/files/original/a98d4e1c487f1641de899c5928a7c883.jpg
7d643381b55334b1ac0a3b85d2880ff6
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
Critical Path AIDS Project BBS
Area Code
Area Code of BBS
214
City and State/Province
Philadelphia, PA
Year Founded (approximate)
1991
Last Year Active (approximate)
Unknown
Sponsor or Institutional Host
Organizations that hosted, sponsored, or maintained the forum
Critical Path AIDS Project
Baud Rate
Up to 9600-baud
Intended Audience
The forum's intended audience
People With AIDS (PWAs)
Primary Language
Primary language used by participants
American English
Exterior References
<strong>Attached files:</strong> <br />
<ul>
<li>Cover for the October 1991 issue of the Critical Path Newsletter, sourced from <a href="https://www.bolerium.com/pages/books/270782/kiyoshi-kuromiya/critical-path-aids-project-vol-2-7-8-october-1991-the-speed-of-light-aids-information-in-the-1990s" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bolerium Books</a>.</li>
<li>Photograph of Kuromiya in 1992, originally from <a href="https://www.inquirer.com/health/outraged-over-indifference-aids-act-up-is-rewriting-rules-protest-20110605.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Philadelphia Inquirer</a>.</li>
<li>Press Release on Critical Path as a plantiff in Reno v. ACLU (mirrored from <a href="http://www.qrd.org/qrd/usa/federal/1996/critical.path.fights.net.censorship-02.09.96" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the Queer Resources Directory</a>)</li>
</ul>
<strong>Other references:</strong><br />
<ul>
<li>Select digital copies of the Critical Path Newsletter available in the <a href="https://queerdigital.com/items/show/96" target="_blank" rel="noopener">AIDS Info BBS Documents Collection</a></li>
<li>Kiyoshi Kuromiya Exhibit (TBD)</li>
<li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/19961221111705/http://www.critpath.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Archived copy of the Critical Path website</a> (archived Dec 21, 1996)</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
Critical Path AIDS Project BBS
-
https://queerdigital.com/files/original/cf276c1884069e2cb99d160628cdc288.png
aa82b42bf98d1d9502f3db33745a9471
https://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
-
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-Link
Area Code
Area Code of BBS
303 area code
Year Founded (approximate)
Unknown
Last Year Active (approximate)
Unknown
City and State/Province
Denver, CO
Baud Rate
300/1200 baud
Intended Audience
The forum's intended audience
Transgendered people
Primary Language
Primary language used by participants
American English
Exterior References
<ul>
<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>
<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 1990-1993</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-Link
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
BBS
bbs
Cross-Link
transgendered 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
Different Realities
Area Code
Area Code of BBS
402 area code
Year Founded (approximate)
Unknown
Last Year Active (approximate)
Unknown
City and State/Province
Rochester, NY
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="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
Different Realities
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
BBS
bbs
Different Realities
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
Educational TV Channel
Area Code
Area Code of BBS
415 area code
Abbreviations/Alias
Any other names used to refer to this forum
ETVC
City and State/Province
San Francisco, CA
Baud Rate
1200/2400/9600/14400 baud
Intended Audience
The forum's intended audience
Transgendered 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 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
Educational TV Channel
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
BBS
bbs
Educational TV Channel
ETVC
transgender people
-
https://queerdigital.com/files/original/d492cdbd53818d950791ff74ea391aab.png
bfc91a51e78b21e71fad36c68c68a9e9
https://queerdigital.com/files/original/0a9bd5c713e443613d37c4571df1a5d9.jpg
a4c05ce1642d89b76e5dcbaf9add6fa6
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
Emerald OnRamp
Area Code
Area Code of BBS
206; 504
City and State/Province
Seattle WA; New Orleans, LA
Abbreviations/Alias
Any other names used to refer to this forum
EOR
Year Founded (approximate)
1993
Last Year Active (approximate)
1997
Baud Rate
2400
Intended Audience
The forum's intended audience
Gay Men, Lesbians, Bisexual people, Transgender people
Primary Language
Primary language used by participants
American English
Exterior References
<strong>Attached Files:</strong><br />
<ul>
<li>Logo for Emerald OnRamp, which first appeared when a user went to log in. Retrived from archived copy of the FirstClass installation package.</li>
<li>Advertisement for Emerald OnRamp with screenshots of the service. EOR used the proprietary <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FirstClass" target="_blank" rel="noopener">FirstClass</a> software to allow users access to chat rooms, local news, and “digital storefronts.” Advertisement from the March 25, 1994 issue of <em>Seattle Gay News</em>. Courtesy of Newspapers.com.</li>
</ul>
<br /><strong>Links:</strong><br />
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.digitaltransgenderarchive.net/files/bz60cw46s" target="_blank" rel="noopener">"Emerald OnRamp: A Jewel of an Idea." <em>The Ingersoll Message</em>, Vol. 1 No. 7 (September 1995)</a> (p. 13): Article on the Seattle-based Ingersoll Gender Center's new "online storefront" on EOR</li>
<li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/19961104040343/http%3A%2F%2Feor.com%2F" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Website for Emerald OnRamp</a> (archived Nov 4, 1996)</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
Emerald OnRamp
bbs
bisexual people
EmeraldOnRamp
gay people
lesbian people
-
https://queerdigital.com/files/original/fd6b907a3a9c1b6df8cf2e8a3415bb56.png
75b572458a64438a25c794ef53894a14
https://queerdigital.com/files/original/4238ef530ac3a5d2ce739c27fa27383b.zip
b7ef7c171db3e3ea1e98f144555cb818
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
https://eminism.org/
Year Founded (approximate)
2001
Last Year Active (approximate)
2026
Exterior References
This scrape of <a href="https://eminism.org/">https://eminism.org/</a> was completed 06-16-2026 using <a href="https://www.httrack.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HTTrack</a>. It includes copies of all pages and files currently available. While the page has been archived by the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine, this scrape is intended to independently preserve the site, as well as to provide the site as a possible corpus for textual analysis. <br /><br />To browse the mirrored site (.zip archive), open index.html in the top-level folder. WARC available by request - simply email admin AT queerdigital.com.<br /><br /><strong>Checksum (SHA-256): </strong>A50B192C83E6DAE665EFF2417B431D8C0A84D3C97ACD9D7DB9B2182E8FE15DF3<br />--<br /><br /><strong>Bio (from the site):</strong> "Eminism.org is a personal website of multi-issue social justice activist/writer/rogue intellectual Emi Koyama. Emi often writes and speaks out about feminism, sexual and domestic violence, sex work/trade and trafficking, queer and trans liberation, intersex and disability issues, among others." Koyama passed away in June 2026, and reflections on the impact of her scholarship can be found <a href="https://www.autostraddle.com/emi-koyama-in-memorium/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.
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
eminism.org Web Scrape
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Emi Koyama
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
Completed 06-16-2026
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
.zip archive or WARC (warc.gz, proccessed using <a href="https://coptr.digipres.org/index.php/Warcit" target="_blank" rel="noopener">warcit</a>)
Language
A language of the resource
American English; Japanese
-
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
EON
Exterior References
<ul>
<li><span>Archived copy of <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/19991109051206/http://www.netlaputa.ne.jp/~eonw/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the website</a> (archived November 9, 1999)</span></li>
<li><span>Discussed in Mark McClelland's <a href="https://search.worldcat.org/title/Queer-Japan-from-the-Pacific-war-to-the-internet-age/oclc/56615766" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>Queer Japan from the Pacific War to The Internet Age</em></a> (2005).</span></li>
<li><span>Discussed in Mitsuhashi, Junko. “<a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14649370600673847">The Transgender World in Contemporary Japan: The Male to Female Cross‐dressers’ Community in Shinjuku</a>.” <i>Inter-Asia Cultural Studies</i> 7, no. 2 (June 2006): 202–27. doi:10.1080/14649370600673847.</span><span><br /></span></li>
<li><span>Discussed in <a href="https://www.pot.co.jp/books/isbn978-4-86642-019-6.html">トランスジェンダーの原理: 社会と共に「自分」を生きるために</a> by founder 神名龍子 (Jinna Ryūko)</span></li>
<li><span><a href="https://www4.hp-ez.com/hp/eon/page38">Writings and archived messages</a> from EON/W collected by 神名龍子 (Jinna Ryūko)</span></li>
</ul>
(Information and links provided by <a href="https://researchmap.jp/take_kyo/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Takeuchi Kyoko</a>, Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology, Kwansei Gakuin University)
City and State/Province
Tokyo, Tokyo Prefecture, Japan
Year Founded (approximate)
1990
Last Year Active (approximate)
1999
Baud Rate
N/A
Intended Audience
The forum's intended audience
Transgender people; Transsexual people; Crossdressers
Primary Language
Primary language used by participants
Japanese
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
EON
bbs
crossdressers
EON
transgender people
transsexual people
website
-
https://queerdigital.com/files/original/d22268fefa04493baabc1a385e9e1d7d.png
7575251ddf8cf807a4594da26a61ef24
https://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
-
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
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
-
https://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://queerdigital.com/files/original/708b7f115f134c57a5f6d93f347a1dc0.jpg
cfa10b428803c4c247d6e7da1a5c34ee
https://queerdigital.com/files/original/24428e5263d89614ad8deee09e14f697.jpg
be4c549d9bb5eec40c1e1f60cfa87214
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
Minitel
Abbreviations/Alias
Any other names used to refer to this forum
GPH
Year Founded (approximate)
1983
Intended Audience
The forum's intended audience
gay men
Exterior References
Attached Images:
<ul>
<li>Advertisements for GPH, date unknown.</li>
</ul>
External Links:
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.ina.fr/ina-eclaire-actu/video/cab97017654/salon-de-l-erotisme"><em>Salon de l'érotisme</em></a> (<em>Antenne 2 Le Journal de 20H</em>, March 16, 1985)- Short news piece on erotic art <em>salon</em> in Paris. At 02:39 it includes footage of <em>Gai Pied</em>'s Minitel site.</li>
<li><a href="https://minitel.us/memorabilia-ephemera/minitel-follies">"Minitel Follies"</a> (<em>Gay Comix</em> Spring/Summer 1988) - Short comic on using gay services on Minitel.</li>
<li>Duyves, M. (1993). "<a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1300/J082v25n01_13">The Minitel: The Glittering Future of a New Invention</a>." <em>Journal of Homosexuality</em>, 25(1–2), 193–203.</li>
<li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170325123111/https://www.france.qrd.org/media/gai%20pied/">Le Biotux, Jean. "Le guêpier des années Gai Pied."</a> - History of<em> Gai Pied</em> by the founder that discusses Minitel</li>
<li>Livia, A. (2002). "Public and Clandestine: Gay Men’s Pseudonyms on the French Minitel." <i>Sexualities</i>, <i>5</i>(2), 201-217. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1363460702005002004">https://doi.org/10.1177/1363460702005002004</a></li>
<li><a href="https://tetu.com/2021/03/19/3615-gay-histoire-rencontre-minitel-telephone/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">"3615 factures exorbitantes et rencontres à l'aveugle... c'était la drague sur minitel."</a> tetu (March 19, 2021) - Reflections on mens' experiences using gay Minitel sites, including GPH</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
Gai Pied Rézo
gay people
minitel
-
https://queerdigital.com/files/original/bde699afe4376635c85712517255d60d.zip
1bf104dfeec2c48ae9041b649b818677
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
Year Founded (approximate)
1998
Last Year Active (approximate)
2004
Sponsor or Institutional Host
Organizations that hosted, sponsored, or maintained the forum
Gender Advocacy Internet News (GAIN)
Primary Language
Primary language used by participants
American English
File Format
Format of digital file(s).
ZIP archive of TXT files (plain text unicode)
Total number of files
228
Checksum (SHA-256)
A small-sized block of data, derived using an algorithm, that can be used to verify data integrity.
e00a25bb921dfd8ed1e633c1a0549faa920b28bd724fa5b39861e2823d41b690
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
GAIN (Gender Advocacy Internet News) Archive
Description
An account of the resource
<span><span>This archive contains archival copies of the Gender Advocacy Internet News (GAIN) news service, published from 1998 to 2004. GAIN collected relevant news stories, action alerts, short essays, and other information related to the trans community. For more information on GAIN, see <a href="http://queerdigital.com/items/show/112" target="_blank" rel="noopener">its related catalog page</a>.</span></span><br /><br /><span>Archive is organized by year and month of publication. All email addresses have been redacted from the archival files, but messages have not been anonymized. If you would like messages you wrote to be removed from this archive, please contact the curator at </span><a href="mailto:admin@queerdigital.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">admin@queerdigital.com</a><span><span>.</span></span><span><br /></span>
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Donated by <a href="http://dallasdenny.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Dallas Denny</a>.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1998-2004
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
ZIP archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
All authors of content included in this archive retain copyright. Work is made available for noncommercial educational and research purposes.
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Mailing List
crossdressers
GAIN
Gender Advocacy Internet News
mailing list
transgender people
transsexual people
-
https://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://queerdigital.com/files/original/19be8cb928c41369be0ddb306639807c.png
60c811ae85eb4ebb54a63ee60fab3be5
https://queerdigital.com/files/original/ccde54a717f5ea0a12af7d5e8b0a75aa.pdf
91f744f671122ca16300f2037d67f7d1
https://queerdigital.com/files/original/92fe09d0ba983e3c87713c0b925d167f.jpg
8f2ae8a1e89cddf84295c4db6ed1f925
https://queerdigital.com/files/original/06516c8513fdf916c93e3afcc66885a3.jpg
5d26348c635692a66fb2fd92ce67031d
https://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
-
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
919
City and State/Province
Raleigh, NC
Abbreviations/Alias
Any other names used to refer to this forum
GLIE
Year Founded (approximate)
1989
Last Year Active (approximate)
1993
Sponsor or Institutional Host
Organizations that hosted, sponsored, or maintained the forum
The Front Page Newspaper (beginning in 1992)
Intended Audience
The forum's intended audience
gay men, lesbians
Primary Language
Primary language used by participants
American English
Exterior References
<ul>
<li>Discussed in <a href="https://newspapers.digitalnc.org/lccn/sn90018324/1992-10-30/ed-1/seq-3/"><em>The Front Page</em> (Oct. 30, 1992)</a>, including Front Page takeover</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
Gay and Lesbian Information Exchange
-
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. ).
Exterior References
<ul>
<li><span>Discussed in Mark McClelland's <a href="https://search.worldcat.org/title/Queer-Japan-from-the-Pacific-war-to-the-internet-age/oclc/56615766" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>Queer Japan from the Pacific War to The Internet Age</em></a> (2005).</span></li>
<li><span>Discussed in McLelland, M. (2000). "<a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/135485650000600303" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Out and About on Japan’s Gay Net</a>." <i>Convergence</i>, <i>6</i>(3), 16-33.<br /><br /></span></li>
</ul>
City and State/Province
Japan
Local URL
The URL of the local directory containing all assets of the website
<ul>
<li>BBS Phone Number: (03) 5377-2721</li>
<li>Earliest archived copy (12/12/1998): <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/19981212025308/http://www.gnj.or.jp/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">GayNet Japan (http://www.gnj.or.jp/)</a></li>
<li>Later address (first archived 03/30/2002): <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20020330015429/http://www.gnj.jp/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">http://www.gnj.jp/</a></li>
</ul>
Year Founded (approximate)
1988 (BBS founded)
Last Year Active (approximate)
Still Active
Intended Audience
The forum's intended audience
Gay men
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
GayNet Japan
-
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
-
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
GDATN
Area Code
Area Code of BBS
615 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="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
GDATN
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Bulletin Board System (BBS)
bbs
GDATN
transgender people
-
https://queerdigital.com/files/original/95fd885484f2a38a7f67988530c9afa2.gif
38abc328ce88738270eca7d1888a2eb8
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
transgendered people, crossdressers, transvestites, transsexual people, community allies
Years Active
Approximate years group was active online
1998-2004
Sponsor or Institutional Host
Organizations that hosted, sponsored, or maintained the forum
Gender Education and Advocacy (GEA)
Primary Language
Primary language used by participants
American English
Exterior References
<span> Gender Advocacy Internet News (1998 - 2004) was a news service maintained by Gender Education and Advocacy (GEA) collecting information relevant to the trans community. GEA was founded in 1998 from the merger of two existing trans community organizations: </span>the American Educational Gender Information Service (AEGIS) and It's Time, America! (ITA). <br /><br /><span>GAIN grew out of ITA's existing news service and was edited by former ITA media director </span>Penni Ashe Matz until her death in 2001. From 2002 onward, it was edited by Kim Carver and Gwyneth Rhian Morgan.<br /><br /><a href="http://queerdigital.com/items/show/111" target="_blank" rel="noopener">An archive of GAIN digests covering 1998 to 2004</a> is available at the QDHP. The attached image is taken from the archived GAIN webpage (linked below).<br />
<ul>
<li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20000815100131/http://www.gender.org/gain/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Archived copy of GAIN page</a> on GEA's website in the Internet Archive (archived August 15, 2000) </li>
</ul>
Year Founded (approximate)
1998
Last Year Active (approximate)
2004
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
Gender Advocacy Internet News (GAIN)
crossdressers
GAIN
Gender Advocacy Internet News
mailing list
transgender people
transsexual 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://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
-
https://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
-
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a8803fb9541eab340a14566632f6876d
https://queerdigital.com/files/original/1bb2e5c2f8c94fe835ccaa632bfd1450.zip
8ccf9705e121835d3dcb2cd56c7d7049
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
https://www.ftmguide.org/
Year Founded (approximate)
March 2004
Last Year Active (approximate)
May 2017
Intended Audience
The forum's intended audience
Trans men and trans masculine individuals
Exterior References
This scrape of <a href="https://www.ftmguide.org/">https://www.ftmguide.org/</a> was completed 7-30-2025 using <a href="https://www.httrack.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HTTrack</a>. It includes copies of all pages and files currently available. While the page has been archived by the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine, this scrape is intended to independently preserve the site, as well as to provide the site as a possible corpus for textual analysis. <br /><br />To browse the mirrored site (.zip archive), open index.html in the top-level folder. WARC available by request - simply email admin AT queerdigital.com.<br /><br /><strong>Checksum (SHA-256): </strong>31c185c4a1716f670b8d9880cd7188eb2e3ce63aed2b34b5bcdc7eefdd93c759<br /><br />--<br /><br /><strong>Bio:</strong> Hudson's FTM Resource Guide is one of oldest resource sites available online. Inspired by Lou Sullivan's book <em>Information for the Female to Male Cross Dresser and Transsexual</em>, the guide offered information on a variety of topics relevant to trans men and trans masculine individuals.
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
Hudson's FTM Resource Guide Web Scrape
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
Completed 07-30-2025
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
.zip archive or WARC (warc.gz, proccessed using <a href="https://coptr.digipres.org/index.php/Warcit" target="_blank" rel="noopener">warcit</a>)
Language
A language of the resource
American English
website
-
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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
-
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>
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
-
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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
Joanna Clark Exhibit Items
Description
An account of the resource
Examples used in the <a href="https://queerdigital.com/exhibits/show/impfigs/clark" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Joanna Clark (Sister Mary Elizabeth Clark)</a> Exhibit.