FAQ: Overview

Topics This is the official Frequently Asked Questions document for the Usenet newsgroup soc.motss. The topics appear below. Each major section of the FAQ is a separate document, most of them conveniently short. If you're reading with a browser, you can navigate the topics easily using the buttons at the bottom of each page. Use the Index button to see the major headings as links. You can also click the headings below. Introduction Overview Topics Practical matters Navigation Authorship, absence of warranty Copyright status Feedback Participants and audience Our "we" Bigots are not welcome Are heterosexuals welcome? New to the net? Access problems Private ISP access My site doesn't get soc.motss My site has read-only access to soc.motss Posting to soc.motss Acceptable topics Anonymous posting Posting styles Posting: Problem language How you talk counts Words that draw heat Posting: Problem topics Recurring fireworks Flame thread rotation list Posting: Don't Do Any of This Do not cross-post, either into or out of soc.motss! Personal ads Pictures and other multimedia attachments Surveys Posting: Responses Expected and unexpected What will happen if I read soc.motss? What will happen if I post to soc.motss? No one has responded. Am I being ignored? Why is there nothing of interest to me? Thread drift Soc.motss history How it all started Why not a more obvious name like soc.lesbigay? Soc.motss in-group lingo Social cement Abbreviations/acronyms Irony and sarcasm Asterisks of contempt Plonking Jennesaqua, so sew me, etc. Twinks and smurfs, lurkers and trolls Gaydar Signature codes and bears Red rhinestone pumps Terms of inclusiveness Does "gay" imply male? Is "gay" a noun or an adjective? "Sexual orientation" or "sexual preference"? Gender-neutral pronouns Inclusive terminology Soc.motss.cons Annual frolics Soc.motss images Motss.con pix CD-ROM The motss picture archive Viewing images The motss map Motss t-shirts Kill files Other issues Copyrights on the Internet Splitting the newsgroup Dealing with the volume Other newsreader software issues Films and videos Travel Other motss-related newsgroups Other LGBTO-oriented network resources What is the QRD? Are there mailing lists I can subscribe to? Are there BBS's I can subscribe to? How do I find someone's e-mail address? LGB Symbols The origin of the pink triangle Pink triangle: point up or down? The lambda symbol The rainbow flag Annual events When is Pride Day in {city} When is National Coming Out Day? Science: Kinsey and other studies The Kinsey scale The origin of the "10% gay" figure What else Kinsey found Science: LeVay and brain research LeVay's findings About the small sample size Exceptions What this study proves Newer research Medicine and health: HIV and AIDS Basic facts The "AIDS test" What is a T-cell? I read about some controversial hypothesis concerning AIDS/HIV Since my partner and I are both HIV negative, we don't have to bother with safer sex, do we? Where can I get more information? Books on LGB history LGB political landmarks Stonewall Harvey Milk Elected officials in the US Who are Kirk and Madsen, Bawer, Signorile, et al? The Radical Right mainstream U.S. Radical Right groups Christian Coalition Promise Keepers The Radical Right fringe More U.S. Radical Right groups Focus on the Family Family Research Council Concerned Women for America American Family Association Exodus International (and associates) The National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality The Eagle Forum Traditional Values Coalition American Center for Law and Justice Heritage Foundation The Report Radical Right allies Other anti-LGBTO forces in the U.S. Westboro Baptist Church Rutherford Institute Operation Rescue American Life League The Radical Right sympathizers Phobes you should know Paul Cameron William Dannemeyer & Dana Rohrabacher Richard Cohen Terry Dolan Pat Buchanan Watershed anti- laws What was Measure 9? What is/was Amendment 2? Political Activism I saw an 800 number that is maintained by {homophobic group}. Should I post it so everyone can call and tie up the line? OK, how about an e-mail address? LGB rights laws Which countries have laws against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation ("a/d laws")? Where is same-gender sex legal? Which U.S. states have active sodomy laws? What about discrimination by private employers? Didn't the U.S. Supreme Court say sodomy was a crime even in private? What's going on with Hawaii and same-sex marriage? What US entities are currently contemplating anti-LGBTO laws? LGBTO organizations GLAAD HRC NGLTF PFLAG NBGLLF IGLHRC LLDEF EGALE Organizations for people in high-tech HTG DQ NOGLSTP About other groups Possible discussion topics