Lesbians!
Monkeys!!
Soy!!!

That's right, I'll ride that meme. And you know what? You will too! 'Cause Queernet has something for everyone!

Queernet.org is a server providing free stuff for "the gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgendered, HIV/AIDS, and leather/S&M communities." They allow anyone to propose a listserv, and (if it is accepted) to run it themselves using Majorcool, a form of majordomo that has a web interface.

What the Hell Does That Mean?

Majordomo is a tool that people use to run mailing lists online. It lets you decide all kinds of things, like how long the emails can be, who can read them, who can see who's on the list, whether there are archives of old messages... In other words, it's much better than Yahoo.

Queernet also provides free email accounts and free webspace for organizations from the Lesbian Sex Mafia of NYC to Austin Gay & Bi Men of Color. As you can see, most of their clients are in the United States (as is queernet itself) but there are a few groups like "Genderbende: Connecting Dutch transgenders and genderqueers."

But I'm Not Even Queer!

That's okay! Not everyone can be so lucky.

And now you can have your own little piece of heaven through the Online Policy Group. The OPG is Queernet's expansion into nonprofit internet activism and education. In their own words:

"The Online Policy Group (OPG) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to online policy research, outreach, and action on issues such as access, privacy, digital defamation, and the digital divide. Additionally, it focuses on Internet participants' civil liberties and human rights, like access, privacy, safety, and serving schools, libraries, disabled, elderly, youth, women, and sexual, gender, and ethnic minorities."

In addition to hosting email accounts, websites, and listservs, OPG throws in colocation and computer equipment donations. Even more fabulously, they have all kinds of organizations listed under each of their communities. For example, their Disabled Communities Project features the following:

  • Online Service Provider Assessment (OSPA) project (disabled component): Ensuring access to materials about disability and access for disabled communities on the Internet.
  • Disability SWAT Team: Responding to online defamation against various disabled communities.
  • Safe Schools and Libraries project (disabled component): Ensuring that disabled students and all other students have fair and safe access to educational materials.
  • Free Internet Services for Disabled Communities: Free Internet services (email list hosting, website hosting, domain registration, and colocation services) by and for individuals and groups in disabled communities.

In short, the queer net and its environs is a glittering and fantastic place.

Go There Now!
http://onlinepolicy.org
http://queernet.org

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