Difference between revisions of "AVEN"

Revision as of 22:44, 3 September 2006

The Asexual Visibility and Education Network (AVEN) was founded in 2001 with two distinct goals: creating public acceptance and discussion of asexuality and facilitating the growth of an asexual community. Since that time we have grown to host the world’s largest asexual community, serving as an informational resource for people who are asexual and questioning, their friends and families, academic researchers and the press. AVEN members throughout the world regularly engage in visibility projects, included but not limited to distributing informational pamphlets, leading workshops, arranging local meetups and speaking to interested press. The AVEN community centers around the web forum, which provides a safe space for asexual and questioning people and their partners, friends and families to discuss their experiences.

Sections of AVEN

In general, AVEN is divided into the static content and the community forums. The static content is based in the /home/ directory and carries general information about asexuality, including Asexual Perspectives and several FAQs. The community forums are based in the /discussion/ directory, and are places for asexuals and their sexual friends and allies to congregate, discuss asexuality, socialize, and figure out ways to spread asexual visibility.

The AVEN forums and other resources are available in many languages, including Dutch, French, German, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Polish, Portugese, Russian, and Spanish.

Other sections of AVEN include:

• AVEN FlashChat
• The Asexual Visibility Store, featuring T-shirt designs and other products created by AVENites.
• This Wiki.

Administration of AVEN

The AVEN website is hosted and administrated by its founder David Jay (known on the forums as AVENguy). Since that time, additional people have taken on duties related to the site.

Forum Moderators

The AVEN discussion forums are patrolled by a large number of moderators. It is their job to keep the forums civil and to ensure that topics are in their proper forums, as well as to lock threads that are duplicates or that have degenerated into personal insults. Some moderators take care of a specific area of the forums, while others (administrator-moderators, or Admods) take on more general and sweeping duties such as deleting spam accounts.

New moderators are elected by the whole of AVEN on a case-by-case basis when a new position becomes available or an old moderator resigns. They are initially elected to a single section of the forum, but are often moved around to different ones. New admods are chosen by the other admods.

The current moderators of AVEN are:

• Amcan (Admin)
• anticulus (Welcome Area; Just For Fun)
• AVENguy (Admin)
• bard of aven (The Library)
• FelineFanatic (Announcements)
• ghosts (Asexual Relationships; Alternate Language Forum)
• Gorax (Asexual Musings and Rantings)
• Gremlin (Site Comments; Admin)
• Greybird (Open Mic and Off-A)
• KAW143 (Welcome Area; For Sexual Partners, Friends & Allies)
• Kelly Kelly (Philosophy 'n' Politics)
• Kez (Census Forum)
• LonePiper (Asexual Musings and Rantings)
• MacAttack (Just For Fun; Admin)
• Silly Green Monkey (Meetup Mart; Mod Forum)
• sonofzeal (Asexual Q&A)
• (SP) (Visibility, Education, & Organizing; World Watch; Temp Admin)
• SpirallingSnowy (Hot Box)
• Tanwen (Older Asexuals)
• winter (Admin)

Project Team

The Project Team is a new group of volunteers dedicated to managing other parts of AVEN besides the forums - static content, side projects, and additional visibility work. The first eleven project members were elected in the week of June 15 to June 22, 2006. (Relevant thread) Re-elections are expected to take place every six months. New projects that the Project Team has begun thus far include this Wiki, the AVEN Newsletter, the AVEN Pen Pal exchange, and a T-shirt design contest. Project Team responsibilities are not assigned as specifically as moderator responsibilities, but most members have one or two projects that they personally look after.

Controversy has arisen in the Project Team due to the resignation of several members. There appear to be no proceedings underway for the election or appointment of new members to take their place.

Current Project Team members:

• AVENguy (static content and general administration)
• Dargon (no specific duties)
• Hallucigenia (AVENwiki and Aven Newsletter)
• Hexpiral (Spanish-language forum)
• Hu (static content, pen-pals)
• Islander9 (no specific duties)
• Jesh (pamphlets, static content, store)
• Triple A (Internet outreach, pamphlets)

Resigned Project Team members:

• AmoebicMe
• Ataraxia
• Nugan