Difference between revisions of "AVEN"
From AVENwiki
(→Administration of AVEN) |
|||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
| − | |||
[[Category:Community]] | [[Category:Community]] | ||
| − | 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 | + | 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 informative 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 as well as their partners, friends and families to discuss their experiences. |
| − | == Sections | + | ==Sections== |
| − | + | Asexuality.org is comprised of 5 main sections these are: | |
| − | + | *Static content accessible via the [http://www.asexuality.org/ index page] | |
| + | *The [[forums|community forums]] | ||
| + | *A [http://www.asexuality.org/chat/flashchat.php chat room] | ||
| + | *The Asexual Visibility [http://www.cafepress.com/asexvisibility Store] (featuring T-shirt designs and other products created by AVENites) | ||
| + | *This [[AVENwiki|wiki]] | ||
| − | The | + | The static content and wiki carry general information about asexuality, including asexual perspectives and several FAQs. The community forums are places for asexuals and their sexual friends, partners and allies to congregate, discuss issues, socialize, and find ways of spreading asexual awareness. |
| − | + | ==Administration== | |
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | + | AVEN is run by two teams, both elected by the general membership. The site's founder [[user:AVENguy|David Jay]] retains several responsibilities that have not yet been adopted by these two teams. | |
| − | + | ===Forum Admods=== | |
| − | + | The AVEN [[forums]] are patrolled by a large number of administrators and 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 administrators take on more general and sweeping duties such as deleting spam accounts. The term 'admod' is occasionally used on the forums to refer to the administration and moderation teams as one group. | |
| − | + | 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 as the need arises. New admins are chosen by the admod team. | |
| − | + | ''See Full List: [[Forums#Admod_Teams|Admod Teams]]'' | |
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
=== Project Team === | === Project Team === | ||
| − | In addition to administrators of the forums | + | In addition to administrators of the forums, AVEN also has a Project Team - a group of members dedicated to overseeing AVEN's many efforts to bring education and visibility to the outside world. |
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | + | ''See Full Article: [[AVEN Project Team]]'' | |
| − | + | ==History== | |
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | == History | ||
Asexuals have always existed, but until the invention of the Internet, they seldom had ways to connect with each other and share their experiences. In the early and mid 90's, asexuals would occasionally post on sexuality-related newsgroups expressing their disidentification with sexuality, but search functions weren't good enough and it was hard to locate like-minded people. | Asexuals have always existed, but until the invention of the Internet, they seldom had ways to connect with each other and share their experiences. In the early and mid 90's, asexuals would occasionally post on sexuality-related newsgroups expressing their disidentification with sexuality, but search functions weren't good enough and it was hard to locate like-minded people. | ||
| − | AVEN was created by [[AVENguy|David Jay]] in 2001. At first, it was simply a front page giving a definition of asexuality and asking for e-mail from those who understood. One e-mail directed Jay to the Haven for the Human Amoeba, a Yahoo group on asexuality that had existed since 2000, but was only just starting to take off in terms of posts. | + | AVEN was created by [[AVENguy|David Jay]] in 2001. At first, it was simply a front page giving a definition of asexuality and asking for e-mail from those who understood. One e-mail directed Jay to the [http://groups.yahoo.com/group/havenforthehumanamoeba/ Haven for the Human Amoeba], a Yahoo group on asexuality that had existed since 2000, but was only just starting to take off in terms of posts. |
Due to the structure of a Yahoo group, every comment someone made was emailed to everybody else, and as membership and activity in the Haven for the Human Amoeba grew, this became an awkward way to do things. There was demand for a website on asexuality with a better community structure, and several websites emerged with competing ideologies. Some websites catered to [[antisexual]] views. Others held that the only real definition of asexuality was [[nonlibidoism]]. AVEN was reconstructed in the hopes of becoming a more inclusive option, based in sex-neutrality ("sex is great if you're interested, but if you're not interested, you don't have to worry about it") and the belief that anyone who identifies as asexual is validly asexual, regardless of sex drive or other factors. (See [[Collective identity model]].) | Due to the structure of a Yahoo group, every comment someone made was emailed to everybody else, and as membership and activity in the Haven for the Human Amoeba grew, this became an awkward way to do things. There was demand for a website on asexuality with a better community structure, and several websites emerged with competing ideologies. Some websites catered to [[antisexual]] views. Others held that the only real definition of asexuality was [[nonlibidoism]]. AVEN was reconstructed in the hopes of becoming a more inclusive option, based in sex-neutrality ("sex is great if you're interested, but if you're not interested, you don't have to worry about it") and the belief that anyone who identifies as asexual is validly asexual, regardless of sex drive or other factors. (See [[Collective identity model]].) | ||
| Line 115: | Line 43: | ||
===Timeline of notable dates in AVEN history=== | ===Timeline of notable dates in AVEN history=== | ||
| − | * October 12, 2000 - "Haven for the Human Amoeba" founded | + | * October 12, 2000 - "Haven for the Human Amoeba" founded. |
* March 10, 2001 - AVEN Created | * March 10, 2001 - AVEN Created | ||
* May 30, 2002 - start of the AVEN forum as we know it <!-- was this when phpBB was first installed or something? --> | * May 30, 2002 - start of the AVEN forum as we know it <!-- was this when phpBB was first installed or something? --> | ||
| − | * Mar 21, 2004 - opening of the first AVEN Store [http://asexuality.org/ | + | * Mar 21, 2004 - opening of the first AVEN Store [http://asexuality.org/en/index.php?showtopic=54747] |
* October 14, 2004 - ''New Scientist'' article [http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn6533] | * October 14, 2004 - ''New Scientist'' article [http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn6533] | ||
* May 26, 2005 - "Asexual and proud!" ''Salon'' feature [http://dir.salon.com/story/mwt/feature/2005/05/26/asexual/index_np.html?pn=1] | * May 26, 2005 - "Asexual and proud!" ''Salon'' feature [http://dir.salon.com/story/mwt/feature/2005/05/26/asexual/index_np.html?pn=1] | ||
| Line 131: | Line 59: | ||
== AVEN Culture == | == AVEN Culture == | ||
| − | AVEN has nearly 11,000 registered members on the English site alone, and approximately 13,000 total. Of these members, more than half have posted at least once, and a tenth of these have posted more than 125 times<!-- 538 members with 126 or more posts divided by 10933 users = 0.049 = almost one in twenty : so a tenth only of people who have posted at least once (538 / 5569 = 0.096 = a tenth (near enough)) -->. Among more experienced AVENites, especially in the Just For Fun section of the forum, | + | AVEN has nearly 11,000 registered members on the English site alone, and approximately 13,000 total. Of these members, more than half have posted at least once, and a tenth of these have posted more than 125 times<!-- 538 members with 126 or more posts divided by 10933 users = 0.049 = almost one in twenty : so a tenth only of people who have posted at least once (538 / 5569 = 0.096 = a tenth (near enough)) -->. Among more experienced AVENites, especially in the Just For Fun section of the forum, traditions have sprung up such as offering cake to new members, quacking in response to puns, and colouring things purple (the colour of the English-language AVEN forums). More complicated Just For Fun inside jokes include the stories of [[Anti's Beard]] and of [[Pink Aardvarks]] living on the [[Moon]]. Some of these traditions can be difficult to understand for an outsider, or even an experienced AVENite who does not spend a lot of time in Just For Fun. |
Many AVENites bond strongly with the likeminded people that they find on the AVEN forums, and among those AVENites who experience romantic attraction, a surprising number of [[AVEN couples]] have formed. The most famous of these couples is [http://www.asexuality.org/discussion/profile.php?mode=viewprofile&u=389 Cate Perfect] and [http://www.asexuality.org/discussion/profile.php?mode=viewprofile&u=622 Live R Perfect], both asexual and now married. | Many AVENites bond strongly with the likeminded people that they find on the AVEN forums, and among those AVENites who experience romantic attraction, a surprising number of [[AVEN couples]] have formed. The most famous of these couples is [http://www.asexuality.org/discussion/profile.php?mode=viewprofile&u=389 Cate Perfect] and [http://www.asexuality.org/discussion/profile.php?mode=viewprofile&u=622 Live R Perfect], both asexual and now married. | ||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
Revision as of 00:31, 4 July 2008
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 informative 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 as well as their partners, friends and families to discuss their experiences.
Contents
Sections
Asexuality.org is comprised of 5 main sections these are:
- Static content accessible via the index page
- The community forums
- A chat room
- The Asexual Visibility Store (featuring T-shirt designs and other products created by AVENites)
- This wiki
The static content and wiki carry general information about asexuality, including asexual perspectives and several FAQs. The community forums are places for asexuals and their sexual friends, partners and allies to congregate, discuss issues, socialize, and find ways of spreading asexual awareness.
Administration
AVEN is run by two teams, both elected by the general membership. The site's founder David Jay retains several responsibilities that have not yet been adopted by these two teams.
Forum Admods
The AVEN forums are patrolled by a large number of administrators and 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 administrators take on more general and sweeping duties such as deleting spam accounts. The term 'admod' is occasionally used on the forums to refer to the administration and moderation teams as one group.
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 as the need arises. New admins are chosen by the admod team.
See Full List: Admod Teams
Project Team
In addition to administrators of the forums, AVEN also has a Project Team - a group of members dedicated to overseeing AVEN's many efforts to bring education and visibility to the outside world.
See Full Article: AVEN Project Team
History
Asexuals have always existed, but until the invention of the Internet, they seldom had ways to connect with each other and share their experiences. In the early and mid 90's, asexuals would occasionally post on sexuality-related newsgroups expressing their disidentification with sexuality, but search functions weren't good enough and it was hard to locate like-minded people.
AVEN was created by David Jay in 2001. At first, it was simply a front page giving a definition of asexuality and asking for e-mail from those who understood. One e-mail directed Jay to the Haven for the Human Amoeba, a Yahoo group on asexuality that had existed since 2000, but was only just starting to take off in terms of posts.
Due to the structure of a Yahoo group, every comment someone made was emailed to everybody else, and as membership and activity in the Haven for the Human Amoeba grew, this became an awkward way to do things. There was demand for a website on asexuality with a better community structure, and several websites emerged with competing ideologies. Some websites catered to antisexual views. Others held that the only real definition of asexuality was nonlibidoism. AVEN was reconstructed in the hopes of becoming a more inclusive option, based in sex-neutrality ("sex is great if you're interested, but if you're not interested, you don't have to worry about it") and the belief that anyone who identifies as asexual is validly asexual, regardless of sex drive or other factors. (See Collective identity model.)
The first AVEN admin who wasn't David Jay was chosen when Jay took a trip to Ghana. The forum at this point had about 100 members. The first moderator elections were held a few months later.
Timeline of notable dates in AVEN history
- October 12, 2000 - "Haven for the Human Amoeba" founded.
- March 10, 2001 - AVEN Created
- May 30, 2002 - start of the AVEN forum as we know it
- Mar 21, 2004 - opening of the first AVEN Store [1]
- October 14, 2004 - New Scientist article [2]
- May 26, 2005 - "Asexual and proud!" Salon feature [3]
- March 24, 2006 - 20/20 asexuality feature broadcast
- June 6, 2006 AVEN Project Team proposed by AVENguy [4]
- September 3, 2006 - AVENwiki set up (in its current form)
- September 27, 2006 - The first issue of the AVENues newsletter was published
- January 4, 2007 - Montel Williams asexuality feature broadcast
Check out the original aven timeline.
AVEN Culture
AVEN has nearly 11,000 registered members on the English site alone, and approximately 13,000 total. Of these members, more than half have posted at least once, and a tenth of these have posted more than 125 times. Among more experienced AVENites, especially in the Just For Fun section of the forum, traditions have sprung up such as offering cake to new members, quacking in response to puns, and colouring things purple (the colour of the English-language AVEN forums). More complicated Just For Fun inside jokes include the stories of Anti's Beard and of Pink Aardvarks living on the Moon. Some of these traditions can be difficult to understand for an outsider, or even an experienced AVENite who does not spend a lot of time in Just For Fun.
Many AVENites bond strongly with the likeminded people that they find on the AVEN forums, and among those AVENites who experience romantic attraction, a surprising number of AVEN couples have formed. The most famous of these couples is Cate Perfect and Live R Perfect, both asexual and now married.
