Difference between revisions of "AVEN"

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(AVEN Culture: correct the statistics - the tenth can only refer to people who've posted at least once, not everybody, for this statement to be true)
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*[http://www.asexuality.org/discussion/profile.php?mode=viewprofile&u=5122 anticulus] (Welcome Area; Just For Fun)
 
*[http://www.asexuality.org/discussion/profile.php?mode=viewprofile&u=5122 anticulus] (Welcome Area; Just For Fun)
 
*[http://www.asexuality.org/discussion/profile.php?mode=viewprofile&u=1 AVENguy] (Admin)
 
*[http://www.asexuality.org/discussion/profile.php?mode=viewprofile&u=1 AVENguy] (Admin)
*[http://www.asexuality.org/discussion/profile.php?mode=viewprofile&u=4154 Cipher] (Site Comments, Celebration Time!)
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*[http://asexuality.org/discussion/profile.php?mode=viewprofile&u=2064 The Evil Cashew] (Asexual Musings and Rantings)  
*[http://www.asexuality.org/discussion/profile.php?mode=viewprofile&u=7356 FelineFanatic] (Announcements; Alternate Language Forum; Census Forum; The Library)
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*[http://asexuality.org/discussion/profile.php?mode=viewprofile&u=7356 FelineFanatic] (Announcements; Census Forum)
 
*[http://www.asexuality.org/discussion/profile.php?mode=viewprofile&u=2394 ghosts] (Asexual Relationships; Philosophy n' Politics)
 
*[http://www.asexuality.org/discussion/profile.php?mode=viewprofile&u=2394 ghosts] (Asexual Relationships; Philosophy n' Politics)
 
*[http://www.asexuality.org/discussion/profile.php?mode=viewprofile&u=79 Gorax] (Asexual Musings and Rantings)
 
*[http://www.asexuality.org/discussion/profile.php?mode=viewprofile&u=79 Gorax] (Asexual Musings and Rantings)
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*[http://www.asexuality.org/discussion/profile.php?mode=viewprofile&u=1141 KAW143] (Admin; Welcome Area; For Sexual Partners, Friends & Allies)
 
*[http://www.asexuality.org/discussion/profile.php?mode=viewprofile&u=1141 KAW143] (Admin; Welcome Area; For Sexual Partners, Friends & Allies)
 
*[http://www.asexuality.org/discussion/profile.php?mode=viewprofile&u=4052 Kelly Kelly] (Admin)
 
*[http://www.asexuality.org/discussion/profile.php?mode=viewprofile&u=4052 Kelly Kelly] (Admin)
*[http://www.asexuality.org/discussion/profile.php?mode=viewprofile&u=1308 LonePiper] (Asexual Musings and Rantings)
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*[http://www.asexuality.org/discussion/profile.php?mode=viewprofile&u=1308 LonePiper] (Alternate Language Forum; Asexual Q&A)
 
*[http://www.asexuality.org/discussion/profile.php?mode=viewprofile&u=832 Silly Green Monkey] (Meetup Mart; Mod Forum)
 
*[http://www.asexuality.org/discussion/profile.php?mode=viewprofile&u=832 Silly Green Monkey] (Meetup Mart; Mod Forum)
*[http://www.asexuality.org/discussion/profile.php?mode=viewprofile&u=6713 sonofzeal] (Asexual Q&A; Celebration Time!)
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*[http://www.asexuality.org/discussion/profile.php?mode=viewprofile&u=6713 sonofzeal] (Celebration Time!, The Library)
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*[http://asexuality.org/discussion/profile.php?mode=viewprofile&u=4949 spinneret] (Celebration Time!)
 
*[http://www.asexuality.org/discussion/profile.php?mode=viewprofile&u=5768 SpirallingSnowy] (Hot Box)
 
*[http://www.asexuality.org/discussion/profile.php?mode=viewprofile&u=5768 SpirallingSnowy] (Hot Box)
*[http://www.asexuality.org/discussion/profile.php?mode=viewprofile&u=2082 Tanwen] (Older Asexuals)
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*[http://www.asexuality.org/discussion/profile.php?mode=viewprofile&u=2082 Tanwen] (Just For Fun, Older Asexuals)
 
*[http://www.asexuality.org/discussion/profile.php?mode=viewprofile&u=1751 winter] (Admin)
 
*[http://www.asexuality.org/discussion/profile.php?mode=viewprofile&u=1751 winter] (Admin)
  

Revision as of 21:41, 31 July 2007

This article is about AVEN or the AVEN community, and does not necessarily apply to asexuals in general.

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 as well as their partners, friends and families to discuss their experiences.

Sections of AVEN

In general, AVEN is divided into static content and the [http:/www.asexuality.org/discussion 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:

Administration of AVEN

AVEN is run by two teams, both elected by the general membership. The site's founder David Jay (known on the forums as [AVENguy]) retains several responsibilities that have not yet been adopted by these two teams.

Forum Moderators

The AVEN discussion 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 entire administration and moderation team.

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 entire admod team.

The current moderators of AVEN are:

Project Team

The Project Team is a 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 were 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.

Current Project Team members:

Resigned or removed Project Team members:

Project Team Controversy

As many members resigned from the Project Team, it became difficult to find a full team of eleven members, and so instead of holding elections, the Project Team began merely appointed people who wanted to be on it. Initially this was intended as a stopgap measure, with elections to be held shortly afterwards [1], but elections never happened. Members who did not resign often became inactive due to other duties in their lives, and the general public was not always informed when a new Project Team member was appointed. This troubled many AVENites, as did Project Team inactivity and percieved insularity [2] and the lack of democracy and accountability implied by no longer having elections [3].

AVENguy, the remaining Project Team members, and the general public of AVEN are now discussing alternative ways to keep projects organized without having a Project Team.

AVENguy

As the site's founder, AVENguy retains several administrative responsibilities not yet formally adopted by the other two teams. Most of these responsibilites are under the juristiction of the Project Team and can be reassigned or restructured with a Project Team vote.

AVENguy's responsibilities include:

  • Answering the info@asexuality.org and webmaster@asexuality.org e-mail accounts.
  • Responding to press requests and coordinating AVEN members' media appearances.
  • Responding to technical questions, maintaining the technical aspect of the site and installing software upgrades.
  • Answering e-mail questions about asexuality or distributing them to the [AVEN Advisory Team].

History of AVEN

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. (Haven for the Human Amoeba still exists, but is very inactive.)

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 [4]
  • 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 [5]
  • October 14, 2004 - New Scientist article [6]
  • May 26, 2005 - "Asexual and proud!" Salon feature [7]
  • March 24, 2006 - 20/20 asexuality feature broadcast
  • June 6, 2006 AVEN Project Team proposed by AVENguy [8]
  • 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.

See also