-Caveat Lector- AOL Slates Gay Meeting by Lakshmi Chaudhry 8:25 a.m. 2.Nov.1999 PST America Online will be meeting with gay rights groups on 9 November, but only the world's largest Internet service provider knows who is invited or what issues will be discussed. And AOL officials aren't talking. The meeting comes at a time when the company is facing fierce criticism from civil rights groups on issues of censorship and hate speech. The controversy began when a gay AOL user in Texas complained to his local ACLU chapter that the ISP had deleted his user profile because it included the self-description "submissive bottom." A subsequent investigation by Wired Strategies, an Internet consulting firm, and Hatewatch, an online anti-hate group, turned up various member profiles on AOL that contained anti-gay content. Last week, NationalGayLobby.org, an online gay rights organization, called for a nationwide boycott of AOL and its advertisers if the company refused to address the concerns of the gay community by 15 November. The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation has been trying to arrange a meeting between AOL executives and civil rights groups such as Wired Strategies, HateWatch, and Planet Out to discuss the company's terms of service policy, said Will Doherty, GLAAD's director of online community development. But whether next week's meeting will bring these groups together for discussion remains unclear. And the company is refusing to answer any questions on the subject. "We have a regular and ongoing dialog with the gay and lesbian community," said AOL spokesman Andrew Weinstein, "but we don't discuss our schedule or our agenda with the press." AOL doesn't seem to be sharing that information with anyone right now. Doherty said the meeting was not called in response to recent incidents, but had been scheduled months ago. And while GLAAD has been invited to the event, Doherty is not certain who else will be there or whether the recent incidents will be discussed at length. Regardless of what the official agenda may be, Doherty said that GLAAD plans to use the meeting to raise the gay community's concerns: AOL's censorship, filtering, and anti-hate policies. "Because these issues are of such crucial importance to our community, GLAAD will attend the November 9 meeting with AOL. And we hope the other groups involved in examining these issues will be present," Doherty said. But Wired Strategies and HateWatch, who were not on the original guest list, have not yet received their invitations. "We hope to attend the meeting," said Goldman, "but as of now we don't know who is invited." It would be strange if the people who've been the most involved in the issues of online bigotry and played an early role in discussing them were to be excluded, he said. The more radical NGL is not holding its breath. The organization has already issued a press release describing AOL's invitation policy as "bizarre at best, and divisive on its face." And the group has no plans to call off its boycott, said NGL executive director Michael Romanello, "because our likelihood of believing anything that comes out of that meeting is nil." http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,32273,00.html Bard We don't need a 3rd party; we need a 2nd Party. The DNC and the GOP defined: Two wings of the same bird of prey, The National Socialist DemocRatic Republican Party. DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance—not soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/CTRL.html http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
