Petrelis Files

(Queers shouldn't have to ever look at this image when accessing gay web sites at the SF gay center.)
Censoring SF Gay Center Plans Forum on Cyber Censorship

This is from the executive assistant to the executive director of the SF queer community center:

Hello, Michael –

Thank you for your comments about the Cyber Center policies and programs. We were planning a town hall meeting to discuss the usage and programming of the Cyber Center, and to share our evaluation of the new programs. This was in the works in anticipation of the response we got, both publicly in the press and internally from volunteers and members.

This town hall meeting is being planned today, and we will announce the date and time when we finalize details. We encourage you and others who have feedback about the Cyber Center to attend.

The next Board meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, November 29th, at 7:00pm. It will be held here at The Center, in a room TBA.

Feel free to reply here or give me a call if you have more questions.

Fred Lopez
415-865-5524

My reply:

Hey Fred,

Oh, yes, I have some follow up questions, but first allow me to say thanks for your quick reply to my initial concerns. Honestly, I hate being in a reactive mode, but the fact the center installed the censoring filters without first informing the community forces me to adopt a critical stance about how the center operates, namely, without much input from those it is there to serve.

That said, let's move on to my questions and deep concerns.

1) Why did the center feel the filters were necessary?

2) Did the center leaders think they had no responsibility to the community to explain the implementation of censorship on the computers _before_the filters were installed?

3) Tortuga Bi Liberty first raised public attention on this a full month ago. Why is it taking this long for the leaders to hold their town hall meeting?

4)Regarding the next board of directors meeting, I'd like to know the process for a community member to place an item on the agenda, and also how much time is allotted at each board meeting for public comment.

5) Since the time and date of the board meeting are set, why is that information omitted from your site and how soon can you post an announcement for the November 29 venue?

I look forward to raising my serious concerns over the pro-censorship policies adopted by the board and executives at the November board meeting, and really do hope enlightenment on permitting full unimpeded access to all web sites is the rule of operations for San Francisco queer community center's public access computers before the November 29 meeting happens.

Michael