----------------------------------------------------------------------- The primary purpose of the "eagles" mailing list is to provide a forum for Scouts, Scouters, and former Scouts who are gay/lesbian/bisexual to discuss how they can apply pressure to the BSA to change their homophobic policies. All others who are interested in this topic are welcome, with the following caveat: This is not a list to debate whether the BSA's policies are justifiable. Please do not participate in this list if that is your interest. To join the list, send a message to majordomo@langevin.usc.edu with the text: subscribe eagles If you've just joined the list, you're encouraged to send an introduction (about yourself, your scouting background, and any relevant information or interests you have in this list) to the other members of this list. To send a message to everyone on the list, send mail to: eagles@langevin.usc.edu ----------------------------------------------------------------------- MAILING LIST ADMINISTRIVIA ----------------------------------------------------------------------- A digest version of this mailing list is available. To subscribe to the digest version, you will want to subscribe to eagles-digest and unsubscribe from eagles. Send a message to majordomo@langevin.usc.edu with the text subscribe eagles-digest unsubscribe eagles To get more help with majordomo, send a message to majordomo@langevin.usc.edu with the text help If mail to your address is rejected, you will be removed from the mailing list and added to a "bounces" list. At that time, your email address may be available to other people who are also having difficulty with email. If you need to contact a human, send mail to owner-eagles@langevin.usc.edu --Kraig (Eagle Scout Class of 1982, and your friendly list maintainer). ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- TOPICS OF DISCUSSION ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Some of the topics that have been discussed on this list in the past include: * Experiences (gay-relevant and non-gay) in the BSA. * BSA official positions and news stories about BSA discrimination. (including United Way, Bank of America, SF School District, etc). * How does discrimination against gays relate to discrimination against atheists in the BSA? (What is the role of religion in the BSA?) * It it productive or counterproductive to return eagle badges to the BSA as a form of protest? * Is it worthwhile to "come out" to former scout leaders who you worked with? * What are the goals of this list. * A letter writing campaign (we drafted a letter on this list and sent it to a number of national and local offices). ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- MORE INFORMATION ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- * A "form" letter to send to local councils and to the BSA national office was developed by members of this list. We strongly encourage you to obtain copies of this letter and send it out. * A list of "Frequently Asked Questions" (FAQ) has been compiled that describes the history, extent, and official policies of the BSA with regards to gays and lesbians. The form letter and the FAQ can be obtained by sending a message (in English; no special format) to owner-eagles@flash.usc.edu, and are also available in the queer resources directory (see below). * Since 1991, numerous newspaper, magazine, and anecdotal articles have been collected describing the policies of the BSA and challenges to those policies. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- OBTAINING INFORMATION ABOUT GAYS IN SCOUTING FROM THE QRD ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- The historical archive, along with the form letter and the FAQ, are available in the Queer Resources Directory (QRD). The QRD (short for Queer Resources Directory) is an electronic library with news clippings, political contact information, newsletters, essays, images, and every other kind of information resource of interest to the GLBO community. Information is stored both for the use of casual network users and serious researchers alike. The QRD can be accessed via electronic mail, BBS, FTP, WAIS, gopher, and WWW. Below are abbreviated instructions for each method; more thorough instructions are available in the QRD-BY files at the top of the QRD directory structure. WWW: the URLs are http://vector.casti.com/QRD/.html/QRD-home-page.html http://qrd.org A New Zealand server is also available: http://northstar.otago.ac.nz/QRD/.html/QRD-home-page.html US West Coast and other servers are also available Gopher: Point your gopher client to vector.casti.com WAIS: database "/wais/qrd" on port 210 FTP: ftp to vector.casti.com and log in as "anonymous". Or try one of these mirror sites: nifty.andrew.cmu.edu (128.2.35.7) /pub/QRD qrd.tcp.com (128.95.10.106) /pub/QRD northstar.otago.ac.nz (139.80.64.10) /pub/QRD ftp.uu.net (192.48.96.9) /doc/political/umich-poli/QRD red.css.itd.umich.edu (192.131.22.7) /pub/Politics/QRD BBS: call: Central Park BBS: +44 81 947 4411 Outright: +1 510 568 9461 The Underground BBS: +1 908 262 9666 E-mail: Send an email message containing "help" to ftpmail@vector.casti.com Telnet: Please only use this method as a last resort; telnet to vector.casti.com ----------------------------------------------------------------------------