User Contribution Disclaimer

We welcome and encourage contributions to our dataset! To protect against potentially malicious attacks on our platform and dataset, we require that you agree to not intentionally submit incorrect or false data. Once you agree to these conditions, you may start making contributions to the portal. Note that this process will NOT create a profile for you. We value your privacy and we do not collect any personal information, the passphrase and your contributions will not in any way be associated with your identity. Please also keep in mind that pass phrases will change occasionally for security reasons, so you may need to repeat this process if you wish to make additional contributions to the portal in the future.

Ethical Agreement for Contributors

Please read the statement below carefully and affirm your commitment to the ethical principles articulated by clicking on the “Agree” tab. No identifying information will be retained as a result of this action. Affirming your commitment in this way constitutes your agreement to participate ethically in our project on an “honor system” basis:

“I understand that this project involves building and analyzing a historical database of LGBTQ+ spaces and places in the U.S. from the mid-1960s through the mid-2010s. A larger purpose of the project is to correct the harm caused by the closeting of such spaces and the lack of historical memory in our communities. I also understand that the project necessarily entails a balancing act between protecting the safety, confidentiality, and anonymity of users and contributors and making visible (and therefore potentially vulnerable) spaces and places of LGBTQ+ life that have existed (or, in some cases, may still exist), including, potentially, people associated with them. I therefore agree that my contributions are, to the best of my knowledge and ability, both accurate and harmless. I am not knowingly “outing” any spaces, places, or people that I know would object or that could be harmed by doing so. Nor am I deliberately sabotaging or undermining the goals of the project via my contribution. Finally, I understand that my contributions will be reviewed for both likelihood of accuracy and appropriateness prior to inclusion in the database, and that inclusion is not guaranteed.”

(Optional) We would also like to hear what brings you to our platform, your motivations for contributing your knowledge, and your stories about how you came to be familiar with the local community. If your're comfortable sharing any of these, or if there's anything you may want us to know, please let us know in the text field below. Note that this process will NOT affect gaining access to a passphrase.