David Charnow
David Aaron Charnow (born March 18, 1942 – July 23, 1990) was the coordinator of an electronic Bulletin Board System for persons with HIV/AIDS, called SURVIVORS, which he maintained from 1987 until his death.[1]
Early Life
Charnow received a B.A. in Comparative Religion in 1964, and then an M.A. in special education in 1968. He was a student at the Teachers College, Columbia University when he died.
Charnow was diagnosed with AIDS in 1987.
Survivors BBS
Charnow went by the pseudonym "Upper Westsider" on the Backroom BBS, which purported to be the "largest gay/lesbian computer information service."[2] As "Upper Westsider," Charnow created a BBS, hosted on Backroom, called SURVIVORS to serve as an information service and social space for persons with AIDS. On SURVIVORS, Charnow provided personal essays about dealing with his AIDS diagnosis, transcripts of interviews with doctors in the New York City area, transcripts of interviews with people who had undergone various treatments for AIDS-related illnesses, and transcripts of Gay Men's Health Crisis meetings.
In November 1988, a Memphis-area gay-interest newspaper, The Gaze, reported that Charnow's discussion board was one of three areas which were "echoed" to all GayCom members -- a connected network of 16 LGBT bulletin boards nationwide. The other two being "General" and "Coming Back" from substance abuse.[3]
Charnow's work is notable for being one of the first persons with AIDS to create a system of information dissemination online via BBS. Ben Gardiner, the System Administrator for the AIDS Info BBS, is also notable for similar work (AidsInfoBBS has not been archived, and all records of his work are secondary materials).[4]
References
- ↑ "The David Charnow Papers". The ONE Archives of California. Retrieved 4 December 2018.
- ↑ "The Backroom". Queer Digital History Project. Retrieved 4 December 2018.
- ↑ "Personals Computer Bulletin Board Goes Nationwide" (PDF). Gaze: News of Interest to the Gay Community. Retrieved 4 December 2018.
- ↑ "AIDS and Electronic Communications Part One: Electronic Bulletin Board Systems". AIDS Patient Care. Retrieved 4 December 2018.
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