New Deaf Aggregator Launched
Denver – Good evening, everybody! I am sorry for the long delay in posting an announcement regarding the new aggregator site that many of all ya’ll have been wanting for a long time. In the past 48 hours, from across thousands of miles apart, a number of bloggers and myself have set up a new web site for people with hearing loss to have their blogs’ articles aggregated for the purpose of sharing ideas, perceptions, thoughts and feelings – without interference from harassing Human Editors.
We apologize for the delay as we are not yet completely done with the site, in part because of all our busy schedules, and also in part due to the sudden development that led to the creation of the new web site.
The site is running and mostly functional, and will be completed within the next week or so. We still have much work to do but in keeping with our promise to create the new web site, we are rolling it out tonight. So, please bear with us as we continue to develop the new site.
Also, I want to apologize to the MANY readers who emailed me over the past few days and have not yet heard from me. I have been out of town and busy with my own various projects and unable to respond to you, but I will in the next few days – I promise.
Finally, I want to acknowledge and thank all of you readers for the support you’ve shown towards us, and we will do our best to give you a quality product that will enhance your blogging experiences – free from harassing Human Editors.
DeafVillage.com Team
Rachel Chaikof – Lead Developer
Aaron Rose – Public Relations
Elizabeth Boschini – Moderator
Mike McConnell – Moderator
Val Blakey – Moderator
Paotie – Moderator
From all of us at DeafVillage, thank you for being you.
Paotie
WOW! That’s all I can say.
Congrats to the new kid on the block! Shall I break out the GREEN?
Awesome!
Congrats!
Wow! I really LOVE the design and the name and everything and there’s BLUE my favorite color! What’s not to like?!
Finally!
*Drinking clear tasty water from Oasis*
Damn!
My blog best be in there!
-Ben
You guys need to make a mobile version of it. LOL
Yes I know, I’m rushing into things! Sorry Sorry
-Ben
There you go, girl, Rachel!
Girl Powers!
Your’e no longer be my Itsy Bitsy!
You’ve grown so much! Make sure you to stay young.
Darn! I miss that kid.
Eh, got guidelines? Like *got milk?*
Oh, I know that was a cheeky thing to ask.
LOL!
Ann_C has a good point. i’m affliated withmy own commercialization.
Ben
I just bookmarked DeafVillage… looking forward to becoming addicted to it! ;o)
Bravo!! So nicely done. And thank you so much for including us!
On Ann C’s question, should I submit a feed for just things that I’ve tagged as being somehow deaf-related, instead of the whole family, potty-training, books, feminism, and politics enchilada that probably isn’t all that interesting to everyone (what, you are not fascinated with organic vs. pampers diapers debates?) ? It might save the moderators time if you are planning to start weeding out stuff that we know isn’t deaf village material.
It’s LOVELY! I found it a couple nights ago when a link showed up as a referral to my blog in Sitemeter. Love at first sight…it looks and feels like home already ((hugs))!
I’m writing a new blog to put on there. I love the picture on the front. The unity picture of all of us. Finally feel at home. All I need is that long island ice tea and nachos.
OH MY GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am BEYOND impressed. Congratulations to all of you, just a really beautiful job, great graphics, everything! Btw, Paotie, your real name is HOT! Talk about movin’ fast, Jodi
WOW! This is awesome, I love it! I’m digging it in mountainous proportions
but…
Will there be a RSS feed installed soon?
Hey Abbie!
Here’s the RSS feed – http://deafvillage.com/news/wp-rss2.php
Thanks for asking! I’ll be sure to put a link to the RSS feed on the site!
This is awesome!! I’m so looking forward to participating in such a great open-minded endeavor!
I really like the logo and the name (although it reminds me too much of Hillary). Too bad I’m not a writer and don’t have any blogs worthy of contributing.
What’s the difference between Rachel’s blog and the recent post on DeafRead for “Kiss Fist” magazine? Wasn’t that latter post promoting a product? I’m really confused – could somebody please lay it out in simple terms for me here? I hadn’t been checking the deaf blogsophere for weeks until just a couple of days ago, and there’s too much information for me to absorb!
Definitely not a fan of DR,
Actually I believe it was Margaret Mead, the famous anthropologist, who came up with the “village” concept. It was Hillary who came up with the phrase “It takes a village”.
There is deafinitely a big difference between Rachel’s blog and Kiss Fist mag blog. Rachel blog’s was banned from DR because editors believed her site was a commercial site, thereby compromising DR’s guidelines and its ‘”integrity”to its readership. They believed she was promoting Cochlear Americas, the company that makes cochlear implants, and getting paid for it. She was accused of being an “employed volunteer” for Cochlear. Well, employed volunteer is an oxymoron. Rachel is strictly a volunteer who receives no salary or compensation for creating awareness for cochlear implants in general, not any one specific brand. The sales that result from her store of products/books she created go to a non-profit organization.
There are several sites in DR that blatantly sell products/services for profit and these blogs never got banned. Go figure. That’s integrity? No, the editorship at DR has been too inconsistent and arbitrary with their rules and policy.
Moreover, Rachel never received a warning or was notified via email to redress any problems before DR pulled the feed plug to her blog.
Many readers believe Rachel got banned because she has a popular CI blog, and the DR editorship probably didn’t like it very much. Banning her was their way of having their Deaf cake and eating it too.
It seems pretty basic you can plug what you like, so long as it isn’t e.g..
CI’s
Hearing Aids,
Speech
Signed English
Lip-reading
(Please send an pre-paid envelope for a complete listing of banned topics)…
Any Blogger MUST declare if they ever read a blog by A G Bell, and/or ever worked (For wages or for free, OR has relations or friends who belonged to), ANY group or industry contained in, included, or embraces the list above. Charities are not exempted.
Welcome to deaf.read.
(All that negative stuff really)….
Interesting comment:
“A person having ci or is oral or using cued speech is accepted by the Deaf Culture.
But it is the people like Rachel, Melissa, Paotie, Jodi, Mike McConnell, Dyniece, Candy, Ben Vess…. no more than ten V/Bloggers having A T T I T U D E problems that most Deaf people are not happy with.
Now those people created DeafVillage aggregator for themselves but look at Deafread, today they still popping up and continue to have the same attitude problem like Deficit Thinkers.
Tayler needs to talk to these people about their attitude problems.”
www . banjosworld . com /2008/06/oh-drama.html?showComment=1213048620000#c5004705183568727608
Attitude problems are those who *pretend* to say they accept the values of others in regard to cochlear implants, cued speech, AVT, not having the need to sign, and so on. I accept anyone for who they are and not for what they are when it comes to issues of deafness and how they were raised and the kind of preferred communication they use. Nor do we ascribe to the use of the words “deficit thinkers” to other people without looking in the mirror first before casting that first stone.
If attitudes mean to challenge the status quo and ask lots of questions then what does that make them who don’t? Somehow, I and others see hypocrisy for what it is. We say it but they don’t like hearing it or acknowledge. For once, remove that plank in your eye, Jon, before you go about pointing fingers.
I strongly believe that Tayler Mayer needs to live up to his guidelines and make his affiliations crystal clear before he demands it from others. All DR editors should before they set guidelines against their audience.
if i remember correctly, Amy works at a deaf school, Elizabeth works for Gallaudet…
Isn’t that the same? Why isn’t this public? uhmph.
Nazi fascist pigs (and i fully support their right to be one, although I won’t agree with them).
-Ben
Ben ..
I just saw Jared’s latest posting. Well, I wouldn’t call it a posting – I’d call it a rambling rant about nothing.
I mean, why are people surprised at Tayler and Jared’s reaction? I mean .. c’mon.
“employed volunteer”
Idiots who use logic like that have NO business running sites such as DR.
Proof’s in the pudding, too.
Paotie
Paotie!
I just commented in Banjo’s this Morning…Just like I agreed with Ben’s in Banjo’s blog.
What a fiddle story they are having…..Really Ignorants!
I laughed when I saw Jared’s post. How convienence is it to change the rules as they go along to suit their needs.
They banned someone and then said “oopsie!”, lets have a quick emergency meeting. Held a meeting to revise their guidelines to “meet” the rationale of Banning Rachel. Then they expect us to actually fall for it?! Ha ha! Maybe it works for some people, but, hey! We ain’t manipulateable. And we’re not stupid. Even a kindergarten would know right away that something was amiss!
They fouled out too many times.
And their “revised” guidelines still is screwy and will never protect them in the final anaysis.
God, I really get sick and tired of that “attitude problem” that some Deaf purists throw at any deaf who is the least bit different.
Another one is RESPECT, always in caps, as though it can’t be said enough, like a mantra…
Doesn’t occur to some Deaf purists that they don’t get no respect as long as they keep criticising others for their “attitude problem”.
Candy,
“..to revise their guidelines to “meet” the rationale of Banning Rachel.”
Exactly what I thought too when I read Jared’s post. Talks about the ethos of blogging, but what about the ethics of editorship?
Jared and Tayler still don’t get it.
Ann_C
That’s what I posted in Mike McConnell’s blog this Morning.
Jared’s last comment in his post,”We believe it is petty behavior to target a blog by disclosing evidence” had me gagging on my coffee there for a minute.
What evidence?
Evidence that volunteerism is an act of the heart, not of greed?
Evidence that Rachel has not actually attacked any blogger or commenter who wishes to use ASL and be a part of Deaf culture?
Evidence that CI’s and AVT actually work for some deaf children?
How about turning that around:
We believe it is petty behavior to target a blog by cherry-picking *guidelines*?
That would have restored some ethics to DR editorship.
Rachel answered with Deaf Village.
I think I may know what their base problem is. I believe Cochlear Corp awarded a scholarship to Rachel. This has nothing to do with her being a CAN volunteer, but I’ll bet they don’t see it that way. I have no proof, but Jared’s post “rules” did have the word scholarship in there.
K.L. –
I am pretty sure several editors obtained the scholarships when they were in the college. At this point, they were involved some organizations/activities during the college years. Plus, working part-time jobs during that time as well……
Young bloggers does have that in the modern years, too.
Makes no difference.
See Jared’s comment to aaroncues’ comment in the comment section of Jared’s post under the Deaf Blogs and Vlogs blog.
*lifting an eyebrow*
Now it’s “training from Cochlear Americas as to what to say and what not to say–which is why a specific brand wasn’t named.”
It’s still cherry-picking *guidelines* after-the-fact.
Rachel decided to create several different blogs so she could keep different interests organized together. Thus her implant blog is only about implants. I think that is part of what DR is holding against her. Ironic that she is only blogging about deaf stuff on that one blog, and that is all that is of interest on DR, but that is why they kicked her off.
Nitpicking….. :-/
Strange thing for Jared to comment…(see above comment I made)
DR guidelines are getting twisted and turned around so much that a blogger wonders “what to say and what not to say”, as far as “commercialization” goes.
K.L,
McConnell has had a number of blogs that discuss his various interests. Yet he didn’t get kicked off DR for his one deaf-related blog.
Yeah. Bottom line is that Rachel ruffled feathers, so they started looking for an excuse. Their loss as far as I’m concerned. DR lost a lot of good bloggers over this.
The scholarship IS there now. It wasn’t when Rachel was banned.
This whole thing stinks real bad. And they know it.
Also this attitude thing, why is it that it’s ok for them to have an attitude and not ok for us?
I gave them exactly what they gave me. That’s how it works. Usually we don’t start anything, not until they start something. While I agree, most of the time I wouldn’t bother, but after you have to deal with crap for a while, you just say ok, here, get a taste of your own medicine.
That’s the problem with heirarchy in the deaf world, certain people think they have the license to say and do things while others are not allowed to. Like for example, they have the license to have an “attitude” while we aren’t. Says who?
Same ole….
Yeah….I commented in Rachel’s blog and told her to make sure *not* to let DR to make a copy of Deafvillage’s (DV) new guidelines.
Told her to make sure to have the DV’s guidelines to be copyrighted.
Play games that DR is to get……get by, get by, get by and go on…..
I just visited Banjo’s World and it was funny….
Someone at 4:18 PM, 10 Jun 08 made a comment……that was hilarious!
Better be prepare…..
WG,
Regarding that commenter’s remark: Deficit thinker redux and it’s being regurgitated. Gets kinda old.
Paotie,
I basically associated DeafRead people with the Nazis. Banjo and a couple others were appalled…and assumed that i made the comparison to the Nazi’s murdering people to the editors of DeafRead…
Stupidity has no limit, like Einstein once said…
My response to Banjo and his commenters was this: ”
I would like to explain my usage of the Nazi term here. You see, Banjo, Nazis did not just kill 40 million people, although I do think that number might be slightly exaggerated.
Nazis also burned books, oppressed ideas, and modified rules to suit themselves. They even went against their own kind when they deemed it appropriate.
Perhaps you don’t think so, but, destruction of books, ideas, publications and so forth is far far much more dangerous than simply killing people. Everyone dies, myself included.
Ideas should not. Books should not. Discourse should never be oppressed. Nazis did that just as well as killing people.
Let’s try to shift our perspective from Nazis being murderers of people to Nazis destroying ideas, books and so forth. DeafRead is not killing peopple but oppressing ideas, perspectives and discourse by removing blogs on feeble grounds.
Just like the Nazis.”
I do think it’s a fair association. They can disagree all they want, until they change their act and mentality, I will continue to associate them with the Nazis.
-Ben
Ben ..
I think your context was perfectly valid.
I’ve compared them to the KKK. Ain’t much different than Nazi’s.
Paotie
Hmm ..
Well, I don’t know. I found an article dated Jan. 8, 2008 about Viable that one DR editor wrote. Strange that Jared would work for Viable and yet the other editor wrote hers pimping Viable.
All this time, I had NO idea DeafRead was pimping Viable to that extent. I simply assumed the banners were small tokens of sponsorship – not corporate pimping.
Evidently, Jared and Tayler’s loyalties have long been with Viable and Sprint Relay – not the Deaf Community.
I see now.
Paotie
“I basically associated DeafRead people with the Nazis. Banjo and a couple others were appalled…and assumed that i made the comparison to the Nazi’s murdering people to the editors of DeafRead…
Stupidity has no limit, like Einstein once said…”
Appalled? Assumed? You just assumed these.
I simply asked that you to refrain from using Nazism. It’s about having class. I perfectly knew what you meant to start with. Nazism is an overused example and is often used lightly when it shouldn’t be.
How about using novels like 1984, Fahrenheit 451 and more less-known novels as example?
Remember, you are the one getting all worked up over a blog aggregator.
I would understand if it was the state government or the federal government, but over a blog aggregator?
There is more to life than a blog aggregator.
Ann_C
The reason why I laughed was that it was much old……Paotie and I have no hard feelings toward them…….let them waste their energy to stab our backs…..
Ben…..too deep for me to learn your views about the semantics but the concepts are valid…..
Ben –
Remember Micheal Moore’s film, Fahreint (SP?) 11? Many politicians were upset over the film he made.
That’s what DR are in the position at the wrong time at the wrong place.
:-/
Ta, ta, ta…
Jared has confessed…per the DR’s official blog.
here it is:
http://www.jaredlog.com/?p=704
Banjo,
I was in airports all day yesterday trying to keep up with the comments, so, please forgive me for not responding sooner. I believe there is a big difference in labeling someone a deficit thinker and associating a group with another.
One is libelous, the other is a comparison.
Oppression and censorship doesn’t start in the governments. Perhaps in Canada they do, but not in America. The limitations of personal freedoms start much closer to home…
If eenough people feel the same, they start to push for it in their government level (City, State, and Federal). In America, you give up your right, you never get it back. Benjamin Franklin said something along the lines of…If you give up a right for something else, you deserve neither that right nor the thing you gave up your rights for.
1984 isn’t real. Fahrenheit 451 is the threshold of which books begin to burn. Communism oppresses freedom of speech, Nazis oppressed dissenting thoughts. The comparison and analogy is fair. Both are real.
Because you’re willing to give up someone else’s rights. I believe then, you don’t deserve these rights. You don’t deserve to be heard, you don’t. You won’t deserve our defending your rights to say whatever you please because you willingly gave up someone else’s rights to that very thing.
Destruction of rights never start at the government, it really never does. It starts when a bunch of idiots think, oh, what they do bothers us, let’s shut them up. Desecrate them with violations of rules—rules that were NOT in place when their loss of rights began. It moves up and then gets in the government.
The only censorship allowed in America is when the masses demands for it.
You brought it up. I did not talk about it since the resignation of BOC from DR. Unlike you, Banjo, I have discussed in my entries about the state of Kenya, I have tried to spread awareness of iraqi refugees, I provide political news and insights, and I keep up with green news.
It’s kind of funny when you accuse us all of not writing about more important things like the chinese and so forth in your blog entry when I have done so.
Nobody reads them because nobody cares, you and I both know that quite well. So, you just had to bring up the politics of deafread to get that attention.
Talking about the chinese would have mustered for you probably 25 hits a day. How many did you get for talking about DeafRead?
-Ben
“Talking about the chinese would have mustered for you probably 25 hits a day. How many did you get for talking about DeafRead”
Well, it’s true that I haven’t written about China for a good while. I am thinking of writing a piece on it once the Olympics is approaching when more people would be interested. But yes, it’s highly likely that I would get less hits than I would if I talked about DeafRead right now.
I’ll admit to that.
FYI…
Just read “You are you & Your circumstances” blog via Deafread today.
It’s the worst blog ever I read…..Boo-hoo.
I laughed so hard.
heh, heh, heh.
Really Ewwwww.
Yeah, right, DR’s decision to ban Rachel’s blog was a business decision.
(per You Are You & Your Circumstances’ blog)
If it was a business decision, would one consider making up new guidelines to cover one’s ass after a blunder a business decision, let alone an unbiased one?
This still doesn’t explain all the other blogs posted through DR clearly promoting all kinds of products. For example, what about Ridor and Kokonut Pundit’s posts about the UbiDuo? They were being paid to promote that product — and yet their posts got published on DR. What’s the difference?
This is the most ridiculous thing. Ever. Seriously.
Oh, and my apologies to McConnell for associating him with Ridor in the same sentence
Ew.
Yes, Ann_C! The reason why I laughed so hard…..He made the off-point in a huge time.
It’s all flip-flop.
Whoa.. someone actually said, “It is their business decision.” ? For some reason, I can’t stand that word!
I wonder whoever quoted that would say the same if a company decides not to hire him/her due to deafness, will that person say “that is okay, it is their business decision.” ?
Hmm…
-SG
Neither me nor Ridor has ever at any time been paid by sComm to promote their UbiDuo communication device. My relationship with sComm, Inc has to do with my deep friendship with Jason Curry where we became great friends over the years starting in 2005. I recognized early on back in 2005 the huge benefits of what sComm, Inc was doing with the upcoming UbiDuo (before it was named) face-to-face communication device which was why I blogged extensively about the device, the company, the CEO/president, and the history of how all this transpired. I still believe whole-heartedly that the advantages of using the UbiDuo have shown to have great positive benefits.
Let’s be clear on that. Having an animated UbiDuo gif on my blog does not mean I have been compensated in some way. I have never at anytime been compensated or paid for my “work.” I volunteered my time on this. My past blogging efforts on the UbiDuo has to do with my belief in that product. I don’t need DeafRead’s permission nor do I need to submit any public disclosure about what I do outside of the blogosphere in the realm of commercialism. Frankly, it’s none of DeafRead damn business since they have shown to be hypocrites in this very matter about commercialism.
BTW, Jason Curry is the CEO/president (and co-founder) of this wholly deaf-owned and operated company. You ain’t seen nothing yet.
Easy, Mike! I was well aware of the disclaimer you put on your blogsite when you discussed the Ubiduo in an article. I’m sure other readers are aware of it too, if they’ve been around the deaf blogosphere enough. Definitely Not a Fan of DR, dig around on Mike McC’s blog archives and you will find that disclaimer, trust me.
For some people, it doesn’t get thru their dense heads that it’s not commercialism, but enthusiasm for a great product with many benefits that becomes “suspect”. Whew! hey, whaddya know, Rachel is enthusiastic about the benefits of cochlear implants, and she gets banned for it.
Okay, okay. I stand corrected — however, I should also let you know that Jason *was* going around seeking bloggers who could peddle his product. I know, because I was one of them. He offered to pay me if I could sell his product. So, I tried his product for a few weeks and unfortunately didn’t find it to my liking for several reasons. (It’s just not for everybody, and I’m not going to go into the details here.) So, naturally, that’s why I assumed you were also one of them when I thought back to the other bloggers who had reviewed his product. It’s a very nice thing that you did all those things for a product you truly believed in — I would’ve done the same myself — and you are also right when you say that it’s not really any of DR’s business. I think I was just trying to seek confirmation on my suspicion that they were being too inconsistent on their policies.
Just posted Deaf Edge’s blog…..
“Take a nice visit to:
http://www.unausa.org
United Nations surely have several non-profit organizations.
Just like the parallel with the CIO/CAN……..”
Definitely not a fan…
My recent post wasn’t meant to lash out at you but just making clear about my support for sComm and my status with them.