FAQ Page

About the Bay Area Disability Network

What is this?

The Bay Area Disability Network (BADnetwork) is an email based forum for the (you guessed it) disability community living in the Bay Area of California. At this point, we're fairly flexible about defining what is and isn't in the Bay Area. We recognize that there are lots of people living outside the immediate Bay Area who might benefit from the resource. BADnetwork is, for the most part, run by people with disabilities. Members can ask questions about disability, give advice to other people with disabilities, find out about local resources and community events, and tap into the huge pool of (often hard won) knowledge that exists within the disability community.

How did it start?

The whole thing was copied (with the permission of the extraordinary Ginger Ogle) from the Berkeley Parents Network, an incredible local resource. We thought the concept could be adapted for the disability community.

In 2004, the Community Technology Foundation of California provided us with a startup grant to see if we had the right stuff.

How does it work?

The Bay Area Disability Network is based on a newsletter digest that is emailed to subscribers once or twice a week. Members can post a message or ask a question by filling out the web-form. Other members reply, also filling out the web-form.. We collect all the postings and (if needed) edit them and organize them into the newsletter that gets sent out to the members.

Why are you doing this?

There's a huge need for information specific to the needs and interests of the disability community. An example: rather than just finding a contractor who could build a wheelchair ramp, we wanted a place where you could get a recommendation for a contractor who could build a beautiful ramp that works incredibly well and blends in with the architecture of your 1920's California bungalow. Someone who 'gets' what using a wheelchair entails. Another example: How do you find a Veterinarian that specializes in working with guide dogs and is accessible by public transit? Currently, to find this type of information, you might have to call various agencies until you find one that knows the right answer. Here, you can find that information from those who know it best: the people with disabilities who need the same resources, and who have already found them (and developed opinions about them).

Why do you call it the BAD network?

We thought it was sorta catchy.

Do you make money doing this?

The short answer is no. We're a nonprofit and we did receive some money from the Community Technology Foundation of California but this isn't a money maker.

Joining the BAD network

How do I join?

Easy as pie, just follow this link

Does it cost money?

No. It's free. We'd like you to participate (ask questions, answer them, maybe both)

How do I get off the list?

This isn't actually a frequently asked question - but if you really have to leave then just follow this link.

I don't have a disability, can I still join?

Sure. We know that a lot of parents of children with disabilities, spouses, teachers, advocates, doctors etc. have questions about people they work with, go to school with, teach, are friends with. You probably have disability-related questions that you need to find answers to, and someone here has probably dealt with a similar situation.

Rules

The Basics

(copied pretty much verbatim from the Berkeley Parents Network - because they did such a good job)

To keep the list as friendly as possible, there are a few rules:

• Only members of the list may post to the list. Newsletters should not be forwarded to nonmembers without permission.

• Members agree to respect each other's privacy. This means that members may not misuse the personal information of other members or send them unwanted or unsolicited email.

• Messages should be generally informative, or useful for members. In order to keep the newsletters manageable and helpful, they may not be used as a vehicle for broadcasting personal or organizational messages whose primary purpose is to "get the word out" to as many people as possible.

• No advertising: The list may not be used for commercial purposes or for any advertising other than items and services that members themselves are offering. Recommendations, however, are always welcome.

• Politeness is strictly enforced. The point of the list is for all of us to help each other. There is a great deal of diversity on the lists and you will sometimes see views expressed that you do not agree with. While you are encouraged to post your own views, commenting on the views of others is not allowed in the newsletter.

• The newsletter moderators are responsible for deciding whether members meet the above guidelines. We may return or edit messages that we decide are not in keeping with the policies, or that we feel are otherwise inappropriate for the list. Members who do not abide by the rules will be unsubscribed from the list at the moderator's discretion.

Is it OK to ask for advice about medical and health conditions?

There's a fine line here: You can ask people how they have dealt with a particular condition, or what their experience is with various health alternatives. But we don't accept questions that should be directed to a medical professional.

Privacy, spam, viruses

Did spammers get my email from you?

Nope. No one has access to our subscribers' email addresses. If your email address appears in one of our newsletters, it is not public - it is mailed out to a closed list just as if you were mailing a friend.

We archive some of the postings that appear in the newsletters on our website, which is public. Before we put these postings up on the web we remove all email addresss and last names (if you included them in the first place), both to ensure your privacy and to make sure that spammers can't grab your email from the web. We're as sick of spam as you are, so we're being careful not to generate more leads for the spammers.