Hey guys.  Unfortunately, I won't be able to make brunch tomorrow.  I
have a concert to sing in White Rock in the afternoon and have to be on
the road to it by 12:30.  Hope you understand and I'll see you all next
week.
Cheers,
Mark

Well, for all you guys who were waiting to see if this thing was going
to take off, you can stop waiting.  For the past 3 weeks now we've had
four or five guys to each brunch (Sundays at noon at Joe's Grill, 1031
Davie Street) with others saying they're planning on coming out.
Thanks for coming to all you who have and let's see if we can't improve
on those numbers :)
Cheers,
Mark

Hey guys!
Due to the overwhelming lack of interest in meeting for breakfast at 10
on a Saturday (gay men in Vancouver - what WAS I thinking???? :) I've
decided to change things.  From now on we'll be meeting at 12 noon on
Sundays.  We'll still meet at Joe's Grill at 1031 Davie between Burrard
and Thurlow.  I've found the food and service there to be great and the
prices are reasonable so I'd like to stick with them.  Hope the new
time inspires some more of you to attend.  Looking forward to seeing
you there.
PS: It really helps if I know who's intending to be there so that I
know who to look out for.  Please email me that you're coming if you
think of it.  BTW, if we haven't already met, my picture is in my
profile on here and YES, I do look like my picture :)
Cheers,
Mark
vivo4@...

Just to let you know... the breakfast this Saturday March 4 at 10 a.m.
is at Joe's Grill at 1031 Davie Street.  The place used to be called
the Metro-broiler.  I'll be there at 10 a.m. and will try to find an
out of the way table.  Look for me.  My pic is in my profile.  If
you're shy, just say you're with the men's group. :)
Cheers,
Mark

PRESS RELEASE from Strength In Numbers

Contact:
Bryan Levinson
Founder, Strength In Numbers
Email:  bryan@...

March 2, 2006

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SIN and its founder make the cover of national publication

(Hollywood, CA) - The April 2006 issue of HIV Plus Magazine (www.hivplusmag.com), published by LPI Media (owners of OUT & The Advocate magazines), features the founder of Strength In Numbers (aka SIN) on the cover in the first national article about the organization.  SIN is a grassroots not-for-profit social support network for HIV+ gay men that started in September 2002 with a small potluck in Los Angeles for single poz men.  Today SIN has almost 700 members in its original Los Angeles chapter, and more than 20 new chapters around the world reaching over 3000 HIV+ gay men, using Web-based message boards and email lists.

SIN's founder and bashful cover model, Bryan Levinson, remarks, "This is the biggest honor Strength In Numbers has ever had, and marks a huge step in progress for all poz social groups everywhere."  The feature article includes interviews with various members and leaders of local chapters of SIN from Dallas to Salt Lake City about the positive and supportive effect that Strength In Numbers is having in the lives of gay men living with HIV/AIDS.  The story also details a short history of how SIN got started, what makes it unique, and its future plans.

Last year, SIN was honored as the "Outstanding Community Organization" at the 2005 WeHo Awards, and Bryan Levinson was nominated for "Community Volunteer of the Year".  HIV Plus Magazine is distributed nationally and is read by leading HIV experts and advocates as well as hundreds of thousands of HIV+ people around the world.  In conjunction with the national exposure, Strength In Numbers has launched a redesign of its main Website at:

www.strengthinnumbers.org

***

http://www.hivplusmag.com/column.asp?id=871&categoryid=1&issue_emi=current&jt=0

Thanks for the info and the post, Bryan.  I've checked it out and have
joined myself.  You're right about the spamming.  However, I also posted our
next breakfast date as well.  I've decided to just keep holding them week
after week at the same place and time.  I want to be there should someone
show up :)

Cheers,
Mark


vivo4@...


-----Original Message-----
From: sinvancouver@yahoogroups.com [mailto:sinvancouver@yahoogroups.com] On
Behalf Of Bryan Levinson
Sent: Wednesday, March 01, 2006 10:08 PM
To: sinvancouver@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [sinvancouver] Ways to reach former vancouver poz group?


Hey guys,

I know there was a Yahoo Group for poz guys in Vancouver that still
exists and has over 300 members on it.  But the "owner" of the group
seemed to disappear, so no new messages have been approved since May
of last year.  But the group is still there and you can still see
their email addresses and profile names in the member list.

Maybe some guys could help start emailing the members on that group
from Vancouver and tell them about SIN Vancouver?  Most of the more
recent members listed on that group seem to be "spammers", but if
you click on "Joined" and reverse the chronology, you go back to
when the group was formed in 2000 and find the original guys.

I posted a new link to SIN Vancouver in that group, but most guys
have probably given up on it.  I'm sure they would love to hear
about SIN Vancouver though!

Here's the old group:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/vancouver_hiv-poz

Just a thought about helping spread the word about SIN.

Bryan
Founder, SIN






Yahoo! Groups Links

Hey guys,

I know there was a Yahoo Group for poz guys in Vancouver that still
exists and has over 300 members on it.  But the "owner" of the group
seemed to disappear, so no new messages have been approved since May
of last year.  But the group is still there and you can still see
their email addresses and profile names in the member list.

Maybe some guys could help start emailing the members on that group
from Vancouver and tell them about SIN Vancouver?  Most of the more
recent members listed on that group seem to be "spammers", but if
you click on "Joined" and reverse the chronology, you go back to
when the group was formed in 2000 and find the original guys.

I posted a new link to SIN Vancouver in that group, but most guys
have probably given up on it.  I'm sure they would love to hear
about SIN Vancouver though!

Here's the old group:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/vancouver_hiv-poz

Just a thought about helping spread the word about SIN.

Bryan
Founder, SIN

Just another email to let you know that the majority of you are
unmoderated and may post anything of interest to poz guys on our Yahoo
webpage.  That being said, I'm waiting to hear back from any of you
regarding a followup event.  I need your input guys.
Cheers,
Mark

Well, SIN Vancouver had its second "event".  Glenn and I had a great
breakfast at the Grove Inn.

I don't mean to seem pushy, but that's only 2 of the 24 people who've
expressed an interest in SIN Vancouver in the past 2 months since
inception.  I did hear from 4 of you with perfectly legitimate
reasons why you couldn't make it to the breakfast, but that you would
be interested in doing other things another time.  I'm fine with
that.  It's not those 4 I'm concerned about, but the other 18 I
didn't hear from at all.  Either the other 18 people who didn't turn
up or contact me aren't really interested or I'm not doing whatever
it is that needs to be done in order to attract them to "events".  Is
it the wrong time, the wrong place, the wrong day of the week, the
wrong activity?  Please talk to me.

While I know that most groups, particularly gay groups, have birthing
pangs and are slow to start, we should be able to get more than 2
people out of 24 to an event.  I know it's awkward walking into a
social setting.  I realize it's even more uncomfortable if you don't
think you'll know anyone there.  You don't know who or what to
expect.  Sort of like a blind date, but with more than one person.
To top it all off, there is the fear that some of us have that we'll
be outed as HIV positive by attending.  But, please remember that you
signed up for this group for a reason.  Presumably, you were
interested in socializing with other poz guys in a comfortable, non-
judgmental setting.  Once you come to one event you'll no longer be
an "event-virgin" so to speak, and a lot of that social discomfort
will be gone.  If that interest is still there, but there's some
reason you don't feel comfortable attending, please email me directly
and let me know what it is.  Perhaps we can just meet individually to
start so it's less uncomfortable or we can work out a way to make
your first event easier for you.  I am more than happy to be a meeter
and greeter at these things.  I just assumed I would be.  I've made
it my goal to put all newcomers at ease and introduce them around.  I
am open to all suggestions.  You can leave a message here on the
Yahoo Group page or with me directly at vivo4@...

Just a reminder guys.... if you want to reply to a post, but only to
the sender and not all of the guys in this Group Room, then you have to
send an email specifically to the poster.  Emails can be sent simply by
clicking "Members" and clicking on the email address listed in that
member's profile.  Hitting "reply" on any message in the room posts the
reply to the room.
Cheers,
Mark

Hi guys,
Well, I haven't heard back from any of you about location for this
Saturday's brunch so I'm just going to make an executive decision and
say we meet at the:

GROVE INN RESTAURANT
1047 Denman St.
Saturday Feb. 18, 2006
at 11 a.m.

It would be helpful to me if people could let me know if they're
coming.  Most breakfast places won't let you reserve, but it's helpful
if you can tell them in advance how many you're expecting.  In any
event, just show up :)  My picture's in my profile here so you should
all recognize me :)

Cheers,
Mark

This is an event every Wednesday evening at Number's on Davie St.
(upstairs) for poz. people at 8:00 pm. All poz. people are welcome to
socialize and meet friends-free pool all evening and pizza about 9:30
pm.  Join us!

I've recently been emailed by someone expressing concern over the
level of discretion within our group.  I think this is as good a time
as any to address this along with other administrative issues that
have presented themselves since start-up.  I'll just copy to all of
you my response to the initial email to me.

Thank you for bringing up the very important issue of disclosure, one
which we can start to discuss here and follow through in person at
another time.

Before beginning this group and while reading through material on the
main and L.A. S.I.N. websites, I was already starting to give some
thought to this issue. While it is not my intention, nor the
intention of SIN, to "out" anyone as HIV positive, in my opinion we
also have to respect the concerns of others who may feel
uncomfortable about being "hidden away" and further ostracized.  We
have different comfort levels regarding disclosure of our status.
It's a deeply personal and private issue.  Much as in coming out as
gay, we all need to choose to whom, when and how we disclose we're
poz.   None of us should ever be made to feel that someone else will
do the disclosing for us.  Further, there are a sufficient number of
groups already out there which do a great job of seeing that the
interests of the poz community are not ignored by either the gay
community as a whole or by the general community.  SIN Vancouver is
not intended to replace them.  SIN's purpose is to create social
settings where poz gay guys can attend and meet other poz guys
without concern or stigma.  Keeping this overriding purpose in mind,
and remembering that those who choose may be more out about being poz
in other areas of our lives, I've taken the other SIN chapters' lead
and decided that as much as possible SIN Vancouver should have a mix
of "public" and "private" events.  Further, from an organizational
perspective, I have decided that the only signs identifying us in
public will say "Men's Group".   Finally, SIN Vancouver's
communication point is this Yahoo group site which people can join
entirely anonymously.  While this level of anonymity may seem a
tad "closeted" to some of you, please remember that it's impossible
to un-do a disclosure.  Once the cat's out of the bag, it's out.
That being said, this level of anonymity will not prevent some of us
(like me:) being more open later on in order to recruit new members.

That's the organizational end of things.  From the point of view of
individual members, I think we should all commit at the beginning of
this group to avoid revealing anyone's status to anyone else.
Without wishing for people to become paranoid, the best policy is to
agree to avoid revealing the identity of anyone in SIN to anyone
outside SIN.  In the grand scheme of things, Vancouver, and more
specifically its gay community, is small.  Tongues will wag.  The
seemily innocent comment you make to a non-SIN friend about another
friend in SIN may get repeated along, far out of your control.  We're
here to help the friends we make in SIN, not harm them, no matter how
unintentionally.

Since I'm already typing and talking about administrative topics, let
me bring up another one.  I've been corresponding with the directors
of other SIN chapters across North America about how much
to "moderate" this Yahoo Group site.  As the "owner" (I love that
term :) of the site, one option I have is to leave it entirely open
for anyone to post any comment on the site so long as he's a member.
Another option I have is to make the site fully "moderated", that is,
only I can read postings on the site as they come in, then choose to
make them available as I see fit.  My personal style is to make this
group as free from excess bureaucracy and procedures as possible.  No
one wants to go to a social group where all they do is tinker with
procedures.  It's also my belief that to survive, a group must chart
its own course from ideas provided by its members.  What better way
for that to happen than through these online postings?  On the flip
side, I recognize that an unscrupulous person could easily become a
member of a yahoo group just to post commercial spam or hateful
rubbish.  This could do a lot of avoidable damage.  What to do?

As you may already have sensed, SIN itself does not have any kind of
central administration.  Bryan Levinson co-founded this group in L.A.
in 2002 to fulfill a social need among poz guys.  Since then a
further 21 SIN chapters around the world have sprung up and all the
directors of these chapters are available to each other for input.
However, we're all independent chapters, completely separate from any
other organization of any kind.  Our only commitment is to
facilitating better social settings for gay poz guys.  This means
that while I'm able to talk to other SIN organizers across the
continent and get their feedback, I can pick and choose from among
their policies and procedures.  Currently, there are no filtering
controls on the SIN Vancouver site.   On the other end of the
spectrum, SIN L.A. chooses to make its site completely moderated.
Having given it the consideration I've written about above, I have
decided to take a middle road suggested by the Kansas City
organizers.  As a matter of course when new guys join the website
they will be told that their postings will be monitored for 30 days.
At the end of the thirty days, if there have been no problems with
spamming or abusing others, the restriction is quietly lifted.  I
think that this procedure should go a long way toward filtering out
junk while facilitating the free-flow of ideas.

That being said, let me just make clear now that any kind of
commercial/political spam or abusive language will not be tolerated
on this site.  Violators of this policy will first be warned, then
banned.  As well, please remember that anything you post in reply to
a posting on a yahoo site is automatically sent to all the other
members of the site.  If you wish to say anything to a specific
member only, you will need to cut and paste their email address into
your emailer and send them your own email.

I recognize that much of this is me imposing my will on the rest of
you.  However, I do have valid reasons for my decisions.  Once we've
met, however, all of this can be put up for discussion if you wish.

I look forward to meeting as many as possible of you at our next
event.  We have one vote for the Grove Inn, one for Sandy's and one
for Joe's Grill.  Anyone out there want to break the deadlock or are
you all sick of voting?  :)

Cheers,
Mark

Hey Cole, welcome aboard!  I'm hoping this group adds to your life in a
meaningful way and I know that, however you participate, you'll add to its
life as well.

I'd also like to welcome all the new guys who've joined the yahoo group in
the past couple of weeks!  We're up to 16 members online now, plus the two
or three I've spoken with personally on gay.com who haven't yet signed up.
This is phenomenal, in my mind, given that the group isn't even a month old
yet :)  We're getting to be a sizeable band of brothers :)  I'm looking
forward to meeting with all of you at some point soon at a SIN event.

Speaking of which, I had the feeling that a lot of people could have used a
reminder in their emails a day or two prior to this month's potluck.
Consequently, in future, I'll send out an email a day or two before each
event to jog people's memories.

I could still use some feedback with suggestions about where we could meet
for the Brunch Feb. 18 @ 11 a.m.  Suggested places so far have been Joe's
Grill on Davie, Sandy's farther west on Davie, Grove Inn on Denman and
Sugardaddy's, also on Davie.  All feature some sort of low-cost breakfast
special.  So really it's up to you guys to decide on the venue this time
around.  Majority rules :)

Mark


vivo4@...


-----Original Message-----
From: sinvancouver@yahoogroups.com [mailto:sinvancouver@yahoogroups.com] On
Behalf Of Cole S
Sent: Sunday, January 22, 2006 9:51 PM
To: sinvancouver@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [sinvancouver] Hey guys!


Hey.. I wish I could have attended.  I want to be in
on the brunch for sure.

I have never attended a group for HIV/POZ etc. and
this will be my first experience.  The only exposure I
had was some of the banter I saw online at gay.com

I look forward to February and wish I could have been
to the potluck.

Best regards,

Cole

--- Mark <vivo4@...> wrote:


---------------------------------
Well, we had our first event - a potluck at Stephen's
house.  Although
we were few in number - just the 3 of us - we had a
great meal and wide-
ranging conversation.  And no, NO ONE mentioned the
election, thank
God :)  We decided that we'd plan on shaking things up
a tad next month
with a Brunch with the tentative time to be Saturday,
Feb. 18 at 11
a.m.  We haven't yet decided on a place yet, although
the Grove Inn on
Denman and the "Metro Broiler Cafe" on Davie were both suggested.  Any
input?  Come on guys... it's your group.  There are
now 13 of you
signed up to this website!!!  YAY!





---------------------------------
   YAHOO! GROUPS LINKS


     Visit your group "sinvancouver" on the web.

     To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
sinvancouver-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com

     Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo!
Terms of Service.


---------------------------------








___________________________________________________________
Yahoo! Messenger - NEW crystal clear PC to PC calling worldwide with
voicemail http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com



Yahoo! Groups Links

Hey.. I wish I could have attended.  I want to be in
on the brunch for sure.

I have never attended a group for HIV/POZ etc. and
this will be my first experience.  The only exposure I
had was some of the banter I saw online at gay.com

I look forward to February and wish I could have been
to the potluck.

Best regards,

Cole

--- Mark <vivo4@...> wrote:


---------------------------------
Well, we had our first event - a potluck at Stephen's
house.  Although
we were few in number - just the 3 of us - we had a
great meal and wide-
ranging conversation.  And no, NO ONE mentioned the
election, thank
God :)  We decided that we'd plan on shaking things up
a tad next month
with a Brunch with the tentative time to be Saturday,
Feb. 18 at 11
a.m.  We haven't yet decided on a place yet, although
the Grove Inn on
Denman and the "Metro Broiler Cafe" on Davie were both
suggested.  Any
input?  Come on guys... it's your group.  There are
now 13 of you
signed up to this website!!!  YAY!





---------------------------------
   YAHOO! GROUPS LINKS


     Visit your group "sinvancouver" on the web.

     To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
  sinvancouver-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com

     Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo!
Terms of Service.


---------------------------------








___________________________________________________________
Yahoo! Messenger - NEW crystal clear PC to PC calling worldwide with voicemail
http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com

Well, we had our first event - a potluck at Stephen's house.  Although
we were few in number - just the 3 of us - we had a great meal and wide-
ranging conversation.  And no, NO ONE mentioned the election, thank
God :)  We decided that we'd plan on shaking things up a tad next month
with a Brunch with the tentative time to be Saturday, Feb. 18 at 11
a.m.  We haven't yet decided on a place yet, although the Grove Inn on
Denman and the "Metro Broiler Cafe" on Davie were both suggested.  Any
input?  Come on guys... it's your group.  There are now 13 of you
signed up to this website!!!  YAY!

...okay... well, maybe not exactly a party-party but a potluck dinner,
anyway  :)

Pot Luck Dinner
Saturday, January 21, from 6-9 p.m.
Until we're more organized, I'm asking people who're signing in here to
email me for details on the location.  You can contact me at
vivo4@... and I'll get right back to you.

Your host's name is Stephen and he is very generously preparing a lemon
chicken entrée for all.  Please bring a covered dish (to serve 4 or
more), with serving utensil, according to the first letter of your last
name: A-I: Dessert; J-Q: Salad; R-Z: Appetizer or Side Dish.  If you're
a vegan, bring your favourite all-veg. entrée to share with us!
Regardless of what it is, do bring a copy of your recipe.  That way
we'll all know what's in things and maybe we can start sharing fave
foods.  OR - just bring what you want!  No time to cook?  Show up
anyway. There'll be plenty for all!  Stephen will be supplying dishes
and cutlery.
This is a B.Y.O.B. event.

Hope to meet you there!
Mark

Hi guys,

First of all, welcome to SIN Vancouver and thanks for using our Yahoo
group's page. I hope the page and the group it represents will become
something which benefits SIN Vancouver members for years to come.

While only 2 members have joined this Yahoo group, another five have
indicated an interest in the group in its first 36 hours of
existence - a good sign.  To capture and capitalize on this momentum,
I am going to suggest that we aim for our first group event on
January 21, 2006.  One of our new members has already graciously
offered his larger apartment for a potluck that evening.  Once we
confirm all the details, I will officially post the event here and
see that all SIN Vancouver members are aware of it.  Let's do this ,
guys!

Before we go any further however, there are some important
administrative matters about responding to messages on this site
which I should deal with right from the outset.

Firstly, this IS a moderated forum, meaning that messages posted here
will be reviewed by your moderator.  I will return to sender (and not
post) any message which is degrading or offensive to individuals or
to SIN, for whatever reason.  We all have enough unpleasantness in
our lives.  This shouldn't be the place where we find more.  Let's
use the diplomatic language we have at our disposal and leave any cat-
fights outside the group.

Secondly, I will return all messages of a strictly sexual, commercial
or political nature.  This is not a sex group, nor should its members
be exploited for purely financial or political gain.

Thirdly, remember that when you respond to a message posted here by
replying to sinvancouver@yahoogroups.com your reply will not only be
posted here for anyone who joins to see, but also sent on to the
email boxes of everyone who has checked that they want to receive
every individual message posted on the site.  Consequently, please
try to avoid having purely personal conversations here.  You can
respond directly to individual members by using the individual email
address attached to their message. Also please be aware that personal
information (such as phone numbers) is available to the general
community if it is posted in messages on this site.

Finally, this is meant to be a self-running self-help group.  I (WE!)
value all your suggestions and contributions.  It won't work without
your help!!!

Once again, thank you all for signing up and welcome.

SIN-cerely,
Mark M.

P.S. In order to get official emails about SIN events, you have to be
on our official email list by joining this Yahoo group and leaving
your email address.