Go to http://www.mozilla.org/projects/seamonkey/releases/
Download the appropriate Seamonkey client. It's just a streamlined good ol' Netscape Navigator plus other plugins/software.
Install the package. Then launch Seamonkey. This opens up a web browser.
Type irc://irc.undernet.org/soc.culture.filipino or
irc://newyork.ny.us.undernet.org/soc.culture.filipino in the address.
You're there.
SCF is an unmoderated usenet newsgroup -- anyone can post. Yes, anyone. It is read throughout the world and was the first technology to truly bring pinoys from all over the world together. This was and still is the pride of pinoy internet, where we first put a stake to mark our own prime internet real estate!! This is our newsgroup, this is your newsgroup.
Before posting in SCF, there are a few words of caution. Because everyone can read the newsgroups, it is a place where bots regularly harvest email addresses for spam. Therefore, either use an unimportant email account (that is, NOT your work or alumni email account) or set your posting email address to something bogus. I use the prior method, as I would still want to know if someone responds to me via email.
If you prefer to create an unimportant email account like me, you can for example use yahoo or gmail. I like gmail because by signing in to my gmail account I can immediately post to SCF.
So go to http://mail.google.com and create an account by clicking "Sign up for Gmail"... go through the motions. Once you have signed up for a gmail account and have logged in, you are ready to post. Weeeeeeeeeeeeeee Okay, that was newbie speak for hurray, right?
Next word of caution, as it is anywhere else in the internet, you need to be cyber smart. Do not just click on any URL that you see posted. Your computer might get a virus that way. Get good antivirus software if you do not have one yet. There are also a lot of scammers, hackers and crackers around. So beware. Do not post login and passwords for your machines.... never ever ever.
Happy posting!
SCF <3
Did I just say that?
1. I'm looking for a sexy, nice, college-educated Filipina to marry. Any
takers?
You've come to the wrong place. Go away before we decide to tell you where
you really SHOULD go and what you should do on the way there.
2.What does [insert Filipino phrase here] mean? Where can I learn to speak
Tagalog?
The best site I have found on the internet regarding the Tagalog language is
http://www.seasite.niu.edu/tagalog/. They feature plenty of beautiful
original Pinoy artwork to spruce up the site, fabulous graphics, and a
terrific layout. They also have a selection of poetry, proverbs, riddles
and songs, a section of phrases useful for travellers, and an on-line
Tagalog dictionary (kind of slow, but appears to be fairly comprehensive
and accurate from my dealings with it). They also boast a "Tagalog tutor"
section, where you can post things for translation (I've never had to use
this service, so I can't vouch for the quality and accuracy of the
translations, but you could give it a shot nonetheless), and
a Tagalog chatroom that requests all chatters to speak in Tagalog
(unfortunately, both times I stopped by, no one was there! Hopefully we
SCFers can meet up there sometimes for live Tagalog chat?). This is far and
away the most BEAUTIFULLY done and comprehensive
website I have ever seen, (one that does a brilliant tribute to a language
as rich and beautiful as Tagalog) and I'm not just talking about ones that
cover Filipino related matters! I encourage everyone to visit it, and they
aren't paying me SQUAT to tell you so!
(Note to readers: if you want to recommend a Bisaya, Ilokano, Pampangueno,
etc. site for inclusion, please let me know. I don't speak any of those
languages, so I can hardly judge a good site to recommend! Thanks!)
3. Can someone recommend a good restaurant/hotel/club/bar and fun things to
do in Manila?
Check out www.localvibe.com and www.legmanila.com. Both sites are devoted
to the social life and fun stuff to do in the area. If you don't find the
articles you're looking for, feel free to e-mail the editors of the sites
(edi...@localvibe.com and edi...@legmanila.com) for more personalized
advice.
4. Ba't panay Inggles yung usapan dito?
That's 'cause the readership of SCF doesn't have enough of a common language
besides English! Feel free to post in whatever language, or mix of
languages, you are most comfortable with. Someone is bound to come by who
will speak the same tongue.
5. Why do all the people around here seem to have sticks up their asses?
They were born that way. If you want a cooler place to hang out, go to
alt.psst.hoy. The ambiance is INFINITELY more jovial and relaxed. Mas
mahilig din sila mag-Tagalog, mag-Bisaya, atbp. doon sa newsgrup na yon.
6. Why does everyone keep talking about Jesus, Mary and Joseph?
Filipinos are very interested in matters of theology: the existence of God,
various interpretations of the Bible, whether or not Mary is a virgin.
Unfortunately, they also fail to realize that a good number of Filipinos
also don't give a rat's ass. If you DO participate in a religious thread on
SCF that does not directly pertain to some aspect of Filipino culture,
please be kind enough to label your post "OT" so my filters don't pick it
up. 'Kay?
7. Did you hear about what Claire Danes said about Manila? We should
boycott her films!
Yes, we've all heard it a billion times. And it's been talked to death on
this newsgroup. Please don't start all that again.
8. What is "The Klub BuTiKi (TM)"?
It is the best, most worthwhile, and funniest long-running thread on SCF,
maintained by old-timer Mihali Felipe. I am self-proclaimed president of
their fan club.
9. Is there a moderator on this newsgroup?
Psst. . . Hoy! Psst.. wanna buy a Hoy?
news://alt.psst.hoy
Are you into Filipino music?
news://rec.music.filipino
Cebuano Language Are you a Cebuano speaker or want to become one? Bask in
the language in the moderated group:
Books: (From FAQ 1.5 - needs an update and links to possibly Amazon)
There are many fine books; however, they are all not equally available. Here
are some references that are generally available to
most people. If you cannot find them in larger or specialty bookstores in
your area, you can get them by visiting some of the listed
online bookstores given below.
Culture Shock! Philippines: A Guide to Customs and Etiquette Alfredo and
Grace Roces Third Edition 1992, reprinted 1994 ISBN:
1-55868-089-6 Graphics Arts Publishing Company PO Box 10306, Portland,
Oregon, 97210 1 503.226.2400 Introduces the culture and
customs, and explains how things work to foreigners.
Philippines: A Travel Survival Kit Jens Peters Fourth Edition, May 1991
ISBN: 0-86442-096 X Lonely Planet Publications PO Box 2001
A, Berkeley, California, 94704 General background on the culture and
detailed travel information to points though out the country.
In Our Image: America's Empire in the Philippines Stanley Karnow Ballantine
Books 1989 ISBN 0-345-32816-7 General history of the
country with later focus on American involvement and current events through
the fall of the Marcos regime. Written by a well
respected, award winning journalist.
Visayan Vignettes: Ethonographic Traces of a Philippine Island Jean-Paul
Dumont 1992 University of Chicago Press 0-226-16955-3
(Paperback) The author, an accomplished anthropologist, gives an insightful
look into the culture by focusing on how the language
(Bisaya) is used to describe relationships, events and daily life on a small
island (Siquijor). Unlike other researchers, the author
does not discuss sorcery for which Siquijor is famous for.
Sarap: Essays on Philipine Food Doreen G. Fernandez and Edilberto N. Alegre
1988 Mr. & Ms. Publishing Company 971-91137-0-7 This
wonderful book is, unfortunately, hard to come by. It holds a a far ranging
collection of essays that amply demonstrate the meaning
of the expression "Others eat to live but Filipinos live to eat." Next to
language, nothing gives better insight into a culture than
food and food and eating has a central place in Filipino culture.
Filipinos: Forgotten Asian Americans Fred Cordova 1983 0-8403-2897-4 A
sweeping pictorial history of Filipinos in America by the
"dean" of the modern Filipino-American historical movement.
The Filipino Americans: Their History, Culture and Traditions Veltisezar
Bautista 1998 Bookhaus Publishers 0-931613-14-0 A new book that gives a sweeping
account of Filipinos in America and their history,
accomplishments and contribution to this country.
========================================
Welcome to the Usenet group soc.culture.filipino! We call it "SCF" for
short.
"Filipino" refers to citizens of the Republic of the Philippines as well as
citizens of other countries who have ties to the country
and its culture, by birth or heritage.
SCF was formed in 1990 by Aimee Manosa and a group of supporters to provide
an online forum for discussion of Filipino culture,
current events and other topics of interest to Filipinos. Non-Filipinos
interested in these discussions are welcome to participate.
The rest of this post provides information to help each and everyone of us
make the most of out the group as well as to help ensure
that SCF remains a worthwhile place to participate in the discussions and
exchange of ideas.
If you wish to pursue interests other than the cultural emphasis of this
group, we invite you to take a look at the section
ALTERNATIVE GROUPS for a listing of groups that could better suit your
interests.
LAST UPDATED: September 1, 1998
========================================
Contents
========================================
1) Alternative Groups
2) Basic Guidelines for Participation
3) Help With News and Net-Etiquette (Online Manners) a) Security notes
4) Become Informed Before You Participate a) Charter b) Founding Documents
c) Books d) Online Bookstores e) Web Sites
5) Inappropriate Topics a) Cyber-Mating b) Penpal and Correspondence
Marriage Services c) Purient Interest Posts d) Persistent Foul
Mouth and Attitude Posts e) Sexual Exploitation and Tourism f) Commercial
Posts
6) Controversial Terms
7) Credits
========================================
Alternative Groups
========================================
If you wish to pursue interests other than the cultural emphasis of SCF or
on something more specific, the following suggested
groups may be more appropriate for your particular field of interest:
Electronic Love, Romance and Friendship Do you believe that love, romance
and friendships can be best achieved among the electrons?
Try one of these groups:
soc.penpals alt.personals alt.personals.ads alt.personals.intercultural
Psst. . . Hoy! How about another Filipino group? Try:
alt.psst.hoy rec.music.filipino
Cebuano Language Are you a Cebuano speaker or want to become one? Bask in
the language in the moderated group:
alt.language.cebuano
Cross-cultural Relationships Do cross-cultural couples have different
experiences than other couples? Do you want to talk through
cultural differences that might be affecting your relationship or share you
insights? Perhaps you need advice on immigration
problems. Try one of these groups:
soc.couples.intercultural alt.culture.fil-am.relationships
alt.visa.us.marriaged-based
Same sex Relationships If you are interested in support groups for gay and
cross-cultural gay relationships, try these groups:
alt.homosexual alt.homosexual.lesbian soc.support.youth.gay-lesbian-bi
soc.women.lesbian-and-bi
We can also recommend the following web site:
Kakasarian: Of the Same Sex http://www.tribo.org/bakla/bakla.html
Alive and well in the U.S. Are you an emigrant or a descendant of emigrants,
or you are simply interested in the emigrant
experience? Here's a group that might be for you:
soc.culture.asian.american alt.asian-movies
Citizen of the World Well, you're really a foreigner in the Philippines, but
perhaps you fancy yourself as an international traveler
and/or an expert in the ways of the Philippines with the inside track.
Exercise your expertise and share stories and tips with
fellow experts and travelers in one of these: rec.travel rec.travel.asia
soc.subculture.expatriate
Other Asian cultures Whoops, you might have stumbled here under the
assumption that "all Oriental cultures are basically the same"
but you're really interested in. . . ? Well, just use soc.culture.? and
substitute in the name of the country that you're really
interested in. For example,
soc.culture.japan soc.culture.thai soc.culture.korea
and so on . . .
Maybe all Asian cultures are more or less the same. This group can help you
decide.
soc.culture.asian
========================================
Basic Guidelines For Participation
========================================
Before participating in a discussion, or before posting a question or a
topic, it would be worth it to take some time to understand
a bit of the Filipino culture. You may do this by surfing the web or
perusing books found at your local library or favorite
bookstore. Some excellent references are listed below.
It is advisable to "lurk" (to follow a thread or to read postings on the
background ) before actually participating in a discussion.
Reading messages beforehand helps us understand the trend of a
discussion(s); it gives us a better understanding and appreciation of
the varied interests of posters, their ideas and their concerns; and it
prepares us for participation in the discussion(s).
Some topics are not appropriate to be posted in this newsgroup. Some topics,
while appropriate, may be controversial, eliciting
strong viewpoints and argumentation. A list and a brief description of
inappropriate topics is included below for your review and
consideration.
You do not have to introduce yourself when posting for the first time !
However, majority of the posters highly appreciate it when
one extends this courtesy. We are a curious lot, and posters tend to respond
and extend a welcome to a new participant who
introduces himself or herself to the group.
When ready to participate and post, kindly consider the following:
- Do not post requests for pen-pals, dates, personals,
"partner-seeking-partner" ads and similar posts. There are appropriate BBs
for these type of postings.
- Avoid posting messages which include profanity, racial or sexual slurs. If
you object strongly to a message and you decide to
"flame" the author, keep in mind that others may not appreciate the
exercise.
All opinions are welcome, however, views are appreciated better when
supported by studies, anecdotes, stories, media articles,
historical fact and specific personal experience. Cite references or append
relevant urls to your post !
========================================
Help With News and Net-Etiquette (Online Manners)
========================================
If you are new to Usenet News groups, it is adviseable to invest some time
to learn what newsgroups are and how to participate.
Being familiar with Netiquette (online manners) will make your newsgroup
experience a lot pleasant and rewarding. A general resource
website for newcomers to the Usenet which includes help with the Usenet and
Usenet Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) is:
http://web.presby.edu/~nnqadmin/nnq/
If you are still unsure of how to use Usenet groups, you may subscribe to
the Newsgroup: http://news.newusers.questions
Security Notes
========================================
SCF strives to be a safe and friendly place for all participants, and we
wish to hear and benefit from all voices. Unfortunately, a
few individuals are drawn to the group as a place where they can exercise
their racist and anti-Filipino views. Participants who
take their disagreements and go beyond usenet group discussion are not
unheard of.
We have received reports of rude behavior such as emailing women
participants obscene pictures and "hang up" phone calls (when a
phone number was supplied in the poster's signature). Fortunately for SCF,
no acts of serious outright maliciousness have been
reported so far.
Electronic advertisers (spammers) are known to collect email addresses of
participants for target electronic mailings.
Here are some ways to help you minimize exposure and to deal with these
annoyances:
1. Consider posting anonymously or adopting an alias or a vanity that
reveals little about yourself, for example, your gender. 2.
Omit personal information in your signature such as your full name,
telephone number and other personal contact information. 3.
Spammers can be thwarted through a variety of measures such as adding bogus
text such as "NOSPAM" to your return email address
-- friends who wish to send you mail will only have to remove this bogus
text. 4. Report and solicit the help of SCF in the event of
any malicious e-mail received, or the likes of it, which you suspect
originated from this group. Many participants have the
technical know-how, and more often than not, they will assist you in tracing
a source or origin of such offending e-mail.
========================================
Become Informed Before You Participate
========================================
Participation is a two-way street. To make the best use of this group, it is
best if you have some basic knowledge about the
Philippines, its people or its culture. All questions and opinions are fine
-- however, do not be surprised when a poster loses patience and criticizes
your posts after a steady stream of uninformed or
opinionated posts from you.
It is easy to avoid a criticism, a derision or a "flame." Take a little time
to become acquainted with the basics and you will find
your participation in SCF to be more rewarding.
Here is the charter, and some readily available sources that can furnish you
some background:
Charter
========================================
To provide an open discussion on issues concerning the Philippines. This
includes the following topics:
-- new technology in the Philippines
"what's happening back home" information and passing this on to others
unable to read news.
Government and other related political issues
Earthquake relief information (still need lots of help)
Cultural events
Fil-Ams
introducing the Filipino culture to news readers
understanding the state the Philippines is in
Founding Documents
========================================
All News groups with the "soc" designation have to go through a proposal and
vote procedure, and SCF was no exception. We too have a
founding charter. And, like most major News groups, SCF produced a full
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document. Although it has
ceased to be updated (last updated in 1994), our FAQ still contains much
useful information for first time visitors and group
historians. Thanks to Jim Ayson, it remains on-line in four parts as:
Introduction and Table of Contents.
http://www.europa.com/~jra/cyber/scffaq1.txt
Charter, general posting rules and background on the early RP cyber-world.
http://www.europa.com/~jra/cyber/scffaq2.txt
Overview of the nation and national government.
http://www.europa.com/~jra/cyber/scffaq3.txt
Philippine culture and practical matters.
http://www.europa.com/~jra/cyber/scffaq4.txt
Another location of the old FAQ is http://www.ee.ca/~johnt/vanscf/faq
Books
========================================
There are many fine books; however, they are all not equally available. Here
are some references that are generally available to
most people. If you cannot find them in larger or specialty bookstores in
your area, you can get them by visiting some of the listed
online bookstores given below.
Culture Shock! Philippines: A Guide to Customs and Etiquette Alfredo and
Grace Roces Third Edition 1992, reprinted 1994 ISBN:
1-55868-089-6 Graphics Arts Publishing Company PO Box 10306, Portland,
Oregon, 97210 1 503.226.2400 Introduces the culture and
customs, and explains how things work to foreigners.
Philippines: A Travel Survival Kit Jens Peters Fourth Edition, May 1991
ISBN: 0-86442-096 X Lonely Planet Publications PO Box 2001
A, Berkeley, California, 94704 General background on the culture and
detailed travel information to points though out the country.
In Our Image: America's Empire in the Philippines Stanley Karnow Ballantine
Books 1989 ISBN 0-345-32816-7 General history of the
country with later focus on American involvement and current events through
the fall of the Marcos regime. Written by a well
respected, award winning journalist.
Visayan Vignettes: Ethonographic Traces of a Philippine Island Jean-Paul
Dumont 1992 University of Chicago Press 0-226-16955-3
(Paperback) The author, an accomplished anthropologist, gives an insightful
look into the culture by focusing on how the language
(Bisaya) is used to describe relationships, events and daily life on a small
island (Siquijor). Unlike other researchers, the author
does not discuss sorcery for which Siquijor is famous for.
Sarap: Essays on Philipine Food Doreen G. Fernandez and Edilberto N. Alegre
1988 Mr. & Ms. Publishing Company 971-91137-0-7 This
wonderful book is, unfortunately, hard to come by. It holds a a far ranging
collection of essays that amply demonstrate the meaning
of the expression "Others eat to live but Filipinos live to eat." Next to
language, nothing gives better insight into a culture than
food
and food and eating has a central place in Filipino culture.
Filipinos: Forgotten Asian Americans Fred Cordova 1983 0-8403-2897-4 A
sweeping pictorial history of Filipinos in America by the
"dean" of the modern Filipino-American historical movement.
The Filipino Americans: Their History, Culture and Traditions Veltisezar
Bautista 1998 Bookhaus Publishers
http://www.bookhaus.com 0-931613-14-0 A new book that gives a sweeping
account of Filipinos in America and their history,
accomplishments and contribution to this country.
American is in the Heart: A Personal History, Carlos Bulosan The man who
thought he looked like Robert Taylor, Bienvenido N. Santos
Philippine Woman in America, Cecilia Manguerra Brainard Sometimes the best
way to appreciate the Filipino experience in America is
through the eyes of writers. These books by three great Filipino writers
help to personalize the experience of life in America as
well as provide a sample of the excellent writing (in English) that is
available by Filipino and Fil-Am writers.
Online Bookstores
========================================
Online bookstores are a convenient way of getting books. Most offer search
capabilities, secure online credit card transaction and
mail order by web, email and phone. Books are normally delivered in two
weeks or so. Here are several that specialize on the
Philippines, plus Amazon.com, the "mother of all online bookstores."
By-the-way, the Philippines is the third largest
English-speaking nation in the world, and it has produced many fine writers.
Be sure to check out novels and short story
collections.
Amazon.com http://www.amazon.com mailto:ord...@amazon.com
Bookhaus Publishers http://www.bookhaus.com mailto:bookh...@bookhaus.com
BookZone http://bookzone.com mailto:bookz...@bookzone.com
Philippine American Literary House (PALH) http://www.palhbooks.com
mailto:palhbo...@aol.com
Philippine Bookstore Online http://www.philbooks.com
mailto:magar...@interlog.com
Philippine Expressions Mail order bookstore owned and operated by the
incomparable Linda Maria Nietes. 310-514-9139 (Voice)
Sulu Arts and Books http://www.3wc.com/sulu mailto:m...@3wc.com
Tatak Pilipino http://www.tatakrp.com mailto:serv...@tatakrp.com
Web Sites
========================================
It is not necessary to "pick up a book" to get background. You can get lots
of information just by pointing your web browser to
these locations. These have additional links, so you can branch out and
enrich your understanding. Please understand that these are
not commercial sites; they are created and run by a few outstanding
individuals purely out of personal interest and dedication. This
section provides only a small, select sample to give you a starting point.
All have been produced and maintained by notable SCF
participants.
flip@casbah http://www.tribo.org Home of Tribung Pinoy, Tankikalang Ginto,
The Filipino Gallery, Filipino Cuisine and The Best of
Cyber Pinoys. Founded and operated by the well respected Ken Ilio, a
founder/contributor to SCF. A single stop resource with
extensive background information on culture, history and other topics. If
you get hungry along the way, be sure to follow the
Filipino Cuisine link to Manong Ken's Carinderia.
Tanikalang Ginto http://www.filipinolinks.com Also operated by Ken Ilio. It
is the largest, most comprehensive Filipino Web
Directory. From here, you can go to almost every web site that has to do
with the Philippines and Filipinos.
One of the earliest, but now largely out of date indexes of the Philippine
web, the Cyberbayan, http://www.mozcom.com/SCF, was
created in in Manila on October 9, 1994, a few months after Philippines got
connected to the net. Conceived in a SCF posting by
Phillip Finch, author of "Sugarland", it was put online the next day by
Chuck Gardner who was working for USIA in Philippines and
had webmaster access to the Moscom web server. It listed URLs contributed by
SCF posters and was retired on it's second anniversary
when newer more comprehensive indexes and search engines appeared. Most of
the links are now broken, but a visit will give you some
historical insight into how quickly Philippine net proliferated. Articles
about early days of the Philippine web can be found on
Chuck's personal web site: http://super.nova.org
Bayanihan http://www.bayanihan.org (General Filipino site)
http://www.balita.org (News) http://mabuhay.com (News and business)
Bayanihan is home to a number of resources and list services (subscribe at
no charge and communicate via email exchange) including
Balita-L, a news services for Filipino events, and Cebu-L for those interest
in things pertaining to the Cebu area and Sugbu-L for
people interested in speaking the Bisaya language of the central region.
This site was also started and operated by friends of SCF,
Wayne and Marites Johns.
Jim Zwick WWW Projects http://home.ican.net/~fjzwick Jim's site has lots of
information about the America-Philippine war and the
anti-imperialism movement of that period. This is a good place to start with
to learn something of the realities of that war and
clean out the propaganda most Americans have absorbed. The site includes old
photographs and political cartoons, the
anti-imperialism works of Mark Twain and material about the American
anti-imperialism movement.
akda http://www.europa.com/~ria A beautiful, long running site (1994) hosts
the akda on-line literary journal. Akda is devoted to
short works by new Filipino and Fil-Am writers including the on-going
journal and writings of Ria Roncales-Goodwin, the founder and
persistent caretaker of this gem.
Mekeni, Abe! http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/Laurence_Wyndham_Brown
Another gem, one of the most wonderful pages in
existence. Some one once said that "to get at the heart of a culture one
must study the language and the food." Well, Therese Cruz
provides a glimpse that is both direct and charming. If you are a fan of
Doreen Fernandez's book "Sarap," if you enjoy talking about
food as much as preparing and eating it, if you've wondered about the
legendary Pampango cooking, then you will be happy to know
that your interest will be at home at this site.
Kasalan (Filipino Wedding) http://www.maynila.com/wedding.html Like
weddings? Need to plan one? This site will be your answer. It
gives a good description, along with pictures and diagrams, of the pomp and
ceremony of a traditional Church wedding. This site is
attached to the Maynila Netzine. Be sure to check it out.
========================================
Inappropriate Topics
========================================
The charter for the group and the general consensus that has developed over
the years have made it clear that a number of topics and
types of posts are NOT welcome here. This IS a matter of free speech.
People come here for a level of discussion and information that they cannot
find elsewhere. Others who are not interested in the
purpose of the group can always form their own group or go to another group
that meets their needs and interests and express
themselves there. That way, every ones free speech is ensured.
The following types of posts and behavior are not appreciated here.
Cyber-Mating
========================================
This is not the place to find a date or a mate or get advice. If you want to
use cyberspace to find love and happiness, try one of
these News groups instead
-- your interest and participation is most welcome in them:
soc.penpals alt.personals alt.personals.ads alt.personal.intercultural
Penpal and Correspondence Marriage Services
========================================
Some people have found happiness through them, others divorce and failed
relationships. They are not unique to Philippne culture,
and discussion of them does not belong in SCF.
If you are interested in correspondence relationships
-- perhaps you are in one and need help and support or you would just like
to talk with similar people
-- there are a number of good online support services started by friends of
SCF that we can recommend. You will find one of these
more receptive and helpful than SCF for your specific interest.
Most support services are set up for Western men in relationships with
Filipinas, but anyone is welcome to participate and much of
the information at these sites is broadly useful
-- immigration requirements, travel tips and so on). We are not aware of
support services that focus on Filipinas looking for
Western men or cross-cultural relationships involving Filipinos and Western
women.
ASIALINK http://www.mindanao.com/asialink Respected SCF participant Robert
Martin runs the AsiaLink web site and list service for
people interested in cross-cultural courtship and marriages. You need to
apply to join and you are required to follow the basic
rules that have been set to keep the group civil and helpful. To help offset
the cost of the service, there is a $10 annual fee, but
a 30 day evaluation membership is free. To get more information, visit his
web site. You can register on-line there too.
Robert also runs information and promotional sites for Mindanao and General
Santos City. The respective URLs are:
http://www.mindanao.com http://www.mindanao.com/gensan (official city
homepage)
MAHAL KITA http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Set/6063 Personal web page of
Jeffrey Lee Hollis who also runs the Mahal Kita list
service (free) for mixed cultural relationships that begin through penpal
services and correspondence. Jeff's homepage includes
detailed articles on his own experience which can be informative and
inspirational as well as a link to the Mahal Kit list service.
Mahal Kita operates mainly for American men (including Fil-Ams) in
partnership with Filipinas; however any Filipino or Western lady
who is interested in correspondence relationships and can adhere to the
listserve's rules is welcome to apply for membership.
References: Mail-Order Brides: Women For Sale Mila Glodava and Richard
Onizuka 1994 ISBN: 1-880293-03-X Alaken 305 W. Magnolia, St.,
Suite 196 Fort Collins, CO 80521 303.226.8655 This book provides a critical
look at the pen-pal industry.
Purient Interest Posts
========================================
There are plenty of Usenet groups and web sites for people interested in
pursuing purient interests. Let us keep them out of SCF. If
you want to find a Usenet group that caters to sexually explicit topics,
services or products, look for them in the alt.sex groups
usenet hierarchy, or you can access websites that cater to these type of
material by using one of the popular search engines.
Persistent Foul Mouth and Foul Attitude Posts
========================================
Everyone is enjoined not to use profane and / or vulgar language at SCF.
Sexual Exploitation
========================================
Certainly the sex industry, sexual tourism and pedophilia exist. Some people
try to characterize them as "part of the culture,"
while the consensus in SCf has been that the sex industry, sexual tourism
and pedophilia are NOT part of philippine culture and have
no place in SCF.
Commericial Posts
========================================
Commercial posts are those that promote a business venture, a service and /
or a product for profit. We discourage participants in
using SCF as a marketing tool. However, information and services that can
help supplement the purposes of the group, for example,
bookstores that feature Filipino literature and Filipino publications are
welcome to make occasional discrete posts.
A post whereby a participant offers his real or personal property for sale
is not considered a commercial post. However, SCF
requests that a poster should only post his ad once.
========================================
Controversial Terms
========================================
If your refer to the Philippines as "P.I." (a term with colonial
connotations), Filipinos as "Flips" or non-Filipinos as "Kanos,"
you run the risk of turning your post into a debate since these terms are
not endearing to all participants. Just be aware that the
use of these terms may result to an occasional debate and sometimes
"flaming."
========================================
Credits
========================================
The SCF mini-FAQ was initially authored by Tim Harvey. Special thanks to
Chuck Gardner, Joanna Salgado (Tikki tikki tembo-no),
Jenistaf, Jeffrey Lee Hollis and Jim Houchens for their well considered
suggestions and detailed edits, and to Alex Fabros and
Marcus C. Colina for additional references. Of course, this section would
not be complete without special mention of Ken Ilio both
for his direct help and for the inspiration he provides through his long
time participation in SCF and his continued work in
operating the largest and most comprehensive Filipino Web Resource.
