Exploring the Website!

And we are back! Thank you all for a great transition to the new website and platform. We are continuously growing and as always love your feedback. Stay tuned for more to come for the KGS.  Albeit somewhat common sense, most of us know how to read and use a website. We wanted to give a little explanation on some of the tabs and information you may find useful. 

Member Form - Many of you have completed a version of our signup form when you joined the website. This form is to gather basic information on each member and gives you access to RSVP for events, view photos, and participate in online forums and subgroups. This allows anyone to see our content and who we are but not be “committed” to join. Knowing “commitment” strikes fear in most gays’ hearts, commitment is such as strong word. When you become a member you are not required to attend any event, there are no fees or obligations. We are all about creating and fostering community organically. We just ask that you RSVP to events so we know how many to expect. Have a free weekend? See a hike in the group you want to join? RSVP and go have fun. (Bring a map…we’ve been lost before…and not at the corn maze event!) Also just to note. Members are required to be 21+ due to some events that may serve alcohol.

About us - This is our brief mission statement and our team of volunteers who bring to you all that Knoxville Gay Social is. We want you all to know who we are as a team and what our roles are. More to come in further blogs and (*fingers crossed) podcasts. I may be biased, but truthfully I have never worked with more passionate and committed people. Much love you beautiful people. 

Philosophy - This is why we believe what we are doing is working. Here what you will find is our basic “policies” on being a member and attending events. It has been difficult trying to write these because as the old adage goes, how does one capture “the spirit of the law and not the letter only.” Meaning, we highly value these and feel this is what it takes but we know life and people cannot be put in a box. We want this to be organic with some flexible boundaries. 

I would draw your attention to one important section on this page. This is our informed consent portion. This section tries to make you aware of the potential risks of joining our group. As admins we do all we can to create a safe environment to the best of our knowledge and ability. Yet, there is always some inherent risk. We continue to work and consult with other organizations and professionals to learn about these risks and to mitigate them. 

Lastly we mention our Terms of Use and Privacy policy. With all that said, it is noted that any member who is not abiding by these will have an admin reach out to discuss and address any concerns. It is our goal to find a resolution, but if this is not possible admins reserve the right to remove members from our group. 

On this page is a “Let’s Talk” for any member to discuss concerns or questions regarding our policies or to make a report. 

Events - This is our calendar of events! We try to have an event every two weeks. You can RSVP for upcoming events as well. Check back often! We try to have bi weekly events posted up to a month in advance. We are beginning to try our “pop up” events during the week. At this time these events are our “New Members” Meet and Greet events. We are hoping to have more events for sub groups throughout the week. See our Part 2 of “Exploring the Website” blog coming soon. Soon we also will have an option for members to leave feedback after events! Please take advantage of this! 

Photos - Here you will find photos from events and can share photos as well. We encourage you to take pictures at events and send them to us for us to include in our albums. In our policy and member form you can give permission if you do not want pictures of yourself posted.

Contact us - We want and need to hear from you! If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to reach out! 

That is part one! In our next blog we will discuss Blogs, Groups, and Forums.