California: Sexual Diseases Alert Via the Net; New Health Department Program for Gays

Debuting today, InSPOT (Internet Notification Service for Partners or Tricks) was designed to allow STD-infected gay men to take the initiative in notifying sex partners. However, the service is open to everyone. InSPOT, which is run by the local Internet Sexuality Information Services, is a response to a recent increase in STDs among gay men, said Dr. Jeffrey Klausner, STD prevention director for San Francisco's Department of Public Health, which funded the service.

InSPOT especially makes sense for gay men who meet casual partners on the Internet and where the only personal identification known is a screen name or e-mail address, said Klausner. Over half the local syphilis cases stemmed from meetings arranged online, he said. "STDs are an unfortunate consequence of sexual behavior the same way other infections may be the result of hiking, kayaking or contact sports," said Klausner. "If someone gets an STD, he should not be stigmatized."

"It took a lot of time to come up with language that didn't seem accusatory," said Tom Kennedy, a gay participant of the community advisory board that assisted in developing the cards. One of six pithy cards can be sent to up to six e-mail addresses at a time, and can be signed or anonymous. A drop-down window includes eight STDs but not HIV, due to fears over potential misuse by spammers.

"The bottom line was they wanted fun," said ISIS Executive Director Deb Levine. "They wanted something that also speaks to the gay culture and gay lifestyle -- something you would find in a store in the Castro, not in a Hallmark store in the mall." The InSPOT Web site does not collect any personal information from users, said Levine.

Klausner said the site will cost less than $20,000 annually to maintain, and another $20,000 for marketing that includes billboard advertisements at Castro and Market streets. The site, www.inspot.org, carries a request that visitors respect the service and use it responsibly.

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