The Global TransGendeRing was a web ring—a group of websites with shared subject matter that all link to each other via a widget pasted at the bottom of each affiliate site's homepage. According to TGTGR's homepage, the ring was founded on 06/28/96 (though a later page states 06/26/96) by a trans woman named Laura. Due to the ring's popularity and health problems, she eventually enlisted help from someone named Scarlett, and Marina, Laura's lover. The 06/16/97 capture of the homepage gives a concise statement of purpose:
"The Global TransGendeRing is intended to provide a consolidated source of information, support, activism and just plain fun . It is not a "Queer" ring, it is not a "Lesbian" ring and it is not a "gay male" ring, although each of these may be facets of one's experience as a transgendered person. It is THE TransGendeRing."
According to the ring's homepage, within 48 hours of launch, thirteen sites were already affiliated. By 05/21/97, TGTGR had over 200 linked sites and 300 by 07/27/97. By the 12/05/98 capture, the site boasted 700 individual sites and 1,000 by 02/18/99, just over two months later. On 04/15/01, Yahoo! ceased support for WebRing.com, which provided the infastructure for TGTGR and many other rings. WebRing.com did continue on in other forms but TGTGR's last update to its homepage was by 06/03/01, which only added the following note to the bottom of the page:
"NOTE: Although the webring currently resides at Yahoo, I have plans to move it to a much more stable, and MUCH less image-conscious server in the near future. Yahoo is currently (April 27, 2001) deleting so-called "adult" sites and webrings from its database. AND they aren't even letting us know they are doing this!!!"
However, this move never seemed to happen, and TGTGR faced the same fate as most other web rings, which had as much to do with a generally changing internet, with better and faster search functions, as it did with Yahoo!'s divestment in WebRing.com.
TGTGR's site has remained live over the past two-and-some-change decades, and will likely persist until the host site itself goes down, but the functionality of the ring itself is long gone.
| Page | Description | Archive Date | Capture Date | Archive.org Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Homepage, 05/21/97 | Text from the ring's homepage. Instructions for joining the ring and graphics currently only on the offsite link | 04/08/23 | 05/21/97 | x |
| Graphics | Graphics made available for use by TGTGR affiliate sites | 04/08/23 | 05/21/97 |
Notes:
Please check out the offsite link for their homepage. TGWA's plain style cannot possibly do TGTGR justice.