An e-card in your inbox is usually a pleasant surprise, but imagine getting an e-card with a graphic of a screw on it saying, “I got screwed while screwing, you might have too. Get checked for Gonorrhea.”

Contracting a sexually transmitted disease (STD) can be devastating. So can facing the task of informing former partners and advising them to get tested. A San Francisco based Web site is trying to make the situation less daunting and humiliating in hopes of decreasing the spread of STDs.

The Web site calls itself, “Internet Notification Services for Partners or Tricks,” which is www.inspot.org. It offers a variety of e-cards that can break the news quickly and anonymously, no registration required. The Web site features six different cards with phrases like, “It’s not what you brought to the party, it’s what you left with.” Some backgrounds feature a shirtless man’s torso, or a man in a towel.

While anyone could use the Web site, it is geared toward gay men. There are links to gay-friendly clinics in the city. This may have to do with the rise of Internet organized gay hook-ups.
“Many men who are hooking up online could have multiple sexual partners and won’t necessarily know them personally, but they’ll have their e-mail address, so it’s a great option for them,” said Health Educator, Albert Angelo at Student Health Services.

The growing popularity of online hook-ups can be disturbing for many because safe sex is not always practiced and the large number of partners one is able to have can dramatically increase the spread of STDs. The San Francisco Department of Public Health’s annual STD report showed that gonorrhea cases rose from 2,174 in 2004 to 2,420 in 2005, with a rise in rectal gonorrhea rates from 410 to 462.

Online personal advertisements promising “fun and play” can raise safety issues to those attending the parties.

“It’s these damn sex parties and PNP (party and play) house parties,” said Bryan Makinano, 26, junior psychology major. “People are using drugs, and sure they may be a bowl of condoms on the table, but as the night wears on, everyone takes more drugs. I don’t think that bowl gets touched.”
The probability of those who engage in anonymous sex at parties informing their partners they have been infected can be slim.

Brandon Bravo, 24, biology grad student suggested that if the person was willing to use someone as a sexual object, it is not very likely that they would care enough about them personally to take the time and effort to drop them an e-card.

“I’d like to see it actually work, but I’m skeptical because the process itself is dehumanizing, so why would they care enough to e-mail?” said Bravo.

The convenience of www.inspot.org makes caring enough to e-mail easy. The “Tell Them,” section of the Web site is easy to navigate through and guarantees complete confidentiality.

The information on STDs, treatments, and resources are great tools for anyone who is sexually active and interested in being careful and getting tested. The Web site includes a list of all the STD testing centers and clinics in San Francisco with transportation routes and directions provided, to make getting checked out as convenient as possible.

Magnet, a men’s health information center, located in the Castro, provides sexual health services by and for gay men and is recommended by www.inspot.org They offer free and confidential STD services and HIV antibody testing, and Hepatitis A and B vaccinations. Magnet fully supports the Web site and suggests its patients as a way to inform previous partners, if needed.

“It’s a great service,"said Kevin Roe, Community Organizer at Magnet. "It’s another opportunity of letting people know, and people tend to feel more comfortable with it because it can be completely anonymous."

Bradley Ziledon, 19, a sophomore theater arts major, wouldn’t be excited to get a www.inspot.org e-card, but would appreciate the gesture.

“At least they’re telling me. I’d rather they said something before, but if they didn’t, they didn’t,” said Ziledon.