Chapter One

Do you know which word is searched most often on the Internet? You've got it-SEX. But have you ever visited a sex site on the Web? I imagine you use your computer for personal and business e-mail, and maybe a little fancy word processing and database management. Sex sites on the Web have crossed your mind, but not your computer screen. Guess what? It's time to break the taboo and forge a path to the wealth of valuable sex information in cyberspace. Then you can learn how to apply it to your love, life, and relationships.

I've been working on the Net for more than five years. When I first began publishing as Alice, of the renowned Go Ask Alice! Web site, not many people even knew what the Web was. (Hard to imagine these days, isn't it?) My job was to educate small groups of Ivy League students about the health issues said to concern them: sexual assault, HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted diseases, and body image concerns. To keep their attention, I had to do just about everything except take off my clothes. After my hundredth or so lecture in the dorms, I realized these nightly group encounters were no longer effective with the MTV generation.

At my wit's end, I turned to my friends in the computer lab and suggested we create something on-line to reach the masses. In 1991, the Internet was for computer nerds, academicians, and engineers. The material available to the general public consisted largely of library holdings and administrative information. We were clearly breaking new ground with the service I proposed-teaching students about sensitive health concerns (and, of course, sex) via the Internet.

Having little computer exper

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