About Nigel

I’m a writer and editor based in East London, UK. I have over half a lifetime’s experiece of building online communities, starting with uk-motss, probably the first LGBT e-mail discussion list in the UK, back in 1990.

In 2005, I created Toppy.org.uk, which is a discussion forum for users of the Topfield digital TV recorder.

With Bobby Pickering, I co-founded a group called Digital Diversity, and in the 90s and early 2000s we provided email discussion lists for groups like Stonewall, Outrage, and ILGA Europe, positive people in Europe, and LGBT people in Singapore, as well as holding open meetings to explain the internet to queer people.

I’ve been involved with the kink community in one way or another pretty much since I came out, and from 2007 I took over organising BLUF events at The Backstreet in London. In 2009 I took over running BLUF from its founder, shepherding the club through a period of growth and updates, before stepping down in June 2026, after exactly 17 years at the helm. I’ve also organised events like the IGNITE events for cigar smokers and their admirers. A Fireside Chat with Doug O'Keefe may interest some of you.

Professionally, I spent over 25 years writing and editing for the UK computer press, with my work appearing in titles like Computer Buyer, Mac User, Personal Computer World, PC Plus, Computer Active, Web User and others, as well as national newspapers and online at The Register and Ars Technica. I also wrote the Official AOL Tour Guide for AOL 6.0 in the UK, and was a regular panelist on Sky TV’s Chips With Everything.

I’m now working on personal projects, including a zine and some publications aimed at the LGBTQ community. I've also got a Little Gay Shop you can check out, and my old Digital TV and technology blog is still online.

If you like the look of what I’m working on now, or would like to say “Thank you” for what I’ve done in the past, please consider supporting me on Ko-Fi

For my latest thoughts, or other updates, check out the blog