A hate site is a website that promotes hatre. Typically, such a site will contain criticism of a specific race, religion, sexual behavior, or nationality. The online gathering of persons with racist, sexist or other hateful attitudes can trace its roots to the days of the bulletin board system (BBS). A high level of anonymity allowed users access to others with similar beliefs, without exposing themselves to public scrutiny. With the advent of the Internet, these BBSs shifted to the World Wide Web. Most of these sites contain Internet forums, for user interaction, and news briefs that emphasize a particular viewpoint. Conferences concerning such sites have been sponsored by the UNHCR