Virgule Mailing List

Virgule ("Virgule-L") was a slash mailing list created in October 1992 by Sandy Herrold (who had no listserv-fu), and almost immediately, lizj volunteered to host the list on her private listserv on the East Coast. 
The mailing list's name at this point was somewhat the unimaginative "slashfen". Some fans also referred to it as "Slashnet."
While there had been some small online discussion groups in the early '90s on GEnie, and local BBSs, Virgule-L was the first Internet slash mailing list.
The first post was by Sandy Herrold on October 19, 1992. In that post she reviewed the slash zine Homosapien Too. At that time, there were only seven members on the list.From a reposted email sent to the mailing list on October 31, 1996, accessed with permission. A copy of that first email can be read in a post entitled The First Post To The First Slash Mailing List by morgandawn at Dreamwidth: By December 1992 the list had grown to 11 members as the list operated mainly by word of mouth. In late 1995, the list had 85 members.
As early as 1996, some fans mourned the loss of intimacy of the initial mailing list:
==Some Context==
The early 1990s were a relatively dry time for slash fandoms. There weren't a lot of slashable shows airing; in fact, it was common for fans on the list to proclaim that they didn't watch TV. 
On the other hand, there was a lot of recruiting fans of older fandoms (usually Star Trek or Blake's 7) into slightly newer fandoms (usually The Professionals at first).
On the mailing list's third anniversary (October 18, 1995), Sandy posted the following overview of the mailing list membership: 
One of the biggest growth spurt in membership came after the mailing list advertised in the Media Monitor adzine in early 1993. It would be the first - and only time - the list would publicly advertise. By February 1993, the list was generating as much email traffic as some of the larger, more established Blake's 7 mailing lists. The list which began with 7 members (plus Sandy) had over 150 members by October 1996. 
There clearly was a pent-up demand for slash mailing lists. In October 1996, a fan at UC Davis set up Slashpoint, an open slash mailing list and publicly advertised it on Usenet. Within 5 days it had over 100 members with as many as 100 posts every 24 hours.Source: Sandy Herrold's email to a private mailing list. She wrote: "For reference, CI5 has about 95, and Virgule has 150 [members]...Lots of familiar faces from Virgule and others, but lots of people I've never heard of, and some people I know through fandom, but never knew were online..." (quoted with permission).
==Changing Leadership==
In December 1994, just over two years after the creation of the list, lizj announced she could no longer host the mailing list on her private server and Morgan Dawn volunteered to distribute the list from her Netcom account. The list was moved in May 1995, and the name changed to the less obvious Virgule-L. 
 
From then on, Morgan Dawn and Sandy Hereld admin'd the list together.
In October 1995, Sandy Herrold wrote: 
==Associated "Virgules"==
The "Virgule Mailing List" is distinct from the Virgule Convention run in Seattle in '94, '95 and '96, and the Virgule (LiveJournal) community which was created a decade later."
"Virgule," itself, is the term for the punctuation symbol, the "slash" mark, between two characters names which denotes a sexual or emotional relationship. 
 
==Visibility==
Even when meeting in fan-controlled spaces (such as fan conventions) the mailing list room parties were advertised discreetly.
For example, at the MediaWest 1993 room party, members were directed to the "WSEWR users' group meeting" in purple letters. As more and more fans became aware of the openness of Internet communication and the increased visibility of and hostility to slash fandom, the list moderators proposed that the list be titled something a bit more...oblique. In fact, "Oblique" was the first name suggested by one of the list moderators. Still, in spite of the perceived concerns, the mailing list's name was not formally changed until 1995, when the list moved to Morgan Dawn's server. That was when Sandy Herrold's 1993 suggestion, Virgule, was adopted.
Members were asked not to mention the list anywhere online. Finally, as with any closed membership mailing list members were asked not to forward (or in later years repost to the web) mailing list emails.
However, from the start some members wanted to promote the mailing list online. On November 15, 1992 Sandy Hereld wrote:
==Joining by Personal Recommendation==
To join, you had to be recommended by someone already on the list, and you had to give your real name to the list admins (although pseudonyms were allowed on the list). 
This requirement regarding member restrictions was not without controversy. 
At that time, broadband at home was rare, and most of the original Virgule members joined on work accounts.
The use of work email accounts led to the first flame war on Virgule when in 1993 a disgruntled list member trolled through old archives to identify the workplace of a fellow member she was having an on list dispute with. She then posted to the mailing list that she knew where her nemesis worked (actually identifying the workplace in her post to the mailing list) and claimed she could get her fired (presumably for using work resources to receive mailing list emails). Not surprisingly, her actions led to the first mailing list member being banned from Virgule. 
It wasn't the first time that a fellow slash fan threatened to out another fan, but the list began to take member recommendations more seriously and for a brief while, new members could be put on hold if a mailing list member objected because they believed the proposed member was untrustworthy or lacked integrity. Some fans felt this was the equivalent to blackballing new members but others pointed out that because the mailing list had already seen outing threats, they had little choice but to put measures in place to safeguard the existing membership. Source: Sandy Herrold personal recollections, accessed May 25, 2011. 
The objection policy was dropped in the summer of 1995 and new members were added automatically if they met the membership criteria and agreed to abide by list policies. The FAQ listed the following three criteria for admission: "interest in slash, ability to maintain confidentiality of the list, and a tolerance of others." 
These altercations added to the dangers of being associated with or discussing slash, and these fears and concerns made membership originally quite restrictive. 
==What Did Fans Talk About? ==
Also see Meta Essays, List Surveys and Notable Discussions on Virgule-L.
There were memorable fights over membership: 
* Should men be allowed to join? 
* Can men be 'real' slash fans? 
* Should slash fans, who are also academics, who might want to write about slash fandom, be allowed to join? 
* Another joyous fight was over the creation of a second slash mailing list, CI-5, dedicated specifically to slash conversation about The Professionals. Many of the Virgule members didn't see why fandom needed two mailing lists. After all, that way lay madness.
Some topics discussed in the first twelve months: RPS, Rape fic, Fan Fic Stereotypes, The Professionals Drinking Game, The Professionals FanFic Drinking Game, the history of K/S fandom, songvids, favorite zines, reviews of zines, whether reviews were destroying fandom, the dangers of the Internet, why fandom should never be publicly mentioned on the World Wide Web (and why some fans needed to stop worrying so much), the electronic circuit library, the perils of putting fanfiction into electronic form, men in slash fandom, academics in fandom, writing sequels to another fan's fanfiction....
Or to put it in the words of Alexfandra, one of the list members: 
Other fans appreciated the list for the amount of debate it generated: 
In February 1995, a fan described this community: 
==Controversies, Dangers, and Perceived Dangers==
=== Beware the Acafan===
In June 1994, fans discussed Henry Jenkins and whether he should be allowed to be on the mailing list. 
One fans stated that she'd met him once, read his book, and was a member of the apa Strange Bedfellows (as was Jenkins). The fan stated that she had reservations about Jenkin's membership:
1. Jenkins was studying fandom and was going to use information he gained through fandom in his professional work. 
2. She wasn't going to argue about his ethical practices, his personal sexual orientation, as they were not the point.
3. She no more wanted Jenkins on the list than she would invite a news reporter into her living room as she didn't want to be studied, didn't want her 
perceptions,
feelings, thoughts, etc. stored up in Mr. Jenkins memory bank for later
use, didn't want to be put into the position of being asked for permission somewhere down the line, for
something I said to be used in a chapter in a book.
4. She was also very much against the possibility/likelihood that his presence on the list would turn the tone of the conversation on the list to be "elevated", "sanitized", or generally "carefully thought through". She stated that he would created an observer effect, and that this would change the behavior of those being observed. 
Some fan responses: 
=== Beware the Men===
===Beware the Outing and Visibility===
Don't mention it to anyone. 
Don't talk about it to anyone.
The mailing list advertised in the Media Monitor adzine in early 1993. It would be the first - and only time - the list would publicly advertise.
==Later Days==
After the CI-5 list, other specific fandom lists spawned, encouraged by free list software offered by ONElist/eGroups/YahooGroups until every possible splinter of fandom had its own list, and the need for a rather controlled private list grew less. The Virgule Mailing List ceased operating sometime on or around October 1, 2003.The last list message is dated September 27, 2003. By October 6, an attempt to renew a subscription to Virgule-L resulted in this message: "No LISTSERV list by the name of "VIRGULE-L" is known to exist." Saved email, accessed April 18, 2010.
==Meta Essays, List Surveys and Notable Discussions on Virgule-L==
The "Virgule Mailing List" was home to a lot of meta discussions, surveys, and essays. 
* The Wave Theory by Lezlie Shell and The Wave Theory of Slash/Fan Discussion and Meta by various fans (1993)
* The Wave Theory of Slash Revisited by Gayle F (1993)
*1993 Virgule-L Fan Fiction Survey by Terri V. (1993)
* Slash Origins: YOU'RE ALL WRONG! by Michelle Christian (1993)
* Well, *of course* we need to heartily discuss every nuance of the origins and definitions of slash! by "anonymous" (1993)
* More on gender, late at night by Lynn C. (1993)
* Ten Reasons to Avoid Reading AUs by Alexfandra (1993)
*1994 Virgule-L Memorable Songvids Survey by various fans (1994)
* Of all the media characters in the series that you watch, which one do you most identify with? by Gayle F (1994)
* Of cabbages and kings by "anonymous" (1994)
* The Pros Version Of "Low" And "High" Angst Viewed As A Five-Star Thai Menu by Alexfandra (1994)
* Christmas Wish List For The Mailing List by Morgan Dawn (1994)
* Slash & Realism by "anonymous" (1994)
* My life in slash, and BNFs by Sandy Herrold (1994)
* Is slash a lifetime commitment? by "anonymous" (1994)
* Fun and Good by [M F G] (1994)
* Quality and Doyle in Dresses by "anonymous" (1994)
* "I don't care" can be asbestos shielding -- and a simple statement of fact. by "anonymous" (1994)
* In response to the current topic of erotic stories versus erotic art. by Gayle F. (1994)
* Homosexuality has as much to do with Slash as Civil War history did with Gone With the Wind Lezlie Shell (1994)
* The Future of Vidding (1995) by various fand (1995)
* Structuring Your Vid: Knowing Your Audience by Sandy Herrold]] (1995)
* ...and sealing wax... by Sandy Herrold (1995)
* Grand Disunification by "anonymous" (1995)
* Fandom, tradition, net by [E] (1996)
* What constitutes 'old-time'? by "anonymous" (1996)
*Sandy Herrold's 1996 Slash Fandom Survey by Sandy Herrold (1996)
* rewriting -- it's NOT new, & other points by Shoshanna (1996)
* Cons - why we do it and what we want? by "anonymous" (1996)
* Internet Fans Controversy Du Jour (Sandy Herrold) by Sandy Herrold (1997)
* Things have changed... by Sandy Herrold (1997)
* Media West, Fan Q's and slash fans by Flamingo (1998)
==Notes & References==
===Notes===
===References===
Category:Slash Mailing Lists
Category:Media Fandom
Category:1992 Mailing Lists 
Category:1990s Mailing Lists
Category:2000s Mailing Lists