CI5 List

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Mailing List
Name: CI5 List, also known as CI5 listserv
Date(s): 1996-2005?
Moderated:
Moderators/List Maintainers: Lorelei F, Anne Higgins, and others
Founder(s): Lorelei F
Type: discussion and fanfic
Fandom: The Professionals
Scope:
URL: See CI5 Homepage
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The CI5 List was the first open-to-all Professionals mailing list. It was founded by Lorelei F in August of 1996, and by September 1996, the list had approximately 60 members and was originally a spin-off of members from the Pros e-mail circuit list.[1] In its heyday, it had as many as 300. The mailing list was founded in order to offer more concentrated discussion on The Professionals, having existed as a cc mailing list beforehand. It was announced on Virgule-L in August 1996.

The mailing list allowed both discussion and fiction, and two zines (Virtual Pros and a Christmas edition) were later produced collecting the fiction that had been posted to the list. List members met for Pros-themed parties at several conventions, including Connexions, Media West, and Zebra Con.

The CI5 mailing list became the subject of controversy due to a responsefic that had been written to Sebastian's partner betrayal story Catharsis. The story was written and posted to the CI5 mailing list in months following the creation of the list. In November 1996, the responsefic resulted in heated discussion on Virgule-L which then spilled back onto the CI5 list. Shortly thereafter, one of the CI5 list admins, Anne Higgins, revealed that she had written the Catharsis responsefic. List admins banned discussion of the ethics of responsefic.

References

  1. ^ In 1996, one member of both lists estimated that 80% of the CI5 list members were also on Virgule-L. Private email message dated 11/21/1996, quoted anonymously with permission.