OBSSE Mailing List

Mailing List
Name:	OBSSE Mailing List ("OBSSEsed Mailing List")
Date(s):	October 1997- membership closed in 2000
Moderated:
Moderators/List Maintainers:	Sister Autumn
Type:
Fandom:
URL:	[email protected], then [email protected]
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OBSSE Mailing List was the mailing list for the X-Files fansite Order of the Blessed Saint Scully the Enigmatic.

The list debuted on October 29, 1997. In October 1998, it had more than 330 members. It closed membership at 600 in roughly 2000.

Many members and fans of Order of the Blessed Saint Scully the Enigmatic were on this list. There was also a lot of cross-pollination regarding communication, in-jokes, and content posted this mailing list and to News for the OBSSEsed, the community's newsletter.

January 1998

Since its inception not too long ago the OBSSE mailing list has proved itself to be THE place to be for fun and frivolity on the net. You'll laugh, you'll cry, it will become a part of you. Just log on and prepare for more email than you ever imagined (and thankfully we even have a digest format for those easily overwhelmed)!

To join the OBSSE Mailing List, simply send a message to [email protected] (NOT to the OBSSE list!). Leave the subject field blank, but in the body of the message type: subscribe obsse (your email addy).

January 2000

Mailing List Move -- The OBSSE mailing list recently made a move to a new and improved version of itself. Of course, my favorite features are the various auto-admin abilities that mean I don't even have to swing the trout myself. Now you no longer have to unsub when you need to leave for a while (using the handy "nomail" feature), the OB in the header is automatic, and subscribing and unsubscribing is a snap. Though it might be fun to see one of those Mensa influenced "GeT ME OfF THiS liST" messages every so often for old times sake. If you wish to join this list of over 500 Scully fans, please first read the rules and FAQ found at Colin's Official OBSSE Information Site and then visit the Abbey Communications Center for information on joining the list.

February 2000

See: OBSSE Mailing List: Year 2000 Summary by WetLegKik:

EDITOR'S NOTE: Every year Brother WetLegKik breaks down the events on the OBSSE mailing list. If you're not on that list and ever wonder what goes on, or even if you are and can't remember the past this is a pretty good indication of the craziness there.

Sometime in 2000

[The] MAILING LIST NOW CLOSED: With 600 members and the end of the X-Files approaching the OBSSE mailing list is now closed to new members....

The OBSSE has a large and busy mailing list that has been in existence for about three years. Before you join our list in addition to reading the OBSSE FAQ you should read the mailing list rules. Since we have been around a while and many of us have even met each other in person, it is a good idea to spend a little time lurking and learning our ways before jumping into the fray. We think you'll enjoy it once you get the hang of it. It's a popular list at over 500 members and a list that prides itself on its humor and respectful behavior towards others. The mailing list is only open to those over the age of 18. If you are not over 18, do not join the list - after all we all know what The Blessed One thinks about liars, right? Our younger members are welcome in the Abbey (as long as you stick to the virgin Scullyritas in the lounge), but the mailing list is only for adults.

The list is a Scully list, not a Gillian Anderson list (though we do from time to time discuss her other acting projects) or a shipper/noromo/whatever list. It is used for general discussion of the X-files and Dana Scully, distribution of OBSSE news and information, and discussion of interest to the OBSSE community. It is administered by Sister Autumn (assisted in a technical capacity by Sister DanaMax) with the help of the other Elders.

Fan Comments

2001

The main focus of the OBSSE is the mailing list. The list, which has approximately 600 members, exists to discuss Scully and the X-Files. When good episodes air, the discussion is fascinating and intelligent, as the majority of people on list are either in college or are college graduates; many have advanced degrees. We have medical doctors, scientists in various fields of study, lawyers and law students, teachers, computer technicians, actors, writers, and a whole lot of current or former English majors. Discussions touch on character and characterization, mythology, religion, dramatic techniques, science, feminism, even music. We complain about what we don't like, praise what we do. We also spend an inordinate amount of time discussing the CHarc (the Clothing and Hair Arc, which makes more sense at this point than the show's mythology, or Mytharc), and creating ever more elaborate in-jokes and jargon. We are an incredibly diverse community. Demographically, the OBSSE mailing list consists primarily of women, but our male members are well respected, and we represent a wide variety of sexual orientations, religions, races, and geographic regions. The list tends towards liberal political views, but Democrats, Republicans, Socialists, Greens, not to mention many non-American political parties, and other view points are all represented. The one thing we all have in common is admiration of Scully and respect for each other.

In its earliest days, the Internet was a way for people all over the world to exchange ideas and knowledge. Recently, Internet critics have said that instead of connecting people, the Net has led to people holing up in front of their computers and not communicating with the "real world." The OBSSE is a wonderful case of the Net bringing people together. All over the world, members of OBSSE have grown beyond the bounds of mere Internet acquaintances and into "real life" friends. Groups of OBSSEers, such as my friends here in Chicagoland, get together to watch episodes, go out to dinner, see movies, and do all the other things a group of friends do. Once we met in person, the Chicago-area membership quickly became a fairly close-knit quasi-family, and nearly all of what we do now falls outside of anything related to OBSSE, or even Scully or X-Files. We throw each other birthday parties. We advise each other in affairs of love. We attend special events that one of the members is involved in. Yes, we do watch the show together most Sundays and chat over Instant Messenger, but our friendship is dependent neither on the television show nor on the Internet. Scully is, however, the reason we met in the first place...

Meta and Conversations in Other Venues

The list was the site of much lively discussion, and some fans wrote commentary for their own websites based on these discussions. One example is Fialka.

• Monster Slayer/Child of Water aka The Mythology Behind the 'Mythology'
• Requiem for Equal Rights: The Pregnancy Rant‎
• Melissa Meditations: A White Buffalo Calf, A Miracle, and a Sacrifice‎
• Sex and the Single Agent: Confusion of Rape and Desire in the XF Universe
• Shooting the Canon: How Episode Order Affects the Backstory in Season 4
• Family Dinners: Sibling Elements in the M/S Relationship aka A Side of Bill, a Bottle of Mulder, and a Little Sam/Scully Pudding