Philedom

Synonyms:	X-Files Fandom, xf fandom, XDom/X-dom
See also:	The X-Files, X-Phile, Shipping,
Click here for related articles on Fanlore.

Philedom is a term that is still used to refer to the X-Files fandom in general. It's usually used by X-Philes.

XFilesNews is the fandom's main news website.

The X-Files was the first internet-based fan base of the '90s, undoubtedly the forerunner to how we discuss and debate our favorite television shows online today.

From The X-Files: A History of the Fandom by Matt Allair

The X-Files stands in a unique place in the world of fandom. While it is certainly not the first property to have a rabid fanbase, The X-Files premiered right around the time that the internet was becoming readily accessible. Because of that, it gave birth to a new type of fandom, with a new vocabulary and a new way of existing.

From How The X-files Helped Shape Modern Fandom — Including Shipping by Alyse Wax

History

The term probably originated at the alt.tv.x-files usenet discussion group where one of the earliest usages of the term was on April 26th 1994 by Kevin Roberson in a reply to Paula J. Vitaris

Further Reading

• “Shipping,” and other cultural concepts we can trace back to the X-Files by Jane C. Hu, September 10, 2018
• How The X-files Helped Shape Modern Fandom — Including Shipping by Alyse Wax, Mar 20, 2018, syfywire.com
• X-Files fandom revisited by apeygirl February 18th, 2016
• The X-Files: A History of the Fandom by Matt Allair Jan 24, 2018, danofgeek.com
• The X-Files and the birth of obsessive internet fandom by Scott Meslow, January 22, 2016
• A Note about the X-Files Fandom by adieangel, September 8, 2015
• How Horny X-Files Lovers Created a New Type of Online Fandom by Kate Knibbs, 5/05/15, gizmodo
• Being of service: X-Files fans and social engagement by Bethan Jones in Transformative Works and Cultures
• Visible Fandom: Reading The X-files Through X-philes by Christine A. Wooley in Journal of Film and Video Vol. 53, No. 4 (Winter 2001-2002), pp. 29-53
• The X-files, X-philes and X-philia: Internet Fandom as a Site of Convergence by Amanda1 Howell in Media International Australia, Incorporating Culture & Policy Issue 97 (Nov 2000)
• Post-Object Fandom: Television, Identity and Self-narrative by Rebecca Williams
• Fannish discourse communities and the construction of gender in The X-Files by Emily Regan Wills

See also

• X-Files Fandom Glossary Category on Fanlore
• X-Files fan-run Charities
• List of X-Files Acronyms and Terminology
• X-Phile Census
• Waves in X-Files Fandom