You are Receiving this Zine Because

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In science fiction fanzines in the '50s and '60s, it wasn't uncommon for small zines to come with a loose sheet of paper headed, You are receiving this zine because.

At first, the reasons were basic ("You tribbed," "You typed," "You edited," "You traded your zine for it"). Gradually the list of possibilities grew more fantastical, silly, contained many in-jokes and shout-outs to specific fans or fannish memories.

Spockanalia, the first media fanzine, was edited and published by people who came from the SFF fanzine world, and it included this practice. On the back cover, it said, "You are receiving Spockanalia because...." and included choices such as "You are in Spock Shock," "We admire you," and "You are totally illogical." Unusual lists like this showed up—mostly in letterzines, but occasionally in other types of fanzines—into the '80s and '90s.

Flamingo explains in the VegaSH Convention Fanzine: "In days of yore, i.e. when all fanfic appeared in zines because there was no where else it could appear, and publishers often knew most of the fen buying their zines, the last page was often devoted to the many reasons why people were FINALLY getting a copy in their hot little hands. Sometimes, the publishers would even check off the reasons as they sent the zines to their friends."

One fan who reviewed a zine said, "This [zine] starts with an item "You received this zine because", which I found delightful and funny even though I only got half the references. This is both the fun and the frustration of a multi-media zine, especially if it ranges widely in its content. As this one did. But like that kind of eclectic variety, and I was familiar with all but one or two of the fandoms represented here."

From Boldly Writing: "It [the zine Sol Plus #8, published in 1981] had a you are getting this because section, something I had not seen since the early days of fanzines. Even Devra, who had originated the idea in Star Trek fanzines, did not include the checklist anymore."

a very simple one from Tricorder Readings
another very simple one from Fantasia #1
from The Pits
from Spockanalia #1
from Cheap Treks #1
from Pegasus #5
from T-Negative #5, an early, less-chatty version, with a note added by the editor
from Code 7 #1
from Eridani Triad #1
from The Cage, note the early Starsky and Hutch reference
from Beta Lyrae, note the reference to the Post Awful
from NCC-1701
from Rigel #1
from Impulse #2
from Apocalypse
from Samurai Errant #1