The star fleet ladies auxiliary: Evolution of an online women's mailing list

The Internet offers opportunities for instant communication with individual s all over the world, including those with whom one is already acquainted o r new acquaintances. The Internet is seen as particularly dangerous for wom en, who are often to be subjected to sexual harassment and "flaming" when t hey participate in online discussions. However, women who participate in wo men-only mailing lists often develop very close relationships with the othe r women on the lists. The current study is a phenomenological study of chan ges over time in the interactions occurring on a long-lived mailing list, t he Star Fleet Ladies' Auxiliary, a group initially formed for women who wer e interested in discussing Star Trek without interruption from "immature" s exual comments from males. This closed-membership mailing list has been in existence since 1993, and currently has 28 active members. Members answered an open-ended questionnaire about their experience with the group, and the ir responses were thematically coded. Three themes predominated: respondent s saw the group as a "safe haven," they saw the other members as a "network of friends or family who are involved in each others' lives on a daily bas is," and they saw the group interaction as "sharing." Respondents also indi cated that the group was "not about men or about Star Trek".