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

The Internet offers opportunities for instant communication with individuals all over the world, including those with whom one is already acquainted or new acquaintances. The Internet is seen as particularly dangerous for women, who are often to be subjected to sexual harassment and "flaming" when they participate in online discussions. However, women who participate in women-only mailing lists often develop very close relationships with the other women on the lists. The current study is a phenomenological study of changes over time in the interactions occurring on a long-lived mailing list, the Star Fleet Ladies' Auxiliary, a group initially formed for women who were interested in discussing Star Trek without interruption from "immature" sexual 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 their responses were thematically coded. Three themes predominated: respondents 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 basis," and they saw the group interaction as "sharing." Respondents also indicated that the group was "not about men or about Star Trek".