Two mailing lists I used to belong to, right back in the early ’90s Thinking about them today as ancient history, yet for all the changes in technology, the major qualitative shift had happened then.
Wikipedia intros follow:
Futureculture – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:
The mailing list was created in 1992 on a public Unix system by Andy Hawks, then in high school. After a fallout with the rest of the group, Andy destroyed the list of members early 1993 and took the list off-line. Various subscribers have since continued the Future Culture list at a different address and the list moved from nyx.cs.du.edu, ending up on the UAFSYSB mainframe (fondly remembered as “list dad”) at the University of Arkansas under the care of Alias Datura (“list mom”). See here[1] for a brief overview of the early days of Future Culture.
Cybermind – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:
Cybermind is an Internet mailing list devoted to “the philosophy and psychology of cyberspace.” It was co-founded by Alan Sondheim and Michael Current in mid-1994 to explore, exemplify and discuss multiple aspects of cyberspace, both from theoretical and experiential perspectives. The list was born in the split of the spoon collective lists from the Thinknet group, over issues of free speech and appropriate philosophical expression. Early membership involved much overlap with the Futureculture List. In more recent years discussions have become more general, but the list still has members from its founding period. Michael Current died shortly after the founding of the group.