Hello, Screen-L subscribers!
Have you ever wondered how old Screen-L is?
I presume not, but just in case you have, here’s the answer: 31 years old, this week. Test messages were first sent on Friday, 15 March 1991, 19:42:11 CST. And the first public post was Wednesday, 20 March 1991, 19:15:43 CST. The honor
of that first public post goes to Christopher Amirault! All of those early messages are archived here:
https://listserv.ua.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A1=ind9103&L=SCREEN-L
1991 in Internet time is essentially the Mesolithic period. We had basic tools such as rudimentary email (on BITNET!), Usenet, and Gopher, but the World Wide Web was unknown to most people. In fact, the WWW’s fundamental building blocks
(such as the HTML protocol) had only just been announced in 1991. The general public wouldn’t even have access to a Web browser with a sophisticated graphical interface for two more years. Images could not be viewed online and video could not be streamed.
Oh, what a primitive time!
And in 1991 we had LISTSERV™—trademarked email-list serving software—which held the potential for encouraging discussion and networking among individuals with shared interests by distributing email messages. When I learned that my employer,
the University of Alabama, had purchased a LISTSERV license, I conscripted my friends Patrick Leary and Gary Copeland to help me test it. And thus was born the first LISTSERV list devoted to the academic study of film and television.
Over the years, the number of Screen-L subscribers has hovered around 1,000—ebbing and flowing as email popularity has increased and decreased. Currently, Screen-L has 891 subscribers.
And, of course, it’s a list’s subscribers that determine its tone and its usefulness. So, let me take this opportunity to thank you for participating in what began as a tentative experiment in a nascent medium!
Jeremy
Screen-L Founder and Moderator
Jeremy Butler
Professor Emeritus, TV & Film Studies
Senior Fellow, Blount Scholars Program
The University of Alabama