And IME they always got described as "the main list" (or big list, or just list) and "the fic[tion] list", giving the discussion lists that little extra nudge linguistically.
Yes, I think you're right. They did eventually split off the Trek fic list and newsgroup from the discussion one, but when I started, it was just alt.sex.fetish.startrek, and I think the fetish/sex name probably discouraged discussion. It implied, come here to get (and give) your kink, not talk about the characters. :)
The first fandom I heard the term "big list" in was Highlander, circa 1998 for me.
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Yes, I think you're right. They did eventually split off the Trek fic list and newsgroup from the discussion one, but when I started, it was just alt.sex.fetish.startrek, and I think the fetish/sex name probably discouraged discussion. It implied, come here to get (and give) your kink, not talk about the characters. :)
The first fandom I heard the term "big list" in was Highlander, circa 1998 for me.