Editing Slash fiction (section)

===Slash on the Internet===
Until the Internet became accessible to the general public in the early 1990s, slash was hard to find. It was published only in fan-edited non-profit [[fanzine]]s (often called only "zines"), which were usually priced just high enough to recoup printing costs,<ref name="Kustritz" /> and were sold via adzines or at conventions. With the advent of the Internet, slash fiction writers created [[Electronic mailing list|mailing lists]] which gradually took the place of [[amateur press association]]s (APA), and websites such as [[FanFiction.Net]]<ref name=CHot20thcent798>{{cite book |title=The Cambridge history of twentieth-century English literature |last1= Laura |first1= Marcus|first2=Peter |last2=Nicholls |year=2004 |publisher= Cambridge University Press|page= 798|isbn=978-0-521-82077-6}}</ref> (which gradually started taking the place of zines).

Forum boards and message boards were active during the first half of the first decade of the millennium, and sites such as [[Angelfire]], [[Geocities]], and [[ProBoards]] were quite successful. Other venues in which slash was, and still is, published are [[Facebook]] and private groups. Much later came [[Archive of Our Own]]. As slash publishing gradually moved to the Internet, the field opened to more writers, and a greater quantity of material was published.

The Internet allowed slash authors more freedom than print: stories could include branching story lines, links, collages, song mixes, and other innovations. The Internet increased slash visibility and the number of readers, as readers were now able to access the stories from their own home at a much lower cost, since zines cost more than an Internet connection. The number of [[fandom]]s represented increased dramatically, especially those devoted to science fiction, fantasy, and police dramas.<ref name="Kustritz" /> The Internet also increased the level of reader interaction, making it easier for fans to comment on stories, give episode reviews, and [[Meta (prefix)|discuss]] comment on trends in slash fandom itself. Websites and fanzines dedicated to fans of ''[[The X-Files]]'', ''[[Stargate]]'', ''[[Harry Potter]]'', and ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV series)|Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'' became common, with tens of thousands of slash stories available.<ref name=CHot20thcent798/>