As explained in 1993 by John Labovitz, founder of the E-zine-list:
"'Zine' is short for either 'fanzine' or 'magazine', depending on your
point of view. Zines are generally produced by one person or a small
group of people, done often for fun or personal reasons, and tend to be
irreverent, bizarre, and/or esoteric. (...) An 'e-zine' is a zine that
is distributed partially or solely on electronic networks like the
internet." 3,045 e-zines were listed in November 1998, with e-zines
spreading like fire. "Even the term 'e-zine' has been co-opted by the
commercial world, and has come to mean nearly any type of publication
distributed electronically. Yet there is still the original,
independent fringe, who continue to publish from their heart, or push
the boundaries of what we call a 'zine'."