>>11The first online community to use the term "incel" was started in 1993 when a Canadian university student known only by her first name, Alana, created a website in order to discuss her sexual inactivity with others.[12][19][20][21] The website, titled "Alana's Involuntary Celibacy Project",[12] was used by people of all genders to share their thoughts and experiences. In 1997, she started a mailing list on the topic that used the abbreviation INVCEL, later shortened to "incel", for "anybody of any gender who was lonely, had never had sex or who hadn't had a relationship in a long time".[22] During her college career and after, she realized she was queer and became more comfortable with her identity. She stopped participating in her online project around 2000[23] and gave the site to a stranger.