“This is not intended for mass distribution,” he said, “except in the folders of time.”

Dinin, who is launching his publication through a personal investment of an unspecified amount, said his 02138 will have advertisements, but that most of the revenue will come from subscriptions and sales. He suggested that his magazine’s revenue goals are more modest than that of its counterpart.

Both magazines intend to hire a small permanent staff as well as to use freelance writers.

Dinin said he was spending June in Provence, France, finalizing his plans for the quarterly magazine—which he began to assemble two years ago—when he first read about Kim’s 02138 in a Boston Globe column. While Dinin had already registered www.02138.com as a domain for his publication, Kim has filed for trademark protection for the name “02138.” For his website, Kim registered www.02138magazine.com.

With no clear agreement to which publication the name belongs, both Kim and Dinin are hoping the other goes out of business, and that the survivor can lay sole claim to the zip code.

—Staff writer Joshua P. Rogers can be reached at jprogers@fas.harvard.edu.