> -----Original Message----- > From: dragaera-bounces at dragaera.info [mailto:dragaera- > bounces at dragaera.info] On Behalf Of David Dyer-Bennet > Sent: Friday, June 30, 2006 9:32 AM > To: dragaera at dragaera.info > Subject: Re: Fandom > > "A.S. Zanoni" <chica at dreamcafe.com> writes: > > > Fandom. > > > > I don't know why many sf/f readers feel they are not "part of > > fandom". There isn't a rule that says a Real Fan has to attend > > conventions... or run a fanzine/ezine... or wear costumes that match a > > particular motif... or write fanfic... or be on sf/f newsgroups... or > > participate in running conventions... or write letters to F&SF or > > Asimov's [or even read either of 'em]... or be part of a local sf/f > > group that may or may not do any number of those things. > > > > I could go on and on. I'll spare you. > > Huh; for me, "fan" means somebody involved in fandom. The term > "reader" was the traditional term for, well, readers, who weren't > involved in fandom. The appearance of significant tv and film sf has > caused that to not really be the right term, and so people are trying > to fall back on "fan" and this is causing all sorts of confusion and > bad feelings on both sides. > > Which is unfortuntate. Our fannish use of "fan" is contrary to the > common usage, but there really needs to be *some* term for people who > choose to associate themselves with the cultural stream of fandom and > I, and others apparently, are loathe to give up the term we've used > for 70 years to identify ourselves. > -- There is a term already; it's "geek". This is broadly applicable across the range of things one can be enthusiastic about without requiring professional involvement: car geeks, stamp geeks, model train geeks, computer geeks, gun geeks, music geeks. This term has, I think, become less derogatory as it is embraced by the geeks themselves (well, you might get a punch in the nose by calling the car enthusiast a "geek", but that's what he is). So embrace the geekiness. Readers are fans. Geeks are fans. But readers are not geeks. There. You have your division. Shawn