"Shawn Burns" <shawnb at stanford.edu> writes: > > -----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). Oh, no, geek means something quite different, and rather more specific, too. And, most particularly, it *doesn't* mean connection to the cultural stream originating from Gernsback publishing addresses in the letter column of Amazing Stories. > So embrace the geekiness. Readers are fans. Geeks are fans. But readers are > not geeks. There. You have your division. Hey, I'm a software engineer professionally and run servers and implement web sites as a hobby. I'm pretty thoroughly in touch with my inner geek. -- David Dyer-Bennet, <mailto:dd-b at dd-b.net>, <http://www.dd-b.net/dd-b/> RKBA: <http://www.dd-b.net/carry/> Pics: <http://dd-b.lighthunters.net/> <http://www.dd-b.net/dd-b/SnapshotAlbum/> Dragaera/Steven Brust: <http://dragaera.info/>