Your definition of a real 'Trekkie'?

explodingmuffin · May 20 2009, 02:16 AM

Hey guys, I don't post here too much, but something has been under my skin lately and I wanted your opinions on it.

How would you define a real Trekkie?

I know that that could be a very broad category of people, but I ask this because many people who have seen the new movie are now calling themselves Trekkies. People who didn't care about Star Trek before but are saying that they really like it now.

I'm fine with people liking the movie, it's just that...there is a difference between a Star Trek fan and a Trekkie. And I think that you need to like more than one fan's movie of a TV show to say that you are now a part of that fandom. I just feel that there is so much more to the Trekkie label than they seem to think there is.

I don't know. Do you think they have a right to call themselves Trekkies when they probably haven't seen more than five episodes? What do you think is the least that you would have to be/have done/know/etc. to really be considered a Trekkie by other Trekkies?

(Also, I'm pretty sure this is the right forum? It's not a discussion about the movie itself...)

USS Triumphant · May 20 2009, 03:06 AM

There are casual fans - people who just kinda like the show, like you would any good show. And then there are Trekkies. Trekkies come in three categories, in my opinion: 1. People who believe in the ideals and values of some aspect of the show on a religious or almost religious level, 2. People who are obsessed with the minutae of the show, and usually, canon, and 3. People who find the stuff of the show - phasers, uniforms, Klingon foreheads - to be their playground of choice.

There's some overlap between the categories, obviously, but I think most of us fall mainly in one of those three. I'm pretty strongly the first type, with a touch of the third (I own a uniform and a couple of pins), and a tiny bit of the second.

And yes, this is the right forum.

Sci · May 20 2009, 03:07 AM

explodingmuffin wrote:

Hey guys, I don't post here too much, but something has been under my skin lately and I wanted your opinions on it.

How would you define a real Trekkie?

Someone who likes Star Trek.

jamestyler · May 20 2009, 03:14 AM

Sci wrote:

explodingmuffin wrote:

Hey guys, I don't post here too much, but something has been under my skin lately and I wanted your opinions on it.

How would you define a real Trekkie?

Someone who likes Star Trek.

What he says. You get extremists/purists in any walk of life. It doesn't make them any more or, me any less of a fan.

miraclefan · May 20 2009, 03:16 AM

ME.

USS Triumphant · May 20 2009, 03:21 AM

jamestyler wrote:

What he says. You get extremists/purists in any walk of life. It doesn't make them any more or, me any less of a fan.

Don't get me wrong with my post above - I'm not trying to say "unless you're this big a fan, you can't call yourself a Trekkie". I don't care, really. But people like labels that help them identify levels of interest. There's a difference between a casual coin collector and someone who would be referred to as a numismatist. The casual collector certainly has the right to call themselves that, but the word kind of implies something more in most people's minds (if, in that particular case, they know what it means at all.

)

explodingmuffin · May 20 2009, 03:40 AM

jamestyler wrote:

Sci wrote:

explodingmuffin wrote:

Hey guys, I don't post here too much, but something has been under my skin lately and I wanted your opinions on it.

How would you define a real Trekkie?

Someone who likes Star Trek.

What he says. You get extremists/purists in any walk of life. It doesn't make them any more or, me any less of a fan.

I feel like there is a difference between a fan and a Trekkie. Anyone can be a fan of anything, but to me a Trekkie is a bit more...into it. Just like if you wear black, that doesn't make you a goth, you know? You're a bit more into it than that.

SpaceProg · May 20 2009, 05:16 AM

To me there's not a "No true Scotsman" air about if you are or not. To me, 'Trekkie' just means a Star Trek fan. No more, no less. Same with 'Trekker'.

Crewman47 · May 20 2009, 10:32 AM

I like the three categories of Trekkies and I guess I probably fall into maybe the 1st and 3rd category, with a little bit of the 2nd.

For new fans who are starting to like Star Trek after watching the movie, we could call them NuTrekkies to throw in another category of fans.

SFRabid · May 20 2009, 01:55 PM

To me there are 4 levels.

4 - Fans who like the show well enough to show up at the occasional convention and maybe buy a prop if the price is right.

3. - Fans without inhibitions who show up at lots of conventions in uniform. They might be able to look at a prop and tell you which show it is from.

2 - Fans that spend hours discussing canon, hate anything new, and are obsessed in figuring out what happens during gaps of the overall Trek universe story line.

1. Fans that spend $20,000 turning the basement into a Enterprise bridge or show up in court wearing a ST uniform.

I'm a 4. I enjoy being around 3's. I frequently find 2's to be irritating. I'm afraid of being labeled a 1.

Count Zero · May 20 2009, 03:26 PM

I don't fall into any of your categories, SFRabid. Never been to a convention and don't plan to, either. And yet, I've been a Trek fan all my life.

To answer the OP: When you think of yourself as a Trekkie, you're a Trekkie. To me, it's as simple as that. I don't need to see any credentials...

KimM · May 20 2009, 03:30 PM

anyone who visits or posts on an online Trek forum more often than three times in their life . . .

If you are bothered by those you consider newbies - embrace them and mentor them until they are as rabid about all things Trek as you.

barnaclelapse · May 20 2009, 03:35 PM

SFRabid wrote:

To me there are 4 levels.

4 - Fans who like the show well enough to show up at the occasional convention and maybe buy a prop if the price is right.

3. - Fans without inhibitions who show up at lots of conventions in uniform. They might be able to look at a prop and tell you which show it is from.

2 - Fans that spend hours discussing canon, hate anything new, and are obsessed in figuring out what happens during gaps of the overall Trek universe story line.

1. Fans that spend $20,000 turning the basement into a Enterprise bridge or show up in court wearing a ST uniform.

I'm a 4. I enjoy being around 3's. I frequently find 2's to be irritating. I'm afraid of being labeled a 1.

That seems about right. I'd make some slight alterations to those levels, but I'd say you more or less got it.

I'm somewhere between three and four, I suppose, though I've occasionally stopped by to visit level two.

Admiral Lithium · May 20 2009, 11:24 PM

Count Zero wrote:

I don't fall into any of your categories, SFRabid. Never been to a convention and don't plan to, either. And yet, I've been a Trek fan all my life.

To answer the OP: When you think of yourself as a Trekkie, you're a Trekkie. To me, it's as simple as that. I don't need to see any credentials...

Well said.

I have been a Trek fan since I was about 6 years old, I know the story, consider the characters as friends and frequently go on long marathon Binges of whatever flavor Trek I am in the mood for at the time. I have never been to a convention, and though I may go to one eventually it is not something I need to complete my life. I do not own a uniform, though I do own many books and scripts.

People need their titles though. Can't have self anointed royalty without them.

SFRabid · May 20 2009, 11:33 PM

I think Trekkie is more than just being a fan. I'm a fan of NCIS, Good Eats, and American Idol. But, I don't buy their books, go to their forums, or think about the universe defined by those shows. OK, I do on one book on kitchen gadgets by Alton Brown. Maybe I should add...

0 - Visit Start Trek forums frequently, buy books, and have the DVD's.

May 20 2009, 02:16 AM	#1
explodingmuffin Lieutenant Junior Grade Location: Las Vegas, NV	Your definition of a real 'Trekkie'? Hey guys, I don't post here too much, but something has been under my skin lately and I wanted your opinions on it. How would you define a real Trekkie? I know that that could be a very broad category of people, but I ask this because many people who have seen the new movie are now calling themselves Trekkies. People who didn't care about Star Trek before but are saying that they really like it now. I'm fine with people liking the movie, it's just that...there is a difference between a Star Trek fan and a Trekkie. And I think that you need to like more than one fan's movie of a TV show to say that you are now a part of that fandom. I just feel that there is so much more to the Trekkie label than they seem to think there is. I don't know. Do you think they have a right to call themselves Trekkies when they probably haven't seen more than five episodes? What do you think is the least that you would have to be/have done/know/etc. to really be considered a Trekkie by other Trekkies? (Also, I'm pretty sure this is the right forum? It's not a discussion about the movie itself...)

May 20 2009, 03:06 AM	#2
USS Triumphant Commodore Location: Go ahead, caller. I'm listening...	Re: Your definition of a real 'Trekkie'? There are casual fans - people who just kinda like the show, like you would any good show. And then there are Trekkies. Trekkies come in three categories, in my opinion: 1. People who believe in the ideals and values of some aspect of the show on a religious or almost religious level, 2. People who are obsessed with the minutae of the show, and usually, canon, and 3. People who find the stuff of the show - phasers, uniforms, Klingon foreheads - to be their playground of choice. There's some overlap between the categories, obviously, but I think most of us fall mainly in one of those three. I'm pretty strongly the first type, with a touch of the third (I own a uniform and a couple of pins), and a tiny bit of the second. And yes, this is the right forum. __________________ As the brilliant philosopher once said... Everybody, have fun tonight. Everybody, Wang Chung tonight.

May 20 2009, 03:16 AM	#5
miraclefan Commodore Location: The F U state of TEXAS!	Re: Your definition of a real 'Trekkie'? ME. __________________ THEY WERE THE POLICE...JUDGE...JURY...& EXECUTIONER ALL IN ONE. *THEY WERE THE JUDGES!*

May 20 2009, 05:16 AM	#8
SpaceProg Lieutenant Commander Location: In the middle of nowhere, surrounded by cats.	Re: Your definition of a real 'Trekkie'? To me there's not a "No true Scotsman" air about if you are or not. To me, 'Trekkie' just means a Star Trek fan. No more, no less. Same with 'Trekker'.

May 20 2009, 10:32 AM	#9
Crewman47 Commodore Location: Ayrshire, Scotland	Re: Your definition of a real 'Trekkie'? I like the three categories of Trekkies and I guess I probably fall into maybe the 1st and 3rd category, with a little bit of the 2nd. For new fans who are starting to like Star Trek after watching the movie, we could call them NuTrekkies to throw in another category of fans.

STAR TREK

CSI

ABOUT US

May 20 2009, 01:55 PM	#10
SFRabid Klingon Food	Re: Your definition of a real 'Trekkie'? To me there are 4 levels. 4 - Fans who like the show well enough to show up at the occasional convention and maybe buy a prop if the price is right. 3. - Fans without inhibitions who show up at lots of conventions in uniform. They might be able to look at a prop and tell you which show it is from. 2 - Fans that spend hours discussing canon, hate anything new, and are obsessed in figuring out what happens during gaps of the overall Trek universe story line. 1. Fans that spend $20,000 turning the basement into a Enterprise bridge or show up in court wearing a ST uniform. I'm a 4. I enjoy being around 3's. I frequently find 2's to be irritating. I'm afraid of being labeled a 1. __________________ No longer here.

May 20 2009, 03:26 PM	#11
Count Zero Your fluffy highness Location: Land of Awesome	Re: Your definition of a real 'Trekkie'? I don't fall into any of your categories, SFRabid. Never been to a convention and don't plan to, either. And yet, I've been a Trek fan all my life. To answer the OP: When you think of yourself as a Trekkie, you're a Trekkie. To me, it's as simple as that. I don't need to see any credentials...

May 20 2009, 03:30 PM	#12
KimM Rear Admiral Location: The poster formerly known as ORSE	Re: Your definition of a real 'Trekkie'? anyone who visits or posts on an online Trek forum more often than three times in their life . . . If you are bothered by those you consider newbies - embrace them and mentor them until they are as rabid about all things Trek as you. __________________ Just one woman; doing what I can, with what I've got, where I'm at!

May 20 2009, 11:33 PM	#15
SFRabid Klingon Food	Re: Your definition of a real 'Trekkie'? I think Trekkie is more than just being a fan. I'm a fan of NCIS, Good Eats, and American Idol. But, I don't buy their books, go to their forums, or think about the universe defined by those shows. OK, I do on one book on kitchen gadgets by Alton Brown. Maybe I should add... 0 - Visit Start Trek forums frequently, buy books, and have the DVD's. __________________ No longer here.