I would say it's because the vast majority of fans, that do nitpick, are more than just casual. They pay attention to what came before, are interested in the technology, and truly want to know the backstory of certain things presented. The nitpicking might help to justify their own sort of personal cannon, when the writers get things a little screwy.
Off the top of my end I'd say the "nitpick" is a way of exerting control over something that the fan cares a lot about but has little to no control over. A lot of fan behavior can probably be explained by that basic dynamic, including the common "permenantly disgruntled fan" who loves a franchise but hates everything that is being done with it/has been done with it recently/has been done with it since X moment in the franchise's history. To paraphrase Oscar Wilde: "Each fan kills the thing he loves." Replace "kills" with "nitpicks" according to the severity of the syndrome.
I think it could have something to do with the long period of no new Trek after TOS. People loved this show so much, they watched and re-watched the TOS episodes. Soon they started to notice little mistakes of course, as you would in most shows if you watched them enough. And I think that turned into a tradition for the later shows.
Because nitpicking is hilarious. The nitpickers guides are a fun read, especially as you can grade your own nerdiness by how many of them you'd spotted beforehand.
It's not just a Trekkie thing. Trust me, comic book fans, TERMINATOR fans, UNDERWORLD fans, FARSCAPE fans, BUFFY fans, or whomever can get just as nitpicky . . . if not more so!
Exactly. Nitpicking is the prevalent aspect of fanboy culture. It was there long before the term "fanboy" was coined. "I am fanboy/fangirl...hear me bitch."
Honestly, I thought you intentionally spelled it wrong, and were waiting for someone to point it out so you could accuse them of being a nitpicker. I decided I would do the honours. Yes, this is how my brain works.
Are you sure about that? We Trekkies are a particularly anal and observant type. Many other shows could well have just as much inconsistency, we just don't notice it as much.
Quoted for truth. We sci-fi fans, not just Trekkies, are an obsessive bunch, and we tend to dedicate a lot of our time to picking apart our chosen show/s of worship. Your average CSI Miami fan probably doesn't care too much about trivia. Who wrote what episode, whether Caruso said he had a brother in this week's episode, yet last week he was an only child, etc.