Your definition of a real 'Trekkie'?

[explodingmuffin]

Thanks for all your input. I wish I could be as chill about this as you guys are, and I know that this is such a trivial thing to get so worked up over, but it bothers me regardless.

I'll try listing some reasons why these people bother me so much, maybe you can tell me where I'm wrong?

- They don't know what it's like to be called a nerd or geek and teased for liking Star Trek because it's more popular now.
- Star Trek fans are usually more free-thinkers (at least as far as the ones I've encountered go) and these people...are mostly the follow-the-trends-of-society kind of people.
- There are a lot of slobbery teenage fangirls (usually for anime) at my school. Many of these people are the ones I'm so annoyed with.
- This new movie doesn't even actually follow the timeline and is more like Star Wars than Star Trek, in my opinion. I like it a lot, but it's really very different from the rest of the Trek universe.
- I seem to attract these kinds of people for some reason. They didn't bother me at first, it just that I keep encountering them.
- I kind of had a problem with other teenage Trek fans before the movie, and now the population has exploded.

Hm. I'll bet most of these people lose interest when they either start trying to watch the series and realize it's not as exciting as the movie, or when the next big summer movie comes out. I think that is part of the reason too though - they're claiming to be Trekkies when they probably won't even care about it in a few months. I know I need to just ride this out, but I'm easily annoyed by other people in general, and other people are hard to ignore when there's 6 billion of them on the planet.

[Misfit Toy]

SFRabid wrote:

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OK, I do on one book on kitchen gadgets by Alton Brown.

Does that make you a Brownie?

[explodingmuffin]

SFRabid wrote:

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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.

Yeah, see, this is what I was thinking - being a fan means you like Star Trek, but being a Trekkie requires more interest than that. It's a certain way of thinking, I guess you could say. I think that when you want to involve yourself in more than just watching the show, that's when you could be considered a Trekkie. I think you have to love the SHOW first and foremost though, the movie is more of a fan interpretation of the show in my opinion.

[USS Triumphant]

I get it, and that is probably the best summary of what the difference between a casual Trek fan and a Trekkie is: LOVE.

And these people you're talking about aren't in love, they're in lust, and they'll get over it soon enough.

Don't be too mad at 'em. After all, that's how Kirk treats his women, too.

[Myasishchev]

USS_Triumphant wrote:

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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. )

Steam-driven, right?

[Islander]

Trek fans have enjoyed watching TOS and TNG, not too bothered if they skipped a week
Trekkies have religiously watched all series and continues to do so with re-runs
Trekkers are fluent in Klingon, both dialects...

[USS Triumphant]

Myasishchev wrote:

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Steam-driven, right?

Close. It's cooked-in-a-bamboo-steamer, actually.

[Count Zero]

I'll try to address some of your points, explodingmuffin.

explodingmuffin wrote:

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They don't know what it's like to be called a nerd or geek and teased for liking Star Trek because it's more popular now.

Well, that's actually a good thing. Being bullied for liking a TV show is pretty stupid. I never got teased for liking Trek, either, because there isn't as much of a stigma attached to it in my country.

explodingmuffin wrote:

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Star Trek fans are usually more free-thinkers (at least as far as the ones I've encountered go) and these people...are mostly the follow-the-trends-of-society kind of people.

I'd like to believe that this is true, but I don't think it is. All sorts of different people are fans of Star Trek. They're not better or worse than the rest of the world.

explodingmuffin wrote:

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- There are a lot of slobbery teenage fangirls (usually for anime) at my school. Many of these people are the ones I'm so annoyed with.
- I seem to attract these kinds of people for some reason. They didn't bother me at first, it just that I keep encountering them.
- I kind of had a problem with other teenage Trek fans before the movie, and now the population has exploded.

Those seem to be rather personal reasons I can't really comment on. If you don't like those people, ignore them. You're not obliged to like someone just because he also likes Star Trek.

[KimM]

explodingmuffin wrote:

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Thanks for all your input. I wish I could be as chill about this as you guys are, and I know that this is such a trivial thing to get so worked up over, but it bothers me regardless.

I'll try listing some reasons why these people bother me so much, maybe you can tell me where I'm wrong?

- They don't know what it's like to be called a nerd or geek and teased for liking Star Trek because it's more popular now.
- Star Trek fans are usually more free-thinkers (at least as far as the ones I've encountered go) and these people...are mostly the follow-the-trends-of-society kind of people.
- There are a lot of slobbery teenage fangirls (usually for anime) at my school. Many of these people are the ones I'm so annoyed with.
- This new movie doesn't even actually follow the timeline and is more like Star Wars than Star Trek, in my opinion. I like it a lot, but it's really very different from the rest of the Trek universe.
- I seem to attract these kinds of people for some reason. They didn't bother me at first, it just that I keep encountering them.
- I kind of had a problem with other teenage Trek fans before the movie, and now the population has exploded.

Hm. I'll bet most of these people lose interest when they either start trying to watch the series and realize it's not as exciting as the movie, or when the next big summer movie comes out. I think that is part of the reason too though - they're claiming to be Trekkies when they probably won't even care about it in a few months. I know I need to just ride this out, but I'm easily annoyed by other people in general, and other people are hard to ignore when there's 6 billion of them on the planet.

I wouldn't say it's wrong of you to feel that way. Your feelings are your own. Maybe telling your feelings to other trerkkies/trekkers - many who feel the same way you do - will help sort it out.

[JTK2099]

The big difference I see between Trekkies and most nuTrek fans is that when Star Trek ceases to be trendy and "in", Trekkies will still be fans. Most nuTrek fans will have moved on to the next big thing.

[ChristopherPike]

Not being especially happy that writers had to create an alternate Star Trek universe, in order to tell a Spock/Kirk origin story? Did the alledged prequel feel like a contrived, ends justifies the means, substitute way to get the Original Crew back together fast, while appealing to that sexy young demographic desired by the studio, but which you never ever felt part of, even at that age?

Yep, you're a old school Trekkie for sure... (but one still able to laugh at himself).

[Triskelion]

Am I a fan, or a Trekkie?

Good question! Well this difficult question inspired me to write a little quiz to help people find out.


The Trekkie Temperament Sorter:

[jamestyler]

JTK2099 wrote:

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The big difference I see between Trekkies and most nuTrek fans is that when Star Trek ceases to be trendy and "in", Trekkies will still be fans. Most nuTrek fans will have moved on to the next big thing.

Thats really not that different from people who watched any one (or more) of the series when they aired (or films when released) and never watched them since.

It's just on a big screen with more hype.

Some will join the fad, some will become full on fans, some already are and a few are batshit crazy. Nothing changes

[Count Zero]

Triskelion wrote:

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Am I a fan, or a Trekkie?

Good question! Well this difficult question inspired me to write a little quiz to help people find out.


The Trekkie Temperament Sorter:

Good idea.

17-20 Correct:
Are you wearing your uniform right now? Go and put it on, you know you want to! You are a Trekker though you may self-deprecatingly refer to yourself as a Trekkie. You know everything from the first words of the Horta to what day the new torpedoes are arriving to what Phlox secretly feeds Porthos. Book yourself a Vulcan neuropressure session - you deserve it!

Well, that settles that, I guess. Can I have the neuropressure session with nuSpock?

[Triskelion]

^ He doesn't arrive until Tuesday