What kind of Trekkie are you?

[Saito S]

A and B here. A because I've bought several editions of encyclopedias and tech manuals over the years, and find discussing the (admittedly very nebulous!) nitty gritty of how stuff works in a fantasy universe like Trek to be great fun. B because I've seen most of the episodes from the shows I like more than once - many more times than once, in a lot of cases. Though I actually haven't seen it ALL; I've only seen a handful of ENT eps even once, because I gave up on that series after seeing those eps. So I'm not one of those "fans of everything Trek" fans, the franchise has parts I do and don't like. But the parts I do like, I know extremely well. All of that said, I'm not nearly as actively into Trek as I once was (I had a whole huge Trek story planned out that I've been working on for ages, but more recently, have abandoned that idea in favor of focusing on original stuff), though I certainly still enjoy it.

I do have a bit of merchandise (as was asked earlier, how many people here have never purchased ANY Trek paraphernalia of any kind?), but am definitely not "a collector."

 

[JirinPanthosa]

B. I like watching the shows then talking about them.

 

[AgentCoop]

Pretty much hardcore. Seen every episode and movie more than once, have a huge collection of novels and have been known to peruse the occasional tech manual. I sometimes drift away from Trek to indulge equally nerdy obsessions like Star Wars, comics, Dr. Who and the collected works of Joss Whedon, but I always return to Trek.

I'm hopeless, aparrently.

 

[maneth]

I don't know... I don't own any merchandise and I've never been to a con, but I've seen every episode and movie at least once, and I love talking about Trek to anyone who will listen. That said, I've enjoyed all the space-based genre shows and movies that I've seen so far to a greater or lesser extent, so maybe I'm not the hardest to please fan out there...

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

B, if that.

 

[1001001]

B and C.

I've seen it all multiple times, and I have a bunch of stuff. Mostly autographs and pictures. I love going to conventions, but I don't go in costume, and I don't get into the technical manuals and stuff like that (not that there's anything wrong with that).

Oh, and I'm a moderator on a Star Trek board....




I think all our Trekkie brothers and sisters are beautiful.

 

[Robbiesan]

A trekker not a trekkie. I'd rather read James Joyce and study biochemistry than collect rubber ears.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Trek_fandom#Trekkie_vs._Trekker
Note the actors' comments about this subject.

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

I will call myself whatever is the most currently embarrassing term.. WITH PRIDE.

IDIC baby, gotta flash it around.

 

[lurok]

The best kind .

Not sure if a Trek geek or nerd or neither. Seen all the films and TV shows (bar TAS and fanfilms), but not hugely into the tech or paraphenalia or novels. Do like couple of the games though.

 

[2takesfrakes]

I'm the kind of TREK fan who keeps his fandom ... very close to the vest! Supposedly, J.J. Abrams has made STAR TREK "cool" but audience tastes are the most fleeting trends of all. No ... it's best to just feign ignorance of it, unless I meet up with a hardcore fan, which hasn't really happened yet. But when a close friend happens to mention my fondness for this franchise - with the implication that it's more than just a passing fancy - to a long-haired lovely at a social function ... I die inside! But this hasn't happened for a long time, now. Vigillance ... that is the eternal price I pay, in keeping my fandom where it belongs: in my entertainment system!

 

[Tosk]

I'm the kind of Star Trek fan who doesn't care if it's Trekkie or Trekker or whatever else. The only time I don't like one of those terms is when someone tells me which one I am because of some preconceived notion. You can say what you are, but don't try to tell me what I am.

I watch, read, and collect Trek. I don't make everything in my life about Trek (not even by half), but if I did I would defend my right to do so to those who feel like they have to demean others choices.

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

I'm the kind of TREK fan who keeps his fandom ... very close to the vest! Supposedly, J.J. Abrams has made STAR TREK "cool" but audience tastes are the most fleeting trends of all. No ... it's best to just feign ignorance of it, unless I meet up with a hardcore fan, which hasn't really happened yet. But when a close friend happens to mention my fondness for this franchise - with the implication that it's more than just a passing fancy - to a long-haired lovely at a social function ... I die inside! But this hasn't happened for a long time, now. Vigillance ... that is the eternal price I pay, in keeping my fandom where it belongs: in my entertainment system!

Real men wear I Grok Spock t-shirts.

 

[Greg Cox]

I'm the kind of Star Trek fan who doesn't care if it's Trekkie or Trekker or whatever else. The only time I don't like one of those terms is when someone tells me which one I am because of some preconceived notion. You can say what you are, but don't try to tell me what I am.

Exactly. I find "Trekkie" less pretentious myself, but it's only irksome when somebody uses either term to elevate themselves above, you know, that other sort . . . .

 

[CaptPapa]

I'm a B&C, with maybe a touch of A thrown in. I definitely love the series (original of course), and I collect books and such that's associated with it - but not the oddball crap that doesn't resemble anything; like the Ortiz prints and K-reo (?) BS. And since I don't care for, or actively dislike the other incarnations of Star Trek, my wife tells me I should not even be considered a true Trekkie. I just tell her that I have more discerning taste; just because it says Star Trek, that doesn't automatically mean its good. But . . . to each their own.

ME

 

[kirsten187]

I am B - the Geek.

 

[bbjeg]

A trekker not a trekkie. I'd rather read James Joyce and study biochemistry than collect rubber ears.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Trek_fandom#Trekkie_vs._Trekker
Note the actors' comments about this subject.

I think from a fans point of view, it doesn't matter. In fact, terms like nerd, geek, and dork were diminishing once ago too but grew new meaning as time progressed. Besides, I see nothing wrong dressing up for a convention (Star Trek, Anime, Sci-fi, Comicbook, or whatever), rubber ears or not. I enjoy it, as well as the company I keep.

 

[SpocksLeftEar]

There are options missing, such as "Star Trek is important to me, but it has not taken over my life".

Hobbies and letting something take over your life are two different things.

All options suggest that the has taken over one's life.
Not one option allows you just to like Trek without knowing every bit or collecting everything or talking about it all day long. In my eyes that's something completely different.

 

[bbjeg]

^None of those options say "I only...".

 

[BillJ]

All options suggest that the has taken over one's life.

I don't think so. Even as heavily involved as I've been with Trek, overall it has never been more than a small part of my life.

 

[Robbiesan]

Actually while the semantics of trekker vs. trekkie seem absurd to some, it was a big deal within Star Trek fandom and continues to be in some circles. That's why I provided the link, because the actors themselves who were well aware of that also acknowledged it and supported it.

In the early days of Trek, a lot of people who were interested in the sciences and math also read science fiction. Naturally they watched Star Trek.

Also in those early days, people who were cerebral were labeled eggheads or geeks or later nerds by those without those abilities.

The term geek was especially odd since a geek was originally a circus performer with "freak shows" (not my term) for people born with physical disabilities who could only find work in that occupation. A geek was the opening act, and usually a drunk or drug addict, who though not born with an ailment to draw a crowd, they would pretend to be insane and bite the heads off of live chickens. In effect, they were the weirdest of the weird.

As such, Star Trek fans were cerebral and considered geeks, though oddly enough, those same folks enabled the USA to enter the space race, as well as making us a technological Superpower. Star Trek fans were pilloried in the newspapers as nerds who dressed in costumes and couldn't find a date on Saturday night and who lived in their parent's basements. While in fact, they were successful, educated people, who often wrote academic articles even fiction, we married, etc. And yes, some of them wore costumes on Saturday night in Star Trek conventions.

This is why a Star Trek fan of that era and later called themselves Trekkers and not Trekkies, for then to say that term meant accepting a label from those who looked upon us with derision while also the same people needed US. It would be like accepting a pejorative term for homosexual and calling onself that while outing onself.