Talking Like a Trufan

Issue Six

Sunday Comics

Comic Strip by Sherlock

ST-AN by Joe Mayhew

Murphy Robinson, Q.I. by Kurt Erichsen

Program Changes -- Sunday

More Awards: Golden Duck and Sidewise

Talking Like a Trufan

Announcements

Roy Tackett Roast

The panel "Talking Like a Trufan: SF Slang from the Hectograph to the Web" Thursday afternoon offered insights into the origins and uses of fanspeak. Speaking to a full room, panelists Dick Eney (publisher of the seminal Fancyclopedia II), John Hertz, Nicki Lynch, Richard Lynch, Ed Meskys and moderator yours truly concluded that fan jargon, mostly developed in fanzines in the 1950s, has changed in meaning and frequency of use but is still alive and well, with new words arising out of conventions and fandom on the Internet.

For those who missed the panel, here's a brief guide to some of the argot discussed:

Apa

Amateur press association. A group of faneds who send their fanzines to a central editor, who collates them and distributes a complete set to each. (In electronic terms, a kind of paper-based listserv.)

Annish

Anniversary issue of a fanzine.

Ackermanese

The neologisms of Forrest J. ("4SJ") Ackerman, who coined sci-fi, and advocated simplified spelling and many other elements of fan jargon.

Bems

Bug-eyed monsters.

BNF

Big-name fan, a fannish celebrity.

Con

Convention.

Corflu

Correction fluid.

Croggle

React with awed wonder.

Distim

What the gostak does to the doshes.

Doshes

What are distimmed by the gostak.

Fan

A member of fandom.

Fandom

Our happy subculture, the world of SF lovers who do more than just read or watch.

Faned

Fan editor, one who edits a fanzine.

Fannish

Of or pertaining to fans or fandom.

Fansmanship

From "Gamesmanship" -- the art of convincing others you're a better fan than they are.

Fanzine

Now a popular term for any kind of amateur magazine, the term was coined by SF fan Louis Russell Chauvinet specifically for those produced by fen.

Fen

Alternate plural of fan.

Gostak

What distims the doshes.

Neofan

Someone new to fandom.

Propeller beanie

An item of fannish head gear. Ray Faraday Nelson identified fan characters in his cartoons with these toppers.

Sci-fi

Science fiction. Trufen now consider the diminutive rather derogatory, and apply it to grade B movies and such. It is often pronounced "skiffy."

Slan

Superintelligent mutant, from the eponymous A.E. van Vogt novel. "Fans are slans."

Trufan

In general, an especially dedicated fan, but the word has a lot of controversial connotations.

WKF

Well-known fan.

For more information on the lore and culture of fandom, visit the Fan Lounge (CC-101) and see the following panels: "Welcome to the SF Community: Enjoying the Worldcon" (noon Sunday CC-101), "Welcome to the SF Community: Making Connections" (1 p.m. Sunday CC-101), "Fandom Online" (noon Monday CC-101).