Actifan

An actifan (plural, actifen), short for active fan, is a fan who participates vigorously in fandom — clubs, cons, fanzines, and now the internet — by making things happen that other, lazier types (passifans) are content to just appreciate (and/or pay money for). An actifan’s crifanac typically encompasses more than one aspect of fandom.

The term is sometime used as a synonym for trufan, in the sense of one whose fanac takes place in trufandom.

Though not having its own entry, the term was used in both Fancyclopedia I and Fancyclopedia II, and dates back at least to 1941. Joe Gilbert and Harry Jenkins, Jr., are credited with being the first to use the term in print, in a review of Bonfire #1, appearing in Fantasite Vol. 1, No. 4 (July 1941, p. 20): "Official organ of the NFFF, which every actifan should join." Jenkins later used it in a loc in the May 1942 issue of Super Science Stories.

From Fancyclopedia 2, ca. 1959

From Fan Depending on the extent to which a given fan indulges in anything more than local club activity he may be distinguished as an actifan (as opposed to passifen); stress on crifanac rather than congoing, among actifans, is the chief extensional distinction between trufans and confans.

From Fancyclopedia 1, ca. 1944

From scientificombination - The archetype scientificombination was Gernsback's "scientifiction", a running into ea/oth of "scientific" and "fiction". Under the influence of Ackerman, many other combinations are in common use, eg, pename, stfunnyarn, whathell, actifan....

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Fanspeak

1942—

This is a fanspeak page. Please extend it by adding information about when and by whom it was coined, whether it’s still in use, etc.