Trekkers
Star Trek fandom is separate from and independent of mainstream sf fandom. In the 1960s and '70s, especially, it had a great degree of overlap. Trekdom began with a letter-writing campaign that originated with Bjo Trimble in sf fandom, appealing to fans to write Paramount to urge reconsideration when the network intended to cancel the show after only two seasons. The letter-writing campaign actually paid off and the network reconsidered.
Aficionados of the show began publishing fanzines about and, while attending multi-media conventions under the broad umbrella of sf fandom, also began having conventions of their own.
"Trekkers" is a polite way to refer to these people -- the one the majority of them accept. They consider "Trekkies," a term that has been credited to Art Saha, derogatory.
The rise of Trek fandom began to bring people into sf fandom, folks who had been turned on to sf by the show or who had first learned about sf conventions via Star Trek.
It has been remarked that, in the mundane world, some of the most devastating holy wars have been between, not different religions, but different sects of the same religion. It is true that there is something of this going on here, as many sf readers consider Star Trek to be mediocre or even "dumbed down" sf.
Contributors: Dr. Gafia, others.
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