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Okay, most people know a Trekkie or two, and I know more than most. The word anal doesn't even begin to cover that particular part of fandom. That's why [url="http://www.theonion.com/content/video/trekkies_bash_new_star_trek_film?utm_source=a-section"]this fantastic video clip[/url] will be played for all my Trekkie friends each time they try to screw up a party.

Love it!!!!!

Man...if only it were real....

I thought it was a one-joke piece, amusing for a second--until they made reference to "the aging, bloated William Shatner."

Needless to say, at that point they became heroes to everybody that likes real acting.

Hahahaha!

Oh The Irony Of......

..... reverse psychology! :laugh:

You know, I read your posts, and I thought writing something like an insult back at you guys. Or a statement of anger like... well, never mind. You couldn't handle it, probably.

But then I saw the video, and it is funny! It makes fun of the Sheri Sheppards of the World who say things like, "I'm not a fan of STAR TREK at all, but you guys have to go out and see this movie!", or words to that affect if that isn't the exact quite, while Whoopi "Guinan" Goldberg is sitting at the end of the same table!

:laugh: :mischief:

EDIT: P.S.: I'm not sure though, if the usage of "Trekkies" is a part of the common ignorance of not knowing the difference between "Trekkie" and "Trekker", or was a deliberate part of the promo to entice the lowest common demonitators into seeing it, ala the review tag line I've seen, "Finally a STAR TREK for everyone!"

LeoStarDragon1 wrote: You know, I read your posts, and I thought writing something like an insult back at you guys. Or a statement of anger like... well, never mind. You couldn't handle it, probably.

Okay, this wasn't directed at me, but try me - I'm pretty good at insult handling. Like, I'm amazing at it. Seriously. Try me. Not even yo momma jokes phase me.

I'm not sure though, if the usage of "Trekkies" is a part of the common ignorance of not knowing the difference between "Trekkie" and "Trekker"

I'm commonly ignorant of the subcultures that trekkies have divided themselves into in order to feel superiority to one another so could you elaborate on said difference? I've never heard the term trekker used to describe something other than people who like trekking (the real life walking long distances thing) a whole lot.

Vicsun wrote:I'm commonly ignorant of the subcultures that trekkies have divided themselves into in order to feel superiority to one another so could you elaborate on said difference? I've never heard the term trekker used to describe something other than people who like trekking (the real life walking long distances thing) a whole lot.

Yeah, that's what I thought, too. Trekkers are travelers who hike.

ROTFLMAO! @Sib: It IS real, only parodied. These reactions have been coming in from all over. There are message boards and chat rooms all of the place seething with resentment and downright hatred over these very issues. It reminds me of when LoTR came out, only LoTR-nutjobs have a bit more of a point because it's a literary classic, and not just a TV show. (Cue shrieks of outrage from the Trekkies about the term "just a TV show.)

As for the other thing: Vicsun is so right. Unless they've discovered a new "ruling class" called Trekkers, the term Trekkie is solidly embedded in pop culture for us "not in the know." However, the full explanation can be found on Wikipedia, and only makes a more poignant point out of the video clip. These are people who will NOT figure out the end to hunger or world peace.

As a byline: I know 9 genuine Trekkies, and none of them would ever go by another handle.

I've only known one Trekkie in my life, and she was an ex-model who became a lawyer and then got a brain tumour. Explains a lot...

C Elegans wrote:I've only known one Trekkie in my life, and she was an ex-model who became a lawyer and then got a brain tumour. Explains a lot...

I think I should be scared now *looks for a hiding spot*

Hello, Vicsun!

Okay, this wasn't directed at me, but try me - I'm pretty good at insult handling. Like, I'm amazing at it. Seriously. Try me. Not even yo momma jokes phase me.

Well it helps if you've seen "I Love Lucy!" But I've derailed that train of thought. So if you want to peruse the wreckage to find it, be my guest.

I'm commonly ignorant of the subcultures that trekkies have divided themselves into in order to feel superiority to one another so could you elaborate on said difference? I've never heard the term trekker used to describe something other than people who like trekking (the real life walking long distances thing) a whole lot.

Ahem! Gene Roddenberry, aware of female reaction to "The Beatles", and how those females came to known as "groupies", looked out his office window one day, and saw a group of females waiting to ambush Leonard Nimoy. They had signs or shirt with the phrase, "I Grock Spock!" on them. So, "Star Trek - Star + Groupie = Trekkie". A horny/randy female follower of one or more of the Trek Stars. It shouldn't apply to guys, as most guys are thinking about sex most of the time anyway. Gals supposedly don't do so as much, and to think of them salivating over males, is or was, in the pre-Feminist era, supposedly a startling concept. So no male "Trekkies". However, due to people repeating other's words without first learning what the proper meaning and context is first, before then using it themselves, the word "Trekkie" got misused and/or abused as it was misapplied to mean anyone and everyone that has an interest in "Star Trek", on some level or other. Similiar to how people misuse trademarked words as if they were the generic words, i.e. "Rollar Blade" rather than "in-line skate", "Xeroxing" rather than "photo-copying" et al. Also, when ugly people began showing up in costumes never designed for the likes of them, the term "Trekkie" also got a bad image in people's minds. So, the term "Trekker" was made, to elevate fans above that image with the negative connotations, et cetera. However, it got abused too as people began to think it seperated the males from the females, or the original "Star Trek" fans from the "Star Trek: The Next Generation" fans, or the richer ones from the poorer ones, or the smarter ones from the not-so-smart ones. So I prefer the term Mitch English uses as the weatherman on "The Daily Buzz", to apply to himself, as he doesn't like the negative images related to both "Trekkie" and "Trekker" now, and that is, "Star Trek Enthusiast", just like Jay Leno is a "Car Collecting Enthusiast" and Hugh Hefner is a enthusiast for the playboy lifestyle as he defines, et cetera, et al.

As for me, I also can't decide which was worse, the in-fighting over the terms, or the casual misuse by the general public. Probably the latter, as it goes along with the overall misuse of words that people tend to do. As someone for which American-English was a secondary language forced to make it my primary language, I've always been annoyed by people born as U.S. Citizens that claim they speak the language better or use it better, just by the off chance of being born as such. But I digress I guess.

I hope that helped!

Moonbiter wrote:Unless they've discovered a new "ruling class" called Trekkers, the term Trekkie is solidly embedded in pop culture for us "not in the know." However, the full explanation can be found on Wikipedia, and only makes a more poignant point out of the video clip. These are people who will NOT figure out the end to hunger or world peace.

They remind me of several contacts I had with numerous, similar types of people not associated with Trekkies, back in the 1970s and 1980s, convinced that it would be easy to solve world hunger, disease, and war if the US government would just put enough money into starting up a moon colony. This was so absurdly wrong on so many levels that I was awestruck, but no discussion was possible of their conclusions. They would just smile smugly, and claim I didn't know the "scientific facts."

Come to think of it, I imagine these same people are Trekkies, now. Both groups after all share that same retreat from reality into fantasyland which is a hallmark of USian entertainment culture.

Demortis wrote:I think I should be scared now *looks for a hiding spot*

The question is what you are scared of. The direction of causality in the case of my friend, was that she had the brain tumour from early age, she just didn't got diagnosed until her late 20's.

That video was funny (I liked the part about the subtitles for the Klingon language), but that type of fanboyism is not seen only amongst Trekkies.

After watching the video, I couldn't help but think about the Fallout fanboys bashing Bethesda before Fallout 3 was even released.

I think that when you love or appreciate something, it's normal that you don't want to see people change it for the worse or betray its "spirit".

That said, I am not trying to defend the hardcore Trekkies, they are desperate cases.

Hello, Fable!

fable wrote:Yeah, that's what I thought, too. Trekkers are travelers who hike.

Hm. Odd. "STAR TREK" is a Trademark therefore a proper noun. Ergo "Trekkie" and "Trekker" would be proper nouns as well. The common "trekker" who takes treks where ever shouldn't be confused thusly with a "Trekker". (Are people so bad at spelling now that that don't see the differences between "trekker" and "Trekker" now?)

Anyway, enthusiasts for "The Grateful Dead", somehow became "Deadheads", as opposed to "deadheads" or even "dead heads".

Now what I'm curious about lately, because of this thread, what are enthusiasts of the group, "Butthole Surfers" called?! :speech:

I almost don't want to know the answer to that one!

LeoStarDragon1 wrote:Hm. Odd. "STAR TREK" is a Trademark therefore a proper noun. Ergo "Trekkie" and "Trekker" would be proper nouns as well.

No, a proper noun is the name of a specific individual, or specific object: a unique entity. As trekkies (used to identify Star Trek fanatics) are a group, the identifier isn't a proper noun. It is a common noun.

The common "trekker" who takes treks where ever shouldn't be confused thusly with a "Trekker". (Are people so bad at spelling now that that don't see the differences between "trekker" and "Trekker" now?)

Only as bad as people who don't know the difference between a proper noun and a common noun, I suppose.

Anyway, enthusiasts for "The Grateful Dead", somehow became "Deadheads", as opposed to "deadheads" or even "dead heads".

A tenuous distinction, as I've known several.

Now what I'm curious about lately, because of this thread, what are enthusiasts of the group, "Butthole Surfers" called?! :speech:

Anal retentive.

Regarding what the Butthole Surfers are called, I was thinking up an answer but then I realized that I was just missing the thrill of receiving a warning from the moderators! That question sounds dangerous :laugh:

Hello, Fable!

No, a proper noun is the name of a specific individual, or specific object: a unique entity. As trekkies (used to identify Star Trek fanatics) are a group, the identifier isn't a proper noun. It is a common noun.

It is also applied to groups of individuals, and I don't just mean corporations or bands. Hm. Like "Christians". Not all of of them belong to a specific church per se, as in "they go to church on Sundays". But they may have the same faith as those that do. Ergo they are still "Christians", not "christians". That is the context I was referring to. "Jesus Christ" is a person's name, and the name for his followers should then also be capitalized. Now you are telling me that it doesn't apply to trademarked titles like "Star Trek"? I knew that you might react this way, yet I replied anyway. It is like seeing something I dreamed about coming true before my very eyes. Even what I'm writing now.

So you are saying, "Whovians" shouldn't be spelled with a capital letter too?
That "Cheeseheads" and people with "cheeseheads" are the same thing?
That "Sooners" are just people that get there quicker?

You have your generic football fans, and your specific team fans.
Does this mean I should stop using "Catholic" in favor of "catholic"?



Only as bad as people who don't know the difference between a proper noun and a common noun, I suppose.

Oh, snipe! :laugh:

A tenuous distinction, as I've known several.

But one none the less, as I was thinking of the machine part for one of those.
Pardon me, as it is fleeting at the moment, as the British comic is funny.

Anal retentive.

Hm. I like Claudius's answer more, although I wasn't referring to the group itself, but the group's followers. What are they referred to as?

Thanks Claudius for the laugh! :laugh: I was trying to give Fable one though.

What about the Beach 'Bums' hehe?

LeoStarDragon1 wrote:It is also applied to groups of individuals, and I don't just mean corporations or bands. Hm. Like "Christians". Not all of of them belong to a specific church per se, as in "they go to church on Sundays". But they may have the same faith as those that do. Ergo they are still "Christians", not "christians".

What makes christians Christians isn't the type of noun it is, but the fact that the noun represents believers in a religion. All religions are capitalized, and so are those classes of individuals that believe in them. It's a mark of respect.

McGraw-Hill (by no means the only authority, still) states that common nouns include classes of entities, hence Christians. Christianity, on the other hand, would be a proper noun, since it is a singularity.

That is the context I was referring to. "Jesus Christ" is a person's name, and the name for his followers should then also be capitalized.

Jesus is a name; Christ is a condition, specifically a Greek word meaning "the annointed." I don't know Aramaic, but if you were to give Jesus' actual name, it would take the form of A ben B, where "ben" means "son of." Much like Johnson, and Alexandrovitch. Except, not.

Now you are telling me that it doesn't apply to trademarked titles like "Star Trek"?

Um, no. Where did I write that? Except for the fact that Trekkies are seldom trekkers, because the world doesn't exist for them save as a place to discuss/buy TrekStuff?

I knew that you might react this way, yet I replied anyway. It is like seeing something I dreamed about coming true before my very eyes. Even what I'm writing now.

Mao Tzu claimed that he wasn't sure he was Mao Tzu viewing a butterfly, or a butterfly viewing Mao Tzu. Are you sure you're writing now?

So you are saying, "Whovians" shouldn't be spelled with a capital letter too? That "Cheeseheads" and people with "cheeseheads" are the same thing?

Are you referring to a specific kind of cheese? Or just cheese in general? And what do you think of a nice Stilton?

You have your generic football fans, and your specific team fans. Does this mean I should stop using "Catholic" in favor of "catholic"?

Since Catholic refers to branches of a Christian church that are exclusionary in their teachings and beliefs, while catholic refers to very liberal and broad beliefs, it depends on what you mean to say, doesn't it?

Hm. I like Claudius's answer more, although I wasn't referring to the group itself, but the group's followers. What are they referred to as?

I've no idea. But "anal retentive" as followers of the Butthole Surfers was a triple pun, and very triple sec, at that.