FANDOM

from Fancyclopedia 2

The world in which fans live and move and have their being. (With an ordinal number attached it refers usually to Speer's system of fan history, treated under Numerical Fandoms.) Sociologically it is the class of all fans who are in contact with others, indulging in fanac or simply being aware of the existence of fans all over the world. Physically it might be imagined as comprising all the science fiction houses, and all fans' dens as well as other storage space and equipment that they use in fan activity, and convention halls and streets and eke park benches while groups of fans are in possession of them. Unincorporated territories include the possessions of mere scientifictionists.

Fandom got its start in New York City around 1930 when people who had been writing to the prozines began writing to each other. In following years SF clubs were formed and monthly bulletins issued. The movement spread like an epidemic. In the 30s there were perhaps one or two hundred fans at a given time; by 1948, maybe a thousand; today there may be as many as five thousand in all parts of the world, about 2000 of these in America. (It has been suggested by Harry Warner that the size of active fandom is naturally limited by the availability of its objective; namely, egoboo.)

Aside from the fandom in the United States, Anglofandom began at the same time and at times has surpassed the Amerifans in activeness. Canadian fandom as an entity became important about 1940; it hosted the first Worldcon outside the US ( TorCon, 1948). By 1952 it had recovered from this experience, pretty nearly. Because of interest and friendship linkages beyond that of language, all three of these -- and probably the small but active Anzac fandoms -- can be considered, usually, as one unit. But fans outside the English-speaking bloc have increased tremendously in numbers since World War II, also.

From time to time, people will stand up and ask what is the purpose of fandom. The Michelistic reply was that fandom should associate itself with political movements for a scientific/socialistic world state; other semi- Michelistic replies are along similar lines in that some sort of political interest is enjoined. Speer maintains that fandom, as fandom, should influence the world only thru its influence on individual fans, who may be influential men some day. Some have believed that stimulation of science is our chief justification; others, that stimulation of fiction is our purpose -- i.e., that fans should function as connoisseurs of science fiction [persons with trained and cultivated tastes in the field] in trying to raise its literary standards. And there are those who hold the pleasure derived from fanac its own justification.