To SF, sci-fi readers, does it really matter?

Is this one of those "No True Scotsman" things, where I supposedly can't properly enjoy sci-fi if I'm too lazy to write out "sci-fi" every time I type it?

Yes, I've seen some people get very picky over the terminology. I don't happen to be one of them, but if you're going for a hardcore science fiction audience - the kind of people to whom it does matter - you'll likely want to get it "right."

I'm a little leery of the "no true.." line, which seems to be used as a way to transform douche elitism into a badge of honor (no true republican can support anything socialistic, no true writer would read Stephen King, or worse still, 50 Shades, no true whatever....)

That said, SF is also widely used as an abbreviation for speculative fiction, not just sci-fi, so using the term for sci-fi seems unnecessarily imprecise and for THAT reason, clarity, I'd be inclined to use "sci fi." Not because some fuckwit on the internet claimed to be an absolute arbiter of true science fiction fandom.

Alessandra Kelley said:

"SF" is used for an awful lot of things that are not science fiction:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SF

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I'd like to think the average science fiction reader could tell whether someone means "San Francisco," a "sacrifice fly," "spontaneous fission," or "science fiction" from context. If your writing is too vague for someone to venture a guess as to what you're abbreviating, that's an issue with the writing, not the abbreviation itself, IMHO.

(Evil grin) One can argue that a well-developed ability to read context is a hallmark of science fiction and fantasy. The lack of that ability is an entry barrier for an unfamiliar readership. Far more than which designation we use for the actual genres.

Brightdreamer said:

I'd like to think the average science fiction reader could tell whether someone means "San Francisco," a "sacrifice fly," "spontaneous fission," or "science fiction" from context. If your writing is too vague for someone to venture a guess as to what you're abbreviating, that's an issue with the writing, not the abbreviation itself, IMHO.

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for those examples yes...spec fic less so

I don't really care, but I know some people get riled up over the use of the term sci-fi because it's often associated with cheesy science fiction.

Doesn't really matter to me. I didn't know it was an issue until I read your post. The only thing that bothers me is when I go to a bookstore or book sale that labels a section as simply Science Fiction and it's mostly Fantasy genre books. Label it Sci-Fi and Fantasy, darn it! My OCD can't take it!

Some years back, I read somewhere that "sci-fi" was now considered derogatory and that the Correct abbreviation was SF. So I dutifully starting writing SF, although I still think "San Francisco" every time.

So what you're telling me is that this is not a consensus, and that I will not be offending legions of Science Fiction folk if I write "sci-fi"?

The definition of the Science Fiction has become so wide-ranging and fragmented it has become almost meaningless . The idea that there is some kind of hard core or true Sci-fi fan is the same . I think it makes little difference what you call it, most readers will hold back any judgement until they know more about it.

Yes, it matters greatly to me. It's a way of separating real SCIENCE fiction from the kind of pseudo-science crap you see on the syfy channel, and read far too often online, or in some truly bad magazine and book venues.

I didn't know there was meant to be some kind of a rift between the two phrases...As if some people scoff at others who'd say sci-fi instead of SF, that's absurd.

Oldborne said:

I didn't know there was meant to be some kind of a rift between the two phrases...As if some people scoff at others who'd say sci-fi instead of SF, that's absurd.

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Neither had I until I came here, and yes it looks absurd from where I'm sitting as well.

Everyone I know says sci fi or SF interchangeably because they mean the same thing anyway*

Maybe it's a US thing?

Jamesaritchie said:

Yes, it matters greatly to me. It's a way of separating real SCIENCE fiction from the kind of pseudo-science crap you see on the syfy channel, and read far too often online, or in some truly bad magazine and book venues.

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I love the smell of snobbery in the morning.


*SF is used for Spec Fic, but not very often in conversation...

Maybe it's a US thing?

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I'm wondering the same. I've never heard of it before.

As an aside, Quarantine is my favourite Red Dwarf episode. I wonder if it falls into Sci-fi or SF...

Huh?

I'm not the sort of Science Fiction reader who goes to Cons, belongs to any kind of group, or anything like that.

I'm one of those who read everything growing up, and I still do, for the most part. I started reading Science Fiction at age nine, and it was the classic stuff.

One of my older brothers had a vast collection he left with my parents when he joined the Air Force. I was warned not to touch it, so of course I read every book. Very carefully, starting with Asimov. It took me a few years.

At some point in my teens, a friend told me, in a very superior way, "It's not called Sci Fi anymore. It's SF!"

My thought was, "I'll call it anything I want."

I still feel that way. Maybe I'm typical, maybe I'm not. I am a stubborn old creature, though. Most often, I go ahead and call it Science Fiction. No confusion there.

Of course, the most prestigious magazine in the field for years has always been known by its fans as F&SF

All honest, real, truly true, absolute, and total hardcore fans only use "skiffy".

I have a strange personal aversion to abbreviations, and typically say and type science fiction. If hard pressed, I think I go with SciFi. SF, I would need to examine context to glean what was mean, it doesn't speak to me at a glance. But, I know my perceptions can be very strange sometimes.

BenPanced said:

All honest, real, truly true, absolute, and total hardcore fans only use "skiffy".

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That must be true! Such shame to realize I am not, after all these years, a "true" Science Fiction skiffy fan.

I thought SF refers more to written media and sci fi refers more to visual (or so it was explained to me once when I wrote something about a sci fi novel). People can get silly about the things that divide them. If you wait long enough, someone will invent a new moniker for the genre that all the cool kids will be using.

As a big SF/Sci Fi/Science Fiction fan, I don't give a crap. Just get out of my light so I can finish reading this next chapter.