# Sci-fi or SF?



## dwndrgn (Jan 27, 2004)

I found this on the SFWA website.  This is an amusing link to a tongue-in-cheek (mostly) discussion by authors within the genre about using the term 'sci-fi' and or 'SF' to refer to their genre:

http://www.sfwa.org/misc/skiffy2.htm

I will now use 'SF' - especially since it is easier!  I'd hate to be though of as a 'pretend fan'


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## littlemissattitude (Jan 28, 2004)

I used to cringe at the use of the term "sci-fi", but ever since I heard Forrest J. Ackerman (the "Forry Ackerman" referred to in the link) speak at LosCon one year (he filled in at the last minute for Ray Bradbury, who had taken ill) I've become more fond of it.  Ackerman did, in fact, coin the term "sci-fi" (or anyway, claims to have done so), hence the joke about having to have him invent it.  He is also one of the best storytellers I've ever heard.  Half of what he says is probably, shall we say, embroidered or exaggerated, but that's half the fun of it.  He has been a publisher, an agent, and a collector, among other things.  Also, if you look closely in the Michael Jackson video for "Thriller", he is the old man right behind Jackson and his date, eating the popcorn, in the theatre scene.  (Goodness, the useless information I have cluttering up my mind.)

For his version of how the term "sci-fi" came into being, check out his website at http://4forry.best.vwh.net/.  Don't know how true it is, but it's worth a look.  Lots of other fun stuff there, as well, including some of his collection of science fiction, fantasy, and horror memorabilia.


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## nemogbr (Jan 30, 2004)

I never really thought about it before, although now it's right up there with :

Trekkie or Trekker? definitely trekker 

Do the fridge lights really stay off when the door is closed?

Socks - left or right


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## riffraff (Feb 12, 2004)

hmmm, SF if you're taliking to other fans, sci-fi if you talk to the normos.  I've found that if you talk about SF to them, they just look at you in incomprehension


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## littlemissattitude (Feb 13, 2004)

riffraff said:
			
		

> hmmm, SF if you're taliking to other fans, sci-fi if you talk to the normos. I've found that if you talk about SF to them, they just look at you in incomprehension


Or like you've suddenly grown a third eye in the middle of your forehead.  I get that from time to time.  And it doesn't even take incomprehension over SF versus sci-fi.  They sometimes seem to think I'm going to start howling at the moon or something just because I read the stuff.  Anyone ever get that kind of reaction?


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## zorka (Feb 13, 2004)

While, I have always used the term SF, my take from talking with other fans as well as things I have read about the use of the terms is that when the term "sci-fi" first came out in the fifties (coined by Forrey Ackerman, supposedly, after seeing the then new phrase "hi-fi"), fans were not put off by it.

 SF came to refer to the genre of literature and "sci-fi" became a sort of pop reference to the genre most often embraced by fans and media critics.

 Later, Damon Knight among others took on the notion that an inferior work of science fiction should be called "sci-fi" whereas prestige science fiction should be called SF. So then we entered in to a period where "sci-fi" became a denigration of a written work of science fiction.

 In the late 70's the critic Susan Wood began referring to the word as "skiffy" and it took on a sort of cuter more embraceable turn of phrase. It was cool or cute to call some of the films of that genre coming out as "skiffy."  

 Since then it really has been a toss up though as mentioned above there is still a strong sense among the hard core such as writers that one is writing SF not "sci-fi."

 So, I guess, choose your poison.


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## Jayaprakash Satyamurthy (Feb 13, 2004)

Hugo Gernsback called it scientifiction, if I remember right. I prefer SF largely because it could also stand for Specualative Fiction...

Y'know it's strange, I don't really get a lot of grief for my SF fanhood, except once I met a scientist who was very horrified at the revelation and said he only reads mysteries. Perhaps I should hope he runs into a detective some day....


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## McMurphy (Feb 13, 2004)

I use "sci-fi" in my daily life for more of a practical reason than that of a preference.  On one occasion, my girlfriend looked over my shoulder while I was making a post in this forum and got interested because she thought we were discussing SF.....San Francisco.  Needless to say, I use the former term to end any confusion.


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## littlemissattitude (Feb 13, 2004)

knivesout said:
			
		

> Y'know it's strange, I don't really get a lot of grief for my SF fanhood, except once I met a scientist who was very horrified at the revelation and said he only reads mysteries. Perhaps I should hope he runs into a detective some day....


Good one, knivesout.


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## riffraff (Feb 14, 2004)

would just have posted  

but thing says messages must be at least two charactors long so here are some more

                              

hope I run into smeagle, im kind of into the LOTR books at the moment


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## BAYLOR (Nov 29, 2021)

Harlan Ellison didn't care much for the the term Sci Fi.


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## Rodders (Nov 29, 2021)

If i'm talking to someone i'll always use the term Science Fiction. If i'm writing, Sci-Fi will be fine (preferably with the hyphen.) I try to to use SF.


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## Pyan (Nov 29, 2021)

I tend to use SF or SFF if I want to refer to the whole genre. I have heard Sci-Fi used in a derogatory manner before now, and there doesn't seem to be similar abbreviations for other genres - I've never seen Lit-Fi, or Cri-Fi, or Rom-Fi...


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## AE35Unit (Nov 29, 2021)

The way I look at it is, sci-fi is the stuff you watch, full of whooshsy space sounds. I.e. popularist.
SF is the stuff in books. The proper stuff.
I like both


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## psikeyhackr (Dec 12, 2021)

I think before Star Wars SF and Sci-fi did not need to be distinguished. I recognized some so called science fiction as being of lower quality but the huge in your face fan base worshipping the stuff wasn't there.

It is like needing to kill the zombies but it's illegal.


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## Vladd67 (Dec 12, 2021)

I really hate it when people pronounce sci fi as sky fi.


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## paranoid marvin (Dec 12, 2021)

On websites I always  refer to as sci-fi, never SF. When spoken , I always say science fiction.

I think that there can still be a tendency for those unfamiliar with the genre to assume that anyone interested in sci-fi must be a fan of Star Trek and/or Star Wars (in my case it is ironically true!). But then again there is likely the same assumptions with other genres, eg period drama fans must like Downton Abbey or The Crown.

There likely was a time when saying you were a fan of fantasy led to a conclusion that you were a fan of Lord of the Rings, but nowadays with popularisation of  GoT and Harry Potter (and seemingly endless new fantasy stories) it has a much wider demographic.


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## Stephen Palmer (Dec 13, 2021)

SF for sure.


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## Stephen Palmer (Dec 13, 2021)

Vladd67 said:


> I really hate it when people pronounce sci fi as sky fi.


Iirc that was an attempt to bypass sci-fi :/


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## psikeyhackr (Dec 13, 2021)

Vladd67 said:


> I really hate it when people pronounce sci fi as sky fi.


You are on the slippery slope to ski-fi.


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## paranoid marvin (Dec 13, 2021)

psikeyhackr said:


> You are on the slippery slope to ski-fi.


Yes, it's only one small step from ski-fi to sky-net.


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## chongjasmine (Jan 7, 2022)

I prefer to use SF than sci-fic since it is shorter, but it can be misunderstood.


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## Rodders (Jan 7, 2022)

Neither term is disrespectful and I have to ask myself why does it matter what we call it? As long as we still read and enjoy it.


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## paranoid marvin (Jan 7, 2022)

So for people who refer to science fiction as SF, do they actually pronounce it SF (as in 'es-ef') when speaking? 

I've only ever heard people refer to it as sci-fi (sigh-figh) or science fiction.


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## dask (Jan 7, 2022)

I say SF (es-ef).


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## Aknot (Jan 7, 2022)

Speaking English I’d say sci-fi, otherwise SF. 
Potayto, potahto?


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## dask (Jan 7, 2022)

Let's call the whole thing off.


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## Guttersnipe (Jan 26, 2022)

"Sci-fi" makes me think of films, shows, etc. "SF" seems more literary and somewhat formal. I do, however, prefer to eschew the latter term because it seems as though it could stand for "speculative fiction," which is obviously bigger.


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## Wayne Mack (Jan 26, 2022)

I read Sci-Fi and SF as the same term. No preference at all.


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## bretbernhoft (Jan 27, 2022)

dwndrgn said:


> I found this on the SFWA website.  This is an amusing link to a tongue-in-cheek (mostly) discussion by authors within the genre about using the term 'sci-fi' and or 'SF' to refer to their genre:
> 
> http://www.sfwa.org/misc/skiffy2.htm
> 
> I will now use 'SF' - especially since it is easier!  I'd hate to be though of as a 'pretend fan'


I had always thought science fiction should be referred to as "sci-fi". But if that's not how it's done these days, I'm open to changing my word and abbreviation choices. So "SF" it is!


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## Astro Pen (Jan 27, 2022)

You can listen to sci-fi on the hi-fi or watch it on the the wi-fi.  
You can read SF as one of the cognoscenti.  
You may write science fiction_,_ but discretely,  calling it something else such as _speculative fiction, _or_ techno thrillers_ if chatting with the general public. Otherwise they will _think_ you write books about people in spandex suits flying around in rockets and glaze over, giving you a slightly pitying look.


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## M.P. VandenBerg (Jan 27, 2022)

As long as it's not 'syfy'.


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## Parson (Jan 27, 2022)

I almost always write SF here, and say Sci-fi when I'm talking to a more general public. "Speculative Fiction" is very much an insider term for people who have given the question of where one genre ends and the other begins.


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## psikeyhackr (Mar 6, 2022)

Parson said:


> I almost always write SF here, and say Sci-fi when I'm talking to a more general public. "Speculative Fiction" is very much an insider term for people who have given the question of where one genre ends and the other begins.



Do you mean, *Given Up* on the question of where one genre ends and the other begins?


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## Parson (Mar 6, 2022)

psikeyhackr said:


> Do you mean, *Given Up* on the question of where one genre ends and the other begins?


Only if it's giving up when you realize that what you are attempting is impossible.


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## Swank (Mar 7, 2022)

Guttersnipe said:


> "Sci-fi" makes me think of films, shows, etc. "SF" seems more literary and somewhat formal.


I encountered this notion recently, but the poster on another forum presented this as a fact.

When did sci-fi become the term for non-print media? Was it before the SciFi channel (later called SyFy)?


Personally, I don't care for sci-fi all that much. It feels nerdy to bother turning science fiction into somewhat cutsie diminutive. It isn't that much easier to say, and SF is easier to type.


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## worldofmutes (Mar 7, 2022)

Swank said:


> I encountered this notion recently, but the poster on another forum presented this as a fact.
> 
> When did sci-fi become the term for non-print media? Was it before the SciFi channel (later called SyFy)?
> 
> ...


Congratulations Swank! Your post occured at 11:11 PM MST. Make a wish!


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## Bick (Mar 10, 2022)

I write SF, but say “sci fi” - and I don’t really understand the issue with it. I suspect sci-fi is more common and acceptable in Britain, and I’ve never heard anyone actually say SF (“es-eff”) in my life. I’ve heard others complain about sci-fi as a term but personally I couldn’t care less. Certainly in New Zealand or Australia if you want to be directed to the SF books in a store or library, you have ask for “sci-fi”, and it’s what I naturally say anyway, so that’s fine.


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## Ian Fortytwo (Mar 10, 2022)

SCIENCE FICTION. Since text speech was introduced, every word is shortened, let us go back to the long word use.


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