Image via WikipHello Spaceboy or Spacegirl, or as my friend, the white Klingon used to say, Hey Bucks and Beckys! Well, ok, none of those titles really works all that well. (sigh) Part of me longs for a word to call you, call me. A name is an identity, and a shared identity is a tribe.  I suppose that is what we are all looking for, a place to belong.

There is a profile for members of our fandom that I have noticed over the years. Not every part applies to each and every one of us, but the profile still holds true.

Who are we?

Fans of space based science fiction tend to be:

• A mixed group of men, women, and all variations in between, though book fans tend to be female and tv/movie fans tend to be male

• Not fans of horror, though weird fiction like Lovecraft is seen as different.

• Forward looking with a longing to be a utopian, but more often a realist

• Proponents of Space Exploration (If there were a call for volunteers to go to Mars tomorrow with a slim chance of survival, we would still jump at the chance)

• Open minded and open-hearted

• Escapists

• Interested in philosophy

I think that is a good broad brush way to define the fans I know and have met over the years. While we are a fairly cohesive personality type, we have a problem:

Where do fans gather?

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…

We gathered in small local grounds that came together through fan associations, fanzines, and conventions. Then the internet happened. I’ve talked about them in my post Where have all the SF Fans gone? I don’t want to rehash all of my arguments about what lead to the fragmenting of fandom, I would rather look forward.

I am not enough of a Utopian to believe that we can bring everyone back together, but I think we can reconnect via the all mighty hyperlink. We need to at least build a directory of the blogs, forums, and social media sites that already exist to fans will be able to find them easier. Well maybe. I don’t want to build a Yahoo! with everything in it, but only the best places we actually should know about.

We also need to revive the local fan clubs.

What could we be doing?

• Throw a stargazing party

• Celebrate milestones in space exploration as if they were national holidays

• Throw a viewing party for your favorite movies/tv shows

• Start a book club

These are only a few options and I am looking for more. I would really like to find ways to turn our eyes back to the heavens so we as a WORLD can begin to move forward again.