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

infinitefrank said:

I never knew there was any difference between "Science fiction" and "sci-fi". If you mean "Speculative Fiction" as abbreviated SF, there are small but fundamental differences. Here is a neat picture I found that represents it well.

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Interesting but that history circle is a bit of an after thought. Like historical horror/fantasy/sci fi aren't a thing.

And it is definitely Sci Fi. It's easier to say than SF.

Can't say it bothers me either way - didn't realise this was A Thing.

I usually use "sci-fi" personally - if nothing else, it's more distinct than "SF", which could be an acronym for various things. "Sci-fi" also works better as a spoken word than the acronym version, to my mind.

As ever, the quality of the work or the effort being put into it matters a great deal more than the minutiae of labeling it.

WriteMinded said:

I love to say Sci-Fi. It just feels so good.

I like to write SF because it's quick.

I don't really care how someone else refers to science fiction, so I won't be going to war over it. Have at it y'all.

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I'd have to agree with this, as I use them interchangeably depending on medium really. In fact, now that I think about I'm more likely just to write out science fiction than use SF...but when spoken it's almost always sci-fi. My sig below takes the middle ground!

Maybe the idea that sci-fi is an inherently derogatory term is a bit of a throwback or a US thing? I'm not sure I've ever heard it used that way among my peers in the UK.

It doesn't matter to me, though I refer to my work as sci-fi. I don't really mind the cheesy association, I happen to be a fan of cheesy sci-fi.

I love your usage of the word curmudgeonly

When I first started reading it (and SF/F is about all I read anymore), "sci-fi" was the preferred term, far as I could tell. "SF" came along later, and lazy people like myself prefer it to type. IOW, I don't really care.

<jerks book away from PEBKAC and goes off to corner to read it>

infinitefrank said:

I never knew there was any difference between "Science fiction" and "sci-fi". If you mean "Speculative Fiction" as abbreviated SF, there are small but fundamental differences. Here is a neat picture I found that represents it well.

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OK, maybe I'm being dense here, but how is there SciFi that isn't speculative?

I suppose you could have horror that's based on real events, so I could see a small non-speculative area for that genre, but I would think sci-fi kind of has to be speculative.

Myrealana said:

OK, maybe I'm being dense here, but how is there SciFi that isn't speculative?

I suppose you could have horror that's based on real events, so I could see a small non-speculative area for that genre, but I would think sci-fi kind of has to be speculative.

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Maybe they mean fictional science, like the chem-trail crowd...

Otherwise, yeah, unless they're using a different meaning for "speculative" than mine, I don't see how that's possible. (Maybe a story where the SF element is just a theory, not in practice? But that wouldn't really be SF, then, would it? Hmm...)

I would guess non-speculative science fiction would mean science fiction based off of stuff we absolutely know for sure is possible right now working in ways that it has already actually affected the world. Like, maybe something like Gravity or maybe various medical dramas...

Myrealana said:

OK, maybe I'm being dense here, but how is there SciFi that isn't speculative?

I suppose you could have horror that's based on real events, so I could see a small non-speculative area for that genre, but I would think sci-fi kind of has to be speculative.

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I'm thinking this would be space opera (or some other type?), where despite the situation not being "here and now" or historical, the story is all about the action and characters, and there's nothing about the science or technology or how such changes and inventions affect the fictional society or culture (which just happens to be exactly like current society and culture), or the "sense of wonder" that they're in any different place than current or historical society. The story could be changed to a non-SF/non-speculative genre very easily, by just changing the costumes and place names.

benbradley said:

I'm thinking this would be space opera (or some other type?), where despite the situation not being "here and now" or historical, the story is all about the action and characters, and there's nothing about the science or technology or how such changes and inventions affect the fictional society or culture (which just happens to be exactly like current society and culture), or the "sense of wonder" that they're in any different place than current or historical society. The story could be changed to a non-SF/non-speculative genre very easily, by just changing the costumes and place names.

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But wouldn't that still count as speculative by existing in an invented future/past/world/galaxy? In space opera, the story may be about politics or people or action and not the science at all, but there's still the speculative tech in the background, making it possible - even if the tech's basically magic, given its improbability.

If the definition of "non-speculative" is that you could change the costumes and still tell the same story, then the diagram's equally inaccurate by placing all of Fantasy within the Speculative bubble; there are several fantasy tales out there with little to no magic or improbable races/creatures, where the same story could basically be told as straight historical fiction.

Southpaw said:

Just don't use Syfy.

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+1 to that!

Honestly, SF to me can mean so many things: Science Fiction, Science Fantasy, Space Fantasy, Speculative Fiction, San Francisco, Super Freak...

I prefer to be more accurate, but that is just my preference. YMMV.

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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So? It's hardly alone in this. Unfortunately, sci-fi seems used exclusively for things that are pure crap.

BenPanced said:

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

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Then I guess I'm happy not to be an honest, real, truly true, absolute and total hardcore fan, because I'd rather poke my eyeballs out than let the word "skiffy" pass my lips.

Oh yay. Another box to get shoved into.

*clings to the door frame*

Much depends on to whom you are talking.

If I'm at a meeting of F/SF fans I say SF, because we all know what it means.

To total non-fans I'll say science fiction the first time or two because that's needed to make my meaning clear. Then I'll usually go to the semi-abbreviation sci-fi. Never SF because the conceptual jump is too great for most people.

Some people, especially very old F/SF readers, hate the term sci-fi because it began as a derogatory term and it still has that taint for them. But young people rarely are bothered by the term. Most accept that fiction of the future and of alternate realities is a normal and respected part of the national and global landscape. The term sci-fi is just another common abbreviation to them.