Fringefan

Synonyms:	fringe fan, fringe fandom
See also:	feral fan, media fan
Click here for related articles on Fanlore.

Not to be confused with fans of the television show Fringe, fringefan is a term from science fiction fandom that has multiple definitions. According to Fancyclopedia, a fringefan is

1. a member of a subfandom or other fandom related to sf (i.e. a fringe fandom)
2. not a very active fan
3. a "fake fan" (not interested in sf but socializes with sf fans)

Most fandoms documented on Fanlore would fall under the definition of fringe fandom. However, "fringe" is relative; Escapade 1993 programming notes suggest that the term may have been used by media fans to describe whatever tv fandom they weren't already into.

The earliest use documented in Brave New Words: The Oxford Dictionary of Science Fiction is 1969.

One comment in Interstat #41 (1981) makes it clear that "fringe fan" was used to describe media fans:

About the SF vs ST controversy: I think it's become "Media" vs "Book", more than Trek vs the Rest of Them. What with Star Wars, Galactica, Buck Rogers, et al, the "Fringe Fans" are taking over, and it's making the Book-Readers nervous.

Example of the second definition in The Halkan Council #5 (1975):

SF fandom has a hardcore of fanzine publishers and conventions goers and a lot of fringefans (people who subscribe to fanzines and sometimes attend conventions but who do not actively participate). ST fandom has a similar problem with 'commuters,' the people who flock to cons but do little or nothing else.