SMOF (also spelled smof) is an

acronym An acronym is a word or name formed from the initial components of a longer name or phrase. Acronyms are usually formed from the initial letters of words, as in ''NATO'' (''North Atlantic Treaty Organization''), but sometimes use syllables, as ...

which stands for "Secret Master(s) Of Fandom" and is a term used within the

science fiction fan Science fiction fandom or SF fandom is a community or fandom of people interested in science fiction in contact with one another based upon that interest. SF fandom has a life of its own, but not much in the way of formal organization (although ...

community. Its coining is generally attributed to long-time science fiction fan and author

Jack L. Chalker Jack Laurence Chalker (December 17, 1944 – February 11, 2005) was an American science fiction author. Chalker was also a Baltimore City Schools history teacher in Maryland for 12 years, retiring during 1978 to write full-time. He also was a m ...

Capitalised meaning

The capitalised form of the term (SMOF) is used jokingly to refer to a clandestine

cabal A cabal is a group of people who are united in some close design, usually to promote their private views or interests in an ideology, a state, or another community, often by intrigue and usually unbeknownst to those who are outside their group. Th ...

of top science fiction fans who, by their unseen influence, are controlling the actions of fandom. It is the SMOFs who are responsible for the trends and changes in the popularity of particular subgenres, media, or individual authors, films or television series. As such, this use of the term is a light-hearted

conspiracy theory A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that invokes a conspiracy by sinister and powerful groups, often political in motivation, when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources: * * * * The term has a nega ...

Uncapitalised meaning

The more general, uncapitalised, form of the term (smof) is an honorific bestowed upon the fans who actually do the organisational work behind much of fandom or are stalwart members of the fannish community. This includes fans who are regarded highly by others for their work in running conventions,

fanzine A fanzine (blend word, blend of ''fan (person), fan'' and ''magazine'' or ''-zine'') is a non-professional and non-official publication produced by fan (person), enthusiasts of a particular cultural phenomenon (such as a literary or musical genre) ...

s, and fan

funds Funding is the act of providing resources to finance a need, program, or project. While this is usually in the form of money, it can also take the form of effort or time from an organization or company. Generally, this word is used when a firm uses ...

, and who work (for the most part) on an entirely voluntary basis for the good of fandom in general, as well as those whose standing is high within the fannish community by dint of their long participation in it. The capitalization distinction is not rigidly observed; it is not unusual to capitalize the term even when it is being used in the more general sense, although the reverse (uncapitalized usage connoting the conspiracy humor) is rare.

Verb meaning

"SMOFing" (or "smoffing") is used as a verb to refer to discussing the details or personalities involved in running a convention; when organizers talk amongst themselves about something related to fandom, they are SMOFing. Although by its nature informal, the term smof is now used by several science fiction convention management cooperative associations (some incorporated as

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

s, others simply

ad hoc Ad hoc is a Latin phrase meaning literally 'to this'. In English, it typically signifies a solution for a specific purpose, problem, or task rather than a generalized solution adaptable to collateral instances. (Compare with ''a priori''.) Com ...

). For example, there is a smofs mailing list for

Worldcon Worldcon, or more formally the World Science Fiction Convention, the annual convention of the World Science Fiction Society (WSFS), is a science fiction convention. It has been held each year since 1939 (except for the years 1942 to 1945, during ...

management, a yearly convention for SF con managers named

SMOFcon SMOFcon is an annual convention that focuses on the organisation of science fiction conventions. The first SMOFcon took place in 1984, and most have taken place in the United States. SMOFcon typically attracts 100-150 attendees, and usually occur ...

, and a defunct website and series of meetings for convention runners in the

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

area of the USA run by an organization called ''BWSMOF''.

History

The earliest known citation is from the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'', in an issue published on September 6, 1971. The term appears in the 1978 edition of Wilson Tucker's ''Neo-Fan's Guide to Science Fiction Fandom''. It does not appear in the 1955 or 1966 editions of that work (the 1973 and 1975 editions have not yet been checked).

References

External links

{{wiktionary, SMOF, smof
The Conrunner's WikiOED Citations for SMOF
Fanspeak Conspiracy theories