| but members' letters slowly but surely gained primacy.
The Boondoggle
The Philosophical Theory of Fanhistory says little about the origins and causes of The Boondoggle. (See "Bones of Contention" in WIld Heirs #12 for a brief analysis.) The struggle between those who wanted to expel Walter Breen from the Pacificon II [1964], FAPA and general fandom was a clash of wills and personalities, not ideologies.
The consequences of the Boondoggle are friendlier territory. The theory can help identify and categorize the results.
The Boondoggle shredded the fabric of fandom. It created a discontinuity so vast that few fans who started activity in 1964-1966 had any significant contact with the fans who'd led the way between 1958 and 1962. When general fandom rebuilt in the late 1960s, the consensus incorporated radical shifts in the relative importance of the fan philosophies.
The Boondoggle didn't end Seventh Fandom [1958-1962]. The Tenth Anniversary Willis Fund probably extended Seventh Fandom an extra year, but its fulfillment bred an end-an-era feeling. Many major genzines of the 1958-1962 period -- like Hyphen, Innuendo, Void, Fanac, Grue, Oopsla!, Xero and Warhoon -- either folded or greatly reduced frequency.
The Boondoggle so disrupted fandom that Seventh Transition lasted from Chicon III [1962] to NYCon 3 |
 [1967]. Just about the time a new fannish consensus should have emerged, the Boondoggle blew fandom to bits.
The fierce feuding surrounding the Boondoggle seriously weakened the fannish philosophies (Trufannishness and Insurgentism), because it weakened fans' faith in the social context of fandom. Newer fans, with little access to old fanzines and other expressions of fanhistory, looked to the hobby's core, Science Fiction. This caused an upswing in Serconism, Professionalism and Commercialism.
And because fandom's past was little known or noted by the new fan generation, they focused on the here-and-now of communication. The past was shrouded in obscurity -- and likely to trigger a recapitulation of the Boondoggle -- so fans increasingly turned to discussing topics of current interest.
The Psychotic/SFR Phenomenon
Boondoggle wounds had mostly healed by 1967, but fanzine fandom had charted no firm new direction. Re-enter Richard E. Geis. Energetic and skilled, Geis grabbed fandom in a headlock and dragged it in the direction he wanted to go. His Psychotic came out frequently, and the colorful clashes that filled its pages captured the mainstream of fanzine fandom.
Fans who'd started post-Discon I (1963) still didn't know much about fandom's past. They knew what they liked, though. And what they liked was no-holds-barred discussions and trenchant reviews of professional and fan work. Psy's interest in science fiction also pulled a lot of pros into the discussion. |
