Archive-Name: faql.rec.arts.startrek.acronyms Last updated 18 September 1997 LIST OF ACRONYMS USED IN THE REC.ARTS.STARTREK.* NEWSGROUPS This is a list of acronyms used in the rec.arts.stertrek.* newsgroups to avoid having to type out often-used longish words. Please refer to the "LIST OF PERIODIC POSINGS TO r.a.s.* NEWSGROUPS" article for a full list of periodic postings. =========================================================================== A C R O N Y M S 1) ===== THE SERIES TAS = The Animated Series TOS = The Original Series (or The Old Series) TNG = The Next Generation DS9,DSN = Deep Space Nine VOY,VGR = Voyager TCS = The Cartoon Series/The Comics Series TFS,MOV = The Film Series NOV = The Novels 2) ===== THE MOVIES TMP = The Motion Picture (ST1) TWoK = The Wrath of Khan (ST2) TSfS = The Search for Spock (ST3) TVH = The Voyage Home (ST4) TFF = The Final Frontier (ST5) TUC = The Undiscovered Country (ST6) 3) ===== PEOPLE GR = Gene Roddenberry RA = Richard Arnold TPTB = The Powers That Be (usually referring to Berman/Piller/Paramount) TGBO = The Great Bald One (Patrick Stewart/Jean-Luc Picard) Bjo = Bjo "Bee-joe" Trimble, author of Concordance JTK = James T. Kirk The Great Bird = Gene Roddenberry has been known as "The Great Bird of the Galaxy" as an in-joke from the cast of TOS ever since a line Sulu said to Janice Rand in "The Man Trap" ("You're the great bird of the galaxy.") It has also been referenced in TNG's "The Naked Now". When Data was looking through records, we see a parrot with Roddenberry's face and a StarFleet shirt. "Conspiracy" may have had the same picture when Data was searching StarFleet orders. 4) ===== SHIPS NCC = Naval Construction Contract (mentioned in "Spock's World" and elsewhere) USS = United Space Ship (according to Kirk in an early TOS episode, though The Making of Star Trek makes reference to United States Spaceship) BoP = The Romulan (and Klingon) Bird of Prey vessel The Big E = The Enterprise 5) ===== SPEEDS WF = Warp Factor FTL = Faster than Light (warp speeds) c = The speed of light (186,000 miles/sec (300,000 km/sec)). This is equivalent to the "cochrane" unit of measure used in the TNG Tech Manual. 6) ===== PLACES KHP = Klingon Home Planet (since TPTB refuse to give it a name) RNZ = Romulan Neutral Zone SFC = Star Fleet Command SFA = Star Fleet Academy UFP = United Federation of Planets SF = Star Fleet or Science Fiction (depending on context) 7) ===== GAMES SFB = Star Fleet Battles SFU = Star Fleet Universe FASA = Fredonianian Aviation and Space Administration or Fantasimulations Associates (both of these come from the people at FASA) TFG = Task Force Games (company that puts out SFB) ADB = Amarillo Design Bureau (company that created SFB) ST-RPG = Star Trek Role Play Game (FASA) 8) ===== GENERAL (NOT ONLY R.A.S.*) ACRONYMS IMHO = In My Humble Opinion RFU = Reserved for Future Use FYI = For Your Information BTW = By The Way If you see other acronyms (and are relatively new to UseNet), refer to the "often asked questions for new users" file in the news.newusers group (where you'll also find articles on nettiquette that will save you lots of grief (like keeping signature lines to a minimum)). 9) ===== MISC VISOR = Visual Instrument and Sensory Organ Replacement (Sensory->Sight?) IDIC = Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations (Vulcan Credo) aka Philosophy of Nome LLaP = Live Long and Prosper PaLL = Peace and Long Life YATI = Yet Another Trek Inconsistency/Yet Another Technical Inconsistency UESPA = United Earth Space Probe Agency FX, SFX = (special) Effects ILM = Industrial Light and Magic K/S = Generally refers to the "liberal" writing style of some of the less-accepted Trek books and fanzines dealing with Kirk and Spock being "more than close friends". 10) ===== WORDS teaser = the short scene that comes before the opening credits. trailer = previews (commercials) for the next EXCITING episode. pilot = usually an episode or episodes shot for the purpose of pitching a series idea to a network (like "The Cage" and "Where No Man Has Gone Before" in TOS). It does *not* just mean "the first episode of a series". TNG and DS9 did not have pilots, since they did not have to be pitched to a network. retcon = to declare that something never happened (like Kirk's middle initial being "R"). Short for RETroactive CONtinuity. canon = what Roddenberry/Paramount decides is "real" Trek. Gene has already declared every novel (including the one(s) he wrote) to be non-canon. Trekkie = A groupie fan. Someone who wears Spock ears and thinks that makes them important. Asks questions like "what did you have for breakfast on the Tuesday when you shot scene 46a of episode 5?" The most die-hard fan, who lives, eats, and breathes Star Trek. Term originated in the late 1960s when it meant "any fan of Star Trek". This has actually made it into the dictionary according to Leonard Nimoy, who suggested that they change the entry to "Trekker", a more acceptable term these days. Trekker = A fan who is interested in the show and the idea of Star Trek, but doesn't let it interfere with his/her life. This is apparently being added to an upcoming edition of Webster's Dictionary. Term came into popularity in the 1970s when the press gave "Trekkie" a bad name. trekker = (with a small "t") A person who travels vast distances. Trekologist= A fan who enjoys collecting Star Trek technical literature and trying to logically and rationally explain continuity errors in the show. Treknician = A fan who enjoys collecting data (and debating with others) on the technical aspect of Star Trek (warp technology, transporter technology, shields, etc.). Most "non-fanatical fans" simply go by "Star Trek fan", rather than get branded by any of the trek[ie|er] labels. Episode names are commonly referred to by acronym; most are fairly easy to figure out (EaF for "Encounter at Farpoint", etc.). --------------------------------------------------------------------------- This article is Copyright 1990-1998 by Otto Heuer. It may be freely redistributed in its entirety provided that this copyright notice is not removed. It may not be sold for profit or incorporated in commercial documents without the written permission of the copyright holder. Permission is expressly granted for this document to be made available for file transfer from installations offering unrestricted anonymous file transfer on the Internet free of charge. Corrections to this FAQL: trek-faq-correct@twc-online.com Additions for this FAQL: trek-faq-add@twc-online.com Comments on this FAQL: web-trek-comments@twc-online.com Comments on my Trek web page: web-trek-comments@twc-online.com General comments on my web page: web-general-comments@twc-online.com Misc: Hack-Man@twc-online.com Don't be disappointed if you don't get a personl reply. I currently get over 100 email messages a day and I'm lucky if I send a reply to more than ten of them. --Otto "HACK-MAN" Heuer _____ _________ _ _____ _____ _____ _____ | ___|| _______|| | Otto E. 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