Unless this paragraph is triple-lacquered in irony, there really is no :rolleyes: big enough.
Trekkie was a fine and acceptable term. The insistence on Trekker is defensive and preposterous, especially given the fact that many years after its introduction, it still has not found a dominant foothold in the general public’s vernacular. They will always be Trekkies, regardless of how deep and wide their denial of this truth persists.
I blame Bikies, who at one point decided they preferred the term Bikers.
It occurs to me that Bikies may be a very local term.
It’s like flashing gang signs, only for nerds/geeks/fen. 
Trekkie was used in a dismissive, derisive, belittling way for so long that many fans came to hate the term. Hence Trekker. I’ll answer to either, but would prefer Trekker, if I had my druthers.
Don’t get me started on people who flash gang signs…
I soon expect to see fans of anthropomorphic animals dubbing themselves “furriers” and grownups who appreciate My Little Pony calling themselves “broners.”
I appear to have you confused with someone else. I may also have me confused for someone else.
Goes with the territory. “Gay” is a word used in a dismissive, derisive, and belittling way because the people who use it that way see “gays” as worthy of dismissal, derision, and belittling. Can’t change mindsets stepping around the word. Thus the comments above about the people opting for Trekker being afraid society will judge them for it. “I don’t want to be associated with them.”
No biggie. I was beside myself the other day. That was really confusing.
The problem with ‘trekker’ is that it had an obvious meaning - someone who goes on treks - before anyone came up with ‘trekkie.’
Star Trek fans, as such, don’t go on treks.
Ah… humor. A difficult concept.
I’m not really the convention type, but I went to one in the early 90’s with a friend who was seriously into it. I asked her the difference and she said:
A Trekkie will come to the convention wearing a set of Spock ears. A Trekker has had them surgically attached.
Not a surprising statement since Trekkies are usually wrong.
Just shows that people in both camps have tried to distance themselves from the obsessive fans, saying “No, they’re the obsessive ones, we’re the normal people who just like Star Trek”.
We should call the truly obsessed “Treksters”
They would all drive their shuttle craft modifed Prius from their lo-do flats with full sized bridge displays, sipping green romulan tea and smearing themselves with patchouli warp core oil.
Green Romulan ale, not tea.
Warp cores don’t use or need oil.
Jeez.
Think Hipsters and you might get the joke. 
and
GET OFF MY BRIDGE!
now that would be a cool thing to say, wouldn’t it
A prius modded to resemble a shuttlecraft might be pretty neat.
Romulan ale is BLUE, not green.
Jeez.
Proves I’m a trekker.