Acronym for Secret Master of Fandom.
(1) Tongue-in-cheek term for the fans in smoke-filled back rooms who "really" decide the course of future fandom and the notion that the anarchistic meritocracy that is fandom is controlled by some powerful, behind-the-scenes group of fans. As definition (2), below, came into play, this playful term evolved into SBOFs, which see.
(2) The tongue-in-cheek connotations remain from definition (1), but SMOFs (the plural of SMOF) has been taken up as the name for a loosely organized group of experienced convention problem-solvers–former Worldcon or major convention chairs of note, gonzo hotel negotiators, noted con programming types, etc. – who get together from time to time to engage in a little Timebinding, pass on (or volunteer) their experience, and thereby ensure that Fandom gets to do what Fandom wants to do. It now takes more fans to run a Worldcon than once attended them.
Bruce Pelz once announced that he was Smof #2 — leaving it to others to fight out who is #1.
The term seems to have been coined in conversation, possibly by Jack Chalker in 1963. A Bob Tucker article in Quandry in the 50s was the basis, and this may have derived from Gerald Kersh's early 1950s book The Secret Masters. The term was used in a skit at the 1963 Worldcon that featured Hal Clement and a "SMOF Award" was presented to Ted Sturgeon (Forry Ackerman received the award on behalf of the absent Sturgeon) making Sturgeon "whether he likes it or not, an Honorary Member of SMOF"
