Farley File of Fandom

The Farley File of Fandom was a project by Bruce Pelz, Al Lewis and Ron Ellik in 1962 to compile a somewhat biographical directory of fandom on punch cards. (The "Farley File" was a tool for politicians who must know (or seem to know) vast numbers of people. It was brought to fandom's attention in 1956 in Heinlein's novel Double Star.)

Pelz published a questionnaire in his fanzine Speleobem 17 and encouraged all fans to fill it out. (He also said, "If you know of any saucerites, spiritualist enthusiasts, or other such, we would appreciate their names here. The lunatic fringe is as much a part of fandom as many other clubs and fringes.")

Fandom's response does not seem to have been very large, and at least some fans spoke out against it. Wally Weber wrote a 2-page article opposing it in Cry #166 pp 4-5 which seems to be serious, apparently opposing it mostly because he didn't want computers to take over fandom. (The irony!) Note that in 1962 or 3, computers were still an extreme rarity and few people had any kind of access to one.