A throwing-down of the gauntlet by an academic:
Steampunk is an aesthetic that mixes elements of technofantasy, and neo-Victorian retrofuturism.
One of his points that I most agree with is likening “an aesthetic” to a glass container; we need to examine the container rather than the contents if we want to describe Steampunk more closely.
Go on over and throw in your two cents (30 comments as of this tardy reporting): Steampunk Scholar: Defining Steampunk as an Aesthetic.
works for me, but i will loose all respect for you if you call it “scene”
i so despise “scene”