Fan Snobs

[FalTorPan]

One of my pet peeves on fandom message boards is the "fan snob" -- a poster who is patronizing or disrespectful of another poster who is less knowledgable about either the target of the fandom or lingo used by the fandom. I've not seen recent examples of it here, but I encountered it as a "newbie" (to the fandom, not to the show) on another board for another media franchise, and it really ticked me off.

I had posted about something, and I used a valid, but less commonly used abbreviation for something. For a Trek-related example, during the early TNG years, the original Star Trek television series was often called "Classic Star Trek" (CST) or some variation thereof. Later it became known as "The Original Series" (TOS). On the message board that I was visiting, I wasn't that familiar with that show's "TOS"-equivalent abbreviation, and I used the "CST" equivalent. Some of the replies to my post were annoying.

Sarcasm is sometimes tough to read from between the lines of a post, especially from a stranger, so it's possible that some of the replies contained good-natured sarcasm. Oh well. It's reminded me to keep in mind the "newbie" in my posts on this and other message boards. We were all "newbies" at one time.

 

[Lookingglassman]

I dont pay any attention to losers like that. If they think their little fake shows are SOOOO important that they have to be snobs over them then so be it. I actually have a real life and don't need to jump on folks who maybe say the wrong thing. What does it prove? That I am the bigger nerd? Wow. I guess they can die happy now knowing they outnerded you.

 

[BlobVanDam]

I don't care if people make noob mistakes. They learn by sticking around, and they don't stick around if they get driven away by trivial crap.

 

[Klaus]

I believe the technical term is "Get a life and move out of your parents' basement!"

...those kinds of people exist in every walk of life, from audiophiles who roll their eyes at you for using any non-lossless format and not having diamond-core hyperdrivers in your 10-foot speaker stacks to baseball fans complaining about "pink hats" in the stands. Compensating for other inadequacies, I always assume.

We were all noobs once.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Remember, in the real world, if you used "CST" or "TOS" to refer to the original Star Trek, you will be straightjacketed and carted away to the nearest looney bin, or at the very least, laughed at for being an unimaginable nerd (as I was once when I forgot I had migrated from here to RL.)

I've also found that there is little tolerance among mundanes for referring to the first Star Wars movie as "A New Hope," much less ANH. Either will result in blank stares, followed by incredulous laughter. Word to the wise.

Imagine how much more loony it would be to fight about such things in the real world. You'd probably just be shot on sight.

We were all noobs once.

I can remember when I thought "slash" had something to do with mad slashers and "shippers" were people who were interested in starships.

Who else has funny stories of n00bism to share?

 

[Lookingglassman]

I refer to "Star Trek" as "Star Trek". All the series fall under that for me.

 

[Klaus]

Has anyone ever brought up Foucault in a TrekBBS thread before lol? This is really all about the desire to be part of an exclusive discourse and the power-relationship resulting from them knowing the proper terms and you not.

"How can we be in if there is no outside"? -- Peter Gabriel

 

[Captain Mike]

But on the other hand, How long has it been that TOS has referred to the "classic"?? A few years by my reckoning. I caught onto it here back then and have never changed. I remind you this WAS a FEW years ago.

 

[Tyson]

Idiots that look down on others for not having every aspect of the Star Trek Encyclopedia memorized or some shit are easily ignored because their stupidity is immediately obvious to everyone.

Fans that mindlessly lap up anything with a specific brand name are more insidious because they only help dilute the quality of that thing and any discussion thereof. There are more of these pricks than you might think, and they will always -without fail- get butthurt as all hell if you call them on it.

 

[Greg Cox]

Has anyone ever brought up Foucault in a TrekBBS thread before lol? This is really all about the desire to be part of an exclusive discourse and the power-relationship resulting from them knowing the proper terms and you not.

Good call. There are people who want Star Trek (or comic books or whatever) to be an exclusive club and who seem to activately resent any attempt to make their pet obsession accessible to the "masses."

And who often seem to think to that anyone who can't quote chapter and verse on some elaborate mythology don't deserve to have an opinion regarding the new Green Lantern movie or whatever . . . .

 

[Tyson]

Good call. There are people who want Star Trek (or comic books or whatever) to be an exclusive club and who seem to activately resent any attempt to make their pet obsession accessible to the "masses."

The "masses" are stupid. Most of the time, attempting to appeal to the "masses" means dumbing down whatever you're attempting to make appealing to them. While there are always going to be some losers that want their shit to be an exclusive club for no other reason than to feel smugly superior to others, being weary of said attempts is an understandable response for most reasonable people who already enjoy those things. This is not to say there haven't been instances of franchises/movies/books etc. that were successfully able to or ideally suited to appeal to everyone, of course.

If new fans are brought to a thing (be it a comic book series or a sci fi program) it should be because in some way they've become open to to ideas those things present, not because those things have been specifically retooled to appeal to the kind of dullard that thinks something like American Idol is the pinnacle of thought provoking entertainment. There are a lot more of those people than there are of us, despite what we may start to think after spending time in self-selected bubbles like TrekBBS. Even then, well... I've been lurking/posting here for almost a decade, and there's been a noticeable drop in the quality of the posters here.

 

[Greg Cox]

If new fans are brought to a thing (be it a comic book series or a sci fi program) it should be because in some way they've become open to to ideas those things present, not because those things have been specifically retooled to appeal to the kind of dullard that thinks something like American Idol is the pinnacle of thought provoking entertainment .

See, that's the thing. I'm a lifelong scifi geek, but I don't look down on people who watch American Idol.

Although I have to wonder who keeps voting for Haley this season . . .

 

[nightwind1]

I've also found that there is little tolerance among mundanes for referring to the first Star Wars movie as "A New Hope," much less ANH. Either will result in blank stares, followed by incredulous laughter. Word to the wise.

Actually, I saw Star Wars opening weekend, and have NEVER referred to it as either A New Hope or ANH. It has been and will always be Star Wars.

 

[C.E. Evans]

I call it the "Lack Of Social Etiquette Response" syndrome

 

[Nerys Myk]

Are there actually people who think of "American Idol" as thought provoking? Its a singing competition. Even the "dullards" know that. Why that particular show, popular though it may be, gets brought up in these types of converations puzzles me.

 

[Jax]

Are there actually people who think of "American Idol" as thought provoking?.

thought provoking more like thought deleting

 

[Greg Cox]

Are there actually people who think of "American Idol" as thought provoking? Its a singing competition. Even the "dullards" know that. Why that particular show, popular though it may be, gets brought up in these types of converations puzzles me.

It's exactly because it's popular.

To some people, "popular" is a dirty word.

 

[Nerys Myk]

Are there actually people who think of "American Idol" as thought provoking? Its a singing competition. Even the "dullards" know that. Why that particular show, popular though it may be, gets brought up in these types of converations puzzles me.

It's exactly because it's popular.

To some people, "popular" is a dirty word.

Makes me wonder if they've seen the show. The contestants sing. The judges tell them what they think. America votes and a contestant leaves. Other than some "banter" between songs and puff pieces about the contestants thats it. A singing contest. Who ever gets the most votes wins.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

The "masses" are stupid.

I don't think that's exactly the problem, but the larger the group you're trying to appeal to, the more things get blanded and watered down, and that's just inherently less interesting than things that are sharp, pointed, and appeal to very specific tastes. It's not intelligence vs. stupidity so much as specificity vs. generality.

As for Idol, at least it celebrates talent and not greed, deviousness, egotism, stupidity or other negative traits like other reality shows. Or at least that's my impression. I've never been able to watch more than a couple minutes, but that's due to my lack of interest in pop music.

 

[Klaus]

The "masses" are stupid.

"Everyone here is crazy except me and thee, and I'm not too sure about thee".

I'm not sure that's even true... the masses don't pay as much attention to the things many of us think are important, inside and outside of fandom. That's very far from the same thing.

Many people are busy living their lives, worried about the next day and the next week, not the next decade or century or even year. Working hard and keeping things together w/o any time to do things like watch TV or movies or type comments on forums. They may be ignorant as a survival mechanism as much as anything else. Just like the fan snobs we're discussing, don't confuse ignorance with stupidity.