Things About Fanboys That have Always Frustrate Me

[Timewalker]

"Faith of the Heart" just felt like a "generic music" patch in. That's why I "FF" through it every time... it's not really part of the show.

I prefer orchestral music for SF shows (especially Voyager!). If they had to have singing, they should have had Scott Bakula perform the song, as his singing is not bad. It's certainly much better than the guy who did perform the song. My first reaction was, "Why did they use a singer with a sore throat?"

Anyone who comes here is, by definition, a fanboy. Anyone who comes here who doesn't think they are a fanboy is in denial.

Rob
Scorpio

So what is the difference between a fanboy/girl and a mere fan? Is it like the Trekkie/Trekker controversy? Or is it just the modern term vs the old-fashioned term?

http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/marc_malkin/b23815_star_trek_scoop_romulan_speaks.html

The very first reply is the kind that bugs the hell out of me about "The Fanbois" who presume to speak for all fandom in an authoritative manner and also tend to show they think they know more about any given project or the follow through of siad project then they likely do. You know the kind who pronouce it a failure before its even arrived in your local threater.

Those who tend to call Trek XI "kiddie Trek" or assume Abrams is just screwing with them as a matter of course or hates GR or whatever.


Sharr

This attitude is also present in book fandom. If anyone here is familiar with the Kevin J. Anderson & Brian Herbert Dune novels, they may also be familiar with the current online stuff happening between the old fans and the new fans. In my own opinion, people are justified in hating the new books, because for many reasons they're simply inferior... but that doesn't justify what some people have posted about the authors and Frank Herbert's family. The levels of hatred are so far beyond vicious, I can't really adequately describe it. Some take it to such personal levels, it's truly sickening.

Thankfully I have never seen such levels of loathing connected with Star Trek.

 

[Broccoli]

Perhaps we need a ranking system to identify the different types of fanboyism.

Fan: This is someone who would watch the show. Maybe pick up an a random collectible if it strikes their fancy. However, this person doesn't necessarily go out of their way to watch the show and wouldn't automatically identify themselves with being a Star Trek fan.
Fanboy (or "General Fanboy"): This would classify most of us here. We love the show(s), buy the DVDs, hop on-line and talk about it. But at the end of the day, we realize that it's just a TV show and we go about our daily lives. We are not afraid to say to someone that we're a fan if asked.
Uber-Fanboy: This person is obsessed with the shows. They do own all the DVDs and you can rattle off a random line for any episode and they'll know it. They are experts on it and will wow anyone with their knowledge. They wear their Star Trek fan badge proudly on their shirt and love to get into conversations discussing things from new info bits from Trek XI to how the transwarp engines work on the three-nacelle Ent-D from the alternate future segment from AGT.
Militant Fanboy: Here is where we start getting into trouble. These people get to personal when it comes to their show (and yes, some may feel that the show belongs to them and they are entitled). They will start to argue loudly about trivial things that make no difference on the show or in the end ("Kirk is eating green jello when it was established he likes blue!!!"). However, they will tend to back down if told by a moderator.
Uber-Militant Fanboy: These are the people that are beyond help and need to realize there is more to life than Star Trek. They will feel even more entitled when it comes to Trek and will seriously demand that, if something was done on an episode that doesn't match exactly how they thought things should be, the producer/writer should be fired and never work in the business again. They will also sit high in their pedestal and fully believe they, and no one else, know what is best for Trek and will arrogantly claim they know "what every Trek fan wants to see" (which usually is what that person wants to see and only them). They also may have delusions of grandeur and feel that they can easily walk into Paramount Studios and the suits will just hand over the franchise (although, this trait is somewhat rare, it does come up). Usually, there is no talking to this type.

Now, I fully admit there is a spectrum between each level and your mileage may vary, but I think this can be a fair assessment.

 

[Kemaiku]

I'd be away down at "Fan" then, hmm actually thats just fine.

 

[CommanderRaytas]

What do you mean, there's more to life than Star Trek? WHAT DO YOU MEAN?! AAARRGH.

*clears throat*

I'm okay. I'm okay.

 

[Cary L. Brown]

Perhaps we need a ranking system to identify the different types of fanboyism.

Agreed. But I'm going to give alternative definitions for the ones you gave...

Fan: This is a term for someone who watches the show and likes everything that the person using the term likes, while not disagreeing with anything that the writer believes.

Fanboy (or "General Fanboy"): This is the term for someone who watches the show but just generally doesn't agree with everything that the person using the term likes, but who has never overtly or aggressively disagreed with anything that the term-user thinks.

Uber-Fanboy: This is the term for someone who watches the show, cares strongly about it, disagrees with the person using the term, and DOES overtly disagree with things that the term-user thinks.

Militant Fanboy: This is the term for someone who watches the show, cares strongly about it, disagrees STRONGLY with the person using the term, and frequently (and somewhat aggressively) disputes the similarly strongly-held perspectives of the person using the term.

Uber-Militant Fanboy: This is the term for someone who watches the show, cares strongly about it, disagrees STRONGLY with the person using the term, and frequently and aggressively states his or her own beliefs, even in the fact of what "anyone who's not an uber-militant-fanboy would recognize" is common sense... ie, the "clear and reasonable" flame-laden attacks by the person using the term.

How's that for a set of definitions?

The simple fact is that the term "fanboy" is ALWAYS a perjorative term... it's an insult, plain and simple. It's a way of belittling the person you're referring to. Otherwise, it'd be "fan-MAN" wouldn't it?

Any term which is used in this fashion... to attempt to discredit a person by "tone" rather than by putting forward an actual, strong and well-reasoned argument, is simply kindergarten-level name-calling.

Everyone who comes to this BBS comes because they're into Trek or some other sci-fi topic which is discussed here. (Well, almost everyone... the exceptions are those occasional trolls who show up and post a series of "you guys are all lame" comments before being banned.)

You can use the terms "casual fan" or "hardcore fan" to qualify the term "fan" if you like... because neither of those are perjorative. They simply add a reasonable qualifier to the term "fan" which is itself entirely accurate and meaningful.

But anytime the term "fanboy" is used, it's simply another way of saying "you need to agree with me and if you don't, SHUT UP!"

And when someone goes that additional step and starts extending that (either by spelling it in some "kewl" way... "fanbois" for instance... or by adding perjorative modifiers like "uber-militant" or whatever), it's just a step further down the road to absolute idiocy... ie, it becomes "you need to agree with me and if you don't, SHUT UP YOU POOPY-HEAD!!!!! AAAAAAAAGGGGHHH!!!! "

 

[Count Zero]

I don't know. I don't see the term "fanboy/fangirl" in a negative way, at least not necessarily. To me, a fanboy/fangirl is just an obsessive fan, and there are different levels of obsession. I don't use the term in a negative way, e.g. I think that David Tennant is a fanboy in regards to Doctor Who bur I still think he's totally awesome. I have no problem characterising myself as a fangirl, either.

 

[Akiraprise]

I don't think fanboy is necessarily negative either. I think all of us that post in a Star Trek forum are fanboys/girls to an extent.

 

[Herkimer Jitty]

Militant Fanboy: Here is where we start getting into trouble. These people get to personal when it comes to their show (and yes, some may feel that the show belongs to them and they are entitled). They will start to argue loudly about trivial things that make no difference on the show or in the end ("Kirk is eating green jello when it was established he likes blue!!!"). However, they will tend to back down if told by a moderator.

Broccoli, I clearly remember Colonel Carter liking blue jell-o, but there's no canonical evidence of jell-o in Star Trek. I think you're mixing up the facts simply to further your argument.

Militantly yours,

Herkimer Jitty

Sorry, had to do that.

Fanboy isn't always a negative term, but it is used negativley a lot, which gives it a negative context. However, like Trekkie, Geek and so on, it looses it's impact with time and will soon be a pretty uniform self-identifier for many groups. IMHO.

 

[Cary L. Brown]

Well, for those of you who don't personally see "fanboy" in a negative way... I'd suggest a little experiment. Go out and ask your non-trek-fan friends, coworkers, whatever, what THEY think the word means.

I'll bet that 95%+ of the responses will be about the Shatnerian "living in your mom's basement, never kissed a girl" etc, definition.

 

[Sector 7]

I agree with your definitions, but not the terms. Let's try this:

Perhaps we need a ranking system to identify the different types of fanboyism.

Casual Fan: This is someone who would watch the show. Maybe pick up an a random collectible if it strikes their fancy. However, this person doesn't necessarily go out of their way to watch the show and wouldn't automatically identify themselves with being a Star Trek fan.
Fan: This would classify most of us here. We love the show(s), buy the DVDs, hop on-line and talk about it. But at the end of the day, we realize that it's just a TV show and we go about our daily lives. We are not afraid to say to someone that we're a fan if asked.
Fanboy: This person is obsessed with the shows. They do own all the DVDs and you can rattle off a random line for any episode and they'll know it. They are experts on it and will wow anyone with their knowledge. They wear their Star Trek fan badge proudly on their shirt and love to get into conversations discussing things from new info bits from Trek XI to how the transwarp engines work on the three-nacelle Ent-D from the alternate future segment from AGT.
Militant Fanboy: Here is where we start getting into trouble. These people get to personal when it comes to their show (and yes, some may feel that the show belongs to them and they are entitled). They will start to argue loudly about trivial things that make no difference on the show or in the end ("Kirk is eating green jello when it was established he likes blue!!!"). However, they will tend to back down if told by a moderator.
Uber-Militant Fanboy: These are the people that are beyond help and need to realize there is more to life than Star Trek. They will feel even more entitled when it comes to Trek and will seriously demand that, if something was done on an episode that doesn't match exactly how they thought things should be, the producer/writer should be fired and never work in the business again. They will also sit high in their pedestal and fully believe they, and no one else, know what is best for Trek and will arrogantly claim they know "what every Trek fan wants to see" (which usually is what that person wants to see and only them). They also may have delusions of grandeur and feel that they can easily walk into Paramount Studios and the suits will just hand over the franchise (although, this trait is somewhat rare, it does come up). Usually, there is no talking to this type.

Now, I fully admit there is a spectrum between each level and your mileage may vary, but I think this can be a fair assessment.

Note: I took the liberty of changing your post rather than re-type everything. I'll accept the designated number of lashes for this, as long as I get to choose the wet noodle.

I actually loved the opening song, and accompanying video, for Enterprise. IMO, it embodied the space program as I see it. Always challenging ourselves to go farther and try more, despite any setbacks. For me it was like a beloved national anthem, but for our space efforts. It was a shame the show did not deliver as much.
As for the gravelly voice, I honestly thought Rod Stewart was doing the opening until I saw the credits.

 

[Kryton]

Re: "Faith of the Heart"...this song was written by all-time schlockmeister Dianne Warren, best known for writing lame-ass crap for hire that's recorded by other artists. She's written more hit songs than any other writer in history, including Jackson, McCartney, or any other superstar you can think of.

A few of her examples: "Because You Loved Me" by Celine Dion.
"Blame It On the Rain" by Milli Vanilli.
"Can't Fight the Moonlight" by Leann Rimes.
"Alone" by Heart.
"Could I Have This Kiss Forever" by Whitney Houston/Enrique Iglesias.
"Don't Turn Around" by Ace of Base.
"How Can We Be Lovers (If We Can't Be Friends)" by Michael Bolton.
"Faith of the Heart" by Rod Stewart (obviously Trek didn't pay for Stewart's version).
"I Could Not Ask For More" by both Edwin McCain and Sara Evans.
"I Don't Want To Miss A Thing" by Aerosmith.
"I'd Lie For You (And That's The Truth)" by Meat Loaf.
"If I Could Turn Back Time" by Cher.
"Love Will Lead You Back" by Taylor Dayne.
"Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" by Starship.
"Rhythm of the Night" by deBarge.
"Set the Night to Music" by Roberta Flack & Maxi Priest.
"There You'll Be" by Faith Hill.
"Time Love and Tenderness" by Michael Bolton.
"Unbreak My Heart" by Toni Braxton.
"Who Will You Run To" by Heart.

Those are just some quick examples of the thousands of hours of dreck this woman has dropped on the listening public over the last 20 years. Go to her site to look over some of the others if you like. I have gotten to a point where I can almost always detect a DW-written song just by the sound or the first few lyrics. And I recognized the sickeningly-sweet stench of her work on "Faith of the Heart" the first time I heard it.

Garbage in, garbage out.

 

[Franklin]

Re: "Faith of the Heart"...this song was written by all-time schlockmeister Dianne Warren, best known for writing lame-ass crap for hire that's recorded by other artists. She's written more hit songs than any other writer in history, including Jackson, McCartney, or any other superstar you can think of.

A few of her examples: "Because You Loved Me" by Celine Dion.
"Blame It On the Rain" by Milli Vanilli.
"Can't Fight the Moonlight" by Leann Rimes.
"Alone" by Heart.
"Could I Have This Kiss Forever" by Whitney Houston/Enrique Iglesias.
"Don't Turn Around" by Ace of Base.
"How Can We Be Lovers (If We Can't Be Friends)" by Michael Bolton.
"Faith of the Heart" by Rod Stewart (obviously Trek didn't pay for Stewart's version).
"I Could Not Ask For More" by both Edwin McCain and Sara Evans.
"I Don't Want To Miss A Thing" by Aerosmith.
"I'd Lie For You (And That's The Truth)" by Meat Loaf.
"If I Could Turn Back Time" by Cher.
"Love Will Lead You Back" by Taylor Dayne.
"Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" by Starship.
"Rhythm of the Night" by deBarge.
"Set the Night to Music" by Roberta Flack & Maxi Priest.
"There You'll Be" by Faith Hill.
"Time Love and Tenderness" by Michael Bolton.
"Unbreak My Heart" by Toni Braxton.
"Who Will You Run To" by Heart.

Those are just some quick examples of the thousands of hours of dreck this woman has dropped on the listening public over the last 20 years. Go to her site to look over some of the others if you like. I have gotten to a point where I can almost always detect a DW-written song just by the sound or the first few lyrics. And I recognized the sickeningly-sweet stench of her work on "Faith of the Heart" the first time I heard it.

Garbage in, garbage out.

My God! All of those? There should be a special ring in hell for her where she has to watch Cats being performed over and over again (by understudies). Then again, she'd probably like it.

That said, I appreciated the attempt to open Enterprise with something different that still captured the spirit of exploration and Star Trek. The visual montage was actually very good. But they'd have done better with Courage's song set to Roddenberry's lyrics than to have adopted "Faith of the Heart." Treacle. Sentimental treacle. You can bet the song wasn't on Kirk's 23rd century version of an i-Pod.

 

[Sector 7]

^
^^
I have most of those songs in my collection. Damn she's good!

 

[The Mirrorball Man]

Anyone who comes here who doesn't think they are a fanboy is in denial.

Except girls.

 

[number6]

There are girls here??

 

[Cary L. Brown]

There are girls here??

That's the persistent rumor, though I'm not entirely convinced that a few of the "girls" aren't merely "girl-wanna-be's"

 

[Jackson_Roykirk]

Here's a specific fanboy statement about this film that always frustrates me:

Fanboy: "Well, if we are going to see Pike, then we should also see Number 1, Jose Tyler, and Dr. Boyce -- why aren't they in the cast list, huh?"

...As if Pike had the EXACT same crew for the 12 +/- years between The Cage and WNMHGB, and nobody ever left the crew, nor did anyone ever join the crew during that time period.

Who knows?...Maybe Jose Tyler, Number 1, and Dr. Boyce all died in a tragic shuttle accident 1 week after the Enterprise left Talos IV.

 

[shapeshifter]

You're example, Jackson Roykirk, seems to suggest to me that person isn't really a fan at all but rather someone who really hates Trek and wants to tear it down at every opportunity; the exact opposite of what I think a fan is or does. Perhaps a better term for them would be "Antifans".

During my time at st.com I was made to feel that because I happened to like all incarnations of Trek that I had been labeled Fanboy. The antifans were in complete control and used the fanboy label to ridicule everyone who actually was a true fan in the negative stereotype.

 

[Cary L. Brown]

You're example, Jackson Roykirk, seems to suggest to me that person isn't really a fan at all but rather someone who really hates Trek and wants to tear it down at every opportunity; the exact opposite of what I think a fan is or does. Perhaps a better term for them would be "Antifans".

During my time at st.com I was made to feel that because I happened to like all incarnations of Trek that I had been labeled Fanboy. The antifans were in complete control and used the fanboy label to ridicule everyone who actually was a true fan in the negative stereotype.

Yep... like I said, no matter who uses the term or who they're using it towards, it's always a perjorative term, intended to belittle the target. I've never, personally, seen a case which wasn't that way.

"Fanboy" is just a term of belittlement. That's why "boy" is in there... it is there to infer that the person it's being applied to is immature . A "boy" rather than a "grown up."

So the term itself is totally fluid. It has no meaning except "I think you're a poopy-head." The more strongly it's stated, the more negative the speaker/writer FEELS about the person they're talking about.

 

[pookha]

There are girls here??

That's the persistent rumor, though I'm not entirely convinced that a few of the "girls" aren't merely "girl-wanna-be's"

smacks cary with boa