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i only geek with other geeks. I'd never add something like that on facebook. My normal friends wouldn't understand and hit me with sticks...

Rogueyopants wrote:I am very, very proud of being a geek, I like playing with little plastic spacemen/army men. It really hasent done anything to my social life, cept the odd "lol...you play with little plastic army men"....from my friends.

If people look back at others, you can see a lot of them doing drugs, drinking heavily and just plain being stupid. Yes I'd much much rather being doing this then being a complete gakker, and being "cool".....

Such good points. When I was wargaming with my buddies in my teens, our classmates would go the shopping centre/mall and simply stand there. One regret of my school years is trading things I enjoyed for things I thought I should be doing. The fun thing now (in my thirties) is those people who perk up when you mention it, and ask if they can join in. There seems to be a point in life when you realise "Feth this, I'm doing what I enjoy".

Rogueyopants wrote:
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doctorludo wrote: I mean, can you imagine what your average TFG would be like if he spent all day every day locked in a dark room playing computer games instead?

I play World of Warcraft (Which does take some level of thinking) and also wargame....where am I in the spectrum..!?!?!

LOL. But imagine how things would be if you only ever played single player games.

This is not an entirely flippant point. You have to learn social skills to wargame. You have to learn to communicate clearly, treat people with respect, win and lose graciously and negotiate. TFG is the guy that hasn't learnt these skills yet. In particular, I think learning to lose well is an important skill that we often don't appreciate, as is entering into a contract for a fun gaming experience. A computer game is there to be beaten (and I'm a big fan of computer games). It feeds you a victory over time, rewarding effort and perseverence. In a computer game, the machine is ultimately there to lose.

Wargames do no such thing. I've played guys who make you feel like you're the computer; only there to be beaten by their plan. The best players are those who have designed their lists/strategies in such a way that, without sacrificing competitiveness, their opponents have fun.

i find that people that I meet are like interested in a way they stuff like, "wow must people I know don't evan have a hobby at all" are my favorite is well I give an example Warhammer 40k shooting phase. By the end there is a shocked face and they are saying, "how can you remember so many rules?" just so I can say, "thats nothing want to see the rule book!"

So, what are you basically saying?

I would never bite the head off of a chicken for a crowds amusement, so no.

I'm not Greek, so this doesn't apply to me. But, y'know, good luck to them.

I am definitely a nerd/greek, i am the go to guy for random bits of knowledge and generally people are pretty impressed. I dont show off my minis or anything like that and am fairly secretive though.

The thing that is a shame is that liking transformers/thndercats/nes games lulz is cool but knowing about ancient history and being into warhamz still isnt.

True. I absolutely love ancient history, and 40k.

Sure

I will be completely honest. I am not proud of having this geek side of me. Not that I consider there anything wrong with painting models or playing a game from time to time, but the outside world does consider it wrong to. Their fear of us is because of the sterotype of a trekker/wargamer/model maker/star wars geek is someone that lives with their parents, is well over the age that they should live with parents, has questionable levels of hygiene, seems to be unable to detract themselves from the fantasy worlds they hold so dear, has unusual ideas of dress sense, snorts when laughs, has an odd sort of voice that seems to come from their nasal cavity and not their voice box and seems to be surrounded by people with the same afflictions.

What I am not saying is that we are all like that. We have all met the ones that are and no doubt there are plenty of them on Dakka. What I don't like is the fact that anyone who has never had anything to do with the hobby will instantly think that you have some of these characteristics (if they don't know you) just because I happen to have a hobby.

Its the sterotype I am not proud of, 99.9% of us have nothing to be ashamed of and should be proud of the fact that we enjoy a bit of escapism from a bloody dull and grey world of work and career.

Well that different than what we think.

Geeks are smart and get good jobs. I am not ashamed whatsoever. But I really don't look/act much like a geek, I'd say. Sure I have geeky hobbies but I don't advertise them hahaha.

And playing WoW doesn't make you a geek. Playing EQ does!

lukewild1982 wrote:I will be completely honest. I am not proud of having this geek side of me. Not that I consider there anything wrong with painting models or playing a game from time to time, but the outside world does consider it wrong to. Their fear of us is because of the sterotype of a trekker/wargamer/model maker/star wars geek is someone that lives with their parents, is well over the age that they should live with parents, has questionable levels of hygiene, seems to be unable to detract themselves from the fantasy worlds they hold so dear, has unusual ideas of dress sense, snorts when laughs, has an odd sort of voice that seems to come from their nasal cavity and not their voice box and seems to be surrounded by people with the same afflictions.

What I am not saying is that we are all like that. We have all met the ones that are and no doubt there are plenty of them on Dakka. What I don't like is the fact that anyone who has never had anything to do with the hobby will instantly think that you have some of these characteristics (if they don't know you) just because I happen to have a hobby.

Its the sterotype I am not proud of, 99.9% of us have nothing to be ashamed of and should be proud of the fact that we enjoy a bit of escapism from a bloody dull and grey world of work and career.

It's unfortunate you feel that way. I've been a nerd my entire life, and proud of it. How the outside world views it is of no consequence to me. In high school/college I had girlfriends and went to parties as well as playing D&D and doing 'geeky things'. Now that I'm in the 'real world', people come to me and ask me for all kinds of help with things at work, because I bothered to be nerdy enough to spend time diving into electronics and computers out of personal interest. I crack jokes with people about how I paint my toy soldiers, and then make 'pew pew' noises. I've (jokingly) told girlfriends that I want to play with Chimeras on their breasts like they're mountains.

I'm fething awesome BECAUSE I'm a nerd/geek/whatever, and I don't care who knows it. Frankly, I look at anyone who's 'hobbies' consist of 'passively observant' things like watching TV or sports games as having something wrong with THEM. Why pass up the opportunity to create something, or to better understand the world around you? It's what separates us from animals.

Also, I wear brightly colored Hawaiian shirts in public places. What fun is dressing like everyone else? Makes me think of that Reel Big Fish song: "It's so easy being trendy. Everyone that looks like me is my friend."

Proud but people make fun of me when they see the people I hang out with and I say I am having the time of my life and I am care free so your harsh options don't effect me

daedalus wrote: I've (jokingly) told girlfriends that I want to play with Chimeras on their breasts like they're mountains.

My girlfriend refused when I asked to do something similar. But, I wasn't joking




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Chibi Bodge-Battle wrote:Not sure if I am a geek.
What are the defining characteristics?

1. Involved in anything to do with GW
2. you have an anime character as an avatar

(sorry, I had to)

Anyone who likes anime is FOR SURE a geek.

Albatross wrote:I'm not Greek, so this doesn't apply to me. But, y'know, good luck to them.

Pretty much this..
About the only "geeky" things in my life are painting/gaming with 40K ( and even then I seem to lack much of the " obsession" I see in others), and my love of Horror films and books.
...Not saying that's good or bad one way or the other, just how it is.

I don´t see gaming, collecting and painting miniatures as something geeky.
But I´m glad that I have this as a hobby, it´s brought me countless hours of joy.

As a total opposite to my gaming is that I´m a dedicated bodybuilder.

.

I, personally, am a geek when it comes to wagaming, the hobby, things I really enjoy. Overall I don't come off as a geek but I am pretty smart (book-wise) I just don't flaunt it.

I am. Hell, nerd is built into my last name! I really could give to #$@#s that someone wants to judge me because I read comics, play wargames and RPGs, watch Star Wars, Star Trek, X-Files and discuss them like they were real. I'm sure most people who would make judgements about stuff like that have their own geek-out stuff.

.

I'm certainly not ashamed, as some of my friends are.

I know pretty much everything about Star Wars, Warhammer 40k, the lore of WoW, LotR, and Stargate. I have played World of Warcraft for 6 years, I know lots of real life things like history, and I know more memes than I can count.

I am pretty damn proud of being a geek.

I am an emo geek, but I don't make a fuss, so no one cares, I just keep to myself and friends, I don't keep a deep dark secret and I don't proclaim it loud and clear, I'm the guy with no cares in the world who takes what is dished out to him and doesn't register it, and you know what, I don't care

got that geek swag.

Peaple at school call me a nerd
I say thanks and smile
they get confused
I win!!

Nightfall wrote:i find that people that I meet are like interested in a way they stuff like, "wow must people I know don't evan have a hobby at all" are my favorite is well I give an example Warhammer 40k shooting phase. By the end there is a shocked face and they are saying, "how can you remember so many rules?" just so I can say, "thats nothing want to see the rule book!"

Yes, I have also shocked many friends outside the hobby by dropping the rulebook in front of them.

Geek ya say?!?!?!

I prefer the term Dorklord myself!
Its also the name of my gaming club!

Are we geeks? I think the term is too broad, firstly we all have some artistic qualities (nobody loves bare plastic), some have loads. I dont think thats geeky. We are quite a social group, afterall, if your reading this your on a forum! You cant game alone, idealistically most of us would have a largeish group to play, paint with, help and be helped by in all things hobby. I never associate the word geek with socialising. We are quite obsessive, however most people invest large amounts of time into their hobbies. I've spent loads of weekends at the stadium of light (Disgraceful Derby Btw), can you be a football geek? I spend way more time playing guitar than painting, am I a guitar geek? I think that sometimes we are branded 'geeks' as our hobby is, without sounding cult like, more secretive, how many of your friends from outside of gaming know what goes on in a GW? Chances are it wont be their thing, GW's arent always my thing, (its the sell, sell attitude) and neither are the other customers always to my liking. But I've had some great times in a GW, laughs playing games, learning, even losing. I dont think anything you do should define you in such a way. Im just another person who happens to have toy soldiers, big deal?

Oh, just as a thought we should have some sort of geek ranking system, aside from the title under your username, a quiz with timer, to avoid searching for answers. User with most points should become 'the wise one' for a year, with other titles for the top however many.... just as a laugh, see who actually knows the most lore.

In the backwater land of my local school, we prefer to call ourselves nerds, and we don’t care what you think. The meaning of the word changes depending on who says it.

A geek were we live is a person that generally knows little about the world other than their certain 'thing' they do, e.g. computer geek. They also tend to go heh heh heh and have hay fever all the time.

nerds however a generally knowledgeable about everything, don’t tend to laugh badly and would be considered 'the smart guys'. Oh yes they can have interesting hobbies but they still can tell you the about the laws of relativity, both of them.