(no subject)

[thebitterguy]

Man, count on Now to deliver an article that's condescending and abrasive to toy soldier collectors, AND delivers a swipe at gamers too.

No, seriously.

High-priced figures probably aren't played with much, but some enthusiasts do play war games – the younger generations of war nerds who tend to invest in the fantasy world of Warhammer and paint orcs, elves, lizardmen and other Tolkienesque creatures.

War nerds. What an awesome term.

Comments

[noizangel.livejournal.com]

Paul's one of the newer guys - he started as an intern.

I would note that at Now, 'nerd' is not a pejorative term.

[noizangel.livejournal.com]

Er, not necessarily. Last I checked, anyway. It's been over a year.

[deven-science.livejournal.com]

I would term myself more of a War Geek, I think. War Nerd has a better ring to it, though.

[absinthe-dot-ca.livejournal.com]

What about war dork?

[athelind.livejournal.com]

One has to wonder what PAUL does in his spare time.

I mean, this is a HOBBY. Of COURSE it's frivolous, pointless, and a money sink.

[athelind.livejournal.com]

This is the snottiest thing I've seen since my last sinus infection.

[papajoemambo.livejournal.com]

WAR NERDS is actually a term that's ripe for "reclamation".

Pseudo-Jocks and smart ass journalistas are sorry they ever started calling us Geeks, because we took THAT one back right-fast, didn't we?

Now how can they sneeringly insult us while making less money than most of us on a bad day?

Just read the piece...

[papajoemambo.livejournal.com]

Okay, but these are still toys, and I can't help but giggle at how seriously some of the assembled take this.

Resting my camera on a table, I almost take out a squad and get a warning sidelong glance from their owner.

Resting my case of War Nerd "toys" on a table, I nearly crush the snotty Now reporter's camera and get a warning sidelong glance from it's owner.

Okay, it's his source of livelihood, and I can't help but giggle at how seriously some freelance writers take a gig at a free weekly paper that exists purely to tell people when and where movies and bands are playing...

[papajoemambo.livejournal.com]

I would note that if Paul wasn't being snotty, he'd have called the peopel in question "gamers" or "buffs".

You can't say there isn't a tone there.

[jeffreyab.livejournal.com]

WAR NERDS!

TONIGHT WE GAME IN HELL!!!

[thebitterguy]

War Dork sounds like something that would have art by John Kovalic.

[noizangel.livejournal.com]

A) When the Now Staff refers to themselves as nerds in blog posts and in person, I can't see how it's a bad word. Much like geek, nerd's a reclaimed term.

B) I didn't get a tone. But I'm not into miniatures. If you think there was a tone, seriously write a letter to Now. They'll likely print it - Letters to the Editor is usually a litany of all the ways in which the paper sucks.

[newnumber6.livejournal.com]

Far more interesting is the reporter apparently completely ignored the real revelation in the piece...

"Everybody has different eras in history that they like," says Military Miniatures owner John Drown. His Midhurst, Ontario, company designs figures that are fabricated by specialized artisans in St. Petersburg, Russia, who he says are ancestors of the famed tzarist Fabergé egg makers.


Military Miniatures' figures are fabricated by IMMORTALS.

[thebitterguy]

Nah, they're time travellers. They will go back in time to found the fabrege dynasty.

[thebitterguy]

Hell's basement, anyway. I wonder if they have wood panelling down there?

[thebitterguy]

Oh, God. We should flood them with letters complaining about their abuse of miniatures fans.

We could be as crazy as Pierre Savoie.

[noizangel.livejournal.com]

Hey now. That's a lofty ambition.

[noizangel.livejournal.com]

Dude, how do I get on that trip?

[madmanofprague.livejournal.com]

I'm imagining nerds who suffered soul-crushing humiliations and public disfigurments of ego, retreating to a cavernous dorm room to encase themselves in machines of glowing plasma and black iron, becoming cyborg engines of destruction.

WAR NERDS!

[papajoemambo.livejournal.com]

A) No - wait a second. How are we supposed to know what the NOW staff calls themselves in private or on their blog posts? If Paul said "I'm nerdish when it comes to such-and-such" elsewhere in the piece, then what you've said would apply and he'd just be speaking in a manner that's common for the *paper*. Paul at no point refers to himself as a nerd in the article. Also, the context in which he's using "nerd" is a deliberate dismissal of these folks who take their "little toys" "too seriously". This conveys a tone, and that's one where he's pretty clearly adopting a superior position - and that makes him come across as snotty. If a word is of dubious intent (and this one is, you have to admit), it should be left out entirely if it's going to make the intent of the user come into question.

The guy pretty clearly thought he was clever using the word in that context, and it makes him sound snotty. The section's editor read it, thought it was worth keeping in, and is just as snotty, in my opinion.

B) The problem with writing a letter to the editor about something like this, is that you are again subject to claims of "taking things too seriously". The bait has been taken and you're just being reeled in at that point. I'm not even much of a gamer - I just object to name-calling, mostly.

I'm sure that your friend Paul is a very nice guy-who-used-to-spend-his-time-at-Now-doing-odd-jobs, and your defense of him is well-intentioned, but he sure as Hell came across as snotty when I read this. On top of that, I'm not the only one in this thread responding this way, and if Justin hadn't felt a touch of a sting, I don't think he'd have posted the link in the first place.

[papajoemambo.livejournal.com]

No it's much more important to take whatever petty shots he can at what he perceives as an easy target than to report anything that doesn't stink of attitude.

Oh wait - it is NOW, isn't it.

Nevermind.

[noizangel.livejournal.com]

Okay, dude. Seriously. I know the web team there. I met Paul and knew him in a 'hey, how're you?' sort of way. I'm not defending him; just the paper in general.

And if you want to bitch in a place where it'll make absolutely no difference to the way the paper is written or run, that's fine and entirely your right. I never said anyone couldn't bitch or be offended. I offered a suggestion, and for some reason, you're reacting badly to it.

Am I just supposed to say 'Oh, yeah, you're totally right'? If you want that, I can - but y'know... sometimes I can just say 'I didn't see an issue', and that can be my OPINION and that can be okay.

If you see an issue, feel free to deal with it however you want.

And enjoy the weekend!

[thebitterguy]

Man, I wanna play THAT game. I wish Robin could be hired to write the flavour text for it.

[thebitterguy]

War Nerd sounds like someone who's really good at War stuff, while a War Geek would be someone who has a lot of tanks.

[skaiser.livejournal.com]

And thick, thick orange shag...

[thebitterguy]

I can see a masquerade sketch about war nerds, but it involves a bunch of tubby guys in spartan banana hammocks.

Yeah, let's not think about that anymore.

[papajoemambo.livejournal.com]

I obviously struck a nerve here I wasn't intending to.

Fair enough. Everyone is entitled to their opinions.

[papajoemambo.livejournal.com]

[shudder]

[kinra.livejournal.com]

I'd be cool with the term "war nerd", though, the article is fairly neutral in tone. Wargame nerd, maybe? Since I started digging into Eastern Front trivia, War Nerd may not be inaccurate.

[creativedv8tion.livejournal.com]

I wonder if they have wood panelling down there?

It wouldn't be Hell w/o it...

[absinthe-dot-ca.livejournal.com]

My eyes! The goggles, they do nothing!

(Yeah, I know I already used this one today.)

[absinthe-dot-ca.livejournal.com]

And this is bad because...?

Seriously, War Dork sounds just enough like War Lord to make it interesting (IMHO). And if you say it like it's all one word, half the people will have no idea what a wardork is.