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<blockquote data-quote="Flying Toaster" data-source="post: 9723920" data-attributes="member: 7052563">Regarding the odd jobs that Gygax did to support himself and his family before TSR, that kind of struggle can definitely put a chip on someone’s shoulder, particularly if they believe that they were meant for bigger and better things.&nbsp; And “cobbler” is quite literally one of those humble hard-luck occupations you see in grim (Grimm?) European fairy tales.&nbsp; I can’t remember where I read this, but apparently some guy who was part of the 70’s Midwestern wargaming scene gave Dave Arneson a lot of stick for messing around with silly “fantasy” games.&nbsp; That is a perfect example of the sort of one-upmanship you often see in nerd circles, which can take on many forms.&nbsp; There can be gatekeeping based on age, experience, and other forms of seniority, and even a sort of faux-machismo, which is particularly ironic since nerd interests are often stigmatized as childish or not manly enough.&nbsp; Wargaming itself was always an obscure niche hobby which the mainstream might well have scoffed at: “Grown men playing with toy soldiers?&nbsp; Hah!&nbsp; Everybody knows a REAL man plays poker with his old Army buddies, for REAL money, while drinking bourbon and smoking cigars!”</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Flying Toaster, post: 9723920, member: 7052563"] Regarding the odd jobs that Gygax did to support himself and his family before TSR, that kind of struggle can definitely put a chip on someone’s shoulder, particularly if they believe that they were meant for bigger and better things. And “cobbler” is quite literally one of those humble hard-luck occupations you see in grim (Grimm?) European fairy tales. I can’t remember where I read this, but apparently some guy who was part of the 70’s Midwestern wargaming scene gave Dave Arneson a lot of stick for messing around with silly “fantasy” games. That is a perfect example of the sort of one-upmanship you often see in nerd circles, which can take on many forms. There can be gatekeeping based on age, experience, and other forms of seniority, and even a sort of faux-machismo, which is particularly ironic since nerd interests are often stigmatized as childish or not manly enough. Wargaming itself was always an obscure niche hobby which the mainstream might well have scoffed at: “Grown men playing with toy soldiers? Hah! Everybody knows a REAL man plays poker with his old Army buddies, for REAL money, while drinking bourbon and smoking cigars!” [/QUOTE]

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