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<blockquote data-quote="GVDammerung" data-source="post: 2440237" data-attributes="member: 33060">IMO, the &quot;Stigma&quot; has been blown out of all proportion.&nbsp;Sure.&nbsp; There are some oddball gamers.&nbsp; There are some creepy/unsavory gamers.&nbsp; There are some poorly socialized/socially skilled gamers.&nbsp; But much the same can be said about other hobby populations, I think.&nbsp; &nbsp;Many RPGamers, however, have been very vocal and public about the &quot;stigma&quot; and some will wear it as a preverse badge of honor in a sort of almost &quot;martyedom.&quot;&nbsp; Their &quot;acting out&quot; makes good newspaper, magazine, television and book copy.&nbsp; And they apparently like the attention and &quot;act out&quot; even more, even while saying just the opposite.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;The &quot;social stigma&quot; gives some gamers a &quot;cachet&quot; that self-defines them as an &quot;in group,&quot; persecuted by &quot;ignorant&quot; or &quot;wrong&quot; people from the &quot;outside.&quot;&nbsp; It validates them.&nbsp;These people are a minority, in my experience, but they have gotten all the press and attention.&nbsp; Most gamers, in my experience, are quite normal.&nbsp; If there is a &quot;stigma&quot; it is not wanting to be seen as one of the few but loud &quot;wierdos.&quot;&nbsp;It helps matter not at all, IMO, when Wotc talks about a &quot;gaming lifestyle&quot; and Dungeon promotes a &quot;gaming lifestyle&quot; column by &quot;self-described uber geek&quot; Wil Wheaton (thank god that embarrassment is overwith) who uses that nominclature to sell his appearances and writing in a grand self-promotion at the expense of the public perception of the hobby.&nbsp;There is no &quot;gamer lifestyle.&quot;&nbsp; Just as there is no &quot;baseball card lifestyle.&quot;&nbsp; No &quot;cribbage lifestyle.&quot;&nbsp; No &quot;chess lifestyle.&quot;&nbsp; Etc.&nbsp; Some people may take things to such an extreme that they can create such a &quot;lifestyle&quot; but it is just that - an extreme - not the norm, IME.&nbsp;Gamers, IMO, are their own worst enemies by letting others define them and also by defining themselves in nearly the same negative terms.&nbsp; &quot;The Industry&quot; is as much to blame, particularly Wotc and old TSR whose ads for games, when they do/did appear, show gamers grinning like morons or acting out like it.&nbsp;The &quot;Stigma&quot; may not be all in the mind, but it is far from the reality in most situations, which is much less sensationalist.&nbsp;IMO</blockquote>

[QUOTE="GVDammerung, post: 2440237, member: 33060"] IMO, the "Stigma" has been blown out of all proportion. Sure. There are some oddball gamers. There are some creepy/unsavory gamers. There are some poorly socialized/socially skilled gamers. But much the same can be said about other hobby populations, I think. Many RPGamers, however, have been very vocal and public about the "stigma" and some will wear it as a preverse badge of honor in a sort of almost "martyedom." Their "acting out" makes good newspaper, magazine, television and book copy. And they apparently like the attention and "act out" even more, even while saying just the opposite. The "social stigma" gives some gamers a "cachet" that self-defines them as an "in group," persecuted by "ignorant" or "wrong" people from the "outside." It validates them. These people are a minority, in my experience, but they have gotten all the press and attention. Most gamers, in my experience, are quite normal. If there is a "stigma" it is not wanting to be seen as one of the few but loud "wierdos." It helps matter not at all, IMO, when Wotc talks about a "gaming lifestyle" and Dungeon promotes a "gaming lifestyle" column by "self-described uber geek" Wil Wheaton (thank god that embarrassment is overwith) who uses that nominclature to sell his appearances and writing in a grand self-promotion at the expense of the public perception of the hobby. There is no "gamer lifestyle." Just as there is no "baseball card lifestyle." No "cribbage lifestyle." No "chess lifestyle." Etc. Some people may take things to such an extreme that they can create such a "lifestyle" but it is just that - an extreme - not the norm, IME. Gamers, IMO, are their own worst enemies by letting others define them and also by defining themselves in nearly the same negative terms. "The Industry" is as much to blame, particularly Wotc and old TSR whose ads for games, when they do/did appear, show gamers grinning like morons or acting out like it. The "Stigma" may not be all in the mind, but it is far from the reality in most situations, which is much less sensationalist. IMO [/QUOTE]

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