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<blockquote data-quote="DMZ2112" data-source="post: 6605355" data-attributes="member: 78752">My condolences, Silverfire, I wouldn't wish being a doctor or training to become a doctor on my worst enemy, and while this sort of nonsense is not the primary reason it is a strong corollary.&nbsp; He's an ass, yes, but the real problem is that he's an ass with some measure of control over you.&nbsp; I wish you the best in navigating the situation and definitely recommend that he not see you with your books again, much as it pains me to say it.Personally, I am very open about my hobbies in my workplace -- I have a mug that says 'Dungeon Master' on it -- and reactions range from, &quot;Really? Aren't you too old for that?&quot; perhaps with a tinge of condescension, to &quot;I always wanted to play/I wish I could get back into it.&quot;&nbsp; My answer to the first question is, &quot;No,&quot; and I hand out my FLGS' business cards in response to just about everyone else.I get more odd looks when the topic of conversation turns to television and I tell people that I never bother hooking cable up to my flatscreen.But even so, I absolutely agree with the other posters who have said that nothing good for your career can result from discussing D&amp;D in a professional environment, but I would argue that is the case for most hobbies, and also that 95% of the time, reactions will be neutral rather than negative.&nbsp; A religious leader in my acquaintance once said, &quot;At best and at worst, [D&amp;D] is a waste of time.&quot;&nbsp; It's just an unnecessary risk to take, gambling on whether or not your boss will think curling or bridge or basket weaving are stupid.&nbsp; So do as I say, not as I do.&nbsp; <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile&nbsp; &nbsp; :)"&nbsp; data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />My last experience with geek shaming was at Gen Con 2014, of all places.I had the privilege of having dinner with Frank Mentzer and some of his games auction crew.&nbsp; Some friends and I were in an elevator returning from dinner and discussing Mentzer's encyclopedic knowledge of differences between printings of '70s and '80s D&amp;D materials when someone else in the elevator, unrelated to us, commented, &quot;Sounds like he needs a hobby.&quot;I am pleased to report that this individual was summarily destroyed.&nbsp; But it is worth noting that /geek/ negativity towards D&amp;D is an established thing, and I would be curious to know how many of Silverfire's dozen confrontations over the last year were with other geeks (including Dr. Asshat and his comic books and video games).I find the condescension of Magic: the Gathering addicts particularly tragic.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="DMZ2112, post: 6605355, member: 78752"] My condolences, Silverfire, I wouldn't wish being a doctor or training to become a doctor on my worst enemy, and while this sort of nonsense is not the primary reason it is a strong corollary. He's an ass, yes, but the real problem is that he's an ass with some measure of control over you. I wish you the best in navigating the situation and definitely recommend that he not see you with your books again, much as it pains me to say it. Personally, I am very open about my hobbies in my workplace -- I have a mug that says 'Dungeon Master' on it -- and reactions range from, "Really? Aren't you too old for that?" perhaps with a tinge of condescension, to "I always wanted to play/I wish I could get back into it." My answer to the first question is, "No," and I hand out my FLGS' business cards in response to just about everyone else. I get more odd looks when the topic of conversation turns to television and I tell people that I never bother hooking cable up to my flatscreen. But even so, I absolutely agree with the other posters who have said that nothing good for your career can result from discussing D&D in a professional environment, but I would argue that is the case for most hobbies, and also that 95% of the time, reactions will be neutral rather than negative. A religious leader in my acquaintance once said, "At best and at worst, [D&D] is a waste of time." It's just an unnecessary risk to take, gambling on whether or not your boss will think curling or bridge or basket weaving are stupid. So do as I say, not as I do. :) My last experience with geek shaming was at Gen Con 2014, of all places. I had the privilege of having dinner with Frank Mentzer and some of his games auction crew. Some friends and I were in an elevator returning from dinner and discussing Mentzer's encyclopedic knowledge of differences between printings of '70s and '80s D&D materials when someone else in the elevator, unrelated to us, commented, "Sounds like he needs a hobby." I am pleased to report that this individual was summarily destroyed. But it is worth noting that /geek/ negativity towards D&D is an established thing, and I would be curious to know how many of Silverfire's dozen confrontations over the last year were with other geeks (including Dr. Asshat and his comic books and video games). I find the condescension of Magic: the Gathering addicts particularly tragic. [/QUOTE]

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