"Nerd Rage" = Thinly-Veiled Flamebait

[Felon]

This "nerd rage" term is something I'm beginning to see quite often in the forums, and it always seems to be an ever-so-thinly-veiled insult towards people in another camp of thought. This PDF embroglio has the camp of WotC supporters throwing it out in one thread after another. It seems very disrespectful to dismiss a viewpoint as just being "nerd rage". As I can't see any positive way to use the term, I submit for consideration that categorizing other community members' viewpoints as "nerd rage" be considered inherently inflammatory and be treated as such by the moderators.

 

[Plane Sailing]

I think I agree - its only purpose is essentially to denigrate a view opposed to yours (unless someone is characterising themselves as suffering from 'nerd rage', I suppose).

Anyway - report it if you see it, and we'll look into it when it occurs.

Cheers

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

Looking into specific posts is okay, but a general "ban" seems inappropriate to me. We haven't restricted "dumbed down" "stupid" and many others words that will usually be used to express something negative and includes a "judgement" by the poster. But that's what we do all the time, right? Expressing our opinions on things?

I think nerdrage is a pretty neat word, because it describes a certain "phenomena" commonly found online.

Groups of people upset about minor issues and blowing the topic out of proportion - of course as perceived by the user of the term.

 

[Dimwhit]

I think the term "Nerd Rage" is wildly inappropriate and anyone here using it should be embarrassed.

Clearly, we should be using the term "Geek Rage."

 

[Wayside]

I think the term "Nerd Rage" is wildly inappropriate and anyone here using it should be embarrassed.

Clearly, we should be using the term "Geek Rage."

I prefer Fan Dumb.

 

[Felon]

Looking into specific posts is okay, but a general "ban" seems inappropriate to me. We haven't restricted "dumbed down" "stupid" and many others words that will usually be used to express something negative and includes a "judgement" by the poster.

Here's the difference. Describing an edition of D&D as "dumbed-down" is a negative reference to the edition. Describing people's reaction as "nerd rage" is denigrating to those people.

I think nerdrage is a pretty neat word, because it describes a certain "phenomena" commonly found online.

Groups of people upset about minor issues and blowing the topic out of proportion - of course as perceived by the user of the term.

Overemotional reactions are hardly new to the world. We just have a new word for baiting people who are upset. The fact that they're upset is somehow evidence that they're nerds.

 

[hong]

Here's the difference. Describing an edition of D&D as "dumbed-down" is a negative reference to the edition. Describing people's reaction as "nerd rage" is denigrating to those people.

No, describing people's reaction as nerdrage is a negative reference to the irrationality of their posts.

You know, "rage". Cf ragequit.

Overemotional reactions are hardly new to the world. We just have a new word for baiting people who are upset. The fact that they're upset is somehow evidence that they're nerds.

No, it's evidence that they're raging. That they are nerds is already a known quantity by virtue of the fact that they're posting about a game where you pretend to be an elf.

You know, like you and I are doing now.

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

Here's the difference. Describing an edition of D&D as "dumbed-down" is a negative reference to the edition. Describing people's reaction as "nerd rage" is denigrating to those people.

And by association, people interested in playing a "dumbed down" game, because apparently they couldn't cope with the "smart" game.

Overemotional reactions are hardly new to the world. We just have a new word for baiting people who are upset. The fact that they're upset is somehow evidence that they're nerds.

Describing peoples reaction as nerd rage is denigrating their rage, describing it as blowing something out of proportions. It tells. "You/They are way overreacting, as happens often with nerds." (And as hong points out, we are all nerds. Or maybe we're all geeks, and we just misuse the word in this context. The difference between geek and nerd is getting lost these days, I surely can't pinpoint it.)

 

[Felon]

No, describing people's reaction as nerdrage is a negative reference to the irrationality of their posts.

You know, "rage". Cf ragequit.

Describing peoples reaction as nerd rage is denigrating their rage, describing it as blowing something out of proportions. It tells. "You/They are way overreacting, as happens often with nerds." (And as hong points out, we are all nerds. Or maybe we're all geeks, and we just misuse the word in this context. The difference between geek and nerd is getting lost these days, I surely can't pinpoint it.)

This is just equivocation. "I'm not denigrating a person, just denigrating a person's feelings. I'm not violating any rules by labeling you as stupid, I'm just labeling your point of view as stupid".

Botom line: is it an intentionally inconsiderate term? Yes.

The persons experiencing said nerdrage probably don't see their behavior as irrational, and likely aren't swayed by having others call it nerdrage. And I suspect the person throwing the term out knows perfectly well that he's just waving a red flag.

And by association, people interested in playing a "dumbed down" game, because apparently they couldn't cope with the "smart" game.

That's a much less direct association. You produce your feelings, other people produced D&D. The implications of calling a game "dumbed-down" is not necessarily calling the people playing it dumb. Case in point: I play 4e, I do feel it's intentionally designed to be dumbed-down, and yet I don't think my group of players is dumb at all.

 

[hong]

This is just equivocation. "I'm not being rude to you, just saying rude things about your opinion. I'm not violating any rules by labeling you as stupid, I'm just labeling your point of view".

Rude is rude. The person(s) experiencing said nerdrage probably don't see their behavior as irrational, and likely aren't swayed by having others call it nerdrage. More likely, it's just baiting them.

Quite possibly. In which case, it would be just the same as "dumbing down". Or "videogamey". Or "rollplaying not roleplaying". Or....

That's a much less direct association. You produce your feelings, other people produced D&D. The implications of called a game "dumbed-down" is not necessarily calling the people playing it dumb. Case in point: I play 4e, I do feel it's dumbed-down quite a bit, and yet I don't think my group of players is dumb at all.

"I'm not being rude to you, just saying rude things about what you like" does not seem that far removed from the above. And if you don't feel insulted by it, there's no reason you should be insulted by nerd rage either; they're both similarly distanced.