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I think he's attacking the stereotype of the 'geek', rather than individual attitudes. If he was attacking attitudes, he wouldn't need to cast aspersions on an

I think he's attacking the stereotype of the 'geek', rather than individual attitudes. If he was attacking attitudes, he wouldn't need to cast aspersions on an entire group (stereotype) in the way that he is, because nothing about the attitudes he is criticising are exclusive to 'geeks'. It's a cheap and hostile article masquerading as socially conscious self-reflection. To put it like a conservative might, it's 'virtue signalling' without any self-awareness. I'm not a fan of stereotyping people this way. It's never helpful and is merely an attempt to elevate oneself by putting another group down. It's hostile and crass.

cwillu 8y ago
I suspect it looks cheap simply because culture has changed in the 16 years since this was published. Remember that in 2003, the only way you're going to be reading an essay online is if you're devoting the time to sit down at a desktop to do so. Do you feel your criticism would still apply with the same force if it was clear that the author was considered to be a geek by himself and others? *Edited to add a quote from http://www.plausiblydeniable.com/opinion/fifteen.html http://www.plausiblydeniable.com/opinion/fifteen.html regarding this point: > First up is the issue of what "geek" means. It's an ill- > defined subculture at the best of times, but I generally > see two loose and overlapping superfamilies. On the one > hand, those geeks whose common denominator is a passion > for technical pursuits of all sorts -- OS geeks, coding > geeks, sysadmin geeks, etc.; on the other, those whose > common denominator is a passion for media -- comic book > geeks, film geeks, anime geeks, gaming geeks, etc. I'm a > game designer with a degree in performance studies. You > can probably guess where I fall. I wasn't thinking espe- > cially rigorously when I wrote 5GSF (or, for that matter, > Why Geeks Like Anime), so while I defined my terms, I > used the media-geek definition throughout. This caused > problems for some readers coming from the other side of > the tracks -- like, say, Metafilter.
peteretep 8y ago
I read it originally, and rereading it now, it still resonates, especially in the geeky communities I know of. I just can’t find the hostility or attack in it that you’re seeing. It sounds like someone inside a group pushing the emergency button.
- ionised 8y ago
  > It sounds like someone inside a group pushing the emergency button. This kind of comment is a poor response, and not one you could ever prove. All it does is shit up the comments and amounts to little more than an insult. At least post something substantial.
Grustaf 8y ago
How would you write an article about attitudes without generalising?

cwillu 8y ago

I suspect it looks cheap simply because culture has changed in the 16 years since this was published. Remember that in 2003, the only way you're going to be reading an essay online is if you're devoting the time to sit down at a desktop to do so. Do you feel your criticism would still apply with the same force if it was clear that the author was considered to be a geek by himself and others? *Edited to add a quote from http://www.plausiblydeniable.com/opinion/fifteen.html http://www.plausiblydeniable.com/opinion/fifteen.html regarding this point: > First up is the issue of what "geek" means. It's an ill- > defined subculture at the best of times, but I generally > see two loose and overlapping superfamilies. On the one > hand, those geeks whose common denominator is a passion > for technical pursuits of all sorts -- OS geeks, coding > geeks, sysadmin geeks, etc.; on the other, those whose > common denominator is a passion for media -- comic book > geeks, film geeks, anime geeks, gaming geeks, etc. I'm a > game designer with a degree in performance studies. You > can probably guess where I fall. I wasn't thinking espe- > cially rigorously when I wrote 5GSF (or, for that matter, > Why Geeks Like Anime), so while I defined my terms, I > used the media-geek definition throughout. This caused > problems for some readers coming from the other side of > the tracks -- like, say, Metafilter.

peteretep 8y ago

I read it originally, and rereading it now, it still resonates, especially in the geeky communities I know of. I just can’t find the hostility or attack in it that you’re seeing. It sounds like someone inside a group pushing the emergency button.

ionised 8y ago
> It sounds like someone inside a group pushing the emergency button. This kind of comment is a poor response, and not one you could ever prove. All it does is shit up the comments and amounts to little more than an insult. At least post something substantial.

Grustaf 8y ago

How would you write an article about attitudes without generalising?