4 ms·

Using words like 'fanboy' is playing the man, not the ball. There's plenty of things to pick apart in there (from someone who's a dedicated user of iOS), but ju

Using words like 'fanboy' is playing the man, not the ball. There's plenty of things to pick apart in there (from someone who's a dedicated user of iOS), but just labelling it as fanboyism isn't an effective way to argue against it.

pearjuice 13y ago
>is playing the man, not the ball Which sports are you talking about? Because in most sports where you directly face your opponent (i.e. no lines or nets in between), it is completely legal to use minimal body contact (in football, shoulder bumping is okay, for example) to defend or obtain the ball. "Fanboy" is merely a convenient and quick way to annotate someone who is really into a certain company/product and actively defending it. I don't see how he is playing the man. If he would have said "you lil Apple faggot wouldn't accept Android if it were given to you for free" it would indeed be overly verbal, but "fanboy" is completely acceptable.
- code_duck 13y ago
  I believe the sports metaphor was intended to mean that the criticism amounted to an ad hominem.
  - nicholassmith 13y ago
    That's the one, the metaphor fit a bit better so I took the ball and ran with it. Not sure it was all in all a slam dunk, but you need to have a punt every now and again.
- EpicEng 13y ago
  Not sure you watch a lot of football. "Was he playing the ball" is the idiomatic method to use when trying to figure out if pass interference occurred. Defenders are allowed to make contact after 5 yards if they're going for the ball, but not otherwise. Besides, you're just being pedantic, you know what he meant.
  - pearjuice 13y ago
    I don't think we are speaking about the same football.
- nicholassmith 13y ago
  Football (or if you're American 'soccer'), that's where the phrase actually stems from. I disagree, I think relying on a rally call of 'fanboy' doesn't do anything to further discussion of the points, and it's now used on both sides to immediately dismiss the points of someone as they're a 'fanboy' and implies they're overly blinded.

pearjuice 13y ago

>is playing the man, not the ball Which sports are you talking about? Because in most sports where you directly face your opponent (i.e. no lines or nets in between), it is completely legal to use minimal body contact (in football, shoulder bumping is okay, for example) to defend or obtain the ball. "Fanboy" is merely a convenient and quick way to annotate someone who is really into a certain company/product and actively defending it. I don't see how he is playing the man. If he would have said "you lil Apple faggot wouldn't accept Android if it were given to you for free" it would indeed be overly verbal, but "fanboy" is completely acceptable.

code_duck 13y ago
I believe the sports metaphor was intended to mean that the criticism amounted to an ad hominem.
- nicholassmith 13y ago
  That's the one, the metaphor fit a bit better so I took the ball and ran with it. Not sure it was all in all a slam dunk, but you need to have a punt every now and again.
EpicEng 13y ago
Not sure you watch a lot of football. "Was he playing the ball" is the idiomatic method to use when trying to figure out if pass interference occurred. Defenders are allowed to make contact after 5 yards if they're going for the ball, but not otherwise. Besides, you're just being pedantic, you know what he meant.
- pearjuice 13y ago
  I don't think we are speaking about the same football.
nicholassmith 13y ago
Football (or if you're American 'soccer'), that's where the phrase actually stems from. I disagree, I think relying on a rally call of 'fanboy' doesn't do anything to further discussion of the points, and it's now used on both sides to immediately dismiss the points of someone as they're a 'fanboy' and implies they're overly blinded.