"Cool people don't play RPGs" (from the Enworld thread)

[Spike]

Once again, I aspire to write erotic versions of Star Trek where everyone is a Furry....




.... Just Because.

[Aos]

Just so we're clear, I'm not from Cincinnati.

[Diavilo]

erotic versions of Star Trek where everyone is a Furry....

Don't suppose you could maybe  . . . y'know . . . tell me where I might get my hands on some of that - sounds real hot

[KrakaJak]

Steel cage match anyone?  Pundit, wanna promote it?

Let's do it.

You know, as Joe 'the Lawyer', you sound like a pro wrestler too.

Make this happen.

[Seanchai]

I wouldn't say "cool," but I would say the majority of gamers are geeks/nerds/sci-fi fans/working in IT/what have you.

Seanchai

[beejazz]

You see that just puts the nail in the coffin, nothing mainstream is cool,
 just cos we geeks are now in the majority does not mean we gained any street cred (hey I said street cred how geeky is that) and all the stuff you identify has a target market of 13 -17 year old boys (except for Watchmen way too much cock in that movie to let your kids see it) . Same demographic we were always in except now we are older. And don't tell me old is cool either. 30 is not the new 20, 40 is not the new 30, 50 is not the new 40, we are not special snowflakes.
Now do I watch Trueblood or fix the security permissions on that wiki?

Firstly, geeks are in the majority, not roleplayers. There's no more stigma *and* we're obscure enough to still be cool.

As for the 13-17 target audience... we aren't watching the same cartoons, apparently. And I really hope 30 isn't the new 20, cause that'd make me 11.

[jrients]

Personally, I've played with a lot of truly stellar people over the years.  Whether they count as "cool" by anyone else's definition means very little to me.

[Thanatos02]

I don't really know what 'cool' means.

[Kyle Aaron]

Jeff nails it.

Does it matter?

[Captain Rufus]

Are roleplaying and the people who do it cool?

No, we are really no better or worse than any other group of people participating in a harmless and fun passtime.

Does roleplaying and the people who do it have an image of cool?

No, we are considered to be some of the worst of the worst before getting into people doing immoral, illegal, and deviant passtimes.

Which is total retarded bullpuckey, but image means more than content.

(Explains how Mike Bay is still allowed to make movies.)

Someone made a good point on the Penn & Teller show Bullshit.  If American Football was invented recently it would be outlawed or decried all over the place as being overly dangerous and a threat to our youth as thousands of injuries have happened over the years and quite a few fatalities.

Yet a harmless thing like videogames has tons of anti game crusaders.

Why?  Its all about image, and what is socially acceptable, not the actual reality of the situation.

Alcohol kills and destroys thousands of lives every year but if any nation tried to outlaw it there would be a fucking riot.  (Just see Prohibition)  Its taken multiple family members from me to the point I hardly have any left alive.  (And even fewer one could say are doing well.)

Why is it defended?  Its a way of life and so established its not going away, and the reasonable explanation that most people who partake of it are perfectly fine and not getting into accidents, fights, or drinking themselves to death or poverty.

You can put this same line of thought to RPGs which maybe have a tenth of a percent of actual relatable "damage" to the users of it, but thanks to image its considered horrible.

Luckily we ARE doing better on image than the 80s with Pat Pulling and her reactionary nonsense though.

But sadly, perception always beats reality.  It keeps political parties going, starts pointless wars, gives religions power, and helps the people who enjoy staying stupid and ignorant keeping to this status quo.

I'm not sure what else one can really say.

I guess it just sucks to be gamers.  But there has to be something to it if in spite of the image it has we keep doing it in spite of all the obstacles.

[The Shaman]

I've been fortunate to have some seriously cool experiences in my life, but I personally have never, ever been what anyone would consider cool.

Except to my five-year-old daughter.

[Kyle Aaron]

It doesn't suck to be gamers in particular.

Every hobby or job has people who snark at it and bitch about it. Every one.

I'm studying to be a personal trainer, and you would not believe how many people there are who say, "who needs a personal trainer? just do your own research, and motivate yourself." Nice theory from a guy with a body like a puff pastry, but even if it came from a buff one - "Who needs to go to a restaurant? Just get a cookbook and cook." There are all sorts of things we pay others to do which we could really do entirely by ourselves.

Likewise with hobbies. Whatever hobby you have some idiot will bash it. Who cares?

[Benoist]

I personally have never, ever been what anyone would consider cool.

Except to my five-year-old daughter.

Which in itself is very, very cool.

[TheShadow]

"Cool" is a kind of social currency we seek to gain in order to gain status among our peers.

Specifically, it's a type employed by young people, who don't have a lot of possessions or accomplishments to show their status. Instead, by achieving a certain look, manner, or engaging in certain activities, you can gain respect and attention from peers and especially the opposite sex.

Most of us inevitably stop playing the game as hard when we get older, as we gain prestige from our career instead, and are no longer seeking the best sexual partner our market value can command.

So the cool game fades away, and we look to prove our status in other ways - display of material possessions, professional accomplishments, etc.

None of us are immune to the treadmill. It's what human beings do, and most religions and ideologies are attempts to ease the anxiety caused by the relentless sorting by status that occurs in human society.

If we are balanced, we manage to meet our basic needs, especially by establishing our own family, and status becomes less important. The search for status is after all a proxy for reproductive power, and when this need is being objectively met, we don't feel as driven to prove ourselves.

What was the question again?

[The Shaman]

Which in itself is very, very cool.

You know it!