I don't buy the notion that the push for optional easy modes in games is the cause of obsessive gamers bitching about "filthy casuals". Nobody is forcing the obsessives to play on easy mode.
I prefer to think that obsessive gamers who complain about "filthy casuals" are entitled assholes trying to be gatekeepers.
@starbreaker I couldn't agree more! The gaming community is full of people who seem to hold to the notion that they're part of some elite club. I believe the wonderful hobby of gaming should be accessible to all.
@ayachan Unfortunately, it isn't just gaming. Every hobby and fandom has obsessive types trying to play gatekeeper.
@starbreaker Ugh. Tell me about it. Elitism knows no bounds. If you really think about it, it all goes back to tribalism and the fact that humans survived for most of their time on this planet by being very exclusive about which other groups they connected with. So when you get involved, you begin to behave in abhorrent, protectivist sorts of ways; it's plain awful. :( And you see it with essentially any hobby, fandom, way of life, etc.
@ayachan Frankly, I'm glad that my stories aren't popular enough to have a fandom. I'd feel obligated to police it and crack down on the obsessive fans who question others because they don't know what Josefine Malmgren's measurements are.
I mean, I don't even know that and I'm the friggin' author. It just isn't relevant to plot or characterization. All that matters is that she's a petite blonde who dyes her hair brown so techbros will take her more seriously.
@starbreaker You'd be in the company of authors such as J. K. Rowling, who go out of their way to fight nasty fans and/or people who harass fans on places such as birdsite. The truth is that fighting bad fans has to be one of the most thankless and impossible of tasks in the world.
You gotta love toxic masculinity. Male fans can be really creepy sometimes. x-x;;
@starbreaker It sounds absolutely awful. x-x;; I read an article once--I forget where, sorry--that talked openly about how men were the primary victims of toxic masculinity. From what you're saying, it sure sounds like that is absolutely the case. :(
@ayachan You're right. It's one of the worst kinds of emotional labor one can do, and probably one of the hardest, because the obsessive types are the ones who would buy your shopping lists if you were to publish them.
If you think dealing with toxic masculinity in others is fun, try being a man and struggling against it yourself. It's so easy to rationalize sometimes, too, like when I had the flu at Christmas. I justified refusing help by saying it was to avoid spreading the disease.