Originally Posted by
Gotthammer
Eh, I'm still skeptical - requiring detailed knowledge or a certain attitude or outlook seems too much like "it must be done my way or you're not doing it right". For instance, wearing makeup or cologne is a bad idea when exercising, and is certainly detrimental to effectiveness - but it doesn't make the person any less of a gym junkie if they feel they are. Their workout might not be 100% optimised, hell it might even be bad, but would you say someone isn't a proper 40k fan if their models aren't painted to Golden Demon standard, or assembled badly etc?
To go back to being a geek does it mean you lose your geek card if you either don't know or mis-attribute the reasoning behind the God nickname? I mean if a detailed knowledge of the etymology of the nickname of an until-know theoretical particle is required to be classed a geek then count me out.
If that was the case I could say that unless you know who Bradamante is you are also not really a geek - after all geeks know a lot about mythology too, right? Or if you can't program in five different languages, can't quote Monty Python word for word, don't play D&D, watch anime etc etc.
I can see how someone can be a proper or real doctor / lawyer - you get a certificate and everything - but when it's a self applied label which covers a huge number of sub-groups the whole thing (not you, Build, the OP) reeks of people in their little empires upset that "other" people are getting let in and they can't act like jackasses anymore (see also: terrible game stores, the earlier thread on labels and my long response on the first page).