What quirky subculture do you love to teach others about?
You don’t have to belong to it, but I’d love it if you did!
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To clarify: they’re all quirky. Just choose your favorite and tell us about it a bit.
Geocachers and Flashmobbers.
@AB: My favorite high school robotics team named themselves the Awkward Turtles!
@BlueMukaki: I <3 both of those things. But Geocaching just a little bit more. It’s like a treasure hunt! But real! But awesome!
Lots of them!
The field of linguistics and being a language nerd. There are so many “common-sense” misconceptions about linguistics that are fun to discuss and debate; how many languages do you know, BEV is not a language, language is static, prescriptive grammar matters, etc.
The sub-culture of typography nerds. “hey look at that sign, the descender on that ‘g’ is totally effed. that’s not even the same typeface!”
Punk and Hip Hop. The Sex Pistols and NWA gave it such a bad name.
The world of malacologists, especially terrestrial and freshwater malacologists. Mostly fueled by beer and an insatiable desire to learn about little round brown snails, it is a tight-knit group. Arguments can be extremely passionate (so how did land snails become distributed on the various Pacific Islands?) but fisticuffs are general verbal only. These folks spend a great deal of time looking under rocks, hanging about in freshwater ponds and sifting through leaf-litter, yet most of them still manage to make a living.
I know. I used to be one of them.
Buffy fandom and Trekkers. I can talk for hours, no pause, about both of these subjects. It is always such a pleasure when I find someone who is as interested, either because they watch the show or because they just want to know.
There’s this really unique group of people who all gather to ask each other questions and answer them. I find it hard to explain to most people.
Ferrets! I could go on till I’m blue in the face about why they’re such great pets but really not for everyone…taking mine for a walk or to the park is like a 3-hour event, with all the questions and curiosity and me turning into a zoo-lecturer.
Turn Based strategy video games. I have played almost every one to date and am prepared to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of each title and some innovative ideas that really worked.
Modern Christian music. The evolution from 15 years ago to today. Most of it is defies labeling except ‘christian’ which is not such a good one anymore.
Uh, the nerds that make compuer parts into other things? Like my RAM Earrings and my cat5 cable bracelets.
Why, yes, you can Randomly Access My Bling.
Oh and uber-nerds. The ones who still talk about Zork. some of them weren’t even alive yet. I am one of them.
@as – I must have a pair of RAM earrings.
Damn! Looks like ThinkGeek recently stopped making them, that was the only place besides making them yourself. :( But! They have other cool stuff If you’re interested to know how to make a pair, I can walk you through it. :)
And because it’s Fluther, my favorite desk toy…
@as – I may have to get the jellyfish tank… it looks awesome.
lurve lurve lurve this question.
I’ll start with subcultures I really can’t stand:
* musical theater
* comedic improv
* kevin smith movie lovers
Cultures I can tolerate:
* star wars
Cultures I love to talk about:
* trek
* old time adventure games
* old school D&D
* geocaching
* hard core programming people
* typography (“does the kerning look right on that?”)
* cinematography, but only if it’s not accompanied by deconstructive theory
* photography
* LOLcats
* backstage dynamics
* new media artists (“ooo, what if we made an installation with ascii video?”)
* flutherflutherflutherflutherflutherflutherfluther
If I learned anything from this thread, it’s that repeating the word “fluther” over and over again without spaces makes waves.
@andrew- Hmmmmm not a Kevin Smith fan, huh? Is it the fans or the movies that bug you?
/b/ (I know, I know…rules 1 & 2)
I like to get teach people (specifically women who tend to be intimidated by the prospect) how to climb and get them hooked. I’ve got about six people rock climbing consistently now.
Actually, I love musical theater, especially if I get cast in a good part. :-)
I also love Christian music, especially now that I get to sing with the praise team for real.
But new media artists leave me out in the cold.
@paradesgoby That was my first thought! I’ve gotten a couple of friends into the fandom myself!
lols, one of my friends was obsessed with Furcadia in high school…when I found out what it was…it was awkward..
DiscWorld. The 17th, 18th and 19th centuries’ manners, dress and morals in Europe, as revealed in Georgette Heyer novels. Recycling; specifically building new structures with old materials. Freecycle. Constitutionalists and Libertarians. Second Amendment supporters. Survivalists. Pagans. Opera-goers. Cesar Millan technique users.
I also love exploding myths about Mensa and Mensans.
Retrogaming (especially Fallout) and the armed forces :)
As you really cant shut me up (in person) about those two subjects…
Role-playing games. There are a whole lot of stereotypes surrounding the culture, and though there are a few members of the community who typify the “fat, socially inept neckbearded nerd” image, they really are few and far between (in my experience) and give everyone else a bad name. The problem is that there’s often a very steep learning curve on most games, which means that it’s difficult to attract new people unless they’re really excited about the idea already. Anyways, I like to break down the “Role-playing games? Don’t you have a life?” prejudice whenever I can.
I like role playing games because I really don’t have a life
But I don’t have a neckbeard
i have a 2 day old neckbeard, shhh
but i don’t really play role playing games, unless you count WoW
I like roleplaying games, but a neckbeard would be downright strange on me.
I don’t think any of my friends have ever sported a neckbeard, while rping or not. derek does have a pretty sweet freddie stache though.
I also love to teach people about Furries.
And Mormon Fundamentalists.
I am a member of neither.
Haha, I love that clip. :D
The furries should get all kinds of credit for bowling in those gloves!
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