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Proudly a nerd (startrek.website)
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[-] emptyother@programming.dev 29 points 1 year ago

Is "nerd" such a negative thing anymore? Seems like its been watered down to mean "I play at least one video game".

I use the term "classic nerd" for what was once "nerd" because I havent found another word that covers it.

[-] Got_Bent@lemmy.world 15 points 1 year ago

Forty years later, people figured out that the nerds were making more money than God. Then nerd wasn't such a bad thing.

[-] pjhenry1216@kbin.social 6 points 1 year ago

This is so confusing. Are you saying "classic nerd" is negative then? Your wording is kind of ambiguous. I don't think "nerd" has been watered down, just isn't very negative in the mainstream. I'd say it just means you're very enthusiastic about a certain topic. I don't think folks would call someone who just plays one video game a nerd, unless it's only one video game and they are super into it, like a "WoW nerd" maybe.

I don't think there's any need to gatekeep "nerd" though and require any additional qualifiers on it like "classic". Just seems like you're trying to say "actual" without sounding elitist about it.

[-] sanpedropeddler@sh.itjust.works 3 points 1 year ago

I don't think they mean it to be negative. I assumed they mean its used more loosely now and has lost some of the meaning it used to have as a result. They can't find a more fitting word for what they want to say, so they just specify they mean the stricter definition of the word nerd.

[-] pjhenry1216@kbin.social 2 points 1 year ago

I find the "stricter" meaning more ambiguous though. Nerd still applies to many subclasses of people back in the day. If you read too many books, nerd. Played video games? Nerd. Did math for fun? Nerd. Chess? Nerd. So saying "classic nerd" doesn't say much.

And in regards to being negative or not, it was more the ambiguity of their opening. They said the word "nerd" isn't negative anymore because it's watered down. So when they made a non-watered down version, it just seemed questionable in regards to the reason given for not being negative anymore.

Based on their response, yeah, I think it was just poor wording.

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[-] GigglyBobble@kbin.social 5 points 1 year ago

Even today I think nerd still involves some kind of obsession though.

Anyone could be into LOTR, especially after the movies came out. But it's kinda nerdy to have heated discussions whether or not leaving out Tom Bombadil was the right call (it wasn't!).

[-] gnomesaiyan@lemmy.world 4 points 1 year ago

Nerd is a compliment as far as I'm concerned.

[-] emptyother@programming.dev 4 points 1 year ago

It wasnt when and where I grew up. The stereotype was still the "Revenge of the nerds" or "Steve Urkel". But I kinda took the label as a shield when people used it on me and I learned what it meant. Why should I be ashamed of enjoying digging into computers and programming? Why would enjoying books or non-mainstream comics be such a negative thing? Why would playing more advanced video games be sad? Or finding math fun? And why was I the only one who would admit to enjoying it at school? I know a few people had some shared interest, but they never spoke of it at school. Also why yell out loudly that whatever I was lost in was utterly boring to them? And when reaching the next level of education and meeting people LIKE ME, the nerd label hardened. They were nerds, I was nerd. I learned about roleplaying games, MTG, even more advanced video games, that stuff that seemed was the domain of most nerds.

The nerd label meant someone who had multiple interests into stuff that average people called "boring". Finding people who called themselves nerds meant that they very likely shared some interests with me, or could teach me something new I would find interesting. So I am still a bit sore that people who bullied me for being a nerd later proudly declare themselves nerds for ONLY playing such a simple game as World of Warcraft when that was popular. It is about using a word for what seemed like it had its own meaning back then, who now have become a synonym for "gamer".

/u/pjhenry1216@kbin.social I dont consider that gate-keeping. I would welcome all and any to enjoy the things nerds enjoy. I just want to have a name for the subculture I joined and found belonging in. Words like goth have meaning still, and it isnt gatekeeping to assume it means people who enjoys dressing in all-black.

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[-] Edgelord_Of_Tomorrow@lemmy.world 25 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Problem is for a long time the heaviest trekkies, the really visible ones, were usually not about the idealism at all.

For every quiet idealist who dreams of a better future there's a loud closet fascist who only sees the uniforms, a rigid militarized society with clear chains of authority, a Vulcan philosophy where cold logic overrides empathy, and where the advanced humans swashbuckle about the universe showing the natives their place.

It's getting better now but back in the day Trek fandom was rough and it's taking a lot to shake the image.

[-] psivchaz@reddthat.com 5 points 1 year ago

I've always been pathologically unwilling to be part of a community. I miss out on a lot, I'm sure. It's not a healthy way to be, and I'm not saying it's a good thing.

It's just that I'm into things like anime and video games and all that nerd shit. Every community has Those People that I don't want to be associated with. They aren't even the majority, but when a person who doesn't know much about anime hears "anime lover" they think of a dude doing a Naruto run in public. When they hear "Star Trek" they think of the comic book guy from Simpsons. Etc.

[-] robbotlove@lemmy.world 5 points 1 year ago

I know exactly what you mean. I've always wanted to know why our hobbies have the worst people in it.

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[-] dangblingus@lemmy.dbzer0.com 22 points 1 year ago

I mean, they obviously don't know all of that. Haters think Star Trek is just people in bad costumes jerking each other off.

Hey it can be about many things

[-] Anticorp@lemmy.ml 12 points 1 year ago

There's definitely at least a couple of episodes about that.

[-] Snowyday@startrek.website 2 points 1 year ago

Thank you, Lieutenant Broccoli

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[-] MashedTech@lemmy.world 5 points 1 year ago

Sounds hot, where is that?

[-] Corgana@startrek.website 21 points 1 year ago

Two years ago during the big /r/NNN protest I met major resistence from other reddit mods in regards to taking our subreddits private. I knew someone had to stick their neck out first if we were going to get the Reddit admins to care about our protest. Many mods were worried about upsetting their users by making waves.

I slept on the decision and woke up early thinking to myself "Wait a minute, these are Trekkies I'm dealing with, the most rambunctious group of policically nerdy fans I can think of. Trekkies stand up to bullies and they do it together. Of course they'll stand by us if we do this."

I reached out to the Daystrom mods asking if they'd join us in going private and they were immediatley in. Same for Risa and the Discovery mods and many other mods of many small Trek subs.

While the protest didn't achieve the goals I wanted and I ultimatley quit the site altogether, we definitley made some big waves, and it was all because Trekkies weren't afraid to do what's right, it really stuck with me the power fans of a "silly 60 year old TV show" can have.

[-] sloppy_diffuser@sh.itjust.works 3 points 1 year ago

Love Star Trek and a lot of Sci-Fi for this reason. Just finished binge watching Strange New Worlds where standing up for what is right is a core tenant of the crew. In contrast, one of the recent Ashoka episodes really hit me with the quote "sometimes even the right reasons have the wrong consequences". It really sums up my experience in the world we live in and where we could be.

[-] UlyssesT@hexbear.net 6 points 1 year ago

I needed to see this today. sicko-wholesome

[-] all4one@lemmy.zip 6 points 1 year ago

For someone that has never watched any star trek what should I start off watching?

[-] axont@hexbear.net 7 points 1 year ago

I'd suggest going through a list of the best TNG episodes

[-] emptiestplace@lemmy.ml 3 points 1 year ago

I feel like I should like it, but its episodic nature completely ruins it for me.

[-] Tankiedesantski@hexbear.net 4 points 1 year ago

Deep Space 9 is the first ST show to have season long arcs peppered with self-contained episodes. Since someone else already mentioned Discovery, I think DS9 is a pretty good jumping on point for "classic" Trek.

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[-] winterayars@sh.itjust.works 5 points 1 year ago

TNG, start with the second season. If that's a too preachy and perfect for you try DS9.

[-] negativenull@lemm.ee 6 points 1 year ago

WWSTD?
What Would Star Trek Do?

[-] Snowyday@startrek.website 4 points 1 year ago

Picard on one shoulder, Garak on the other shoulder

Riker on the bed with his pants off

[-] Haggers@startrek.website 5 points 1 year ago

I got myself a career where nerd is a prerequisite, and a nerdophilic gf. Nerd and proud!

[-] jopepa@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago

Fine I’ll watch it already!

[-] ryan@the.coolest.zone 3 points 1 year ago

You know, I don't think I've ever had anyone judge me for my love of Star Trek. Sci-fi and nerddom is a lot more mainstream than it used to be.

However... If someone were to flip to BBC America and watch one episode of TNG, and that episode was The Royale, I wouldn't even mind if they judged me for all eternity.

[-] ProxyTheAwesome@hexbear.net 3 points 1 year ago

trek hasn't been about any of that shit for at least a couple decades. It's just star wars with a coat of paint at this point

[-] Honytawk@lemmy.zip 2 points 1 year ago

You should watch Strange News Worlds then.

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[-] deezbutts@lemm.ee 2 points 1 year ago

Millions inspired to be better? A phenomena?

[-] axont@hexbear.net 7 points 1 year ago

A lot of nerds became doctors and aerospace scientists and stuff because of Star Trek

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[-] UlyssesT@hexbear.net 3 points 1 year ago

Negative and positive influence is very real from entertainment, no matter how some people deny it.

Trek has by and large been a positive influence on a lot of people.

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this post was submitted on 12 Sep 2023
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Risa

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