PC Master Race started as a joke from Zero Punctuation. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSJKffmWZSk So it's a community in-joke.
It's a part of the history. The original PCMR started back when the mods of the original /r/gaming banned posts about PCs, saying "There's nothing inherently gaming about PC. You could just be using it as a tax machine for all we know". This understandably created friction between the 2 cliques of gaming, with the console clique calling the PC clique a "master race" as a form of insult. At some point, everyone got fed up with arguing about it. /r/pcmasterrace was made, and leaned fully into the "master race" out of spite, and was spurred on by PC hardware at the time being way more cost effective than consoles. Over the years things mellowed out and it became less and less about console peasants "individuals who at the time insisted that console was superior, not individuals who later could only afford console after PC hardware went up in price. Important difference" and more about becoming one of the master race "owning your first gaming centric rig".
If you wanted the tried and true down to earth gaming forum equivalent for PC, you're looking for the PCGaming magazine. PCMR will always be an enthusiast forum, that was based separating themselves from the console ecosystem.
Interesting.
TIL
Thanks for sharing history.
I still hate it.
I always wondered where that awful name came from, and why it gained so much traction. Thank you for this helpful internet history lesson.
However, since this name was born from discord (not the app obviously) and we're regrouping on another network, why not give it a new name and leave the stale history behind?
I think part of the issue is probably that when making a platform jump, keeping the same name and branding is important to make sure members can find their way back. I don't know how federation handles the closing / renaming of magazines, but once everyone's established it could certainly be something to vote on.
It certainly makes sense to keep the name to help people find what they are looking for.
Even if in this case the contributors decide to not change the name, maybe a redirect or "formerly known as" function for magazines would make sense in the future.
Neat history, I guess? Still seems to be an abhorrent label to self identity with.
The justification behind it is deeply unserious
Does that make it better or worse to keep using it?
Worse, I should've been more clear.
They're using a reddit piss match from a nearly a decade ago to justify the use of a disgusting piece of language.
The term has always been somewhat tongue in cheek, in part because it goes against the principles of PCMR to actually be elitist about liking PC. But also because it's a lightly mocking response to outside claims of superiority over PC that were rampant in the past (usually while lacking objective reasons for said superiority).
In my opinion, the term has grandfathered in to such a degree that it's relation to how Nazis used the word is kind of disingenuous to attach to PCMR at this point, since it's obvious the two uses aren't the same.
I also don't really blame the fact the name was kept, because that's what people migrating will be looking for. If they can't find it easily, someone else is just going to make it and the community will split. Who knows though, if people agree, maybe Lemmy will provide an option to rename the community - once it's grown large enough or something.
I just now found the community on my first try searcing for "PC master race". If it hadn't shown up I would have just assumed it didn't exist, rather than that it just had a different name.
Well it's a joke by Zero Punctuation years ago, that sub is inspired by that joke, this community is the colony of that sub.
and now the community IS the joke /s
no /s needed, look at how butthurt everyone in this thread is at the mere suggestion that they name their community something less nazi.
Is simply answering OP's question considered "butthurt" now?
You say "everyone" in this thread is butthurt. Who, specifically, is butthurt in this thread? Call someone out by name.
You seem pretty butthurt, for starters.
Yeah, that's what I thought, lol.
Look at how butthurt everyone in this thread is over a joke name and bringing perceived politics into it where there is none. This was all started by one game reviewer making fun of people who took PC gaming too seriously and then the subreddit name leaning into the joke. That's it, that's the story. If you want to start your own """less nazi""" PC enthusiast community, you can feel perfectly free to do that just the same as you could've on reddit with exactly the same amount of relative success as it would've had back there.
The fact is that the community was always going to be named "pcmasterrace" because that's what it was on reddit. Someone, anyone, was always going to make a community called "pcmasterrace" because that is how all the PCMR reddit refugees would find it. What you're getting mad about is the equivalent to what happens when people get mad over road names and petition to have them renamed. The small fraction of people who petitioned for it to happen feel real proud of themselves, good job, and then everyone else who never cared about why the road was named the way it was and just wanted to be able to get from point A to point B are indifferent at best and annoyed or angry at worst. All most people really want is to find their community and get back to discussing, so a huge chunk are likely to come to any of these instances' version of "pcmasterrace" because it's a simple way to accomplish that.
The term is used facetiously. There are much better things to be offended by, sir.
PC Gamer 2015: Let's stop calling ourselves the 'PC Master Race'
Thanks for pointing out how trashy this community is.
/m/linuxmasterrace would like a word
...It's just a popular fad/joke. Nobody is forcing you to "eat it up" tho -- just make an alternative community with "a least disturbing name" and move on.
Just going to tell the story that I broke one of the cardinal rules of PCMR by drunkenly pointing out the origin of "master race" when someone in a PCMR thread was going on about some other group being offensive and how PCMR was so much better.
It's always been tongue in cheek; it's meant to be a statement that PCs are superior to consoles. At a certain point it seems like PCMR just turned into talking about PCs. And that's fine. The sticky thing about it is, if it's not about jokingly talking about PCs being superior, does it need to be PCMR? On the other hand it's dang near a brand at this point. Can you move a PCMR audience over to something else entirely?
Just block the community if you don't like interacting with it.
Nazi's don't get to own anything. They got their asses handed to them both physically and ideologically during WW2. And it's not being used as a way of indirectly targeting marginalized communities in this context.
You're welcome to go create "PC enthusiast"
It's because they aren't enthuisiasts, they are PC nuts. Master race is a god way to make fun of them or say "it's not serious".
P.S you can make your own magazine or sub instead of complaining.
Que up that DJ Kahled-
Cuz we da BEST!
Its not that serious lol
because its funny...and true.
Tbh I wouldn't be against a name change. But keeping it the same definitely helps for discoverability during this transition period when we have a ton of people coming from Reddit.
Maybe in the future it'd be worth another look
Yeah, I agree. What comes to my mind first is "Which person did they nominate as PC Hitler?" or "Are they gonna joke about console Jews now?"
I'm sure the community is perfectly fine, but the name is gross and awful. It's the reason I never went there on Reddit and probably won't here either, and I don't imagine I'm the only one. It's not welcoming at all. It seems normal if you're used to it, I guess, but having a Nazi reference in your name is not a good look. You'd be better off ditching it now you have the opportunity imo.
A community for PC Master Race.
Rules:
Notes: