Matrix Games Forums

ORIGINAL: Nemo121

I think the biggest problem isn't a single word but the underlying issue which is that many people here ( both developers and players ) invest hugely in the NIHS ( Not Invented Here Syndrome ) and appear closed to opinions or even discussion which runs counter to their own assumptions.

When you get people deriding or refusing to engage with those who are trying to be evidence-based then you have proof certain that there's something rotten at the core.... Sadly all too often people here think that "but my bias says different" trumps the need for rational discourse. Obviously there are also situations where the person arguing the counterpoint is purely reliant on their own bias.


Unfortunately, ever was it so. Humans often aren't rational, open to new viewpoints, tolerant of difference or even, often, particularly nice. This forum is just a microcosm of that with people banding into pseudo-clans, exaggerating differences with others in order to increase the extent to which they "belong" to "their own clan" and projecting out against "the other" that which they find unacceptable within themselves.


I applaud the sentiment but most people in online discussions don't really tend to operate at much above a cavedweller psychological level of personal and external insight.


Pessimistic? Yes, but also experientially and even evidence-based. There's a lot of interesting work being done on the social psychology of internet groups which seems to show this sort of emergent behaviour arises naturally time and again.


Even the whole "this game is great" .... "I feel betrayed because of this minor error which is a HUGE PROBLEM which renders the whole game useless and MUST BE FIXED. You have RUINED MY LIFE !!!!!" dichotomy which goes on here is analogous to the whole leadership myth thing which goes on with human groups. Humans tend to look for leaders and then bestow in them capabilities and hopes they don't and can't have. A certain portion remains blind to the difference between what is and what was hoped while others notice it and then utterly over-react swinging wildly from overly faithful follower into implacable enemy. Neither position has the benefit of logic and proportionality but both are highly human and because so few people take the time to realise that their hopes and disappointment are both magnified few people in net ( and other groups ) maintain a more steady course through this cycle.

Of note: the psychology of this leadership myth/cycle is not much different than the cycle which occurs in romantic love--- initially idealised, later realisation that "the other" isn't as one idealised her/him and then lastly either reconciliation to this reality and the adoption of new bond-reasons or the dissolution of the relationship ( ie divorce ).


So, Cuttlefish, bravo but I fear the vicissitudes of psychology will torpedo this particular Hibiki.

ORIGINAL: Cuttlefish

Well...I tried.

Just to be clear on one point, though, since some people seem to have misconstrued my meaning here. I do not ask people to avoid using the term because it is insulting or for some vague PC-motivated reason. No indeed. It was merely my observation that the word has become a barrier to intelligent discussion. Used the way that Chickenboy, for instance, uses it in his sig it is a friendly and funny term. But if start a thread to the effect that

(Note: the following claim is being made for example purposes only. I am NOT making this claim. It is merely an example. Please do not respond to this example)

the bombing accuracy of Japanese float planes seems to be too low I might expect someone to post a reply saying that yes, the bombing accuracy of Japanese float planes really was that bad. Someone else might post some counter-arguments and alternate statistics. Discussion ensues. We are all grognards here, we love this sort of thing. But pretty soon (and sooner rather than later these days, or so it seems to me) someone will haul out the "fanboy" term to dismiss the people on the opposing side of the argument and there goes your fun, nit-picky thread about Japanese float planes. It's use seems to signal the descent of a thread into pointless bickering and insults.

Some threads will get there anyway, of course. It's just the nature of debate on the internet.

That's all. Thanks for listening. I am going to go sit in the corner now and hang an "epic fail" sign around my neck.

Cuttlefish
"Japanese destroyer fanboy"

ORIGINAL: Cuttlefish

Well...I tried.

That's all. Thanks for listening. I am going to go sit in the corner now and hang an "epic fail" sign around my neck.

Cuttlefish
"Japanese destroyer fanboy"

ORIGINAL: Terminus
You're not the "epic fail" here, CF.

ORIGINAL: AW1Steve
Perhaps you can come up with a politicaly correct, totally inoffensive replacement word to indicate which side one perfers to play? [:(]

ORIGINAL: JWE

ORIGINAL: Terminus
You're not the "epic fail" here, CF.

I’m with Terminus. Definitely not an ‘epic fail’ CF. Agree with you, but also agree with others that say this cannot be expunged. Unfortunate, but not unexpected. Little egos will always whine with little voices on little issues, no matter what ya do. And to make themselves important, they always blame their own inadequacy on some hidden, mystical, opposing fanboism. Sigh.

Unfortunately, we all have to go through puberty, and that’s not pretty, and sometimes it lasts a lot longer than it biologically should.

No worries CF. You get it. Just realize how immature the fanboy thing is, and give the teeny boppers a break. They really are beneath your notice.

ORIGINAL: Buck Beach
I never use these term (I trust none of us are boys) but , I find this subject as it relates to these acronyms ridiculous. And if we all start using " I find you have a preference for playing the Allied/Axis side and your comments reflect a bias to that end". Would we then be looking for that combination of keystrokes to be up in arms about and look to ban them. Come on folks!! These letters do not indicate ones attitude towards a persons color, religion or ethnicity only a playing style preference and opinion ABOUT A GAME. What the hell is next.

These comments are not directed towards you JWE or any others who wish to concede to using the terms, just the issue.

"Don't argue with an idiot, He'll drap you down to his level and beat you with experience"

ORIGINAL: Terminus

You can prefer to play a given side without being a fanboy. Major Mike prefers to play the Japs, but he's not a fanboy.

ORIGINAL: usecase

It's all a bit pointless isn't it? We don't get to run controlled experiments. We have precisely one datum, which was US&allies vs Japanese Empire, which the US won by a knockout.

You can certainly argue that Japan could have done better; on the other hand its best course of action (in retrospect) would have been to keep out of the war altogether. Or, if war it were, just take on the European powers.

My main arguments are with AE's UI; it's much improved over stock, but the need for WitpStaff and WitpTracker shows the the way for WITP II. Please say there will be a WITP II .