25 Annoying Things About NON-Gamers

[lordofduct]

#8-It's just basic etiquette. I don't talk when I can tell someone is clearly paying attention during a tv show or movie. I'll wait for a commercial break, or at least wait for some subtle sign from that person that I can go ahead and talk. It's the same thing with video games

#8

That one gets me SOOOO much. I'm an adult now, I govern my own leisure time. I live with a lot of people... actually I should say a lot of people live UNDER MYYYY ROOF! If it weren't for my Windows Media Center set up I'd be smashing heads.

Here I am, in the midst of the news or a really good movie that's got me on the edge of the seat ( you know, those drama-y pull at your heart strings kinda bits )... low and behold someone comes into the living room to gab me up. Nothing important, nothing I probably would even care about. Like say, some other movie this movie reminds them of... or something from the news show LAST NIGHT I already watched WITH THEM!

I stare right through them and continue watching my movie ignoring everything they say. And they continue on like I'm actually paying attention despite the fact I'm obviousily not looking at them or changing any of my body language to show I feign any concern in their existence.

Sometimes I'll even pause my movie and just look at them coldly for two seconds, turn up the volume while it is paused (thank you tivo magic!) then press play with the volume full blast.

STILL they don't get the point. And day in and day out they continue doing this. What the hell? This goes for videogames as well.



... back at the kid thing...

I totally agree with Niode and ottobot. Stern fist is more like it with me. I'm sorry to all you neophytes who think hitting your kid is wrong... but my kid is gonna have one tan hide any time they get into trouble. I'd like to find me a good ol' Spanish... preferably Cuban... mother for my children. You know the kind that don't take shit and isn't afraid to back hand her kid at the grocer for pitching a fit they can't have the super sugary Captain Crunch AND a chocolate bar.

Ever notice that mom always has relatively well behaved kids at the store?

I don't get these kids now a days from middle class suburbia telling their parents to "f' off". When I was a kid (and this wasn't back in the days where we walked 5 miles up hill through the snow to school both ways... no... I'm only 25, this was the 90's for me). I was over joyed when we entered the produce section and my mom let us fill a bag of pistaccios, or buy a half dozen bagels. Cream cheese!? I didn't have cream cheese on my bagel until I was 16 years old and I bought it my damn self!

I got 1... yes ONE video game a year for my birthday. If I didn't get it on my birthday, it was my "special" gift on Christmas. What ever happened to that too? You got clothes, socks, an orange, some books, a hand full of basic toys and ONE special expensive gift. Now I see these little kids on my street coming running out their doors with truck loads of gifts. What the gay!

I remember being torn between if I wanted "Jurassic Park" or "ToeJam and Earl 2" one year for my birthday... knowing very well by next birthday there would be 10 more games I will probably want instead.

Screw that, my kids getting an ass beating

[Ack]

I agree with it, though I think I should add to number 20...I've had someone simply walk into a room and hit the power button before to get my attention. I never did do what they asked. I was too busy screaming at them to hear what they wanted.

[Daniel Primed]

There's a reason why "non-gamers" think that we are immature children playing with toys, it's because we are all largely immature (isn't this article and the responses garned proof of that?) and haven't proven to them that games are more than toys. I'm deeply offended by this tripe, thanks for allowing it to spill out into this forum too.

[ott0bot]

#8-It's just basic etiquette. I don't talk when I can tell someone is clearly paying attention during a tv show or movie. I'll wait for a commercial break, or at least wait for some subtle sign from that person that I can go ahead and talk. It's the same thing with video games

#8

That one gets me SOOOO much. I'm an adult now, I govern my own leisure time. I live with a lot of people... actually I should say a lot of people live UNDER MYYYY ROOF! If it weren't for my Windows Media Center set up I'd be smashing heads.

Here I am, in the midst of the news or a really good movie that's got me on the edge of the seat ( you know, those drama-y pull at your heart strings kinda bits )... low and behold someone comes into the living room to gab me up. Nothing important, nothing I probably would even care about. Like say, some other movie this movie reminds them of... or something from the news show LAST NIGHT I already watched WITH THEM!

I stare right through them and continue watching my movie ignoring everything they say. And they continue on like I'm actually paying attention despite the fact I'm obviousily not looking at them or changing any of my body language to show I feign any concern in their existence.

Sometimes I'll even pause my movie and just look at them coldly for two seconds, turn up the volume while it is paused (thank you tivo magic!) then press play with the volume full blast.

STILL they don't get the point. And day in and day out they continue doing this. What the hell? This goes for videogames as well.



... back at the kid thing...

I totally agree with Niode and ottobot. Stern fist is more like it with me. I'm sorry to all you neophytes who think hitting your kid is wrong... but my kid is gonna have one tan hide any time they get into trouble. I'd like to find me a good ol' Spanish... preferably Cuban... mother for my children. You know the kind that don't take shit and isn't afraid to back hand her kid at the grocer for pitching a fit they can't have the super sugary Captain Crunch AND a chocolate bar.

Ever notice that mom always has relatively well behaved kids at the store?

I don't get these kids now a days from middle class suburbia telling their parents to "f' off". When I was a kid (and this wasn't back in the days where we walked 5 miles up hill through the snow to school both ways... no... I'm only 25, this was the 90's for me). I was over joyed when we entered the produce section and my mom let us fill a bag of pistaccios, or buy a half dozen bagels. Cream cheese!? I didn't have cream cheese on my bagel until I was 16 years old and I bought it my damn self!

I got 1... yes ONE video game a year for my birthday. If I didn't get it on my birthday, it was my "special" gift on Christmas. What ever happened to that too? You got clothes, socks, an orange, some books, a hand full of basic toys and ONE special expensive gift. Now I see these little kids on my street coming running out their doors with truck loads of gifts. What the gay!

I remember being torn between if I wanted "Jurassic Park" or "ToeJam and Earl 2" one year for my birthday... knowing very well by next birthday there would be 10 more games I will probably want instead.

Screw that, my kids getting an ass beating

There's alot of funny in there. made me laugh way more than that bitchy article.

[Pingfa]

Here I am, in the midst of the news or a really good movie that's got me on the edge of the seat ( you know, those drama-y pull at your heart strings kinda bits )... low and behold someone comes into the living room to gab me up. Nothing important, nothing I probably would even care about. Like say, some other movie this movie reminds them of... or something from the news show LAST NIGHT I already watched WITH THEM!

Indeed - I personally think this is a worse scenario than with video games. Very similar questions as on the list too - "what you watchin'?", "what's it about?", "is it good?" Let me watch it and I'll back to ya' on that!

I realise the list isn't supposed to be taken completely literally, but this list really points out glaring flaws regarding authoritive figures - that doesn't even necessarily have to be a parent. If parents actually noticed this and tried to rectify their mistakes so as to gain more authority, many of these scenarios could be prevented.
I knew I never did what anyone wanted when they turned the electricity off on me...
Your kid can't learn anything from someone who refuses to learn.

Anyhow, I digress...

[Ack]

Actually, if you read a bit more on that site, the other articles at the end that they link to make for some other entertaining reading. And yes, they do take time to make fun of themselves in the "celebrity fake-gamers" thread. But to be honest, if I walked into your bedroom, grabbed the book you were reading and threw it out the window, you would be pretty upset. I think it's more a generational thing. The generation that maintains higher positions in business, politics, government, so on and so forth, are older and didn't play games. They still see gaming as a hobby for children, because that is who played them when they were first appearing to them. As we age, our hobby ages and we won't have these same problems.

Unfortunately, we do have to put up with nasty stereotypes, and while stereotypes are often based on truth, they are still usually taken to extremes. And growing up playing games, I have often felt and seen the truths behind those stereotypes. But I've also seen my hobby get little to no respect from other people, many of whom are just now beginning to respect them. Take my mother, a children's librarian. For a long time growing up, she would do many of these things. Only in the last...five years has she really started paying attention to games, and now she's much more respectful of my gaming. It's partly her job, as she sees so much of it through the children she works with, and it's partly from her own children, all three of whom grew up playing games. In fact, she's actually pretty excited that I'm trying to find ways to use an MLIS in regards to gaming.

Still, we do need to act more mature as a whole. Getting angry and feeling bad when you aren't doing well is normal, but there are extremes here that we should avoid, even if we do them. And I know there are things on the list that gamers do as well.

Oh well. I respect Daniel Primed's thoughts on the article, and he does have a good point. Though I will say...I believe the anonymity of the internet is partially to blame. Looking at comments to political news simply goes from bad to worse, and very quickly. And most of those people are supposed to be older and more mature...

[SpaceBooger]

I agree with some of it, but not all. Mainly the buying "crappy" games. Sorry, but some people do like those games. Though yes I do think Psychonauts should of gotten a sequel!

Also my opinion of #20. If it is a situation where the person demanding you to put down the controller has the authority too, yes put down the stupid controller. It's only a game! If mom comes in and demands you attention, you give it. I highly doubt if it was anyone that didn't have the authority, you probably won't stop playing anyway and the person most likely isn't going to be offended. The only times I've ever had someone pissed off I didn't stop playing my game to give them full attention is when it was something of:
A) emergency
B) a chore or parental request (when I was a kid)
C) girlfriend there to bitch me out for something that even if I was in the middle of heart surgery she probably would still be pulling the scalpel from my hand just to slice my face open.

My friends calmly place the movie on pause, put down their book, or drop their drawing pencil when I politely ask... give the same respect back damn it! I don't care how freaking deep into the game you are, nearly all have pause buttons! And if it's one of those online mmo bullshit things, well tough beans, you went into the game knowing this type of thing may occur. How about in the case of a parent who may interrupt you to do chores... you set up a time with them letting them know WHEN you are going to be playing and get your chores and homework out of the way before you play.

I don't know about all you guys when you were kids, or if you are kids right now. But when I was a kid my parents didn't let me frilly nilly play whenever with no interruption. I did my homework and took out the garbage first. I put the controller down for dinner. And my videogame certainly did not interrupt the news or moms favourite television show! And this is in a day when videogames didn't HAVE save states. I remember the hoops I jumped through to beat "Kid Chameleon" as a kid in the small amount of time I was allotted each day. I may have hated it at the time, especially when my mum would ground me for 2 months at a time from my SEGA... but hey, it's just a freakin' game!

AMEN!

I'm sick of hearing about these moaning kids that get everything they want. They dictate what they do to their parents not the other way round. When I have kids i'm raising them with a stern hand. They only play when they've done their homework/chores, just like I had to do when I was a kid!!

I am a teacher, and every year after the holidays students come back taking about how they got 2 video game systems... or a system and like 5 games... That's a lot of money... at my house I was only allowed one game per year as a gift, but I could purchase as many as I wanted with my own money renting NES games was the thing to do when I was in middle school.

[racketboy]

My parents refused to give me games as gifts. (although they did give me quarters for the arcade -- they just didn't want me to neglect my school work)
I had to buy them with my own money. But I sure did appreciate them more

[xraydash]

Screw that, my kids getting an ass beating

Neither my wife nor I have ever laid a finger on our children and they are extremely well behaved. There are other ways. The key is to set limits and then be firm and consistent within those limits. Not only that, but you need to model appropriate behaviors and actually teach your children how to act. Doling out physical punishment as a consequence is lazy parenting.

[Pingfa]

Screw that, my kids getting an ass beating

Doling out physical punishment as a consequence is lazy parenting.

Pingfa agrees.

... but this isn't the place for that discussion.