Shut Up and Enjoy the Silence

 I'm sure there are benefits to not being cynical where hobbies are concerned.  If you like something, or someone, you often overlook some of the more annoying qualities, because overall, you truly like it.  Trouble is, that often time, and additional exposure to such interests can lead to complications. 

You replace misty-eyed idealism with bordering psychosis.  Whilst most of the time everything seems as nice as normal, there are a few things, certain words or phrases, which can cause a rage, deep depression, weeping and incredibly large amounts of angst.  You find that whatever it is, it matters so much to you that you love it as much as you hate it, and take turns hating everyone else who hates it when you don't, and hating everything about it whilst everyone else hates you.

It can get so bad that when you find things about your subject of affection that annoy you, that even mentioning them becomes fuel for further misery as well.  When you throw in the internet, fanboyz and internet forums, you have a recipe for disaster.  It's so bad, you do start to wonder when it will become a routine documentary on Discovery.

Your fondness is still there, but every time you try to fight the niggling parts that threaten your devotion to it, time eventually gives way to an increasingly larger amount of loathing.  Naturally, Wargaming is one of those things that can do it in for you, especially GW games.  The thing to remember is it combines a great deal of Serious Business occupations of time into one shared passtime: modelling, miniature collecting, rules lawyering, competition, gaming, painting, writing, drawing, creativity, statistics, tactics, semantics, metagaming, space marines, cock-fighting, ante-upping, munchkin practices, powergaming, elitism, hobbyism, maths, social etiquette, winning, losing, drawing, list writing, FAQing, tournaments, moaning, expensive interests, time investment outweighing enjoyment, injury, death, MMO slang, space marines, catchphrases, other catchphrases, terrain building, obsessive hobby disorder, hatred of slight differences, fear of change, edition debates, rules debates, debate debates, and space marines.  This is not an exhaustive list.

Sounds like a blast doesn't it, or did some of you genuinely wonder why I called this blog The Wargaming Cynic?

So the obvious presents itself.  You're going to vent steam.  That steam may never actually stop venting.  Unfortunately, the catch_22 is that the only places to vent steam (i.e. in the direction of people who know what you're talking about) are the same places where you find people who aren't quite as 'disenchanted' as you are.

It may be because their time has not yet arrived, or perhaps you are over-exaggerating.  Most likely, however, it is because your tolerances, tastes and general views are utterly different.  Regardless of the reason, there are some fanboys that simply do not tolerate anyone slamming their favourite thing.  Granted, a great deal of us "slammers" spend far too much time doing it, a comparable Dick Dastardly flaw (if Dastardly didn't stop to build traps he would easily win each Wacky Race - if cynics shut up about their problems for a bit they'd probably get more enjoyment out of the hobby, whereas moaning about it usually makes it worse), and as a result, the fan's collective patience runs out and you get a shut up or bugger off ultimatum.

In a way it is fair enough, but expecting everyone to be always happy is extremely naive.  This is particularly because all emotions run high with things you invest in with any amount of interest.  The longer you have those interests, the harder it gets to control them.  You'll react as a personal insult to changes you don't like, or people moaning about changes you do like.

So where does it lead?  Well nowhere, of course.  Although undoubtedly, a few voices make a difference, they are typically usually fruitless, especially with GW who seem to be immune to the need to write stuff very well.  However despite this, there is a need for everyone.  If you didn't have hideously loyal and protective fanboys, nothing would be sacred, and everything would eventually be dismissed.

However, you do need the naysayers, ruining your happy discussions about your interest, because companies expect (indeed, want) you to be happy.  That is the whole point.  Your happiness is a free advertisement.  Likewise any negative vibes from employees or embittered fanboys is bad publicity, and can turn people off.  Sometimes, there's no decent reason behind it, but people need high standards and be prepared to vent when they aren't met or the standard you are given lowers.

Here's an analogy for you in closing.  The food critic doesn't have much time for the hamburger.  It is made by the lowest bidder for the lowest common denominator.  They may care more for fancier food, like a fine medium rare T-Bone steak.  The Hamburger is nice, but it doesn't exactly require much more than basic training and a microwave to prepare.  If nobody made a big deal about taste, then you wouldn't have any choice, we'd all be eating hamburgers.

They're not bad, as a food item, but there is better, so on occasion, it is worth demanding better.  40k is a hamburger, being marketed as a T-bone steak.  You deserve better than that.