No Geek Needs To Justify Their Fandom

Let's get this straight right from the beginning. No one has the right to tell someone else they aren't a true fan/geek/nerd because of X. That is some straight-up bullshit and I'm sick and tired of seeing it splashed all over the Internet.

I'm going to assume everyone reading this knows about the recent comments Tony Harris made about girls in cosplay at conventions. I'm not going to link or repeat his comments because, quite frankly, they are moronic and sexist. I mean, really, complaining about people having fun wearing a costume? What crawled up Tony Harris' butt and took over? (For an interesting theory on this please consult the following link - http://whatever.scalzi.com/2012/11/14/when-gut-boys-attack/ )

I've now had the pleasure of attending a few cons, including a day at FanExpo in Toronto. At almost every single one I've had the pleasure to make the acquaintance of female geeks, some in cosplay and some not. Every single one of these women has been intelligent, engaging, interesting, and a pleasure to be around. In short, they were beautiful in more than just the physical sense. (If you're one of the women I've met at a con and you're reading this then yes, I am talking about you.)

I hate to think what my life would be like if I held Mr. Harris' attitude. I remember my teen years when I was extremely shy and alone. I did not trust anyone, least of all the pretty girls. A large part of that was fear at being teased and laughed at because I was perpetually the outsider. Being a geek only made it worse, because when I was growing up being a geek was still far from cool. Thankfully, through a lot of mental anguish and honest self-assessment I've grown past these insecurities and understand that the pretty girls are just people with different plumbing, and that has made all the difference.

Should I be jealous of people growing up today, when just about anyone can watch a couple episodes of Dr. Who and claim they are a nerd, or who play one game of Dungeons and Dragons and say they're a gamer? Hell no! There's no declared point where someone becomes a nerd or geek. I may jokingly say, “Nah, your not a nerd until X,” but that's more because I want to encourage them to explore our great nerd/geek subculture more., and because I have an odd sense of humour.

Also, should I be angry/scared/upset over casual fans coming to conventions in cosplay, especially if they are attractive, female, and wearing something provocative? Uh, no. Nope. Negative. Niet. NEIN! And so on. These women went to all the effort of either making or buying the elements needed to put together said costume and have the confidence to wear it in public. My response should be to appreciate not just the fact that they look good in it but all the hard work and/or money that went into constructing said costume. And so should you.

Guys, instead of being upset that these beautiful women are “invading” what you consider your space, go over to them and say, “That is an amazing costume.” Now, I shouldn't have to say this but I will anyways, say this while looking into their eyes rather than other parts of their anatomy, no matter how pleasing to look at said anatomy may be. Leering is never a good thing. Most women don't like it, and even if they do it makes you look like a creeper to everyone else.

No, give an honest compliment and unless a conversation naturally springs up, such as you ask her why she chose that character and then get into an engaging discussion about comics or whatever, then politely walk away. This is for two reasons. First, hanging around a half-naked woman you're not talking can be seen as creepy. Second, she may not be in the mood to talk or have something on her mind. Either way, don't hang around for no good reason. Just because this particular girl wasn't interested in talking to you doesn't mean all the girls aren't interested, but if you give everyone the creeper vibe by hanging around or giving unwanted attention then you may make it so no one, male or female, wants to talk to you.

Keep in mind, no one, male or female, owes you anything. It's great that you share the same interest, but that's all that you do. A woman wearing a provocative costume is not wearing an invitation for your attention, the same as a guy in a superhero t-shirt may just like the way it looks and doesn't need or want to discuss comics for hours on end. Harassing anyone is not cool, no matter the circumstances.

Don't be afraid or angry about anyone new deciding to join geek fandom. Welcome them in politely and get to know them. Share what you're passionate about with them but not all at once. Give them time to acclimate and what you'll find that you've gained a new friend and are better for it.

Now some of you may be crying out from your poor black hearts, “What about the fake geek girls!?!” Ummm, okay, how do we determine they're fake? “Oh, you know, the ones that dress up all skanky in order to get attention from us.” Yeah, for various reasons this isn't a problem.

First, don't assume that just because someone is dressed provocatively, like what you would consider the stereotypical “booth-babe” that they don't know anything at all about who or what they're dressed as. They may in fact know more than you do and could school you on a few things. Instead of getting defensive and angry about it, ask questions. Learn something. Just because someone, especially a, gasp, girl, knows more about something than you doesn't make you less of a man/geek. A true man accepts his faults and ignorance and strives to be better.

Second, if in fact someone is dressed up in order to garner attention the solution is not to shout insults at them. Besides, how do you know that's their intent? Look, this is a really complicated issue. Some people do dress in order to garner attention, some dress because they love the character and see it as a way to honour them, some dress that way because damn they look good. (I'm still looking for the cosplay that does that for me.) If you think they are dressing to draw attention/make the geeks all hot and bothered for nefarious reasons, the solution is for you to ignore them. It's better for everyone all around. While you're over there pointedly ignoring them I'll be the one having a pleasant conversation with the lovely lady dressed head to toe in steampunk glory. See! Win-win all around.

Or, you know, you could give up on the whole idea of “fake geek girls”, or better yet dropping both “fake” and “girls” and realize, as I've been saying all along, they're people too. You'd be amazed at how things get better for you when you stop acting like a judgemental ass and have real conversations with people, when you stop seeing a woman in a sexy costume as an object to be consumed but as a person brave enough to expose not only their skin but themselves to ridicule and objectification to do something they truly love.

In the end, the rule is, as always, don't be a dick even though you may have one.

Nerd Rage: You Run a Blog? $300.00 Please.

Of all the bureaucratic stupidity I've ever heard, this has to take the cake. The City of Philadelphia wants to charge blog owners/runners $300.00 claiming they are small businesses. For those who want the original story, it can be found here.

This is their reasoning as I understand it:

1. We need money.
2. Blogs make money.
3. Therefore they are businesses.
4. Therefore, we can charge them license fees.
5. Money problem solved!

Gah! Ok, first off, as I understand it most blogs do not make any money, or if they do it's to the tune of, like the article mentions, $11.00 over a few years. From what I've seen most blogs are like mine, a chance to share your thoughts and feelings with the world, a matter of expression and free speech. Only in Philly, it ain't free.

Granted, some blogs are run as media outlets/advertising/business communications. Heck, I'll even so far as to admit that one of the reason I had when starting mine was as advertising for my writing career, such as it is. But note, I have no advertising running on my blog, nor do I earn anything from it. Everything I've posted here has been free of charge (and will remain as such for the immediate future), and I've gotten no special favors or opportunities because of it. It's not like say, Whatever, which is essentially a marketing tool for John Scalzi, or Robert J. Sawyer's site. Both are for established authors, both advertise their works/services (they are available for appearances/talks/bar mitzvahs/whatever), and you can even buy autographed copies directly from Sawyer's site. So for those two examples I could understand classifying them as businesses and charging a license fee. I'd still think it's cheesy, as let's face it, most authors don't make that much money and essentially you piling another tax/fee upon them.

Interesting thought though. Philly already charges freelance writers the $300.00 (yes, yes, they are that money grubbing that they're already sticking it to people who probably can barely afford to make rent much less pay a license fee), so I wonder if they can start blogs and claim it as part of their established business. Even better, get the people who have blogs to team up with a freelance writer who claims the blog under their existing license and "hires" the other person as a work for fee writer, the fee being the occasional smile. :)

Nah! Wouldn't work. The city would likely just claim the blog was a new business and to cough up the fee anyways.

Do I expect a huge outcry about this? Yes and No. I expect on the Internet it will be a huge issue and fought tooth and nail. The regular media/mainstream audiences are likely to say "so what?" For them it's likely not that big of a deal. Keep in mind that while the number of people online is growing, it's still a relatively small number worldwide. And even then, how many bloggers are there in Philly?

I can see this going too ways. First, the blog community in Philly could dry up completely as people start shutting down or registering the blog out of city to avoid the fee. Second, I can see someone fighting this tooth and nail and get this shot down as a impediment to free speech. Honestly, I think it's going to be a mix of the two. A lot of people won't care that much and will close their blogs, but a few will be pissed off enough to fight it.

For those who are going to fight it, you have my support and well wishes. Just not my financial support. Hey, I'm just a poor blogger too.

Nerd Rage: Book Prices

Ok, so this is going to be a bit of a rant. Fair warning and all that.

So, lets set the stage. Last night a friend and I went out for sushi and then ended up wandering around Chapters to look at some books. Nothing to unusual at that. I love to just browse, and it's not unusual for me to pick something up. Saw one book that caught my interest, checked the price and it was 14.95 American and 16.95 Canadian. So, about two dollars difference. Not really that much when you get right on down to it. Seems reasonable to me, only being about a 13% difference, well within what you would expect with current currency fluctuations. So I decide to pick it up.

Little bit later I find another book, this one on how agriculture and the movement of foodstuffs has affected empires. Sounds cool to me, so I check the price; 25.00 American and 32.99 Canadian! Excuse me, why the 30% difference in price? Especially considering that the Canadian dollar hasn't been, on average, under 10% different than the American dollar this year? And this isn't even an isolated example. I looked in the fiction section and found the new Starcraft book detailing the early history of Jim Raynor and considered picking it up (don't judge, I like backstory to Starcraft) but the price differential is the same. Why should I buy any books at Chapters, when I can go over the border and even with duty and exchange rate still save probably around 15%?

The 15% is of course an estimate, as I'll admit I haven't crunched all the numbers and if I do make a trip over to the States it's likely to be for more than just books. But still, 30% difference in book prices when the Canadian dollar is as strong as it is and has been for an extended period is redonkulous.

It's even worse for a friend of mine. He's really into naval history, much more than I am, and looks for books on the subject. First off, he had to use the American Amazon site because the Canadian one sucks beyond belief (you can search for something using the same search string on both sites, find it on the American but not on the Canadian, then take the ISBN number and find it on the Canadian site). He'll find the book on the American site, then look it up on the Canadian one and the price differential will be even worse. A book that goes for 200 on the American site will be over 600 in Canada! Gah!

How many book sales are lost because of this? How many authors are getting shot in the foot by the cover prices of their books? Hell, how much of the Canadian book market, heck even the overall economy, compromised by this? If the Canadian price was more in line with the American price we would probably see a nice bump in book sales by chains up north, and hopefully more independents getting a slice of the action as well.

I know this stopped me from buying two books last night.