Just thought I’d share something I thought was pretty interesting. I have a mother in law who is… well let’s just say she’s a stereotypical older mom who doesn’t own a computer, just an iPad. During the pandemic, she started getting into Nintendo games and bought herself a Switch. Fast forward a few years later and she’s interested in getting a Steam Deck, since one of her “mom groups” told her about some pandemic inspired games, similar to Stardew Valley and Animal Crossing that are only available on Steam.

When it comes down to it, she doesn’t care about her computer, she just wants to play computer games in a way that’s easy and accessible for her. We’ll be getting her a Steam Deck for her birthday, which in my opinion is just super neat. Even PC gaming is becoming extremely accessible, and it’s a fantastic time to be a gamer.

Tony Bark
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181Y

I love my Steam Deck.

Maybe don’t call them normies.

Would you prefer ‘filthy casuals’?

“Peasants.”

but you have to spit the ‘p’.

Pheasants

bang!

That’s what I call anyone with anything less than a 3070/6700XT, not just the technologically illiterate

I feel personally attacked

If it makes you feel any better, it took effort to lean into my Master Race side that hard 😂

oo1
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31Y

“gooeys”

In my day we called 'em n00bs.

Putting the connotation aside for a moment, is it even accurate to call people who are interested on niche secondary gaming devices as “normies”? Whatever may be their backgrounds, seems to me like they are dedicated gaming enthusiasts.

Putting the connotation aside for a moment, is it even accurate to call people who are interested on niche secondary gaming devices as “normies”? Whatever may be their backgrounds, seems to me like they are dedicated gaming enthusiasts.

Skull giver
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The more someone devotes themselves to a hobby the less socially approachable they tend to become. At least in my experience

I’m pretty obsessed with gaming to the point it’s probably unhealthy and I still refuse to call people normies. It’s so cringe to me.

Thinking “normie” is cringe is cringe

Agree to disagree

Agree to disagree is cringe

lol okay

@angstylittlecatboy@reddthat.com
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I’d say they are. “Mom groups who want to play Animal Crossing-esque games” certainly aren’t what I’d think of when I’d think “dedicated gaming enthusiasts,” at least not what most people are thinking of.

Steam Deck lacks publicity relative to Nintendo Switch or even traditional PC gaming, but the product itself is absolutely more accessible than traditional PC gaming, even if not as accessible as consoles.

@millie@beehaw.org
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131Y

I mean, why not? Women play games and gamers do in fact sometimes breed or even adopt.

Mom groups that play animal crossing or SDV are gamers just like anyone else. I see this sentiment a lot and it reads like sexist gatekeeping every time.

Adramis [he/him]
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Post: Uses the word normies in a positive sense and literally says it’s great that gaming is more accessible

Fediverse: Is this a neckbeard?

It’s amazing that a non-slur single word can get y’all so fucking bent out of shape. It was worth a double take, but not shitting on the entire post. It’s literally a post about a non-traditional gamer / not-power-user / etc person finding a sense of community and fun because of the rise of handhelds. Is shutting down that discussion over one word worth more than seeing the good in recent trends?

I hope we continue to see more good handhelds get made - I’d personally love a Steam Deck, but seeing Valve get some good competition would be good for the technology (not you, Apple / Meta). Maybe I’m just too old, but I’d love to see slide-out keyboards again…

Eddie
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261Y

I’m glad that somebody said it. Lemmy is becoming quite a shit show in this regard. These FOSS enthusiasts and Linux master race people are really starting to deter me from the platform.

I love FOSS software! I love Linux! I hate people telling other people how to think or what to spend their time with. Most of the people in this thread can fuck right off.

Post: Uses the word normies in a positive sense and literally says it’s great that gaming is more accessible

Fediverse: Is this a neckbeard?

The reaction is a bit more like

“B-B-B-BUT THE CONNOTATIONS!!! Bro you just LITERALLY used a word that has PROBLEMATIC CONNOTATIONS because it’s ALSO USED by PEOPLE I DON’T LIKE, and that makes you GUILTY BY ASSOCIATION!!! I am PROUD of how I combine purity testing and code switching into a DEFINITELY accurate litmus test, because I think I’m a character from Dune!! I don’t know what the FUCK ‘context’ is but it SOUNDS like something the ALT-RIGHT would care about!!!”

If I ever caught myself taking an obvious self-effacing remark seriously, I would be so ashamed. Anyone coming into this thread with hurt feelings about the word “normies” is a huge dork and needs go outside.

I would really appreciate if we stopped doing the “if you disagree with my opinion you’re an [insult] and also must be out of touch with reality so I will say you need to go outside” thing. It’s really exhausting. This is Beehaw, the be(e) nice server and I’m kind of getting sick of seeing this kind of snark on a server where the expectation is people being nice to each other.

I was skeptical at “normies” but the overall tone of the post is inclusive, so I’m not the target of your rant because I figured it out. I was able to figure it out because I’m terminally online and have the experience with online posts to know that some people use it as a pejorative and some people use it as a self-deprecating catch-all for people who aren’t too into their hobby.

I also have autism and some people with the condition aren’t as good as me at putting together the connotations of words AND the overall post to figure out the poster’s intentions. And some people aren’t terminally online and have less exposure to seeing this word used. They’ve likely overwhelmingly seen it used as a pejorative, and end up very skeptical of this post. I don’t like the idea that people like me, or that people who might have reasonably arrived at a different conclusion about this, are being told that they’re huge dorks who need to go outside.

Really starting to feel like Beehaw is just like any other online space. I see the same amount of snark and negative assumptions of people who didn’t see something the commenter’s/poster’s way. Sure, it’s free of bigotry, but all the spaces I occupied were already bigotry-free. Even back when I was on Reddit, because in the small subreddits I looked at the few bigots were downvoted to hell and had their comments hidden. (I’m aware that not everyone was lucky enough to only be interested in topics that had easily accessible bigotry-free areas so Beehaw still serves a useful purpose for them.)

Yeah, I get it. Here’s the thing though, this specific part:

I also have autism and some people with the condition aren’t as good as me at putting together the connotations of words AND the overall post to figure out the poster’s intentions. And some people aren’t terminally online and have less exposure to seeing this word used. They’ve likely overwhelmingly seen it used as a pejorative, and end up very skeptical of this post.

Those people all have one thing in common: nobody put a gun to their head and said “what’s going on with this post? Make the call and post your comment NOW”. One thing all we here on the internet do all have in common is the ability to read, and to use our sapience to make decisions about what we read. To say “this seems out of line. Could it be what I think it is, or am I assuming?” By process of elimination, a person either chooses to do that, or chooses to be assumptive. And also:

I don’t like the idea that people like me, or that people who might have reasonably arrived at a different conclusion about this, are being told that they’re huge dorks who need to go outside.

There is no reasonable way to get to the wrong conclusion.
Ever.
If you’re being reasonable, you either find the right conclusion beyond all reasonable doubt, or you concede that you don’t have enough information and then move on with your life. The only way to get to the wrong conclusion is to jump to conclusions, because being reasonable requires you to start from the point of “there may be no answer I can find”. The people in this thread who got it wrong made assumptions, jumped to conclusions, and defended themselves by being belligerent. That is a fundamental lack of respect for others’ intelligence that goes beyond being rude to people and using mean words.

To say “this seems out of line. Could it be what I think it is, or am I assuming?” By process of elimination, a person either chooses to do that, or chooses to be assumptive.

I’m assuming you’re human right now, even though the possibility exists that you are an alien who hasn’t revealed themselves as such and that your alien self prioritizes engaging here instead of talking to the world’s governments. I’m choosing to be assumptive because I don’t care to track you down and try to match your identity to a human person in real life, because I find doing that distasteful even if I never end up exposing your identity to anyone else in the world, and because I am extremely confident that this assumption is correct. But it is still an unproven assumption.

Should I hold the possibility that on the internet, nobody knows you’re a dog or alien or something in my head because it’s an assumption? Probably not. I should probably assume you are human. People will make assumptions they believe to be reasonable, and people will also call out what they believe to be bad behavior even if they’re wrong.

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The_Hunted_One
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21Y

You’ve already been asked to be nice yesterday. It’s not about “suffering fools”, its about working to make Beehaw a positive space, and acting in good faith, even when you disagree with other users. Resorting to insults is not in line with that.

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TheRtRevKaiser
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11Y

Hi, please remember to Be(e) nice. I also think it’s a little silly to get in a huge flap about the headline of this article, but I’d ask that you also remember to be kind to other users.

I applaud your ability to suffer fools, but it’s not one I share.

It’s really sad that Steam deck is not officially sell in my country, and the ones available are all have $200-$300 mark up price.

I’m a long time pc gamer and linux gamer. I do not care to play games unless it is in a handheld mode. I have been playing my switch a lot more recently, but am really looking forward to the steamdeck.

Since when is “normies” a problem?

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It’s really bizarre; either I’m incredibly out of touch or this thread was raided. I use it in real life and nobody has ever questioned it…

I guess it is just your typical terminally online people who get mad about anything and everything

You’re probably too young to remember when computers were a huge pia to use. Your MIL probably knows more about PCs than you do if she worked in an office in the 80s and 90s.

It is odd being in the gen X and millenial cohorts and being two generations trapped between ones that either had little to no experience with computers or have only used smart tech that simplified everything down.

With the risk of being tagged as a car analogy, its similar to the experience with internal combustion engine cars, shifted by two generations. My parents (boomers) and the Silent gen often knew cars backwards and forwards because it was the only way to get them to work reliably, not unlike computers of the (60s) 70s and 80s. Those older were pretty resistant/baffled, and those after tend to just see them as appliances - being regularly ridiculed by boomers for things like not knowing how to change the transmission fluid (no longer necessary in many CVTs), drive a stick shift (rare on modern US vehicles), or brake “properly” (aka pumping brakes, which in an ABS enabled system is not recommended).

Yeah, I guess this has always been an issue with tech though the ages, computers are just my point of reference.

“lifetime” fluid doesn’t mean what you think it does. It means the lifetime of the transmission, which will fail if you don’t change the fluid at some point.

Any time a manufacturer has said that it has turned out to be b.s. and someone figures out that some off the shelf fluid works better than the stuff they put in at the factory.

lifetime fluid usually means “lifetime of the warranty” There are incredible high tech oils now that can easily last 100k mi in their intended use but they don’t work forever.

while we are on this topic the Detroit recommended oil change interval for the semi I drove was 85k miles, so basically slightly more than anually. Completely blew my mind, though in between oil changes they also took samples and tested them which is a big part of what makes that possible otherwise you’d change it at 35k to be safe. also the things took 5 gallons of motor oil, so a smaller proportion of the oil is being pummeled by the crankshaft bearings and piston seals, at least that’s how it was explained to me.

I’m 18, so also Gen Z I guess. But growing up all I did was try to bypass WiFi and device time limits & content filters. Later I got more into programming (due to mental health I’ve been letting that slip unfortunately), and currently I’m looking to study AI and CompSci.

And I constantly wonder why other people aren’t as interested in this stuff. And are completely helpless in troubleshooting. I kind of want to buy a PC for my siblings to get them interested too, but I don’t have high hopes of it working…

I don’t know if I was trying to make a point here but I’ll post anyways, enjoy

There’s always going to be people interested on computing more so than their average cohort, if there weren’t boomers into it we wouldn’t have got anywhere with the tech to begin with.

However simply owning a computer between the 70s to 2010 odd meant you had to do a lot more problem solving and fiddling that lead to a better understanding of how stuff worked across the generation as a whole in comparison. Whether it was learning to use BASIC on your micro computer or having to mess about with drivers in Win 98.

The exception rather than the rule. I’ve seen several articles claiming your lot don’t know that computers have a file system. Ie they use the search function to find their files and don’t pay attention to where things are saved. Ie the computer is a large bucket full of my shit and the only way to access it is by telling the computer to rummage through it.

Yeah it’s disappointing… It really makes me wish more people were even slightly interested. Else how will the field continue developing?

wow, that sounds terrible

It’s fine for me. I just got hired as a “programmer” despite having extremely basic python skills and ability to use Linux. I’m quite happy to be “settled for”.

Nice ! congrats

katy ✨
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51Y

Remembers fondly back to my first PC which was a Tandy Sensation and had a custom UI on top of Windows 3.1 because Windows 3.1 was so infuriating,

Ah WinMate; how I loved thee.

I would also like to bitch at you for talking in terms of “normies”. Gross.

How is it gross?

The implied derision.

Not seeing it in this context. If anything it is self deriding. Still a stretch.

All sorts of hobbies use the term to describe people who aren’t fully into something but have a passing interest, it’s a pretty standard phrase.

First off: normies?

Second, you’re absolutely right. Steam did a great job with the whole Steam Deck Verified thing. It ensures that the game “just works”, which is someone that can’t always be said of PC games. It makes sense, given the near uniform hardware of the Deck, of course, but it’s still important for reaching the console and/or casual gamer markets.

And let’s face it, the Deck is just convenient as hell. It’s the mobile gaming solution I’ve wanted for decades.

Eh, it’s not always great, Baldurs Gate 3 is “Varifed”, but it took some fiddling with the settings to get it toba stable 30 with decent lod on my deck.

…but I totally get what he means. Some people just aren’t excited about fiddling with settings, hardware, software or otherwise. It’s just a pain. Even myself, I’ve noticed I’ve lost most of my appetite for twiddling with drivers and such so I get it. When I play a game, I want to play the game, not set up the game, tweak the game, etc.

This has always been one of the key advantages of consoles over PC gaming. You can go to Gamestop, buy the game, plug it into your console, and then play. Or at least you used to.

Consoles have gotten more fiddly over the years, and the Steam Deck meets them halfway. If you are okay with online game stores, managing storage space for your games, you are already good to go with your Steam Deck. If you want to, you can tweak your settings for more battery life or performance, or venture outside the Steam Deck Verified games.

normies is cringe. reminds me of way back when it started to become more socially acceptable to be nerdy and people got mad about it

This guy normies!

TerabyteRex
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201Y

did you say… normies?

I mean, what’s another way of easily conveying the same idea. “Those people who you might not typically consider to be X”?

I feel like I’ve seen and heard normies used in a variety of contexts, to refer to people outside of a particular group. Not to say they can’t be in the group, or that there’s anything wrong with them.

But then again, what do I know.

@Jagermo@feddit.de
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“casual gamers” for example. “average users”, “non-geeks” are others

You’d have to say all 3 of those, and then you’d still be missing a ton of the other groups that also fall under “normies”, even in just this specific instance. “Non-hardcore gamers” would work in this context, but the whole point is to have jargon for it as a concept (“someone who is not a member of your specialized in-group”), rather than saying the specific in-group being discussed each time. “Non-Supernatural fandom-nerds”, “non-/a/ lurkers”, “non-r/SocialistRA lurkers”… or just “normies”.

Welcome to the internet, I guess?

Butt Pirate
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111Y

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TerabyteRex
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41Y

did you say… normies?

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Please Note: Gaming memes are permitted to be posted on Meme Mondays, but will otherwise be removed in an effort to allow other discussions to take place.

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