Are TMNT fans rude? Or is perception skewed?

[***First of Two Latin Kings***]

I've noticed from interacting with people here as well as on other boards that TMNT fans are rude. But are they more rude than the general population? I don't really belong to or participate in forums or mailing lists for anything else, so it could be that all groups of people are rude, and I shouldn't necessarily be racist against my own fandom.

Thoughts? Discuss.

[ToTheNines]

People on the internet are dicks. Film at 11.

[WebLurker]

I think all forums have their mix, although I will concede this forum is one of the ruder ones I frequent.

[CylonsKlingonsDaleksOhMy]

What the fvck kinda question is that? Like hell we're rude!

[Candy Kappa]

We are a bunch of cynical assholes.

[CyberCubed]

It's basically because this forum is a lot smaller than other forums, so people basically read the same posts from the same group of people over and over again. Since it's the same people posting over and over again, those opinions feel like they skew the overall forums.

People don't realize this forum is very small. There are maybe 50 active users in this place at most, and only roughly half of that post frequently. Then there are some people who just post rarely like once a month or so and then disappear without a trace.

[MsMarvelDuckie]

Originally Posted by CylonsKlingonsDaleksOhMy

What the fvck kinda question is that? Like hell we're rude!

I lol'ed at this! You're such a card, Cy.

[Powder]

A sizable chunk of TMNT fans are assholes, yeah. I'm no exception. There's a lot of My Version Is Better Than Your Version in our fandom, I think that causes the bulk of the tension.

But most fandoms have in-fighting. It takes a certain kinda person to obsess over fictional works, which is to say we're all probably a little "off" in one way or another. Some more than others.

I don't think we're nearly as bad as non/former members paint us to be, though. Part of our reputation is fault of a vocal minority who came here & were shown the door for being either an idiot or a jerk, & then hopped over to TMNT fan-pages on Facebook to cry about how awful we are.

[Andrew NDB]

It's true, TMNT fans are horrid.

[IndigoErth]

I've seen worse. Mostly just seems like a bunch of snarky old farts (and youngsters that aspire to be) in comparison. Those that have seemed genuinely mean have been few, imo.

[Andrew NDB]

It's not really indicative of age. The fans have been horrible even since I was a kid. At least nowadays there's far less % that actively fantasize about having sex with the Turtles.

[MikeandRaph87]

[BubblyShell22]

There are rude people everywhere on the Internet and that doesn't just apply to TMNT I'm sure. Everyone is an a**hole at times and we should just embrace it like my sig says.

[Ninjinister]

I'd say probably no more than any other fan base, and in actuality probably less than some. I've never seen a grown man cry or scream when someone has told him that they don't care about Ninja Turtles.

Originally Posted by Powder

A sizable chunk of TMNT fans are assholes, yeah. I'm no exception.

You've gotten better though!

Originally Posted by Powder

It takes a certain kinda person to obsess over fictional works, which is to say we're all probably a little "off" in one way or another. Some more than others.

I've gotten crap for, and a lot of it here, not obsessing enough. I'm like "it's fiction, it's fun, it's entertaining, but it's not integrally important". And then I get the "you're not a real fan" BS.

Originally Posted by Powder

I don't think we're nearly as bad as non/former members paint us to be, though. Part of our reputation is fault of a vocal minority who came here & were shown the door for being either an idiot or a jerk, & then hopped over to TMNT fan-pages on Facebook to cry about how awful we are.

Few people are less bothersome than those who break the rules and then play the victim when they're reprimanded.

[***First of Two Latin Kings***]

You said the same thing I was going to say. I'd like to think I've grown up some since I joined Andrew's old mailing list [NTML] ten years ago. I originally became active here because I was banned from an even smaller forum where people were even bigger assholes. The owner of those boards has held a grudge against me to this day (since my early twenties, for over ten years) and refuses to be civil even though we share one of the same best friends.

It could also be that I see the worst in TMNT fans because I deal with buying and selling whereas a fan who doesn't deal with that angle of the fandom doesn't have that Pandora's Box to deal with as well. I occasionally have problems with people here, but for the most part, the most snobbish, elitist, self-absorbed self-entitled f**** I deal with are on eBay. I won't deny that I think most of you are assholes, but most of you are also respectful and reasonable people in a one on one context.

[IndigoErth]

Originally Posted by Andrew NDB

It's not really indicative of age. The fans have been horrible even since I was a kid. At least nowadays there's far less % that actively fantasize about having sex with the Turtles.

How many kids were even fantasizing that?? I don't recall it being a thing long ago. o.O (Unless this is something that happened during my long hiatus, and less long ago.)

[Andrew NDB]

Originally Posted by ***First of Two Latin Kings***

You said the same thing I was going to say. I'd like to think I've grown up some since I joined Andrew's old mailing list [NTML] ten years ago. I originally became active here because I was banned from an even smaller forum where people were even bigger assholes.

Was it TMNT-L? Do people still go there?

Originally Posted by IndigoErth

How many kids were even fantasizing that?? I don't recall it being a thing long ago. o.O (Unless this is something that happened during my long hiatus, and less long ago.)

Tons. It was everywhere.

[CyberCubed]

I think people fail to understand that a lot of people also have mental disabilities in real life like ADD or bipolar disorder, or are diagnosed with autism or aspergers, and they get frustrated on forums sometimes when people have conflicting opinions.

It's a well know fact most people on line forums are diagnosed with some sort of disability in real life.

[TheSkeletonMan939]

I try to be the best TMNT fan that I can be, and make sure to be rude to you assholes as often as possible.

[ToTheNines]

Most of the real assholes are banned/moved on. We really only have a couple of pesky trolls, and they're not out of control or anything.

Originally Posted by Powder

A sizable chunk of TMNT fans are assholes, yeah. I'm no exception. There's a lot of My Version Is Better Than Your Version in our fandom, I think that causes the bulk of the tension.

Yeah, the fact that this is a catch-all TMNT is part of it. You're like me, in that you enjoy most of the different iterations for what they are, so it's cool that this isn't just a Mirage/Fred Wolf/Nick board. But when people get uppity about their favorite version, it's annoying no matter what side they're on.

Unless they're hating on Bayturtles, then it's fair game. A cynical, hollow, kick in the crotch to TMNT.

But it's funny when I go to, say, a Marvel Cinematic Universe board. That's all people talk about. There's no clowns raging on about how the comics are SO much better, or how Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends is the true version of Marvel lol.

Originally Posted by Andrew NDB

It's not really indicative of age. The fans have been horrible even since I was a kid. At least nowadays there's far less % that actively fantasize about having sex with the Turtles.

They don't come here, but they're still out there.

I pulled up an episode of the Nick cartoon on youtube today to reference some dialogue, quicker than putting the dvd in. I found the comments to be littered with people fighting over Leo, fawning over Donnie, etc.