Are you a Star Wars collecting forum snob too?

[Infamy Of Crete]

I started a number of years ago at TFN and Sir Steves. A group of us migrated to CSW after the infamous ISE incident. I was a fan of mikes work and started moderating for him at CSW. I really liked that site because everyone was nerd chic. I found Jedi defender a while ago but I lurked until today.  

   I started collecting in 1977 took a hiatus in the late 80's early 90's and continued my pursuit again in the 90's . I wouldn't  necessarily call myself a snob. I'm just less likely these days to reply to threads. Not because I don't lurk, more because of the insufferable attitudes and arrogance. Most collectors think they know everything I can tell you thay Don't, I do(that's sarcasm for those of you offended and arrogant). That's why I rarely post in the vintage threads moderns threads or post modern neo classsic vintage saga threads(or whateever they choose to call each era of figures).  It's BS most people know what they have and over rate there inflated opinions about it  (not unlike me). I know what I have I know why it's great to have or was a stupid purchase. I will share my collection with you,but honestly I don't display a damn item in my house,but I can tell you I'm complete  with  my entire collection(excluding vintage). So I wouldn't call myself a snob I have something in common with you , but lets face it we all have paticular we care about not one collector is the same. Some  collectors are stupid anal, thinking the will get absolute perfection from a carded vintage figure, others are happy with the raggy card just hanging onto the bubble. Why am I going to debate with you over an open figure or carded figure it's pointless and contributes nothing to my life outside of the small group of friends that collect and here in this forum. Oh by the way I'm a carded collector for those of you not caring enough to read this post. So, I just want to spare you the hassle of talking to me about star wars  when you appproach yes I am complete, yes I meticulously shop for vintage figures, yes I'm hoping your more interesting to talk to outside of a star wars relevant conversation. Yes I'm a bit of an            a' whole.

[Deanpaul]

Welcome! I recognize you from other places. Nicely written position Infamy of Crete. I can see exactly where you’re coming from, although I’m an opener and have down graded to way non-complete since 1999.

I don’t think anyone will tell you you’re stupid around here, it’s not that kind of place and there’s really little pay in it. It sounds like you’ve got you want out of the hobby in perspective, so it’s probably natural to start posting less over time, especially when the replies are argumentative.

I’m glad you’re here, and I hope you find this to be a different kind of forum. I know I have. This community isn’t like other places I’ve tried to discuss serious topics like toys. I look forward to good discussions with you around the boards here!

Oh, and one more thing:

Yes I'm a bit of an            a' whole.

You can say ass here. Doesn’t this place just rule more and more?

[jokabofe]

lol @ infamy, that's one of the funniest things i've read in a long time...

as for me, i started collecting and surfing the web back in 77/78.... wait, that's not right. i started collecting back in 77/78, and then went throught the whole 80's/teenager/high school/rock'n'roll phase and stopped playing with toys. then i got back into it around 94, just before the potf2 rebirth. around 97/98, i got hooked up with the internet, and surfed around the basic sites, getting information... but i really didn't know what a "forum" was. around 1999/2000, i started getting into custom figures, and found out that i could get some really good information at some sites, mostly dedicated to model building more so than customizing. i really didn't participate in any of the online toy forums until just recently. i joined rs in august 2002 and here in september 2003. as far as being a "snob" is concerned, i don't consider myself one, since none of my real-life friends that collect could give a rat's ass about going online and joining a forum... that's way too geeky for them - but i still hang out with them, so it's not like i won't hang out with someone if they don't have an online life.

[jadesfire]

A collecting forum snob???Hmm...I'm not sure but I like the sound of that.  "I'm a CFS"...better yet, "I'm a SWCFS".  

Seriously though I have two lives on the internet and both have to do with Star Wars but neither path ever crosses the other.  I collect toys and talk about whats new, where it's hitting and what I like/dislike about the offerings from the line.  I do all that here.  When I was at the fan club breakfast in Chicago I quizzed almost everyone in there if the post/read at sites like RS, GH etc...and not ONE posted and a handful said they only skimmed the news.  

Now the other internet life is costuming.  And everyone at the breakfast (almost everyone) was a member of the costuming board over at theforce.net or the dented helmet.  I have made life long friendships with some of the ladies and Kristen and I are more like sisters.  Though some of them collect the toys, when we meet up at the various costuming conventions toy hunting is the furthest thing from their minds.  They have stated they don't participate in any forums other than those that discusss costumes and/or props.  

I found it odd at first...how can you watch the movies and make the costumes and not collect all the toys??  And around here I found it odd that no one mentions their costumes and going to conventions that requires more than one suitcase .  

So, I guess I am a SWCFS.  If you don't have a forum name somewhere how can you even consider yourself a fan??  How's THAT for being a snob??  

[BobaShek]

Now that I really think about your question, JediMAC, I don't think I've ever actually been what most people around here would call a "collector."

I mean, I started to get interested in Star Wars figures back in '95, with the POTF2 line, but I only had, like, five figures from that whole line. Then, I kind of forgot about Star Wars for a while (*gasp!*) until '97 when the OT was released again in a boxed set. I think, at that point, I picked up a POTF2 Boba Fett and Yoda. Then a few years later, TPM was released, but I had little interest in the figures. What it boils down to is that I only pick up the figures that I think are cool. A completist, I am definitely not.

I think it was a couple months after TPM that I joined the SW.com forums. Hey, they seemed pretty nice at the time . Once the hype surrounding AOTC started to mount, I found Rebelscum. And don't ask me how, because I honestly can't remember. I stayed there for a little while, y'know, when it was a comfortable place to be. After a time, I decided to join a myriad of SW communties, just to get a feel for what they were like. Anyways, yadda, yadda, yadda, JediDefender and JediForce are now my forum mainstays. Oh, and in case no one has noticed, I'm a notorious lurker. I actually visit this forum every single day, but rarely post.


Oh, and I don't consider myself a "snob" in any sense of the word. I say that if you collect SW items, and you truly enjoy it whether you are a member of a forum or not, you're still better off than some people who post like mad in SW forums just to gain recognition, and have forgotten what the hobby is all about.

[Infamy Of Crete]

lol @ infamy, that's one of the funniest things i've read in a long time...

Thank you, thank you I try to inject humor in my thoughts....once in awhile.

Dean paul

Thanks for the welcome.  

[JediMAC]

Interesting to see the varied responses I've garnered here.  I think a few of you caught on to my real question (mixed into my usual long-winded post), which was basically - Do you tend to forget that there's other SW collectors who aren't online SW forum members, and do you think that's strange of them that they're not in the "in crowd" with us online here.    I just mixed in my personal posting history to show how ironic/hypocritical it was that I used to be exactly one of the people who didn't participate that I'm now referring to as not an integral part of the SW collecting community...

I think my involvement online has seriously skewed my sense of reality towards the average Star Wars collector.  There's so many more of them out there who don't chat with us online here, and I often lose sight of that fact, which I think makes me some kind of SWCFS (as Beth so succinctly put it).  

[JediMAC]

I was contemplating this topic again this past weekend during Midnight Madness.  I met a number of different new colletors while shopping and waiting in various lines for stuff.  But what I found most perplexing (again), is that none of them were involved in any of the major online SW collecting forums.  To me, that's just weird.  Aren't ALL hardcore collectors supposed to be in the forums shootin' the **** with us?  I still struggle with the fact that apparently we're the rarer breed of collectors in here, and that there's many, many more collectors out there who don't participate on the boards.

And that's exactly why I consider myself a "forum snob", I suppose.  But like I mentioned earlier, it's ironic that I struggle with this concept, when I was in the same boat just a little over 3 years ago, at which point I had finally registered in the RS forums, despite having been collecting like a madman for nearly 7 years prior to that.  Strange...

You guys snobs too?  Or are you slightly more tolerant of all those bizarro freak collectors out there who don't spend their days on the internet chatting with us in here...?   

[Darth Broem]

I started at Sir Steve's Guide a few months before Ep1 came out in 99.  I thought they were just the best because they were showing the figures BEFORE they came to the stores.  Wow! (LOL!)  Then I found T-Bone's and I thought they were the greatest because they had Ep1 spoilers. 

 I found Rebelscum a little after Ep1 I think and a few other websites.  I left SirSteves.  I just did not like that site at all after I hung out there for awhile.  I like JD the best for people on the forums though.  I think it helped that JediMac sent me a invitation to come here from RS.  It has been a lot of fun over here. 

[Brian]

I agree with what Matt said earlier, for some reason I am always surprised that most of the regular Star Wars collectors don't frequent the forums.  I have seen more collectors in the aisles here since we moved to a larger city, but I don't think any of them have a home online.  I rarely even see anyone from Nebraska online, and if it is, it is most often from Omaha.  Anyways, back to the topic, it does surprise me that most collectors aren't online.  I guess aside from enjoy talking about stuff with all of you, this is also where I get most of my news and how I find out when to go looking for certain stuff.  It is how you know when certain stuff is starting to hit, what is coming up later in the year, rumors and all of that.  I guess you could find out some of that by just going to the "news" part of these sites, but the details are usually within the forums.  It is funny, my wife telling some of our friends how we went out at Midnight on Friday for the ROTS toy release, and talking about other people who were there, and they were like "other people were there?"....like I was the only "weirdo" out there .  I will echo Darth Broem's comments too, everyone here at JD has created a fantastic forum.  Everyone is friendly and helpful, and I'm glad that I came over when Scott first sent me an invite awhile back.  Definitely a great place, and lots of fun.

[Angry Ewok]

"How long were you collecting Star Wars stuff before you actually joined (and posted in) any Star Wars forums?"

I've been collecting Star Wars since I was a little kid, but I guess I became a hard core collector when the POTF2 stuff came out. I never even thought to search for Star Wars stuff online until sometime around AOTC's release, though. I wish I had joined in on this big bitch fest earlier - :-p

I first found Rebelscum - registered at the BHC on April 11, 2002. Then I joined the Alabama's Star Wars club, the Star Wars Syndicate, on May 18, 2002, in hopes of meeting some local folks. This is when I realized how many collector's don't even care about the online community. Blew my mind. When GH broke away from RS, I was there, too - joined it on September 23, 2002.

I have no clue how long I've been a part of JediDefender - but I was one of the last folks to join the JediChris.net team back in the day, I think. Too cool.

During the Midnight Madness craze, I couldn't help but glance around the small crowd of Star Wars fans and wonder how many were fellow forum snobs and online personalities.

It's hard for me to imagine not having a home here, so I'd love to introduce some folks to this place.

[JoshEEE]

I'm not sure if I saw this topic when it first went around, but in retrospect, I was wondering the same thing this midnight madness.  Several people at different stores had the same Rebelscum list of everything that would be out that I had. I asked a few what their names on there were and most of them were just lurkers.

I guess I might be a snob, because that really bugs me.  Lurkers.  There are SO many people reading boards that don't ever say anything.  They're watching my store reports, etc, etc....but never actually contributing to my hunt.  For some reason, that bugs me.