Ask MetaFilter posts tagged with dork

What's the difference between a geek, a nerd and a dork?

feelinglistless — Thu, 15 May 2008 15:33:28 -0800

What's the difference between a geek, a nerd and a dork? For various (what I consider positive) reasons I've been called all three recently and I just wondered if there were differences between the labels (however subtle) as I thought or if they were interchangable? If there are differences can they be catagorised in subcultural ways?

Gay geeks... Are they more than one in a million?

kzin602 — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 04:17:39 -0800

Kinda like the anonymous question a little bit ago, but looking for the geeky gay guys in Phoenix. 27yo geekish gay guy. Not some hot little boi but defenately not a troll. Everywhere I've looked for other guys of my persuasion have been either hook-up type places (gay.com) or in the bars, and the bars just seem full of extremely self absorbed, dumb as a box of rocks little queens. Does such a thing exist?

I'd rather curl up on the couch with a boy and watch bad sci-fi and play a videogame than go out clubbing.

I mean random hookups are nice and all but it's easier just to stay home an jack off. Or are my fears true... The mythical gay geek is truly a super-rare occurrence

Help us rock out to TMBG

fijiwriter — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 07:04:45 -0800

Help us enjoy a They Might Be Giants concert and not stand out like dorks So Mrs. Writer and I are going to a They Might Be Giants concert in a few weeks. We've become fans after our daughter started enjoying their kid-friendly CDs and DVDs, so here we are: new fans.

We need your help to enjoy the concert - what can we expect? Is it audience-friendly, with interactions? We've been listening to their CD, Flood, for a crash course...what are we missing as must-listen songs? And this is an 18+ show, so there won't be the kids songs to enjoy I bet.

And the bigger question: we're concert n00bs. I haven't been to a live rock-type concert since college (and that was just a local '80s cover band), and she never has...So, do we dance, mill about, drink and enjoy the smoke? Will we be considered as outsiders and shunned? Or are we over-thinking a plate of beans?

Join the ranks of the unwashed?

Doublewhiskeycokenoice — Wed, 29 Nov 2006 20:36:42 -0800

Should I start playing World of Warcraft? So, a new computer is on the horizon and with that comes an OS newer than 10.2, so I shall, at last, be able to run WoW. I've got many friends who play, and the social aspect of it seems like a lot of fun, and the game itself looks right up my alley. The problem is, I'd just be starting out at the end of December, and all my friends are either at 60, or are pushing it hard. With the expansion coming out, is there a risk of them leaving me in the dust, and thus remove any chance of my getting to play with them on a meaningful level anytime soon? Has the game sailed over it's shark yet? Should I care about that last one? Any advice WoWers could give on this subject would be greatly appreciated. Also, my sister takes care of all the "WoW is for losers" talk for the entire world, so don't worry about that.

What's a grognard to do?

jammer — Fri, 29 Sep 2006 12:31:52 -0800

Help me find collaborative hex-mapping software. I'm looking for a way that a group of people playing a web-based MMO with hex movement can work together on mapping play areas.

The best thing I've found so far is gametable, but it seems a bit crude, and I'd prefer something more wikilike -- or at least something with an online editor, so we don't have to pass map files around.

Does anyone know of anything that might be useful here?

Help me find an obscure R.A. Lafferty quote.

rwhe — Mon, 28 Aug 2006 06:53:41 -0800

Help me find an obscure R.A. Lafferty quote. Just saw Little Miss Sunshine and was struck by its message of embracing one's own utter dorkiness. It reminded me of a quotation by SF writer R.A. Lafferty about finding or inventing for yourself a field of knowledge or an art form so unique (excuse me; you know what I mean) that you will be the first to study it and create in it, and since the first, therefore the best. Knowing Lafferty's inclination to use Biblical allusions, Adam may have been mentioned in there as the first to do a lot of things.

Lafferty has always been an inspiration to me. Ghod knows he certainly lived his advice, and didn't just spout it. Can you help me find it?

Does everyone call cats in the same silly way?

Bud Dickman — Wed, 26 Jul 2006 06:40:50 -0800

Does everyone yell "here kitty kitty" in a comically high-pitched voice when calling to a cat? My family did when I was a child, and I do now. But while doing so, I always feel like a total dork. Why the voice modulation? Why the same pattern of "here kitty-kitty-kitty-kitty"? Surely if the cat knows your voice, he'd respond to "Fluffers! Come here now!" in a regular voice. Or are cats taught at an early age to listen for this vocal affront to dignity? Do they secretly enjoy it? Is this regional, or universal? Thanks.