Definition of a Fanboy

[Bee]

Definition: "Fanboy or fanboi is a term used to describe an individual (usually male, though the feminine version fangirl may be used for females) who is utterly devoted to a single fannish subject, or to a single point of view within that subject, often to the point where it is considered an obsession."

So, since this term gets thrown around A LOT. Lets try and clear some things up.

(1) Can one be a fanboy if they support something that CURRENTLY meets their needs (HD-DVD) but is willing to support something else in the future if something else comes along (Blu-Ray)?

or

(2) is a Fanboy someone who can't possibly see themselves supporting something else other than what they currently support?

or,

(3) is a Fanboy someone who doesn't even own anything that's being discussed on these message boards but are defending it until the end and taking themselves a little too seriously?

Lets discuss........

[AV_Integrated]

I have no problem when someone is a fan of their own product that works very well - such as HD-DVD. I think that what is left off is that people who will actively pick a few bad examples of a product, or early releases of a product and use that to slam the whole product just to make them feel better about their purchase or to discredit the competition as being lousy.

Blu-ray and HD-DVD both put forth excellent quality... But, some want to insist that this is NOT the case. There are those who have supported Blu-ray from the beginning because they believe that there are some basic encoding issues that would be fairly quickly resolved - and they were. There are those who support the format but want a specific player, such as the Pioneer, or maybe the PS3, so while they don't own the format yet, they are still behind it.

I don't have to play football to root for a team do I?

So point ONE could be a fanboy - but not enough is known. Point two is closer to a defined fanboy as blind support would leave a lot of people with Beta decks and no movies. Point three is potentially a fanboy, but as I said - you don't have to play for your team to root them on to victory.

Many analysts have claimed either format as likely to 'win' the format war, but many of those same analysts don't own players - are they not allowed to choose a winner?

Fanboys and FUD tend to go hand in hand and I tend to view a fanboy as one who only praises their format and never accepts anything ever being wrong or a limitation of their format, despite any and all evidence to the contrary.

[JU1CYFRU1T]

Definition: "Fanboy or fanboi is a term used to describe an individual (usually male, though the feminine version fangirl may be used for females) who is utterly devoted to a single fannish subject, or to a single point of view within that subject, often to the point where it is considered an obsession."

So, since this term gets thrown around A LOT. Lets try and clear some things up.

(1) Can one be a fanboy if they support something that CURRENTLY meets their needs (HD-DVD) but is willing to support something else in the future if something else comes along (Blu-Ray)?

or

(2) is a Fanboy someone who can't possibly see themselves supporting something else other than what they currently support?

or,

(3) is a Fanboy someone who doesn't even own anything that's being discussed on these message boards but are defending it until the end and taking themselves a little too seriously?

Lets discuss........

Okay, a great topic. I'll answer your 3 questions with my opinion, and let's see where others chime in.

(1) My answer is an EMPHATIC no. If a person is willing to look at things objectively, and support the competition, they do not meet your definition (which is a very good on BTW) of a fanboy. You say,

utterly devoted to a single fannish subject, or to a single point of view within that subject, often to the point where it is considered an obsession.

so this doesn't fit. They are not (or I should say we are not... because I fall into this category) FANnatical about one to obsession. I love the quality of my HD-DVDs, but if Blu-ray can give me something worth talking about (or buying) I'm in. It's not that Blu-ray can't... it's that they (currently) aren't.

(2) YES!!! If you can't see yourself liking something other than what you currently have, you are "antiquating" yourself, and living in the past.

(3) This is the WORST KIND OF FANBOY!!!! I have people on this site telling me that I don't know what I'm talking about when I was, and I do emphasize WAS a dual format supporter. I had both players, but I got rid of my Samsung, because the company's support was not living up to my $1000 investment.

The reason that I say they are the worst, is because they don't have any experience with the products they are supporting. They don't KNOW if one is better than the other... they are just "parroting" what they have read. "wraaat..._____FormatIsBetter...wraaat". Talking "tech-specs" and all that is great, but until you experience something, all you can do is guess.

I think HD-DED has a great point

I have no problem when someone is a fan of their own product that works very well - such as HD-DVD. I think that what is left off is that people who will actively pick a few bad examples of a product, or early releases of a product and use that to slam the whole product just to make them feel better about their purchase or to discredit the competition as being lousy.

But... if a product is not living up to the hype (or propeganda) that was force-fed to us prior to launch, people have a right to talk about short comings. Do we need to beat TFE and HOFD into the ground? YES... (meaning they should be burried right next to all those Beta players ) but they are not the only 2 titles available on Blu-ray. On the other hand, we were told that it would be better... and a lot of people are "waiting" for that "Better", and talking about it while they wait.

[Blurry]

Definitely not 1, people are expected to have opinions which means that they may have a preference for one format over the other, this is analytical judgement. However people should always be open to input and be willing to change their opinion (not that they should flip-flop whimsically, but rather be able to incorporate new data into their opinions).

Both 2 and 3 are obvious fanboy descriptions, how could they be otherwise.

[Tejstar]

My definition of a fanboy is one that will blindly follow a format/team etc and can not see (or refuse to see) the wider picture.

However, there is nothing wrong with having a preference for a particular format/team, as long as it done objectively.