How Much Complaining are You Allowed?

Nary a week goes by without getting my weekly bulletin from a friend with the startling news that "People are complaining on the internet!" Then I go through the motions, "Yeah, people just don't get it." And the majority of the time, it's true. Skim the youtube comments section and you'll see an uncountable amount of poster insisting, "They should bring back Animaniacs!" or, "Cartoons today suck."

This is clearly a case of nostalgia and fanboyism. You won't like cartoons today, because you're smarter than you were 10-15 years ago. And, if they did bring Animaniacs back, the newer episodes would automatically be measured against the old episodes, more than likely be found lacking, and you'll hear accusations of "Warner Brothers is raping my childhood."

Fanboys. End of Discussion.

Or, so I thought. Back when I used to read comics, I ran into an interesting conundrum. A comic comes out, and a fan dislikes it, or more often "hates" it, and the normal response would be, "If you don't like it. Don't buy it." The following month, same book, fan dislikes it, they said "Don't like it. Don't buy it." The fan replies, "I didn't buy it. I read it at the store." And they reply, "Your complaint doesn't count, because you didn't buy it."

Truth be told.,"Don't like it. Don't buy it," really is the mantra to adopt when you want to see change. Less sales (or views) means less ad revenue, and less money for everyone involved. But, that mantra seems to imply that if you're paying for something, it's perfect the way it is. It's entirely possible for something to hit a low point, and the fan will want to push it in a more favorable direction.

You see, the worst kind of fanboys tune out any attempts at reasoning. But, by ignoring them, I'm also not being reasonable. Maybe, there is something wrong with Power Rangers. Maybe, cartoons today aren't as good by some degree. You have to keep Sturgeon's Law in mind, though. I don't hear people praising Marsupilami, or asking for a Men in Black revival.

Hooray for the Thundercats reboot! Anyone remember TigerSharks? Or the Extreme Dinosaurs? Or the Street Sharks?

Oh, yes. My point. The question: "How much complaining are you allowed?" Infinite. But, only the reasonable ones will be listened to (for the next season, or story arc). I got to thinking about it because I'm coining a new term, the "FanMan." You might have heard it before in a negative connotation, but I'm making it my own. A FanMan can find faults in the things he likes, and find merits in things he doesn't like. In my pursuit to remain unbiased, I should strive to exemplify the FanMan.

In my left hand is the Fan of Contemplation.

My right hand is on my mouse.

My "Secret" Origin

I am twenty-five years old, and I first moved to the United States when I was five. I can still remember sitting with the teacher's aid in second grade trying to learn how to pronounce the letter "Z." It was on that day that I decided that I always wanted to be understood. So, I learned to speak English fluently and then (years later) amended my resolution to also be fair, levelheaded, and unbiased.

It would have been a good origin story if I had grown up to be judge, lawyer, or a police officer, but I'm just a drone, pushing papers at an office. But, I am a nerd, and the internets are rife with unfair and biased journalism and commentators, and so I'm climbing on my soapbox to add my voice to the discussion.

Let me be clear, this is not going to be a political blog. This is going to be another nerd blog where I discuss nerdy things that are on my mind and every now and then review games or movies. I assure you I am not auditioning to get on one of the more popular review sites. I'm just doing this on my spare time.

I'm not saying that my opinions are better than other people's opinions. Opinions are just opinions. Just that, as a consumer, it's sometimes hard to look past either the hype or the hate, so I'm going to try to express my opinions with the least amount of hyperbole.

What am I going to talk about? Well, my interests are video games, anime, cartoons, movies, tv shows, comic books, toys, and card games. Right off the bat, I can tell you that I'll be writing about Filler/Padding in Anime. Also, Dragonball/Z/GT.How to get into comic books. Stand Alone Comic Books. Wonder Woman. Among other things.

Oh, and why is it called Compulsion to Collect? I grew up in the lower class income range. I was never hungry, but luxuries were exactly that: luxuries. I've concluded that my compulsion to collect stems from a need to prove to myself that I'm not poor. "I'm not poor, look at all the useless crap I own!"