What makes people Fanbois?

What makes people Fanbois?

Author
Discussion

WeirdNeville

Original Poster:

5,935 posts

214 months

Sunday 2nd January 2011
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Having seen many, many people try and defend the (automotively) indefensible, I was thinking:

What turns people into Badge/Model Fanbois?

Why will somepeople argue ad nauseum that a Fiat Punto is simply the best car ever made, fact. Or that there can be no other car manufacturer than BMW?

As petrolheads I think we all crave diversity, and should all be able to see objectively the good and bad in most cars if we keep an open mind. My 200SX was awesome, a great car, but the handling wasn't all that as standard, and I wish it hadn't cost so much at the pumps.... Likewise, people who repeatedly attack MX-5's: Have they ever driven one? Were they wearing mittens at the time? It strikes me as incredibly obtuse to ignore the many, many things that that car gets so right simply because a hairdresser once bought one.

I can only put it down to ignorance and youth. We all love our first car, it just seems that some of us never let that go!

What are your thoughts?

hornetrider

63,161 posts

204 months

Sunday 2nd January 2011
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My thoughts are you should be banned for using the term fanboi.

Jasandjules

69,825 posts

228 months

Sunday 2nd January 2011
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What is a fanboi?

Is that what used to be called an enthusiast?

msheaven

170 posts

160 months

Sunday 2nd January 2011
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sexism.. fangirls

WeirdNeville

Original Poster:

5,935 posts

214 months

Sunday 2nd January 2011
quotequote all
hornetrider said:
My thoughts are you should be banned for using the term fanboi.
Sorry, should have used 'quotes'. Merely keeping up with the vernacular.
"Die hard followers of a brand, willing to argue incessantly on the internet about it"
Is that any better?

DerekGM6

2 posts

158 months

Sunday 2nd January 2011
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Very few of us get the chance to drive a large variety of cars and thus form onjective opinions. We fall in love with whatever catches our attention first, loving the good bits and excusing the bad ones.

Jimbo_vx

326 posts

235 months

Sunday 2nd January 2011
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God, you must be bored.

msheaven

170 posts

160 months

Sunday 2nd January 2011
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Im guessing its the same with football, being a woman i have no place to comment on football, but im probably sure its the same reason they pledge alleigance to a certain team. whatever that reason maybe.

and please take my post in jest :-D

Edited by msheaven on Sunday 2nd January 11:48

kambites

67,461 posts

220 months

Sunday 2nd January 2011
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Generally, it seems to be nothing more than them having an opposing view to that of the person who's calling them a fanboy.

GKP

15,099 posts

240 months

Sunday 2nd January 2011
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WeirdNeville said:
Likewise, people who repeatedly attack MX-5's: Have they ever driven one? Were they wearing mittens at the time? It strikes me as incredibly obtuse to ignore the many, many things that that car gets so right simply because a hairdresser once bought one.
I have driven a number of them. Didn't like any of them, but I don't go around 'attacking' them. I just don't think they're 'all that'.* Why the Fanboism about them?






*street, dude. S'up?

kambites

67,461 posts

220 months

Sunday 2nd January 2011
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GKP said:
I have driven a number of them. Didn't like any of them, but I don't go around 'attacking' them. I just don't think they're 'all that'.* Why the Fanboism about them?
I agree. I've driven a few of them and they're pretty good cars, but to my mind they don't deserve the worship they get on here. The mk3 MR2 is a fundamentally better drivers' car (although let down by its poor storage space) and the MG TF isn't far behind.

Sour Kraut

45,899 posts

188 months

Sunday 2nd January 2011
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Jasandjules said:
What is a fanboi?

Haighermeister

30,192 posts

159 months

Sunday 2nd January 2011
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Neville!

I miss the cowprint 200sx

jains15

1,013 posts

172 months

Sunday 2nd January 2011
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To answer the OP, it's because the world would be a boring place if we all liked the same thing...

Seriously though I know what you mean and it happens with all things, clothes, consumer electronics, PC vs Mac even religion and politics. People just get polarized very early on about something due to some sort of influence. They may become the ultimate fanboi as you point out and become blind to the bad points of an item (SLine I'm looking at you).

Sometimes people become an anti-fanboi, for example my brother hates everything Apple. Ipods to him are the spawn of the devil and he judges people if he finds out they have one and to this day I can't get a logical argument out of him as to why. He just says they are st and that's it. He won't even accept the fact that Apple machines are better for more creative stuff such as graphic design etc. He doesn't care...

You are right objective people can see the shades of grey and in this context IMHO it's the true mark of a petrolhead who can see the good and bad of cars they like and even own

ShadownINja

76,253 posts

281 months

Sunday 2nd January 2011
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Jasandjules said:
What is a fanboi?

Is that what used to be called an enthusiast?
I thought it was a derogatory term to imply that someone was an enthusiast beyond reason rather than someone who has a logical preference for an item.

stephen300o

15,464 posts

227 months

Sunday 2nd January 2011
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Fanboys/girls are people who like what you do not.

hairyben

8,516 posts

182 months

Sunday 2nd January 2011
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Fanboys will defend the indefensible. They'll swear allegiance then believe and spout what supports their PoV, and ignore anything inconvenient.

EG F1, spa, 2008. Hamilton shows Raikinon how to drive in the wet. FIA give hamilton penalty for not having a red car. Evan many ferrari fans are disgusted by hamiltons made-up-on-the-spot penalty and declared massa shouldn't have been gifted the win, whereas the diehard ferrari fanyboys just regurgitate the frivolous FIA verdict like it'd always been a cornerstone of the rules.

stephen300o

15,464 posts

227 months

Sunday 2nd January 2011
quotequote all
hairyben said:
Fanboys will defend the indefensible. They'll swear allegiance then believe and spout what supports their PoV, and ignore anything inconvenient.

EG F1, spa, 2008. Hamilton shows Raikinon how to drive in the wet. FIA give hamilton penalty for not having a red car. Evan many ferrari fans are disgusted by hamiltons made-up-on-the-spot penalty and declared massa shouldn't have been gifted the win, whereas the diehard ferrari fanyboys just regurgitate the frivolous FIA verdict like it'd always been a cornerstone of the rules.
Irony:[ahy-ruh-nee] Definiton, see above

Twincam16

27,646 posts

257 months

Sunday 2nd January 2011
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To me, a fanboy is not a mere enthusiast, but someone who has no appreciation of diversity of opinion at all.

There are several on here who'll come along and say, regardless of any requirements posted, that to do any 'what car' thread without considering some version of the BMW 3-series or Porsche 911 is just plain stupid, even if the OP wants a mid-engined track-day car with no windscreen to race in the 750MC.

I also reckon money and snobbery has something to do with it. We all defend our own choices, but it does seem that if you've not got much money to spend on a car, it's probably the case that you'll argue for something cheaper (ie that you can afford), and claim it's better than something more expensive being considered. For example, I understand that, among the hot-hatch fraternity, there are similar clusters of angry fanboys who genuinely believe that a 1.25-litre Fiesta Zetec is easily the equal of just about anything else, including RenaultSports, probably because that's all they can afford to buy, insure and run.

I do think it's worse, though, when you get enthusiasts who are demonstrably richer pouring scorn on the choices of people who blatantly can't afford the object of their fanboyism. Writing off other people's choices as 'not real performance cars' because they're not as fast as your 911, or posting a big line of ROFLs when someone does something that, in their own little way, is impressive but doesn't live up to your stellar standards, is indicative of odious, wad-waving banker's 'humour' at its worst.

Edited by Twincam16 on Sunday 2nd January 12:54

TheLurker

1,367 posts

195 months

Sunday 2nd January 2011
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Twincam16 said:
To me, a fanboy is not a mere enthusiast, but someone who has no appreciation of diversity of opinion at all.

There are several on here who'll come along and say, regardless of any requirements posted, that to do any 'what car' thread without considering some version of the BMW 3-series or Porsche 911 is just plain stupid, even if the OP wants a mid-engined track-day car with no windscreen to race in the 750MC.

I also reckon money and snobbery has something to do with it. We all defend our own choices, but it does seem that if you've not got much money to spend on a car, it's probably the case that you'll argue for something cheaper (ie that you can afford), and claim it's better than something more expensive being considered. For example, I understand that, among the hot-hatch fraternity, there are similar clusters of angry fanboys who genuinely believe that a 1.25-litre Fiesta Zetec is easily the equal of just about anything else, including RenaultSports, probably because that's all they can afford to buy, insure and run.

I do think it's worse, though, when you get enthusiasts who are demonstrably richer pouring scorn on the choices of people who blatantly can't afford the object of their fanboyism. Writing off other people's choices as 'not real performance cars' because they're not as fast as your 911, or posting a big line of ROFLs when someone does something that, in their own little way, is impressive but doesn't live up to your stellar standards, is indicative of odious, wad-waving banker's 'humour' at its worst.

Edited by Twincam16 on Sunday 2nd January 12:54
Well put. I agree with all of that.