Are You a Normie or a Non-Normie in SL?

[Scylla Rhiadra]

Honestly, this division of the world -- SL and RL -- into "mainstream" and "not-mainstream" is really pretty toxic.

It's not a description of the reality of who any of us: none of us can be reduced to such restrictive and simplistic categories. The division of the enormous variety of human experience into two narrow, subjective groups is belittling, self-aggrandizing, and almost entirely subjective. It's also literally more than a little fascist.

Celebrating diversity isn't about straight-jacketing everyone into either "like me, and hence cool" or "not like me, and hence dull." It is, or should be about recognizing the uniqueness of us all, and of our own perspectives and experiences.

[Silent Mistwalker]

1 hour ago, EliseAnne85 said:

I think the mainstream culture of SL is based around humans as the main and largest group and their habits may be geared towards coupling and looking gorgeous and their behavior, from my experience as a human, was back then to keep your bits covered and be as drama-free as possible (per the club rules back then) so I'd think the behavior was suggested by clubs and sometimes in group chat to think of others as well as yourself.  And, to not spam with gestures or have those baby talker things.  lol  Sorry, it made me laugh out loud literally.  I hope baby talkers died.  

So, to sum up behavior, I think what is known as "the golden rule" was the mainstream creed.  

[EliseAnne85]

21 minutes ago, Scylla Rhiadra said:

The division of the enormous variety of human experience into two narrow, subjective groups is belittling, self-aggrandizing, and almost entirely subjective. It's also literally more than a little fascist.

Looking a little further into the word Normie, a dictionary I use gives definition for Normie and then "other meanings" for "Normie" as shown in the screenshot below.

So, I looked up the other meanings of Normie.  In there, it explained it's origin may have started from disabled people and all the others were "Normies", the one's who were not disabled.  From their viewpoint, I can see the need why they may have started this word.  It also may have started as Arielle explained - those fighting addition and the other's were "Normies".  

Looking further still the word Normie has been used as a word similar to "square", normally a square person didn't drink or wasn't going to be the type to smoke pot.  

It is not a word I've heard spoken in all my life nor ever heard in movies, TV shows, on the radio, no where, except for now...it's making it's way around message boards and here is where I first saw it.  

I've asked several times already if this word should be flagged and left off the forum because this discussion is going nowhere and will continue to go nowhere because the word is part slang and used in many different ways but it is mostly those in the norm and those on the fringe.  And, it does sound somewhat like teenage angst-driven as well with our parents as the normies and us not.

Edited April 29, 2023 by EliseAnne85

[EliseAnne85]

20 minutes ago, Silent Mistwalker said:

I felt I gave an honest answer.

You're response is a cop out.

[Ayashe Ninetails]

3 minutes ago, Scylla Rhiadra said:

Honestly, this division of the world -- SL and RL -- into "mainstream" and "not-mainstream" is really pretty toxic.

It's not a description of the reality of who any of us: none of us can be reduced to such restrictive and simplistic categories. The division of the enormous variety of human experience into two narrow, subjective groups is belittling, self-aggrandizing, and almost entirely subjective. It's also literally more than a little fascist.

Celebrating diversity isn't about straight-jacketing everyone into either "like me, and hence cool" or "not like me, and hence dull." It is, or should be about recognizing the uniqueness of us all, and of our own perspectives and experiences.

I remember it being a thing back in Junior High/Middle School (not using the same terminology though - mostly just mainstream vs. non). By high school, we started to grow out of that. There were still cliques and divisions, obviously, because teens, but nothing quite as bad as what we've got on today's version of social media.

I would venture a guess that most people don't worry about such things - especially in SL. I'm quite literally standing in the middle of a fantasy ball right now with over 100 people surrounded by furries and humans and dragons and a zillion fantasy races and nobody's shunning anyone. 

[Love Zhaoying]

3 minutes ago, Ayashe Ninetails said:

I remember it being a thing back in Junior High/Middle School (not using the same terminology though - mostly just mainstream vs. non). By high school, we started to grow out of that. There were still cliques and divisions, obviously, because teens, but nothing quite as bad as what we've got on today's version of social media.

I would venture a guess that most people don't worry about such things - especially in SL. I'm quite literally standing in the middle of a fantasy ball right now with over 100 people surrounded by furries and humans and dragons and a zillion fantasy races and nobody's shunning anyone. 

See:

"The Breakfast Club"

"Revenger of the Nerds"

"Freaks and Geeks"

etc.

(Not to mention all the "Porky's" movies, so I won't. Mention them.)

[Arielle Popstar]

14 hours ago, Han Held said:

I grew up in the 70's and 80's with siblings in 12 step programs; this is the first I'm hearing of this usage.

 

I don't know about that time period as I was still doing research myself then but certainly in the 90's "normie" was being used in addition to or in place of "earthpeople". Dictionary.com corroborates that when it points out that:

 Throughout the late 1990s and into the early 2000s, normie was used by certain communities to describe outsiders. Websites like Addiction.com feature articles such as “What I Know About Dating Normies” and “10 Things a Normie Doesn’t Understand About Addiction” to contrast the life of those in recovery groups and normies on the outside. Normie has also been used by people with disabilities to describe those without.

Other examples: The Normie User Guide 10 things a normie doesn’t understand about addiction and another: We all know and love normies. They’re everywhere you go: work, school, restaurants, and possibly even in your own home. Normies are wonderful

Quote

Seriously. This is sounding to me a lot like the steamed hams bit where Skinner's trying to say that's what hamburgers are called in Albany...

Going to 4Chan and the Simpsons is maybe not the best place to get accurate definitions or their proper intent. It seriously makes one sound like a steamed up PC warrior grasping for something to be offended about.

 

14 hours ago, Scylla Rhiadra said:

I'll just note, again, that language changes, and that neither you nor I get to pick and choose our own meanings: if our auditors / readers don't possess the same views of that word, we've simply failed in our communication.

We could both probably produce scores of words that once meant one thing, but now mean quite another. The process by which compliments gradually turn into insults even as a name: pejoration. Try using the word "nice," for instance, in its older sense of "precise" or "exact": "She made very nice distinctions." Let me know how well you're understood. (Jane Austen has a whole passage in Northanger Abbey about the shift of that word's meaning.)

Oh? Who gets to pick and choose the meanings of words then? The denizens of 4chan? The Simpsons or South Park? Hollywood script writers? The PC culture club? It is just a small percentage of people who see a Normie as something insulting and it is up to the educators to correct that misconception don't you think?

Quote

 

We could both probably produce scores of words that once meant one thing, but now mean quite another. The process by which compliments gradually turn into insults even as a name: pejoration. Try using the word "nice," for instance, in its older sense of "precise" or "exact": "She made very nice distinctions." Let me know how well you're understood. (Jane Austen has a whole passage in Northanger Abbey about the shift of that word's meaning.)

 

To what degree are educators and/or the educational systems responsible for words changing meaning?

BTW I'll point out that another site for example, lists the historical definition of the word "nice" as being:

Nice: This word used to mean “silly, foolish, simple.” Far from the compliment it is today!  https://ideas.ted.com/20-words-that-once-meant-something-very-different/

 

 

[Cinnamon Mistwood]

1 hour ago, EliseAnne85 said:

I think the mainstream culture of SL is based around humans as the main and largest group and their habits may be geared towards coupling and looking gorgeous and their behavior, from my experience as a human, was back then to keep your bits covered and be as drama-free as possible (per the club rules back then) so I'd think the behavior was suggested by clubs and sometimes in group chat to think of others as well as yourself.  And, to not spam with gestures or have those baby talker things.  lol  Sorry, it made me laugh out loud literally.  I hope baby talkers died.  

So, to sum up behavior, I think what is known as "the golden rule" was the mainstream creed.  

/me takes away the paintbrush you're using on anyone who isn't you.  The broad brushstrokes you're  using to color everyone just isn't working. 

What i hear you saying is anyone who isn't a dinkie is boring and you have us ALL figured out.  You know what we do - just dress up and bump pixels and spam gestures.  We all listen to the same music, go to the same clubs, and do all the same things.

Secondlife isn't RL mainstream and joining a large community of dinkies doesn't make anyone super unique.  I am glad you found your people.  Really.  Please don't try to fit the rest of us into your view what is mainstream in a virtual world.  Like what you like and let others in SL like what they like without your negative judgment and labels.  Celebrate the fact that NOT everyone inworld is a tiny stuffed animal, because if they were, the community wouldn't be the same.

You're welcome for not being anything like you even if I CHOSE a dinkie avatar.  Enjoy you're SL 

[EliseAnne85]

29 minutes ago, Cinnamon Mistwood said:

/me takes away the paintbrush you're using on anyone who isn't you.  The broad brushstrokes you're  using to color everyone just isn't working. 

What i hear you saying is anyone who isn't a dinkie is boring and you have us ALL figured out.  You know what we do - just dress up and bump pixels and spam gestures.  We all listen to the same music, go to the same clubs, and do all the same things.

Secondlife isn't RL mainstream and joining a large community of dinkies doesn't make anyone super unique.  I am glad you found your people.  Really.  Please don't try to fit the rest of us into your view what is mainstream in a virtual world.  Like what you like and let others in SL like what they like without your negative judgment and labels.  Celebrate the fact that NOT everyone inworld is a tiny stuffed animal, because if they were, the community wouldn't be the same.

You're welcome for not being anything like you even if I CHOSE a dinkie avatar.  Enjoy you're SL 

I'm sorry, Cinnamon, I was using a large paintbrush because she asked for mainstream which to me means a simple, generic sort of answer.

I know SL is very diversified.

It was not an easy question to answer at all, so I choose somethings that are basic.  

And, I never said anyone who isn't a Dinkie is boring.  Not at all.  So, please don't think that.

I said I was human for years and it was not boring in a few posts back.   

 

[Caeruleiae]

44 minutes ago, EliseAnne85 said:

I've asked several times already if this word should be flagged and left off the forum

Or, you can be an adult and simply not use it. It's easy. We don't need a filter to stop us from typing something when we act like the adults we are and choose not to use certain terms or words. Most of us pull this remarkable feat off every single day. 

44 minutes ago, EliseAnne85 said:

And, it does sound somewhat like teenage angst-driven as well with our parents as the normies and us not.

FFS

Again, the younger generations didn't magically make this word out of thin air.  That you've never used it or heard or seen it elsewhere doesn't make this any less so. I guarantee it's been around longer than you've been alive. If people keep attributing all things negative with younger generations-it should be no wonder they can't relate and why we want nothing at all to do with your generation. You created the world we live in-we didn't. People prior to all of us created all of the words we use today-we didn't just make them up out of nowhere. Not everything people younger than you do or say is done or said with or in angst. You may encounter it a lot yourself but I can see why you might. 

You're always so negative and derogatory towards anyone younger than you. This is the kind of attitude that keeps younger people away from the forums and even sl. It's not just the faults sl has but that people constantly have crap to say about us. Please stop.

[EliseAnne85]

5 minutes ago, Caeruleiae said:

54 minutes ago, EliseAnne85 said:

And, it does sound somewhat like teenage angst-driven as well with our parents as the normies and us not.

FFS

Again, the younger generations didn't magically make this word out of thin air.  

I said our parents and I've also said it's something all generations do.  Each generation brings in new ideas, so generations do feel a bit different from their parents, etc.  I never said it was your generation above did I?

So, please stop putting words in my mouth I never said about you.

I was, however, trying to understand the younger generation a bit but it was not to upset you.

Edited April 29, 2023 by EliseAnne85

[Love Zhaoying]

1 hour ago, EliseAnne85 said:

I've asked several times already if this word should be flagged and left off the forum

Sure! Let's remove any word you don't like. Can we remove "Dinkies"?

See how that works?

Edited April 29, 2023 by Love Zhaoying
Word, not Eric!!! I got hit by an autocorrect bus!

[EliseAnne85]

14 minutes ago, Love Zhaoying said:

Sure! Let's remove any Eric you don't like. Can we remove "Dinkies"?

See how that works?

Well, the words Eric and Dinkie aren't upsetting people.  The word Normie is and it may have some attachment to coming from somewhere on the internet on other forums I've never heard of, but those forums may not be appropriate, I'm gathering from this discussion.

I thought this more like culture/counter-culture.  

Or better yet, the norm and those outside the norm in SL.  

Edited April 29, 2023 by EliseAnne85

[Harper Held]

58 minutes ago, Arielle Popstar said:

Going to 4Chan and the Simpsons is maybe not the best place to get accurate definitions or their proper intent. It seriously makes one sound like a steamed up PC warrior grasping for something to be offended about.

It does look a bit desperate to read implications into words that aren't there just for the sake of kicking up dirt, I agree with you there! 😉

[Caeruleiae]

14 minutes ago, EliseAnne85 said:

Well, the words Eric and Dinkie aren't upsetting people.

I bet there are people that get tired of seeing it constantly and are in fact bothered by it coming up in almost every discussion. I know there are- people have mentioned it numerous times-although often in a more nuanced way as to avoid making waves. Not that I think it should be removed-as I don't think that.

Love makes a very excellent point. If we start wanting words removed-where do we stop? Do we stop at only words you want removed? It really doesn't need to be removed or flagged-people could just stop using it. There the nonexistent problem has been solved.

 

[Kylie Jaxxon]

5 hours ago, Lindal Kidd said:

Everyone has some unique weirdness.

Yes, quirks ❤️ 

[Love Zhaoying]

7 minutes ago, Han Held said:

1 hour ago, Arielle Popstar said:

Going to 4Chan and the Simpsons is maybe not the best place to get accurate definitions or their proper intent. It seriously makes one sound like a steamed up PC warrior grasping for something to be offended about.

Expand  

It does look a bit desperate to read implications into words that aren't there just for the sake of kicking up dirt, I agree with you there! 😉

Irony: 4Chan and The Simpsons have been leading indicators of culture for many, many years!

[Caeruleiae]

28 minutes ago, EliseAnne85 said:

So, please stop putting words in my mouth I never said about you.

I am the younger generation to you-so yes every single time you negatively address or attribute something to the younger generation you are speaking about me. Please stop-it's really not that difficult to just not do it. 

[Harper Held]

Just now, Love Zhaoying said:

Irony: 4Chan and The Simpsons have been leading indicators of culture for many, many years!

Yep, yep...it's equal parts horrifying and amazing to see how much and be traced back to 4chan since it opened almost 20 years ago.

[Silent Mistwalker]

1 hour ago, EliseAnne85 said:

Looking a little further into the word Normie, a dictionary I use gives definition for Normie and then "other meanings" for "Normie" as shown in the screenshot below.

So, I looked up the other meanings of Normie.  In there, it explained it's origin may have started from disabled people and all the others were "Normies", the one's who were not disabled.  From their viewpoint, I can see the need why they may have started this word.  It also may have started as Arielle explained - those fighting addition and the other's were "Normies".  

Looking further still the word Normie has been used as a word similar to "square", normally a square person didn't drink or wasn't going to be the type to smoke pot.  

It is not a word I've heard spoken in all my life nor ever heard in movies, TV shows, on the radio, no where, except for now...it's making it's way around message boards and here is where I first saw it.  

I've asked several times already if this word should be flagged and left off the forum because this discussion is going nowhere and will continue to go nowhere because the word is part slang and used in many different ways but it is mostly those in the norm and those on the fringe.  And, it does sound somewhat like teenage angst-driven as well with our parents as the normies and us not.

 

If you haven't heard the term before now, you've led a fairly sheltered life. Not saying that to be mean. Your words speak volumes you don't actually say. In a way I'm not sorry you haven't been exposed to the realities of life most people have to deal with daily. Some of us should retain a little innocence.

[Love Zhaoying]

31 minutes ago, EliseAnne85 said:

Well, the words Eric

"Eric" was an autocorrect fail.

You are still insisting people are "upset"? They are not upset, they are just disagreeing with your incorrect assertions. I'm sorry, but repeatedly saying people are "upset" is gaslighting.  It's like saying a woman is "emotional" just because she expresses emotions.

See how that works? 

[Silent Mistwalker]

1 hour ago, EliseAnne85 said:

I felt I gave an honest answer.

You're response is a cop out.

You didn't answer the question and it wasn't directed at you. 

You've been copping out this entire thread.

[Arielle Popstar]

19 minutes ago, Love Zhaoying said:

Irony: 4Chan and The Simpsons have been leading indicators of culture for many, many years!

Leading indicators or just leading .....some? Methinks this is where we are seeing the differences between normies and non-normies.

[EliseAnne85]

6 minutes ago, Silent Mistwalker said:

You didn't answer the question and it wasn't directed at you. 

You've been copping out this entire thread.

Yes, it was directed at me.  What are you saying?  See Page 6.

And, how have I been copping out?  

I wanted to have a discussion about culture and counter-culture in SL but I don't want to have to keep repeating myself about that.  

And, yes, it was a mistake due to a word I've heard recently.  And, I explained enough.  I have a life too.

So, I'm out.  It's too stressful went I wanted to have an interesting discussion, and that's all.

 

Edited April 29, 2023 by EliseAnne85

[Silent Mistwalker]

Just now, EliseAnne85 said:

Yes, it was directed at me.  What are you saying?  

And, how have I been copping out?  

I wanted to have a discussion about culture and counter-culture in SL but I don't want to have to keep repeating myself about that.  

And, yes, it was a mistake due to a word I've heard recently.  And, I explained enough.  I have a life too.

So, I'm out.  It's too stressful went I wanted to have an interesting discussion, and that's all.

 

Show me where it was directed at you. There is no quote box in that post and it did not fall after one of your posts.