# Daily Telegraph 40k article: "Obvious troll is obvious..."



## Straken's_Fist (Aug 15, 2012)

Quite funny, if not a bit obvious in "trolling the geeks"....

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/t...-it-be-warhammer-fantasy-games/#disqus_thread

"Of course, if your pocket money runs low there are always street pushers like Barney who will palm you second hand models in exchange for the sordid indignity of doing his homework. But what he sells is always an older, inferior product. The rush isn't the same."


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## GrizBe (May 12, 2010)

Pretty much everyones kicking his ass in the comments and pointing out how poor his research etc is... guys clearly an idiot. Daily Telegraph for a so called serious paper has no credibility anymore.


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## Straken's_Fist (Aug 15, 2012)

No newspaper has any real credibility anymore tbh...But yeah. Stupid article, stupid writer...


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## bitsandkits (Mar 18, 2008)

cant understand why people are taking offense, its clearly a light hearted satire and meant as a joke article, people seriously lack a sense of humor sometimes. As for poor research i think its bang on ! plus hes addmitted to coming out as a gamer https://twitter.com/timothy_stanley

"_I started small – a few skirmishes in the changing rooms, an armed confrontation in the library – and soon worked my way up to a massive army of faux-French knights called Bretonnians. I got the painting bug and by age 15 I was getting through 10, maybe 20 archers a week. We’re talking two coats and a bucketful of superglue. Most evenings I was as high as a kite._"

I found this very funny because this was me at 15, though i grant you it was Empire rather than Bretonnians, and i was high because i was stripping second hand models in celulose thinners in my very small bedroom!! good times


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## imm0rtal reaper (Jul 15, 2008)

It's obvious that he was _trying_ to make a comment about how ludicrous the proposed pornography ban is by saying it makes as much sense as banning wargaming. But instead he came across as a narrow minded (and here's where my grown up-ness runs out) fucktard that I now want to punch in the mo'fucking face. 

He could have taken the route of a well reasoned argument saying why pornography doesn't need to be banned, and then brought in wargaming by making the comparison "playing wargames doesn't make you suddenly more likely to gather all your friends together and try and overthrow the 'empire'". 

It felt like he was saying "let's talk about a serious issue [well, if you consider porn censorship serious] by not talking about it at all and trolling a group of people while we're at it"

It was just a poor piece of "journalism".

This has rustled my jimmies far more than the actual issue of porn censorship itself!


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## tu_shan82 (Mar 7, 2008)

Serioulsy people, it's meant as a joke, I personally found it vey funny and if you approach the article as it is intended, ie it's meant to be satircal and a little tounge in cheek. Seriously dudes, if you can't laugh about yourself, especially something as trivial as your hobby, then how can you say you've got a sense of humour. I'd hate to imagine the response he would have gotten if he had of wrriten a similar article abou some ones ethnicty or religion. What will people think of us wargamers after reading all the hatemail directed at the author? your responses, rather than the article, is what makes us look bad This is more directed at the people who responded to the article rather anyone here.


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## GrizBe (May 12, 2010)

Reaper pretty much sums up my feelings on it. While yes it was meant to be humorous, the way he's done it is far too trolling.


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## stuff (Jan 16, 2010)

Not going to lie, this article is rather amusing. I am quite a cynical person and find anything steeped in irony amusing. That's what this article is about, taking something ridiculous that is going on in the world and making an equally ridiculous statement in order to point out just how ridiculous Cameron's ban is.

Respect to the guy for being able to take the piss out of himself. I think the telegraph has become a bit of a joke as journalism goes but I actually enjoyed this article!


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## alasdair (Jun 11, 2009)

My jimmies were certainly rustled, but the humour is well placed, if lazy.


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## Gigantor (Jun 21, 2009)

Wow, I am absolutely floored by the overwhelmingly stupid response to this article. I will admit that while I was reading it I got angry, but I realize that he is simply pointing out things that I already think about. "As a 28y/o father of 3, perhaps I should grow up and get a new hobby, maybe fixing old cars or dirt biking." The writer is spot on about the addiction to the hobby, I have hundreds of unpainted models, yet I can't wait to buy the next box set. 
Maybe we need to start a Toy Soldiers Anonymous group.
"My name is Gigantor, and I'm addicted to plastic crack"


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## imm0rtal reaper (Jul 15, 2008)

I'm fine (well, as fine as one can be) with people poking fun at the hobby and comparing it to a drug addiction. commenting on grown men and women playing with toy soldiers. A lot of the jokes made about us as a group are funny. 

My annoyance comes more from the fact that he's using this as a comparison to a serious issue that he just glosses right over. If the point of comparison had actually been drug addiction, I would have found the article much more appropriate and amusing. 

But what he's doing is trying to discuss a controversial issue that a lot of people have some very strong feelings over, without discussing it at all. 

The article doesn't address anything about the real issue, doesn't even mention the issue other than in the first sentence. 

To me it reads as though his though process was "oh, people are up in arms about this porn thing, better write something on it while it's still a hot topic. Hmm what to write at *stares at pile of warhammer stuff that he hasn't thrown away* that's it, I'll poke fun at the wargaming hobby. Genius!"

The article has potential, if taken in a different directions. As I mentioned, if he had drawn on the idea that watching "rape porn" makes you more inclined to rape, and then contrasted it by saying that killing an army of people on the table top makes you more inclined to go out and commit murder then fair enough. 

I just think it was a terrible article. Not terribly written, I'm not judging his writing skills, but rather his ability to write a decent piece of journalism.

*EDIT: An example of well done satire:


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## Loli (Mar 26, 2009)

When I read it I could tell I was intended as a joke, but it really isn't funny at all.


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## Grins1878 (May 10, 2010)

It's funny he's incurred nerdwrath, and the best comment is from someone saying about his 1987 Jabberwocky. Article itself is so close to being really funny, it's just missing something, almost like its a ten page joke with no real punchline... 

I think Immortal Reaper had it when he said about how he should have said mass killing on a tabletop would have added more of the point to it. It reminded me of Sue Perkins (?) and Mel Gsomethingsomething, it's almost like you want them to be really funny, but they just aren't.


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## Khorne's Fist (Jul 18, 2008)

bitsandkits said:


> cant understand why people are taking offense, its clearly a light hearted satire and meant as a joke article, people seriously lack a sense of humor sometimes.


This. The nerd rage is far funnier than the article though.

What reassures me is that once the plastic crack habit grabs you, there's no real getting away from it. He'll be back, wait and see.


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## Bindi Baji (Apr 23, 2009)

It's light hearted and it's in the Daily Torygraph, 
This has been written by someone whose best friends are most likely called Gerald, Rupert and Tarquin and will most likely be married to there own cousin (and it's probably going to be Prudence or Victoria)

Don't expect to read something that makes sense, laugh at it, it's fairly funny (mostly unintentionally)


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## Straken's_Fist (Aug 15, 2012)

GrizBe said:


> Reaper pretty much sums up my feelings on it. While yes it was meant to be humorous, the way he's done it is far too trolling.


Pretty much yeah. Quite funny as I said, especially the drug addiction analogies, but a bit too obvious and it lacked subtlety which would've made it funnier.


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## Old Man78 (Nov 3, 2011)

I liked it, a great piece of free advertising for G.W, and he probably has a desk full of grey plastic crack!


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## Galahad (Dec 21, 2006)

I'm with bitsy. That article was hilarious and obviously intended as satire.

I love how quickly my fellow geeks utterly lose their shit the moment they think someone's having a go at them or gets a minor point of trivia wrong. Especially if the thing in question portrays us as social retards who take silly things way too seriously.

Nothing like misreading a joke and threatening someone over the internet because they mocked your toy collection to show you're not a social retard who takes silly things too seriously


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## AAAAAAAAARRRGGHH (Apr 17, 2009)

Galahad said:


> I'm with bitsy. That article was hilarious and obviously intended as satire.
> 
> I love how quickly my fellow geeks utterly lose their shit the moment they think someone's having a go at them or gets a minor point of trivia wrong. Especially if the thing in question portrays us as social retards who take silly things way too seriously.
> 
> Nothing like misreading a joke and threatening someone over the internet because they mocked your toy collection to show you're not a social retard who takes silly things too seriously


:goodpost: This!

The article, while being moderately funny, wins on it's audience's reactions which are much funnier than the article itself. Which is perfectly fine seeing as it delivers fun times with irony for all this way.

Although the political points of it are barely visible. Makes you wonder why Cameron is even mentioned in the first place. Perhaps it has just been tack on as an afterthought the writer thought was clever.


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## Jacobite (Jan 26, 2007)

*yawn* a rather aimless piece of sub par journalistic drivel to be honest. "Obvious troll is obvious" sums it up pretty well I think.


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## OIIIIIIO (Dec 16, 2009)

Bindi Baji said:


> It's light hearted and it's in the Daily Torygraph,
> This has been written by someone whose best friends are most likely called Gerald, Rupert and Tarquin and *will most likely be married to there own cousin *(and it's probably going to be Prudence or Victoria)
> 
> Don't expect to read something that makes sense, laugh at it, it's fairly funny (mostly unintentionally)


I find the bolded section offensive ... only because if I divorce my wife she would still be my sister ...:shok:

JK

It is friggin hilarious that he was making a piss poor joke about people that have a hobby that is not in the main line of sports or some other narcissistic hobby, and some of the people freaked the fuck out.

Most of the people that I work with would not understand the artistic side of my 40K hobby, but can totally understand that I spend a metric shit ton on my Jeep, the wife's Jeep, my Harley, or her 370 Z. This has me wondering at how narrow-minded they are. 

Some things are within the social 'norm' and other things are not and are therefore open for ridicule? It's not as if we all band together on Sundays and club baby seals just for shits and giggles ( although that is a good way to spend an afternoon!) Fuck people I say, fuck them in the mouth. ......... Of course I have and anger problem too but fuck that as well.:ireful2:


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## Djinn24 (Jan 12, 2008)

Best part of that article is the comments. Quite a few think he is being serious.


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## humakt (Jan 2, 2008)

djinn24 said:


> Best part of that article is the comments. Quite a few think he is being serious.


People take thier hobby way to seriously. They are toy soldiers so people should lighten up. 

I thought it was a passable artilce that totally failed to get its point across, mainly as he did not make enough reference to what he wanted to comment on, his porn addiction.


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## Bubblematrix (Jun 4, 2009)

humakt said:


> I thought it was a passable article that totally failed to get its point across, mainly as he did not make enough reference to what he wanted to comment on, his porn addiction.


In all honesty I don't think he knew what his point was, it struck me as very similar to some of my "oh shit I haven't written a blog post" articles, not really very punchy, not hitting any real point.

The outrage is misdirected and I bet a good few haven't read it, he attacked himself not the hobby, just badly.

Sadly some of the reactions kinda give more weight than the article (and remember, this is a blog article, not edited copy or anything - it is some guys notepad ramblings) to the point he half made.

As for the porn addiction starter paragraph - it seems tagged on, in fact the whole article feels like a 2am job.

For those getting all panty twisted - breath, read it, maybe laugh a bit and if you still take serious offence then you likely need a bit of introspection because you might have a *real* problem.


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## Firewolf (Jan 22, 2007)

>> I read this fantastic piece of journalism and thought it was making valid points. I then read all the comments and thought... what the fuck, people say dude who wrote it gives gamers a bad name? yet fukers come on and give him dogs abuse about yer wee toy soldiers. Fukers need to get a grip. Yes, We are geeks. It seems to me that its would be fine for, say example Jacobite to call me ageek, cos its all in the heresy family, laugh at ourselves way, yet if my uncle called Jacobite a geek, nerds would rage at him. Learn to laugh fukers, you may just enjoy it!!!!


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## slaaneshy (Feb 20, 2008)

Just read it....seriously where is the offence here? Some people in the comments section are clearly reading too much into it. Altough I do agree, it is a pointless article, but a change from 10 pages of royal baby nonsense I suppose!


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## Achaylus72 (Apr 30, 2011)

I read it a few times and i loved it, it is a very good pisstake on our hobby, anyone that did not get it should get 100cc's of humour.

Anyway whats so bad about being married to your cousin, as long as she puts out, i ain't complaining.


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## Grins1878 (May 10, 2010)

djinn24 said:


> Best part of that article is the comments. Quite a few think he is being serious.


Exactly this! :victory:


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## unixknight (Jul 26, 2010)

In order for satire to be _good_ satire, it has to be easily understood as such. Some folks here saw it as satire but plenty did not, including the people leaving comments on the article. I myself didn't recognize it as satire and I'm not emotionally invested enough to go back to it so I'll take the word of those saying it was.

So it might be that those of us who didn't see it that way are simply stupid, or it might be that the satire wasn't very good as satire. It might have been very funny, but that's not the same thing. I don't regard myself as being stupid, and many of the comments I've seen from those who disliked the article were intelligently written (Not all of course, but this is the Internet after all) so I'm inclined to think it was weak satire at best.


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