# Lost 3.5: The Cost of Living **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 1, 2006, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-3-5-the-cost-of-living/378769 "2006-11-01T19:20:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 12
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2006, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-3-5-the-cost-of-living/378769/221 "2006-11-07T17:35:07Z")
[QUOTE=DrDeth] A good reason not to have any weird terminology or silly-assed nicknames. Like “Benry”. [/QUOTE] Amen. ---
**Author:** ![ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2006, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-3-5-the-cost-of-living/378769/222 "2006-11-07T17:39:55Z")
But…but… Benry, losties, tailies, freckles, fish biscuit… These are all ensconced in both my spoken and typed communications. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2006, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-3-5-the-cost-of-living/378769/223 "2006-11-07T17:50:18Z")
[QUOTE=ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies] But…but… Benry, losties, tailies, freckles, fish biscuit… These are all ensconced in both my spoken and typed communications. ☹ [/QUOTE] “freckles, fish biscuit” are used on the show itself. Thus, we can fairly assume here that one has watched the show. What we can’t and shoudn’t assume is that everyone has read every single one of these threads and every single post in them and memorized them like they are Gospel. ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2006, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-3-5-the-cost-of-living/378769/224 "2006-11-07T17:57:36Z")
[Off-topic mini-rant] Losties and tailes aren’t really nicknames, IMO. They describe the two different groups of plane crash survivors. Fish biscuits are what Sawyer gets out of his food contraption. Not a nickname. What aggravates me is when a new show starts and people immediatly start with, “What should be this character’s nickname?” And proceed to fatten the thread up by several pages hashing out various names or by calling them character names from other shows or movies the actor was in. When _Lost_ first started, some people insisted on calling Michael “Mercutio” because he played that character in _Romeo and Juliet_. Jack was called Charlie because of his _Party of Five_ role, which just confused him with the real Charlie on the show. And Charlie is still called the Hobbit. It’s going on now in the _Heros_ threads and while I can tolerate it, it still annoys me. I’m trying to figure out what’s going on plot-wise, and have figured out everyone’s name, and people are spending time coming up with cutsey nicknames based on each character’s special ability. It’s especially annoying when one character has multiple nicknames and people use them randomly - I can’t figure out who they’re talking about. Why can’t we just use the character’s name? [/O-T M-R] Okay, I’m done. Sorry. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_chao_goes_mu/32/3191_2.png) [@The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Chao_Goes_Mu)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2006, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-3-5-the-cost-of-living/378769/225 "2006-11-07T18:09:41Z")
The whole nickname thing can’t be stopped now. A precedent has been set. If someone doesn’t get the nickname, well, then, ask and ye shall receive. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2006, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-3-5-the-cost-of-living/378769/226 "2006-11-07T18:32:35Z")
[QUOTE=BiblioCat] [Off-topic mini-rant] What aggravates me is when a new show starts and people immediatly start with, “What should be this character’s nickname?” And proceed to fatten the thread up by several pages hashing out various names or by calling them character names from other shows or movies the actor was in. When _Lost_ first started, some people insisted on calling Michael “Mercutio” because he played that character in _Romeo and Juliet_. Jack was called Charlie because of his _Party of Five_ role, which just confused him with the real Charlie on the show. And Charlie is still called the Hobbit. It’s going on now in the _Heros_ threads and while I can tolerate it, it still annoys me. I’m trying to figure out what’s going on plot-wise, and have figured out everyone’s name, and people are spending time coming up with cutsey nicknames based on each character’s special ability. It’s especially annoying when one character has multiple nicknames and people use them randomly - I can’t figure out who they’re talking about. Why can’t we just use the character’s name? [/O-T M-R] . [/QUOTE] No, you’re quite correct. It comes from TWOP. In TWOP the recappers endlessly use nicknames to refer to the major characters (Hobbit and Mercutio came from there, and likely others), and those nicknames are also used by the dittoheads on TWOP’s message boards. Since they have a rather small audience, and everyone one of them is obsessed with TV, that’s fine- _there._ But this isn’t TWOP, dammit- this is the SDMB. The SDMB is devoted to stamping out ignorance, not making up cutesy new stuff. And, many of us aren’t obsessed with TV or even a particular show. Oh, sure, we watch TV, but that’s not the same. However, once in a while, we’ll drop in on a thread just to see what other Dopers think or see if it clears up something we didn’t quite get. Finding that thread full of incomprehensible jargon and nicknames doesn’t do either. Look, dudes from TWOP- hey, I got no problem with you posting there and enjoying the “in-ness” of the nicknames, jargon and “shout-outs”. And, many of you are full of interesting info that you share with us, and that’s great, and thank you! But every board is different, and what works for them doesn’t work for us. Let TWOP be TWOP and the SDMB be the SDMB. Hell, if I went there and tried to ask many of the questions we cover here, I’d be banned in an instant- and that’s fair as they are about TV, and we are about everything. Note **Opalcat** , who is certainly a SDMB "insider’ and has been around here since gawd was a pup- and she had no idea what “TCM” meant, and had to ask. Thus, in a MB dedicated to stamping out ignorance- this thread failed. ☹ Every thread here is open to every Member, and I hope the information in it is for every member. So, let’s have threads SDMB style, please- not ripped from other boards. They are them and we is us. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2006, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-3-5-the-cost-of-living/378769/227 "2006-11-07T18:38:26Z")
[QUOTE=DrDeth] No, you’re quite correct. It comes from TWOP. In TWOP the recappers endlessly use nicknames to refer to the major characters (Hobbit and Mercutio came from there, and likely others), and those nicknames are also used by the dittoheads on TWOP’s message boards. Since they have a rather small audience, and everyone one of them is obsessed with TV, that’s fine- _there._ But this isn’t TWOP, dammit- this is the SDMB. The SDMB is devoted to stamping out ignorance, not making up cutesy new stuff. And, many of us aren’t obsessed with TV or even a particular show. Oh, sure, we watch TV, but that’s not the same. However, once in a while, we’ll drop in on a thread just to see what other Dopers think or see if it clears up something we didn’t quite get. Finding that thread full of incomprehensible jargon and nicknames doesn’t do either. Look, dudes from TWOP- hey, I got no problem with you posting there and enjoying the “in-ness” of the nicknames, jargon and “shout-outs”. And, many of you are full of interesting info that you share with us, and that’s great, and thank you! But every board is different, and what works for them doesn’t work for us. Let TWOP be TWOP and the SDMB be the SDMB. Hell, if I went there and tried to ask many of the questions we cover here, I’d be banned in an instant- and that’s fair as they are about TV, and we are about everything. Note **Opalcat** , who is certainly a SDMB "insider’ and has been around here since gawd was a pup- and she had no idea what “TCM” meant, and had to ask. Thus, in a MB dedicated to stamping out ignorance- this thread failed. ☹ Every thread here is open to every Member, and I hope the information in it is for every member. So, let’s have threads SDMB style, please- not ripped from other boards. They are them and we is us. 😛 [/QUOTE] Your post constitutes an instance of irony. To fill in the blank for others, I’ve googled it, and TWOP apparently is the website “Television Without Pity.” I’ll hafta check it out now. -FrL- ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2006, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-3-5-the-cost-of-living/378769/228 "2006-11-07T18:38:37Z")
I like the nick-names. If people are gonna get all pouty about it, I can make a list to keep in the OP. But that kinda takes some of the fun out of it. ---
**Author:** ![Jayrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Jayrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jayrot)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2006, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-3-5-the-cost-of-living/378769/229 "2006-11-07T19:07:58Z")
[QUOTE=Frylock] To fill in the blank for others, I’ve googled it, and TWOP apparently is the website “Television Without Pity.” I’ll hafta check it out now. -FrL- [/QUOTE] Thank you, **Frylock**. I’ve been wondering about that for a while. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Octagon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5f9b8f/32.png) [@The\_Octagon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Octagon)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2006, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-3-5-the-cost-of-living/378769/230 "2006-11-07T19:58:46Z")
[QUOTE=BiblioCat] Jack was called Charlie because of his _Party of Five_ role, which just confused him with the real Charlie on the show. [/QUOTE] holy CRAP i knew he looked eerily familiar ---
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2006, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-3-5-the-cost-of-living/378769/231 "2006-11-07T20:14:15Z")
[QUOTE=DrDeth] Look, dudes from TWOP- hey, I got no problem with you posting there and enjoying the “in-ness” of the nicknames, jargon and “shout-outs”. And, many of you are full of interesting info that you share with us, and that’s great, and thank you! But every board is different, and what works for them doesn’t work for us. Let TWOP be TWOP and the SDMB be the SDMB. [/QUOTE] Thank you for expressing this. I’ve been fighting the urge to post something similar for months now. In all cap. And bold. And in an oversized font. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2006, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-3-5-the-cost-of-living/378769/232 "2006-11-07T20:29:41Z")
[QUOTE=Oslo Ostragoth] Thank you for expressing this. I’ve been fighting the urge to post something similar for months now. In all cap. And bold. And in an oversized font. [/QUOTE] I don’t have a problem with nicknames if the nicknames are _our_ nicknames. TWOP didn’t invent the practice of nicknaming characters, although I’m sure they’d be happy to claim they did. I do dislike people bringing TWOP nicknames and jargon on to the 'Dope, though. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_chao_goes_mu/32/3191_2.png) [@The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Chao_Goes_Mu)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2006, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-3-5-the-cost-of-living/378769/233 "2006-11-07T20:49:03Z")
[QUOTE=levdrakon] I don’t have a problem with nicknames if the nicknames are _our_ nicknames. TWOP didn’t invent the practice of nicknaming characters, although I’m sure they’d be happy to claim they did. I do dislike people bringing TWOP nicknames and jargon on to the 'Dope, though. [/QUOTE] See, I’m with you on this. I like our nicknames but I agree that the nicknames from other sites just don’t set well. Durn interlopers. ---
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2006, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-3-5-the-cost-of-living/378769/234 "2006-11-07T23:15:43Z")
[QUOTE=The Chao Goes Mu] See, I’m with you on this. I like our nicknames but I agree that the nicknames from other sites just don’t set well. Durn interlopers. [/QUOTE] _ **TCM** _ = good _ **Mercutio** _ = bad [I guess that I should clarify that my dander was raised by the _ **Heroes** _ threads, not the _ **Lost** _ threads. It really is a contest over there to be the most clever, not the most apt.] ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2006, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-3-5-the-cost-of-living/378769/235 "2006-11-08T00:51:21Z")
Okay, some of the nicknames may get excessive, however, it’s just done for fun. Especially, the nicknames for the cast of Heroes, since part of it was answering the question “what would their superhero name be?”. That said, I think it is truly ridiculous to get upset about the use of “Benry”. For crying out loud, we first knew him as “Henry”, so it’s just combinging the old name and his “real” name, and Ben is the first part of the name! Really, how hard is it to figure out who we’re talking about? :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2006, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-3-5-the-cost-of-living/378769/236 "2006-11-08T04:47:54Z")
Is everyone OK with Walt’s nickname: WAAAAAAALT!!! Anyone confused on that one? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2006, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-3-5-the-cost-of-living/378769/237 "2006-11-08T05:39:17Z")
[QUOTE=John Mace] Is everyone OK with Walt’s nickname: WAAAAAAALT!!! Anyone confused on that one? 🙂 [/QUOTE] Nope. 😃 I like it! Benry’s not terrible. Mercutio is _right out._ 😛 TCM is OK as long as about once per thread or better once per page,someone sez “TCM= Tree Crushing Monster, the one we think is also the black cloud creature.” ---
**Author:** ![Ultros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9f8e36/32.png) [@Ultros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ultros)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2006, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-3-5-the-cost-of-living/378769/238 "2006-11-08T17:09:49Z")
[QUOTE=Wile E] That said, I think it is truly ridiculous to get upset about the use of “Benry”. For crying out loud, we first knew him as “Henry”, so it’s just combinging the old name and his “real” name, and Ben is the first part of the name! Really, how hard is it to figure out who we’re talking about? :rolleyes: [/QUOTE] I could see it if, for example, we weren’t sure whether his name was Ben or Henry. But since we now know his real name, why not just use it? There’s no “-ry” to him anymore. 🙂 > [@John Mace](#): > > Is everyone OK with Walt’s nickname: WAAAAAAALT!!! Anyone confused on that one? Actually, no, I think he’s more of a \*\*\*WAAAAAAALT!!! \*\*\* 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Monstre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@Monstre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monstre)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2006, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-3-5-the-cost-of-living/378769/239 "2006-11-08T17:47:58Z")
[QUOTE=DrDeth] Look, dudes from TWOP- hey, I got no problem with you posting there and enjoying the “in-ness” of the nicknames, jargon and “shout-outs”. And, many of you are full of interesting info that you share with us, and that’s great, and thank you! [/quote] Did I miss something? Are there TWOP nicknames being brought here? TCM is something we’ve been using since season 1, so if that comes from another board, it’s news to me. We had to have **something** to call it back in season 1, and the only way we knew it was by the trees getting knocked over or ripped from the ground. Even now, we don’t _really_ know what it is. So any name we give it could be considered a “nickname”: Smoke Monster, Cerberus (only a speculation from the map text, not 100% verified), Swirly-Smoky-Loud-Sounding-Like-A-Machine-But-Not-Moving-Like-One-Killy-Crushy-Smashy-People-Thing. Take your pick. > [@](#): > > Note **Opalcat** , who is certainly a SDMB "insider’ and has been around here since gawd was a pup- and she had no idea what “TCM” meant, and had to ask. Thus, in a MB dedicated to stamping out ignorance- this thread failed. Not really. She asked the question, and it was briefly and easily answered. Info received. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-3-5-the-cost-of-living/378769.md?page=11)