# What hobbies tend to have the most obsessive enthusiasts? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 8, 2009, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-hobbies-tend-to-have-the-most-obsessive-enthusiasts/513066 "2009-10-08T16:54:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2009, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-hobbies-tend-to-have-the-most-obsessive-enthusiasts/513066/41 "2009-10-10T01:08:16Z")
There are Windows users every bit as obsessive as some Mac and Linux users. They’re the ones who won’t hear about how Vista perhaps wasn’t worth the upgrade from XP or how Windows 98SE was, at best, a marginal improvement on a well-maintained Windows 95 system from the same era, and will just about throw down the gauntlet and arrange a duel when someone mentions how they always run as an Administrator and it’s MS’s fault how damn unstable Windows is. However, they’re largely ignored because they’re such a small fraction of the total number of Windows users. It’s very hard for me to pick out a single hobby or fandom to pick on here. For the sake of my own sense of fair play, I’ll only mention ones I have more than passing knowledge of: There are obsessive arcade game fans who build entire video arcades in their basement, full of vintage hardware (either completely original or reconstructed by putting components in standard cabinets) and designed to look like the arcades of yore. (Owning a single cabinet, probably a commodity JAMMA rig with only a few specialized components, or dedicating a desktop machine to running MAME and plugging in a couple joysticks, is _not_ obsessive behavior, nor is it especially expensive or time-consuming.) There are retrocomputing buffs who keep computers from the early- and mid-1960s in operable condition, which involves painstakingly repairing components that were cheap at the time and are now well past their envisioned service life. (Tape mechanisms made of plastic that is now chemically degraded to the point of damaging tapes, card readers that eat cards, etc.) These people often have to do special voodoo to get the correct electrical power for these monsters: Even a small computer from that era was designed for a corporate machine room or a factory, not a private residence. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2009, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-hobbies-tend-to-have-the-most-obsessive-enthusiasts/513066/42 "2009-10-10T06:18:46Z")
People who are into New Age crap like homeopathy. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2009, 8:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-hobbies-tend-to-have-the-most-obsessive-enthusiasts/513066/43 "2009-10-10T08:11:48Z")
> [@GameHat](#): > > I had never golfed and was frankly a bit suspicious of the entire scene. Then two years ago my business manager invited me. He let me share his clubs and was extremely tolerant of my slow learning curve. > > Wow. What a great time. > > Two years later, I have my own clubs. I’m slowly learning on my own and having a blast. I’ll golf now with anyone I can find to hit the course. > > Plus it’s great for business. Customer being a tool? Invite him out for a round! A few beers and everyone’s happy, having a great time, and suddenly next week he’s not complaining anymore. More hobbyists should drink. It might make them more tolerable to be around. ---
**Author:** ![Crowbar\_of\_Irony\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f08c70/32.png) [@Crowbar\_of\_Irony\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crowbar_of_Irony_3)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2009, 11:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-hobbies-tend-to-have-the-most-obsessive-enthusiasts/513066/44 "2009-10-10T11:04:08Z")
Board games. I know of a guy whose car is packed with board games; the boot, the dashboard, under the seats and so on. His house is packed full too. Roleplaying gamers, especially those of D&D. First, you need the Player’s Manual (and the Player’s Manual 2), the Dungeon Master’s Guide, (then DMG 2), with the Monster’s Manual minimal to play and that’s about USD 90. Not to mention the campaign settings, items and what-not. Then there are the miniatures, power cards (new in D&D 4E!), DM screen, official character sheets, initiative cards and the all-mighty battle-mats. Next, you can join RPGA and be ranked for your DMing skills and have an an-going persistent world! Meanwhile you read errata on the website, fight off rule lawyers and tout the virtues of your chosen rule-sets on forums. ---
**Author:** ![BKReporter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@BKReporter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BKReporter)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2009, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-hobbies-tend-to-have-the-most-obsessive-enthusiasts/513066/45 "2009-10-10T14:57:31Z")
> [@CrazyChop](#): > > Board games. I know of a guy whose car is packed with board games; the boot, the dashboard, under the seats and so on. His house is packed full too. > > Roleplaying gamers, especially those of D&D. First, you need the Player’s Manual (and the Player’s Manual 2), the Dungeon Master’s Guide, (then DMG 2), with the Monster’s Manual minimal to play and that’s about USD 90. Not to mention the campaign settings, items and what-not. Then there are the miniatures, power cards (new in D&D 4E!), DM screen, official character sheets, initiative cards and the all-mighty battle-mats. > > Next, you can join RPGA and be ranked for your DMing skills and have an an-going persistent world! Meanwhile you read errata on the website, fight off rule lawyers and tout the virtues of your chosen rule-sets on forums. Tell me about it. I honestly think that some of these people fail to grasp that what they’re engaging in is not real. ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2009, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-hobbies-tend-to-have-the-most-obsessive-enthusiasts/513066/46 "2009-10-10T15:53:08Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Two threads down-“_Porn_”. > > Just sayin’. One thread up when I found this one is “Ever been caught masturbating?”😃 [QUOTE=Bijou Drains] Many Mac users are just as bad as Linux people. They seem to spend 90% of their time bashing Windows. [/QUOTE] And 10% trying to find a computer game for their system! _ZING_😃 I keed, I keed. I’ve met astronomers who built observatories on ranchland that they bought in the Arizona desert. I asked one how much his rig (built with corrugated tin walls complete with a rotating dome for the bigass reflecting telescope) cost, and he answered with “You don’t really want to know, trust me.”😛 Also, Photographers can get crazy too, obsessing about which brand is better, the features their given camera body has, primes vs zoom lenses, the _bokeh_ of any particular lens, small format vs. medium format vs. large format photography, SLRs vs. Rangefinders, or even [starting their own film factories](http://gadgets.boingboing.net/2009/01/19/the-impossible-proje.html) to keep a particular style of film available. You want to talk about expensive? A used Leica M6 Rangefinder camera costs $1500, without a lens or a flash. I like to joke that “Leica” is German for “You will never be able to afford this camera.” ---
**Author:** ![silk1976](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8edcca/32.png) [@silk1976](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silk1976)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2009, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-hobbies-tend-to-have-the-most-obsessive-enthusiasts/513066/47 "2009-10-10T16:10:17Z")
How has the hobby of insisting-on-my-right-to-own-a-gun-but-only-firing-it-once-a-year-at-the-shooting-range not been mentioned yet? (sorry - couldn’t think of a way to condense that down to something more manageable) ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2009, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-hobbies-tend-to-have-the-most-obsessive-enthusiasts/513066/48 "2009-10-10T16:20:59Z")
> [@Tibbytoes](#): > > Imagine a gang of the most devious, obsessive compulsive, psychopaths ever to infest Earth’s surface—the type of ruffians who induce the blood of brave souls to chill fast; cause great predatory beasts to retreat in horror; make zombies seem like kindly heart-on-sleeve wearers by comparison. Imagine all that, multiplied by a factor of ten…only then can you begin to comprehend the alien life-forms known as collectors of thimbles. :eek: You bastard. 😉 My late wife collected thimbles the legacy of said collection being passed to me…it now numbers over 300 Excuse me now, I have a spaceship to catch, I hear there’s a sale of extremely rare thimbles taking place on a far distant galaxy ---
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2009, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-hobbies-tend-to-have-the-most-obsessive-enthusiasts/513066/49 "2009-10-10T16:25:56Z")
Has anybody mentioned guitar-players and their obsessive pursuit of “tone”? It has been a while since I was heavily into playing guitar, but I remember some crazies would obsess over some ridiculous stuff. Amps, tubes, pickups, strings, that sort of thing makes sense. But rumor has it that Eric Johnson demands a certain type of _battery_ in his stomp boxes due to their effect on his “tone”. Some people have to have just the right cables and connectors and they pay out the ass for them too. I guess this overlaps with audiophiles to an extent. ---
**Author:** ![KlondikeGeoff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3e96dc/32.png) [@KlondikeGeoff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KlondikeGeoff)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2009, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-hobbies-tend-to-have-the-most-obsessive-enthusiasts/513066/50 "2009-10-10T20:25:35Z")
Two more things about golfers: 1. A definition: Golf is a game where people chase a little ball because can’t chase anything else. 2. I believe every golfer alive can remember and describe every hole they ever played in their lives. And, unfortunately, they often do. I played a few rounds with a friend years ago, and can see it is challenging, but way too tame a sport for me. I participate in a lot of vigourous activities, but I don’t monopolize every conversation describing them. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2009, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-hobbies-tend-to-have-the-most-obsessive-enthusiasts/513066/51 "2009-10-10T23:55:36Z")
**What hobbies tend to have the most obsessive enthusiasts?** Serial killing. :eek: Isn’t golf just debigulated pool? Are there golf courses with topless caddies? Ones with people bringing you drinks? Any courses with great sound systems? ---
**Author:** ![lawoot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/35a633/32.png) [@lawoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lawoot)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2009, 9:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-hobbies-tend-to-have-the-most-obsessive-enthusiasts/513066/52 "2009-10-11T09:39:08Z")
I rememer reading a birthday card years ago, that referred to Golf by its TRUE name: “Oh SHIT!” ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2009, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-hobbies-tend-to-have-the-most-obsessive-enthusiasts/513066/53 "2009-10-11T14:32:00Z")
> [@lawoot](#): > > I rememer reading a birthday card years ago, that referred to Golf by its TRUE name: > > “Oh SHIT!” ISTR some famous person referring to golf as “a great walk ruined” or something to that effect. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2009, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-hobbies-tend-to-have-the-most-obsessive-enthusiasts/513066/54 "2009-10-11T14:59:48Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > ISTR some famous person referring to golf as “a great walk ruined” or something to that effect. Mark Twain said that it was a _good walk spoiled_. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Awesome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a698b9/32.png) [@Captain\_Awesome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Awesome)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2009, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-hobbies-tend-to-have-the-most-obsessive-enthusiasts/513066/55 "2009-10-11T15:07:50Z")
God. I mean it’s practically like a religion to some people. ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2009, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-hobbies-tend-to-have-the-most-obsessive-enthusiasts/513066/56 "2009-10-11T15:32:48Z")
> [@Khadaji](#): > > Mark Twain said that it was a _good walk spoiled_. George H.W. Bush once said that Bob Hope teased him about enjoying hiking, mountain climbing, swimming, etc. He then pointed out that Bob Hope too enjoyed these activities, but he collectively called them “Golf”😃 ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2009, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-hobbies-tend-to-have-the-most-obsessive-enthusiasts/513066/57 "2009-10-11T16:25:46Z")
I’m not a golfer but I once got a hole in one while playing in Spain. Crazy golf, Benidorm ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2009, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-hobbies-tend-to-have-the-most-obsessive-enthusiasts/513066/58 "2009-10-11T17:04:28Z")
> [@lawoot](#): > > I rememer reading a birthday card years ago, that referred to Golf by its TRUE name: > > “Oh SHIT!” My friends and I refer to golf as “Whapfuck.” That’s the way the game sounds. Whap! “FUCK!” Whap! “FUCK!” ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2009, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-hobbies-tend-to-have-the-most-obsessive-enthusiasts/513066/59 "2009-10-11T18:06:45Z")
> [@PatriotGrrrl](#): > > Linux zealots. Not everyone who uses Linux, of course, just the ones who won’t shut up about it. One of the few hobbies that involves _not_ having stuff. 😛 And saying “thimbles” out loud makes me giggle. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-hobbies-tend-to-have-the-most-obsessive-enthusiasts/513066.md?page=2)