# What is the Latest Drama in Your Hobby... **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 24, 2019, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-latest-drama-in-your-hobby/839166 "2019-08-24T16:53:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![LoneRhino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lonerhino/32/1311_2.png) [@LoneRhino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LoneRhino)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2019, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-latest-drama-in-your-hobby/839166/41 "2019-08-27T23:25:08Z")
> [@bump](#): > > homebrewing has a very strong streak of “do/brew what makes you happy” as one of its core values. And another is that good beer is good beer, regardless of how you got there. I haven’t homebrewed in a long time but I imagine Papazian’s books with his “Relax, don’t worry, have a home brew.” attitude had a lot to do with it. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2019, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-latest-drama-in-your-hobby/839166/42 "2019-08-28T15:38:44Z")
> [@LoneRhino](#): > > I haven’t homebrewed in a long time but I imagine Papazian’s books with his “Relax, don’t worry, have a home brew.” attitude had a lot to do with it. I think you’re right. And it never fails to amaze me when I’m reading stuff on brewing techniques that nearly everything is pre or postfaced with some sort of commentary about how all of these techniques can brew good beer, and not to sweat it. It’s one of the few hobby endeavors I can think of where people freely admit that people using total neophyte techniques and ingredients can be equal to someone doing a very advanced version. ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2019, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-latest-drama-in-your-hobby/839166/43 "2019-08-28T19:41:20Z")
Kung Fu, and the purity of particular techniques, methods, etc. One extreme is that if you aren’t learning an obscure move from some form that was historically meant as a pikeman’s defense against a horsed attacker in waist-deep snow then you are doing a disservice to your art. The other extreme is, screw this, let’s spar! I was once reprimanded with a sort of in-group shunning when I suggested that qi energy is just so much horseshit and if it can’t be translated into simple force/mass/leverage then it isn’t real. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2019, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-latest-drama-in-your-hobby/839166/44 "2019-08-28T20:42:07Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > My hobby is fountain pens. There doesn’t seem to be much actual drama, but of course there are some deeply-felt disagreements between some people about various aspects of pens, inks and papers. Also, there are disagreements about the relative merits of the folks who do youtube videos that are about pens. That’s about it, as far as I can see. > > I just went to my first pen show here in San Francisco, and it was quite an interesting experience. But no drama to speak of. I was thinking the very same thing. I’m sure if you drilled down deep, you’d find some arguments between flexie and stiff nib enthusiasts, or vintage vs. modern (and I’ve encountered people who’ve loved and people who’ve hated the triangular grip on a Lamy Safari), but in general, fountain pen fans seem to be pretty chill. And of course, we’re all united by our disdain for ballpoints. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2019, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-latest-drama-in-your-hobby/839166/45 "2019-08-28T21:12:10Z")
In _Fortnite: Save the World,_ the player controls a Commander with one of four sets of abilities (soldier, ninja, builder or gatherer). You get to pick five other heroes to serve as a support team; they each give some kind of bonus, whether it’s pistol damage, grenade area of effect, building strength… there are dozens and dozens of heroes to choose from, and thousands of builds, depending on which heroes you have and what your playstyle is. Until two patches ago, one of the playstyles involved using all pistols, including machine pistols. They all got bonuses from a set of heroes that give damage, critical damage, rate of fire, etc., all to pistols. Two patches ago, all of the light machine guns (MP-5, M-16, P-90) and machine pistols became a new weapon type, the Submachine Gun (SMG). All of the assault rifle bonuses that matter applied to both assault rifles and SMG’s; only one pistol bonus applied to both pistols and SMG’s, and it was nearly worthless. The pistol-loving community went up in blue smoke because this specific build and playstyle had been removed from the game. Ranting videos were posted to youtube. I’m sure many an angry post was made to official forums. This week, several of the best pistol bonuses now also apply to SMG’s, so the pistol crowd are now happy once again. ---
**Author:** ![HaroldDix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/76d3ee/32.png) [@HaroldDix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HaroldDix)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2019, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-latest-drama-in-your-hobby/839166/46 "2019-08-28T21:21:15Z")
Leg Attacks are the raging question in my hobby (BJJ/Grappling) One school of thought is these are far to dangerous attacks for anyone below Brown/Black belt. The other school says "Is it anymore dangerous than the other Chokes and Joint Locks? Funny how one catastrophic injury more than a century ago reverberates down the ages ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2019, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-latest-drama-in-your-hobby/839166/47 "2019-08-29T22:31:44Z")
My hobby is playing World of Warcraft, and the current controversy is over whether WoW Classic (a return to an original version of the game from 2004, warts and all) is a good thing or a waste of time. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2019, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-latest-drama-in-your-hobby/839166/48 "2019-08-30T01:59:30Z")
actually, we used to have a couple of pen hobby threads every so often on the dope the minutae of the pen collecting was interesting however, some of the prices people were paying for a single fountain pen was a bit shocking I was reading about wow classic on a webcomic and the joke was 2 million people were joining … a 1 week later after the nostalgia glasses fell off 1.9 million was going back as they were … ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2019, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-latest-drama-in-your-hobby/839166/49 "2019-08-30T02:17:24Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > In the disc golf community where lost/stray discs are common, a lot of players put their names and phone numbers on all of their discs in hopes that when found by someone they will make their way back to their owner. Hmmm…I just played a round at a new (to me) course in San Jose and spotted a brand-new disc in plain sight just off a pathway. There was nobody else on the course, so when I finished my round I went back and retrieved it. The owner’s number was on the inside rim, but I didn’t have my phone on me. I just stuck it up on the info kiosk. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2019, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-latest-drama-in-your-hobby/839166/50 "2019-08-30T04:30:03Z")
> [@bump](#): > > And yeah, **Jophiel** , I’d heard about the Epic Games store stuff, but thought it had mostly died down by now. (and thought it was kind of stupid to begin with) I gave up WoW last year and started playing Rocket League; the biggest controversy in RL right now is the fact that the makers were bought out by Epic Games a few months ago. So far, I think [**Isamu**](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=21827360&postcount=23) has most dramatic drama dilemma depicted with that vignette of vigilante philatelist vengeance. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2019, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-latest-drama-in-your-hobby/839166/51 "2019-08-30T05:07:13Z")
> [@nightshadea](#): > > I was reading about wow classic on a webcomic and the joke was 2 million people were joining … a 1 week later after the nostalgia glasses fell off 1.9 million was going back as they were … Yeah, already I’m able to get in without a queue, whereas earlier this week it was telling me it would be 140 minutes. ---
**Author:** ![Sangahyando](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f14d63/32.png) [@Sangahyando](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sangahyando)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2019, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-latest-drama-in-your-hobby/839166/52 "2019-08-30T17:44:31Z")
I’m a railfan, in the UK – fond of old-fashioned / sentimental stuff, including the preservation and keeping active of steam locomotives. Our country’s generally-reckoned premier preserved steam railway on the standard four-feet-eight-and-a-half-inches gauge, is the line calling itself the Bluebell Railway: 11 miles long, some 30 miles south of London, in the county of Sussex. The first standard-gauge preserved railway, operated by amateurs, to be set up in the UK. For long regarded in UK “railfandom” generally, as the iconic and “parfit gentyl” preserved line, to be revered – adverse criticism of it seen as almost on the level of blasphemy against the Holy Ghost. Recent revelations show all not to be well nowadays on the Bluebell: £200K-plus in the red; number of days on which it runs, having to be reduced; recent resignation of its chairman and general manager. In correspondence among interested parties, there has emerged quite a torrent of unfavourable opinion about the railway: among faults cited – workers (largely voluntary) on the line being rude and officious to the travelling public; bull-headed insistence by those running the line, on maximum possible use of steam locomotives (many younger-generation enthusiasts have a lively fondness for diesel ditto); railway’s management being more generally, out of touch with the visiting public’s wishes; line’s traversing conventionally pretty, but dull-ish, scenery; resentment among volunteer workers on the line, of harsh and dismissive treatment by those set above them; poor train connections and general inconvenience at the point where the line intersects with the “real” national rail network; the Bluebell’s refreshment rooms being decidedly 1950s-ish, and not in a good and nostalgic way; and the undertaking being clueless about website presentation of itself. All these gripes, up against angry rejoinders from the “Bluebell-worshippers”, have added up to a lively time of late. I myself have always been “meh” about this particular undertaking; have visited it a number of times – reckoned it OK, but not all that super-wonderful. I’ve always disliked the name, thinking it "twee"and childish – railways ought, in my perception, to have geographical-type names; but when the preservationists took this line over, I was aged only twelve, and they didn’t think to ask my opinion on the matter. ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2019, 9:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-latest-drama-in-your-hobby/839166/53 "2019-08-31T09:19:38Z")
Heavens, there are so many hobbies here that I would never have dreamed off. You folk are certainly interesting. ---
**Author:** ![Esprise\_Me](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/esprise_me/32/2947_2.png) [@Esprise\_Me](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esprise_Me)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2019, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-latest-drama-in-your-hobby/839166/54 "2019-08-31T15:25:40Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > In the disc golf community where lost/stray discs are common, a lot of players put their names and phone numbers on all of their discs in hopes that when found by someone they will make their way back to their owner. > A lot of players cross the line from “it would be nice if someone returned my disc” to “if someone finds my disc and doesn’t return it to me that’s straight up theft of property!” > It drives some of them batty that a scuba diver might go to a pond on a public course, retrieve a couple dozen discs from the bottom, not call the numbers, and take them to a place like play-it-again-sports to make a few bucks. I’m curious what, exactly, these people expect others to do when they find a disc. Are you supposed to call them and arrange a handoff? Tell them where to find their lost disc? How much time are you supposed to spend on this? Are they offering any kind of reward? And how much do those discs cost, anyway? ---
**Author:** ![excavating\_for\_a\_mind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e8c25b/32.png) [@excavating\_for\_a\_mind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/excavating_for_a_mind)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2019, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-latest-drama-in-your-hobby/839166/55 "2019-09-01T01:00:25Z")
> [@bump](#): > > I guess as far as conventional hobbies go with communities, etc… mine is homebrewing. And there’s not much drama there- as far as I can tell, there’s a sort of philosophical divide between the older-school all-grain types who have false bottoms, sparging arms, etc… and people using the newer BIAB-style appliances like the Grainfather, Brewer’s Edge, etc… I wouldn’t call it drama though; homebrewing has a very strong streak of “do/brew what makes you happy” as one of its core values. And another is that good beer is good beer, regardless of how you got there. … > [@Gatopescado](#): > > Well, there is the ‘dry vs. liquid’ yeast argument and the appropriate use of the hydrometer. > > I offer no advice on either. Obviously, none of ya’ll have seen any discussions on whether or not to transfer the fermenting beer to a secondary fermentation vessel. It can get pretty ugly. Not to weight in on either side, but the attitude that should do the transfer if you want, and not do it if you don’t, pisses both sides off. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2019, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-latest-drama-in-your-hobby/839166/56 "2019-09-01T02:33:13Z")
> [@Esprise\_Me](#): > > I’m curious what, exactly, these people expect others to do when they find a disc. Are you supposed to call them and arrange a handoff? Tell them where to find their lost disc? How much time are you supposed to spend on this? Are they offering any kind of reward? And how much do those discs cost, anyway? Not sure how they arrange to get them back. New discs only run $10-$14 but some guys get attached to theirs. I don’t bother to put my name on my own and don’t bother to call anyone if I find theirs. I just use them until they get lost again. ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2019, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-latest-drama-in-your-hobby/839166/57 "2019-09-02T17:58:37Z")
I am a home-shop machinist, and I build small steam engines in my basement shop. This brings me great joy. I just finished one as a gift for my nephew last week. I can’t imagine too much hard-core drama in the machinist world, but if I had to pick one area that is an eternal debate: metric vs. imperial. There are loads of people who love to sneer at the lesser individuals in the USA who still use imperial units, when every intelligent person in the civilized world already went to metric years ago. It doesn’t matter that we are all working with super tiny increments of our base unit (1/1000 inch or 1/100 mm), so at that point the actual base unit is not important. It doesn’t matter that most of us have tens of thousands of dollars invested in machines and tooling that are all built for inch measurements, which would need to be replaced to “go metric” It doesn’t matter that fasteners, taps, and dies in the States are far easier to find in imperial sizes. Nope…all that matters is that some people need a reason to sneer and look down on other people. Another topic: Tools made in USA vs. tools made in China. A very recent topic: Impact of tariffs on cost of tooling from China. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2019, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-latest-drama-in-your-hobby/839166/58 "2019-09-02T20:01:27Z")
> [@iamthewalrus\_3](#): > > I play Magic the Gathering. > > There is a group of people who play a variant called Old School, where only cards that were printed way back in 93/94 are legal. Basically, what if we had competitive Magic, but they stopped making cards 15 years ago? > > Last weekend was the World Championship for this tournament, and a true old-school player (really, the first player to be well known as a great magic player 15+ years ago) Brian Weissman won it. Except… afterward two photos surfaced: [One that shows a single copy of a card in his deck, and one that shows two copies of that card in play](https://twitter.com/4stripmine/status/1165290586368180224). > > Begin speculation about whether he was cheating or simply made a mistake with the first picture. OK, that just makes… no sense at all. Even if we postulate that he had an extra CoP: Red up his sleeve or something (which would make sense against a mono-red deck), why would he _cast_ both of them? Having two circles instead of one matters only if your opponent manages to destroy one of them, which mono-red has no way whatsoever to do. Leaving it in your hand would spare a couple of mana that could be used for something else (like, say, powering the circle you already have), and leave your opponent guessing about what you’re holding. And, of course, if he cheated it into his deck, he obviously _knew_ that he was cheating it in, and wouldn’t want to be caught with it. About all that I can think of is that he was getting crushed by a Black Vice, and was desperate to get something, anything, out of his hand? But even that seems implausible. **HoneyBadgerDC** , is there some reason why silk isn’t used instead of linen? It’s still a “primitive” material, but so far as I know has a much better strength:weight ratio. And given the amount of effort we’ve seen you put into the hobby, the cost difference would be negligible. As for myself, my main hobby is 3D design/printing. I’m not aware of any controversies, but I will admit to a bit of disdain towards those who get all excited about 3D printing, maybe even buy their own printer, and then don’t use it for anything but designs downloaded off of Thingiverse. The designing is the whole point! ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2019, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-latest-drama-in-your-hobby/839166/59 "2019-09-02T20:15:12Z")
There is great concern that the new line of Seiko 5s spells the end of the SKX line (wristwatches). ---
**Author:** ![Spud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spud/32/347_2.png) [@Spud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spud)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2019, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-latest-drama-in-your-hobby/839166/60 "2019-09-03T00:37:39Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > OK, that just makes… no sense at all. Even if we postulate that he had an extra CoP: Red up his sleeve or something (which would make sense against a mono-red deck), why would he _cast_ both of them? Having two circles instead of one matters only if your opponent manages to destroy one of them, which mono-red has no way whatsoever to do. Leaving it in your hand would spare a couple of mana that could be used for something else (like, say, powering the circle you already have), and leave your opponent guessing about what you’re holding. And, of course, if he cheated it into his deck, he obviously _knew_ that he was cheating it in, and wouldn’t want to be caught with it. About all that I can think of is that he was getting crushed by a Black Vice, and was desperate to get something, anything, out of his hand? But even that seems implausible. I thought there was a rule that we are only supposed to post in English. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-latest-drama-in-your-hobby/839166.md?page=2)