I don't think it's out of the norm although I freely admit, I haven't enjoyed gaming with all my significant others.
My first husband was an absolute pain in the ass to play with. I played Diablo II, Dark Age of Camelot and WoW almost entirely by myself during the course of that relationship. To group with him meant I had to listen and do whatever he said at all times (whether or not I had a good suggestion or a better way of doing things) and after awhile, that just ruffled my feathers enough that I decided to go elsewhere and look for other people to play with. Eventually I became far more competitive than he was and rerolled on another server (before server transfers existed) and joined a raiding guild on my own. I did my own thing and I was much better off that way. That relationship eventually ended, and I continued to play on my own.
After some time I met another gamer and he and I are very much on the same page as to how we operate and do things so we spend a lot of time together "in game". We ran a raiding guild together back in WoW and we play a lot of console games together. I have a rather lengthy gaming resume so I don't feel terribly threatened that he may be better than I am when it comes to certain things.
We also spend some time apart doing things we enjoy that the other may not. For example, I used to PuG raid a fair bit and he wouldn't be caught dead doing that. Also, leveling together was not always practical so we have no "rule" that one had to wait for the other person. That just causes problems.
There were plenty of jerks in the "nerd" communities, since... well forever.
Don't let nostalgia get in the way of reality. If you never encountered a nerd jerk, you probably didn't have a have a very fulfilling life as a gamer.
As a past "jock" type who never hurt a fly I can definitely agree with this...lol. Then again, I was a female jock, and have been ridiculed most of my young life for supposedly being a lesbian or having man-hands or whatever unoriginal crap the pretty girls came up with that day so maybe I have a different attitude than the typical male jock. I have never been about swinging my dick (if you will) in others' faces, in game or out.
Honestly, I think part of the online community issues have some root in the new generation of what I like to call the "uber-nerds", who feel online gaming is solely their domain. I'm not sure where this ridiculous sense of entitlement came from, but it's all over WoW, especially for those who play on RP servers. I swear, the first time I make mention of my fantasy football team or the Detroit Tigers or UFC, some people get pissy and feel that I'm gloating. No, I just like to be able to carry on a conversation that doesn't entirely revolve around the game I'm currently playing!!! Considering I used to be one of those people who could play WoW 40+ hours a week, it was nice to discuss something else on occasion. But if it ever strayed outside typical nerdy conversation, I was suddenly snooty or even unlikable.
Lets face it, it's not cool to be normal (whatever that means) anymore. Everyone has to be one extreme or the other, and those of us who dwell in the middle get "the treatment" just like everyone else. It's part of the reason I have withdrawn from MMO's almost entirely. There are good people out there, whether they are nerds or jocks or somewhere in between, I just lack the patience to sort through all the muck to find those good people anymore.
1
My first husband was an absolute pain in the ass to play with. I played Diablo II, Dark Age of Camelot and WoW almost entirely by myself during the course of that relationship. To group with him meant I had to listen and do whatever he said at all times (whether or not I had a good suggestion or a better way of doing things) and after awhile, that just ruffled my feathers enough that I decided to go elsewhere and look for other people to play with. Eventually I became far more competitive than he was and rerolled on another server (before server transfers existed) and joined a raiding guild on my own. I did my own thing and I was much better off that way. That relationship eventually ended, and I continued to play on my own.
After some time I met another gamer and he and I are very much on the same page as to how we operate and do things so we spend a lot of time together "in game". We ran a raiding guild together back in WoW and we play a lot of console games together. I have a rather lengthy gaming resume so I don't feel terribly threatened that he may be better than I am when it comes to certain things.
We also spend some time apart doing things we enjoy that the other may not. For example, I used to PuG raid a fair bit and he wouldn't be caught dead doing that. Also, leveling together was not always practical so we have no "rule" that one had to wait for the other person. That just causes problems.
1
As a past "jock" type who never hurt a fly I can definitely agree with this...lol. Then again, I was a female jock, and have been ridiculed most of my young life for supposedly being a lesbian or having man-hands or whatever unoriginal crap the pretty girls came up with that day so maybe I have a different attitude than the typical male jock. I have never been about swinging my dick (if you will) in others' faces, in game or out.
Honestly, I think part of the online community issues have some root in the new generation of what I like to call the "uber-nerds", who feel online gaming is solely their domain. I'm not sure where this ridiculous sense of entitlement came from, but it's all over WoW, especially for those who play on RP servers. I swear, the first time I make mention of my fantasy football team or the Detroit Tigers or UFC, some people get pissy and feel that I'm gloating. No, I just like to be able to carry on a conversation that doesn't entirely revolve around the game I'm currently playing!!! Considering I used to be one of those people who could play WoW 40+ hours a week, it was nice to discuss something else on occasion. But if it ever strayed outside typical nerdy conversation, I was suddenly snooty or even unlikable.
Lets face it, it's not cool to be normal (whatever that means) anymore. Everyone has to be one extreme or the other, and those of us who dwell in the middle get "the treatment" just like everyone else. It's part of the reason I have withdrawn from MMO's almost entirely. There are good people out there, whether they are nerds or jocks or somewhere in between, I just lack the patience to sort through all the muck to find those good people anymore.