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Stuck-up, smug, elitist snobs. How did we get this reputation?

B

Blue Velvet

Moderator emeritus
Original poster
Jul 4, 2004
21,929
265
Why do people think that Mac users are like this?

I've been reading some coverage of MWSF elsewhere and the threads are littered with the same old tired refrain of how snobbish Mac users are...

Personally, I've found the Mac community to be extremely welcoming.

How did we get this awful image and why does it persist?
 
Whatever. :rolleyes: Those pompous asses can kiss my... well, you know.
Here's to the Crazy Ones ​
 
iGary said:
It's because "some of us" do get a bit evangelistic about the platform.
Click to expand...

Is that the same as being a snob or elitist? Smug, perhaps. ;)
 
We're at least smug - and really, who wouldn't be if they got to use the best stuff all the time while laughing at their poor friends battling virus' and spyware attacks?

But elitist? No, we're willing to accept anyone who wants to become a Mac user into our community. ;)

Seriously, I think that this view came about back when Macs were the "expensive" eclectic choice vs. the economical practical choice it is now, and it's just never gone away. Not that Jobs helps dispel any of that aura, I suppose.
 
Not just arrogant. Mac users are always portrayed as bigtime lefties too. Which seems rather true on this board.

I always thought that Windows fanboyism was more arrogant anyway - it's like being a Yankees fan, rooting for the overdog.

Anyway nobody can beat the hardcore Unix/Linux gurus for platform arrogance. They may not have a life, but they've forgotten more about computers than we'll ever know. :D
 
If you have a Mac or are interested in them, the Mac community is just that; an amazing group of people who appear to be immensely helpful (I've learned virtually everything I know about my Mac from here and other Mac sites), almost universally polite and without the flames and txt speech that you find in other 'techy' online sites.

But if you don't have a Mac, there's a feeling that it's a weird clique who want to brainwash you. I suspect it's mainly Mac users wanting to share a pleasant computer experience rather than a hassle-filled one but people who don't want to listen will never be convinced and consider it evangelising.

There's also a group of Mac users, primarily those who stuck around in the lean years when the press and most articles were Mac-bashing, although not tarring everyone with the same brush. They got used to defending the platform whatever happens which at times is the right thing to do. But with the press being pretty positive these days, there's a tendency for this group to be very loud and vociferous and because they're so used to defending Apple, any criticism that a writer makes is swamped by the zealots which leads to a bad image for the rest of the users.
 
Nothing wrong with having a passion for something. How many PC users can say they truly enjoy using their machines as much as Mac users? We can't help it if Macs are superior, we're just stating the facts - PC users are just jealous. :p :cool:
 
Blue Velvet said:
How did we get this awful image and why does it persist?
Click to expand...
I think a good number of us are smug. :eek: But how else are we supposed to react?! :p

Example: boyfriend's new HP laptop, right out of the box, WMP won't work. Calls customer service and waits for two hours only to be told to re-install Windows. He does so, WMP still won't work. Uses customer service online chat... the service rep is so confused, he tells my bf to check internet connection. :rolleyes:

At this point (more than four hours after opening the box, still w/ a 'defective' machine), my man turns to me and asks if I can help him (he thinks I know a good chunk about tech-- when I really don't, but he's been fooled because the simplicity of using Macs makes me look like a pro).

I promptly shrug and smile because I know not how to troubleshoot a Windows box.
 
Lord Blackadder said:
Not just arrogant. Mac users are always portrayed as bigtime lefties too. Which seems rather true on this board.
Click to expand...

I think Rush Limbaugh and Tom Clancy(have you read his last few books) kind of balance it out in the end.

Though you can't beat Clancy's quote about being a mac user.
 
iMeowbot said:
It may be exposure to stuff like this, or this, or this, or this. Attitudes like that have a way of wiping out the positives. But I Could Be Wrong.
Click to expand...
Hey, that last link has a nice comment on MacRumors. We're so cool. :D
 
I really have no idea.

condescending.jpg
 
emw said:
Hey, that last link has a nice comment on MacRumors. We're so cool. :D
Click to expand...
Oh, our good friend Andrew Kantor, who wrote this opinion piece on Mac lemmings. This was following his crap article he wrote on the nano that drew ire from pretty much anyone with a brain.

ps. Andrew is an MR member, so I won't really say what's really on my snobbish mind.

Here's to the Crazy Ones ​
 
Lacero said:
Oh, our good friend Andrew Kantor, who wrote this opinion piece on Mac lemmings. This was following his crap article he wrote on the nano that drew ire from pretty much anyone with a brain.

ps. Andrew is an MR member, so I won't really say what's really on my snobbish mind.
Click to expand...
Perpetuating the stereotype, I see :rolleyes: :p
 
because my dad is bigger than your dad, my house is bigger than your house, my car is more expensive than your car, my Mac is better than your PC. :D


er...
 
FistfulofAngst said:
because my dad is bigger than your dad, my house is bigger than your house, my car is more expensive than your car, my Mac is better than your PC. :D


er...
Click to expand...

Steve is cooler than Bill.
 
XP users have nothing else to bash us on. They KNOW they use crap. They know WE don't.
Now pardon me while I act smugly to a Windows user. I need about 3 fixes a day.
 
2nyRiggz said:
well if we are smug and etc.. then lets do it to perfection....excell at what you do;)
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It's excel, not excell... puh-lease. :rolleyes:

*acting smug and elitist since 1999*

Here's to the Crazy Ones ​
 
Blue Velvet said:
Why do people think that Mac users are like this?

How did we get this awful image and why does it persist?
Click to expand...

The same way that those who don't drive BMW's and Mercedes view those who do? PC users look at what appears to be an "over-priced" product and view buying into such as elitist. Some of it is the "I can't easily afford it so I'm going to hate it" attitude as well.

There is also the other side of the coin where the stereotypical Mac user is someone who is a liberal, tree-hugging, artist that has no idea about the "real world" (I've heard that one actually stated mind you). Some even liken it to the Republicans vs the Democrats of computer users.

I used to view Macs with suspicion as a PC user and was somewhat irritated by other users I encountered from an IT perspective with regard to their etiquette toward me and their views on certain things but, again, this is never reflective of a whole - it's just easier to assume such.

That's my experience, I just think more people who label Mac users in such ways need to actually meet them and use the product for awhile.
 
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