Fanboys and Fangirls

How many times have you heard this sentence:

"I'm not a fanboy, but......"

This is always followed by an explanation of why one game/platform is their favorite, or why they don't like something. Now the obvious reasoning for this is because being a fanboy or fangirl is frowned upon in our community. There are people that will openly admit to being a fanboy/girl but they are the minority. The problem is that the term is associated with people that mindlessly bash a particular console, game franchise, or even genre. These are people that like to get a rise out of people and should be ignored the same way you would ignore a drunk person. 

The biggest reason I usually see people use this word is as a means to discredit someone in a discussion. People seem to think that if they call someone a fanboy or fangirl then immediately anything that person says is irrelevant, which of course is ridiculous.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with having personal preferences, and there's nothing wrong with expressing those preferences to others as long as it's done in a respectful way. Most everybody does have a platform, game franchise, or genre that they prefer, it's just not very popular to admit it on gaming websites. People shouldn't be afraid to proclaim their love of one thing over another for fear of being called a fanboy or fangirl. As long as it's done in a respectful way we should be encouraged to express our preferences.

I own all the available platforms, portable and home, and play all genres, but I've been called a fanboy so many times just for saying things that someone simply disagreed with. I almost don't even know how to respond when someone calls me that because I know that I'm not, at least not in the way that they mean.

So I say we take back "fanboy" and "fangirl" and come up with a new word for the idiots that mindlessly bash what they don't like. Preferably a word that doesn't have "fan" anywhere in it.