Since first proposing this back in June (elsewhere), I have modified the term to be "Public" instead of "Floater", and "Private" instead of "Normal" gamer.
This is a lengthy post.
I have a new hypothesis as to why the stereotypes about role-playing gamers have become stronger over the decades rather than weakened over time. I initially called it a hypothesis of the "Role-playing Gamer Floater", but have since revised it to "Hypothesis of the Public Tabletop Role-Playing Gamer versus the Private Gamer", when some people irately interpreted the "floater" term as a scatalogical pejorative.
I am defining "Public gamers" as those that spend the majority of the tabletop role-playing game time at Pick Up Games (PUGs), game stores, gaming conventions, etc.
I am defining the "Private gamers" as those (unseen majority of?) gamers that game with their friends at home, never/rarely attend public gaming events, have mostly the same players year after year with only a little attrition and replacement from typical life changes, and purchase mostly online, or mostly just browse, buy, and leave the gamer stores, rather than hanging out, socializing, or joining public/pickup games or activities.
My working hypothesis has two parts:
1. That the now inculcated social assumption about role-playing gamers and gaming drives away "normal" people from the hobby and attracts negative stereotypes because people are increasingly buying into the media and apocryphal stories, the longer they are reinforced, the worse this becomes.
2. Gamers that fit the negative stereotypes might be players/GMs that were rejected from regular "private" groups, and because of their constantly seeking a table to play at, become the most visible.
The private gamers are already in their groups, they are typically more self-selecting and typically stick together for years, even decades. Generally the makeup of the group only changing when people move and such. Then there are the public gamers (previously I used the term "floater") that float from group to group because of their various dysfunctions. These are the gamers that are most often seen in public as they loiter far more, constantly seeking pickup games (PUGs) at comic book stores, hobby stores, conventions, and new-member invites. Since they are so dysfunctional, they keep getting kicked out after a few sessions, and being the cycle again.
I am not claiming that all public gamers have this level of dysfunction, but that maybe a large minority, (or even a slight majority?), might.
Meanwhile the private gamers, are happily meeting regularly at home or in closed game rooms, and most of the public never sees these "normal" players, instead generally just see the dysfunctional floaters hanging out in the stores, on the streets in lines waiting for events, etc.
I only recently began to develop this concept. Though occasionally some of the players I gamed with in the 70's, 80's, and 90's fit the stereotypes, MOST of those I gamed with were successful, well-adjusted, functional people, with none of the anti-social and dysfunctional aspects claimed about role-playing gamer stereotypes.
The 70+ research projects performed during the 80's and 90's regarding role-playing gamers (correlative and meta studies) showed the negative stereotypes generally disproved.
Most of the gamers I participated with, regularly did not have any more trouble getting dates, girlfriends, wives/husbands, etc. than anyone else. They were from all walks of life and interests, and over the years most of them were professionally successful.
There are very few gamers I have gamed with (once they are adults) long enough to get to know more about their personal lives, that fit the dysfunctional, anti-social, unemployed, living in their parents basement stereotype.
Though everyone has various foibles and challenges, most of them did not map to the negative stereotypes any more strongly than other groups (non-gamers).
All the above stated, my experiences have changed more recently, with about half of the gamers I have met or observed since about 2004 to current have been overtly fitting the negative stereotypes.
I moved a number of times over the years when I was building my professional career, including Utah, California, Oklahoma, Idaho, Washington, and elsewhere, and as I moved it took some time to put new gaming groups together (I am usually the GM).
When I moved to Spokane, Washington, I began seeing a LOT of the negatively stereotypical gamers. At first I thought it might be an issue with Spokane (I haven't completely ruled that out yet), but as I travelled and gamed in Seattle and elsewhere, I began developing the aforementioned alternative hypotheses.
Comments?
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