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Finding Hate Online for Sci-Fi Fans
For years you've heard stories about people meeting in online chat rooms, and how it can lead to real-life dates and even marriages. However, there is a darker side to the same coin.
Many enthusiasts of a particular hobby or pastime gather in chat rooms only to end up arguing with each other. These individuals (usually male) have with increasing frequency scheduled offline meetings where they can settle their differences like men, or, failing that, like computer nerds vaguely resembling men.
Two such antagonists, longtime members of the same sci-fi/fantasy chat room, recently traveled hundreds of miles to confront each other in a Starbucks parking lot in Virginia. Their rivalry had been growing for two years, during which they exchanged daily cyber insults.
"My blood pressure was high and I was experiencing uncontrollable rage," said Jeff Spears, who made his way from Tennessee. "But my typing speed had never been better."
His opponent, George Morgan of New Jersey, felt the same overwhelming anger. "I knew he was a moron the second he wrote that Season Three of Sliders was superior to Season Two," said Morgan, who goes by the handle 'AlphaNova.' "And I don't even want to get into what he said about Dark Shadows."
Spears, who uses the handle 'Darth Marley,' countered: "We've never seen eye-to-eye on anything important. Movies, action figures, you name it. He actually supported the Trekkies' 'Bring Back Kirk' campaign. Also, his critical reasoning skills were quite undeveloped. I was really looking forward to pounding him."
Witnesses claim the slap fight lasted almost ten seconds and was broken up by an elderly woman who swung her purse at them while trying to get to her car. Said Morgan: "When we regained consciousness, we decided to go into the Starbucks for a quick latte, after which we would resume the fight."
"But while we were in there, we realized we shared the same opinion about The Justice League," said Spears. "So we forgot about our disagreement and ended up going to a comic shop together."
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