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Redhead, straight up.

3 (7.9%)

...wouldn't that be "lesbian up"?

2 (5.3%)

Leopard spots!

1 (2.6%)

PLAID!

8 (21.1%)

Rams horns!

2 (5.3%)

Big pink bunny ears!

1 (2.6%)

Moose antlers!

3 (7.9%)

Big Green Afro Wig!

1 (2.6%)

Dragonball Z - IT'S OVER 9000!!!!!

4 (10.5%)

Fluffy fluffy fluffy fluffy fluffy fluffy

13 (34.2%)

Total Members Voted: 37

[Ohf]

Hordie?

If you don't understand this then you need to read the Wikipedia article on World of Warcraft—which Dale and Marigold are deeply engaged in.

By the way ... did anyone notice the gaze Dale and Hanners are exchanging in #2357's last panel? Priceless!

[Zebediah]

I am so using Marigold's line the next time someone asks me what I do. "I computer!"

I do computer. Computer stuff. And things. On computers. That's what I do, man. Beep effin' boop.

[Redball]

By the way ... did anyone notice the gaze Dale and Hanners are exchanging in #2357's last panel? Priceless!

I figured he was looking at Marigold.

[Ohf]

By the way ... did anyone notice the gaze Dale and Hanners are exchanging in #2357's last panel? Priceless!

I figured he was looking at Marigold.

He was looking at Marigold in the second-to-last panel.

[XSin]

OMGOMGOMG

I basically don't bother with shipping but this one has me excited

I really hoped they were gonna have Dale turn up delivering pizza to the lake house but I guess there was already a lot going on there

[DSL]

By the way ... did anyone notice the gaze Dale and Hanners are exchanging in #2357's last panel? Priceless!

I figured he was looking at Marigold.

He was looking at Marigold in the second-to-last panel.

Last panel, Dale and Hanners are looking at each other, but the unspoken conversation is about Marigold. Beep boop.

[Ohf]

Last panel, Dale and Hanners are looking at each other, but the unspoken conversation is about Marigold.

Sure. Did anyone imply otherwise?

[Redball]

Me.

[de_la_Nae]

I used to beep boop bort, and was Horde for many years. This comic definitely amused me.

[Method of Madness]

I used to beep boop like you, then I took an arrow to the knee.

[Bluesummers]

I make a living doing the beep boop...I wish I could zzzrop fweee, but I'd need a degree for that.

[Tova]

I used to beep boop like you, then I took an arrow to the knee.

Hordie?

Quick explanation: the opposing WoW player factions are Horde and Alliance. Marigold plays on the former, Dale the latter. 'Hordie' is Dale's shorthand for referring to someone playing on the Horde faction. It's a big deal for WoW players on pvp (player versus player) servers.

[Method of Madness]

I used to make arrow in the knee jokes, then I got my beard stuck in the pencil sharpener.

[K1dmor]

 Oh Marigold..
 Epiphanies are not one of her best skills...

 He's a jerk, you're a jerk, we're jerking... wait, what?

[Kugai]

I prefer Betty Boop.   

[Method of Madness]

Betty Boop's a jerk.

[DeusExLibris]

Oh Marigold..
 Epiphanies is not one of her best skills...

 He's a jerk, you're a jerk, we're jerking... wait, what?

The thing is that every time Marigold and Dale have met since that first encounter, Dale has gone out of his way to antagonise Marigold (even going so far as to change servers so that he can stalk her) and sustain their mutual antipathy. So, relatively speaking, Marigold is right.

[Is it cold in here?]

Welcome, new person!

It's not all one-sided. Marigirl refusing to tip him a while back was a bit out of the norm.

[Sorflakne]

For the Alliance (and draenei)

[St.Clair]

For the Alliance (and draenei)

spaaaaaaace goooooaaaat!

(and regarding Marigold's protests in the last panel:)

Bele: It is obvious to the most simpleminded that Lokai is of an inferior breed.
Spock: The obvious visual evidence, Commissioner, is that he is of the same breed as yourself.
Bele: Are you blind, Commander Spock? Well, look at me. Look at me!
Kirk: You are black on one side and white on the other.
Bele: I am black on the right side!

[Soulsynger]

I don't know why but today's comic makes Tanners look really cute for some reason.

[J]

yeah, this is exactly the sort of arbitrary tribalism that really bugs the hell out of me.

[Soulsynger]

Excuse me? °O

[J]

yeah, sorry; that was a generic 'yeah', not meant to agree with or otherwise relate to anything you or anyone else said.

[Soulsynger]

Glad to hear. I was afraid I might've stepped on a toe or something. Oo

But care to elaborate on "arbitrary tribalism"? Is that related to what Marigold is saying? Because I have a hard time following...

[de_la_Nae]

Yeah, Horde vs. Alliance is probably what J is talking about.

The thing is that tribalism can be a LOT of fun, and can be very satisfying. However I find that there are many pitfalls it contains, many traps that are easy to fall into. It's almost hard to believe sometimes the amount of stress and uh..we'll say 'silliness'...that I saw that simple division in a game could cause when people got a little too caught up in it.

You see it in a lot of things though: hobbyists vs. other hobbyists, political adherents, sports team fans, etc. etc. I don't really have any answer other than trying really hard to remember that other people are just people too, probably pretty similar to you.

[Ohf]

... and sustain their mutual antipathy.

I wouldn't say the antipathy is mutual. To the contrary, I feel Dale has a lot of respect for Marigold's gamer skills. I wouldn't say he's having a crush for her (not yet  ) but he does appreciate her being a tough opponent. Of course he's aware of her antipathy towards him and of her awkwardness, and he's making the occasional fun of it—but he avoids actually hurting or offending her. I guess we're in for some interesting development between these two.

[Soulsynger]

No I will not discuss MMO development in this forum. I got enough of that over on mmorpg.com!

Beep boop!

Hm... I've always felt dividing the playerbase in two should not be the standart development decision it is today. MMOs are meant to be played together with friends and nice strangers. Creating the "I like this 'race', but it doesn't belong to the same faction my friends are in" dilemma is a bad thing in my book and has killed many an MMO for me.
Best example would be TSW. Three factions, at war with each other, can group up for instances but can't be in the same guild? What?

Along with the tribalism and enmities that emerge from the perceived conflict of interests (of which there is none, actually)

[de_la_Nae]

Oh man, if we were discussing MMO design choices and the like I'd probably mention that the usual two-faction split that we see a lot of is because incorporating it is a quick and easy shortcut to building drama, tension, and goals for players to participate in that is often successful because it taps in to much of humanity's inherent desire for tribalism.

But we're totally not discussing that so I won't. 

[StevenC]

I wish to be doing beep boop once I have my degree in beep boop.

[Loki]

Yeah, Horde vs. Alliance is probably what J is talking about.

The thing is that tribalism can be a LOT of fun, and can be very satisfying. However I find that there are many pitfalls it contains, many traps that are easy to fall into. It's almost hard to believe sometimes the amount of stress and uh..we'll say 'silliness'...that I saw that simple division in a game could cause when people got a little too caught up in it.

You see it in a lot of things though: hobbyists vs. other hobbyists, political adherents, sports team fans, etc. etc. I don't really have any answer other than trying really hard to remember that other people are just people too, probably pretty similar to you.

Have you heard of the Robber's cave experiment?

[de_la_Nae]

Nice. Seems to hold up so far as I've observed. Not that that's a scientific way to do things. Using my anecdotal observations to make decisions, I mean.

[Border Reiver]

Not that I play Warcraft, but this seems awfully similar to the "Dwarf-Elf" antipathy that seems to pervade much of fantasy.  (It's all the fault of the skinny, pointy eared b*stards though).

[Thrudd]

Well the Dwarf Elf antipathy easily boils down to a clash between two cultures and life styles, not to mention one side easily taking insult and the other easily giving it plus arrows in the back.

Dwarves - Earth Dwellers, hard workers, hard party'ers, stoic Fighters, Strong Family bonds and traditions and history and lastly trusting of those who earn it.
Elves - Surface/forest/sky Dwellers (always above everyone else), flighty, haughty, ancient, strong sense of honor and tradition, sense of history, racist with a rabid superiority complex.

So all in all very similar but with differences in the right/wrong places to have them at each others throats within moments.

Yeah Elves are cool but as a people they are a bunch of jerks.

[Bluesummers]

I foresee Hanners educating MarBear about proper social etiquette beyond the realm of WoW...and after the epiphany hits Marigold, she'll actually find some sort of attraction to Dale...to be drawn out, slowly, with intensifying infatuation...only to finally discover that Dale is, in fact, dating Pizza Girl.

Poor Marigold.

Yeah Elves are cool but as a people they are a bunch of jerks.

God damn elves, hording all those chocolate-covered cookies to themselves, trying to fiddle with the baked goods economy...I'll have the FTC on your little tree-dwelling asses, you bastards!

[sitnspin]

I don't see elves as jerks. I see them as old. Very old. Having seen enough and lived long enough to give them perspective on a scale none of the other races are capable of.  Add in that they have been burned often by the younger races and witnessed their folly repeatedly through the ages with all the damage it has wrought and it is not surprising they are dismissive and reclusive when it comes to younger races. Having been alive since before the creation of the Sun and before the other races even existed would tend to give one a sense of superiority, and rightfully so. The problem when dealing with elves is a matter of perspective and scale.

[StevenC]

That doesn't make the Doctor be all superior dismissive.
Often.

[HiFranc]

Marigold's reaction to Dale reminds me of an old[1] documentary.  The documentary, Five Steps to Tyranny, looked at history and experiments by psychologists to show how easy it was to create a repressive dictatorship.  One experiment involves football (aka soccer).  Here's a link to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bg-VyagA8FU part of that documentary.  Watch from about 7mins 50secs (and you will need to move on to the next part to see it to its conclusion).

[1] From 2001

[Bluesummers]

I see them as old. Very old. Having seen enough and lived long enough to give them perspective on a scale none of the other races are capable of.

*Nerd mode initiated*

According to the Silmarillion (and as such, this really only applies to Tolkien's multiverse, but is worth hearing anyway), the Dwarves were the first peoples of Middle-Earth, created by Aulë, child of Ilúvatar. They were created as a result of Aulë's enthusiasm to build, and at Ilúvatar's command, they were put into a slumber until after the Elves were created and awakened. Aulë gave them his own strength, hardiness, and tough nature, because he knew they'd have to endure much harshness in the world.

[sitnspin]

I see them as old. Very old. Having seen enough and lived long enough to give them perspective on a scale none of the other races are capable of.

*Nerd mode initiated*

According to the Silmarillion (and as such, this really only applies to Tolkien's multiverse, but is worth hearing anyway), the Dwarves were the first peoples of Middle-Earth, created by Aulë, child of Ilúvatar. They were created as a result of Aulë's enthusiasm to build, and at Ilúvatar's command, they were put into a slumber until after the Elves were created and awakened. Aulë gave them his own strength, hardiness, and tough nature, because he knew they'd have to endure much harshness in the world.

Fair enough. I had forgotten about the Dwarves coming first then being put to sleep. I haven't read The Silmarrillion since I was 12 or so. I obviously need to reread it.  My point still stands, though, since no Dwarves are still alive from that period. Elves, on the other hand, are still alive from the First Age.  Age and perspective are still overwhelming factors when attempting to understand elvish personality and interaction with other races and the world as a whole.

[jmucchiello]

I prefer Betty Boop.   

I prefer Betty Page.   

I refuse to refer to what I do as either beep or boop. I also do not horde or alliance. But I do write Elbereth in the dust.

[Sidhekin]

No, no.  When the Dwarves were created (and put to sleep), the Elves had already been long asleep by Cuiviénen. 

(And though no one now knows where Men first awoke, it is generally considered that they too had been sleeping the "sleep of Ilúvatar" since the creation of Eä, and woke on the first rising of the Sun.  By that time, incidently, the Dwarves had long since awoken, but Men were still named the "Atani", that is, the "Second People".)

[Soulsynger]

[ ... ]
God damn elves, hording all those chocolate-covered cookies to themselves, trying to fiddle with the baked goods economy...I'll have the FTC on your little tree-dwelling asses, you bastards!

God damn those elves,
sweeping all the the shelves,
Hording all those cookies fo' themselves,
And then surfing.
On chocolate-cookie waves.

(SURFING BROWNIES, YEAH!)

[Mr. Doctor]

He's a jerk, you're a jerk, we're jerking... wait, what?

No, I don't agree here. Gonna quote Ohf since he said it best:

... and sustain their mutual antipathy.

I wouldn't say the antipathy is mutual. To the contrary, I feel Dale has a lot of respect for Marigold's gamer skills. I wouldn't say he's having a crush for her (not yet  ) but he does appreciate her being a tough opponent. Of course he's aware of her antipathy towards him and of her awkwardness, and he's making the occasional fun of it—but he avoids actually hurting or offending her. I guess we're in for some interesting development between these two.

Basically... To me: The only one kind of a jerk is Marigold. She'll learn with time I guess. I trust Hanners on this one.

[Soulsynger]

I am reminded of the "nice dork glasses, poindexter" comment she made a couple hundred strips back. (after Padma punched Faye's glasses in half)

[Mr_Rose]

He's a jerk, you're a jerk, we're jerking... wait, what?

No, I don't agree here. Gonna quote Ohf since he said it best:

... and sustain their mutual antipathy.

I wouldn't say the antipathy is mutual. To the contrary, I feel Dale has a lot of respect for Marigold's gamer skills. I wouldn't say he's having a crush for her (not yet  ) but he does appreciate her being a tough opponent. Of course he's aware of her antipathy towards him and of her awkwardness, and he's making the occasional fun of it—but he avoids actually hurting or offending her. I guess we're in for some interesting development between these two.

Basically... To me: The only one kind of a jerk is Marigold. She'll learn with time I guess. I trust Hanners on this one.

Oh indeed, Mari was rather jerkish when she denied him a tip for being alliance scum. Even if he is alliance scum.
It's what happened after, when he jumped straight to cyber-stalking (and a little of the regular kind too) that's the real issue I think, but you're right; thats not being a jerk per se: it's deep into asshole creeper territory.

[DeusExLibris]

He's a jerk, you're a jerk, we're jerking... wait, what?

No, I don't agree here. Gonna quote Ohf since he said it best:

... and sustain their mutual antipathy.

I wouldn't say the antipathy is mutual. To the contrary, I feel Dale has a lot of respect for Marigold's gamer skills. I wouldn't say he's having a crush for her (not yet  ) but he does appreciate her being a tough opponent. Of course he's aware of her antipathy towards him and of her awkwardness, and he's making the occasional fun of it—but he avoids actually hurting or offending her. I guess we're in for some interesting development between these two.

Basically... To me: The only one kind of a jerk is Marigold. She'll learn with time I guess. I trust Hanners on this one.

I guess we have a difference of interpretation here. I have a hard time looking a comic like http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=1895 and not concluding that Dale is deliberately trying to antagonize Marigold. Then there's the fact that he changed servers so that he could stalk her. If I was in Marigold's shoes, and a guy I barely knew did that I'd feel kind of creeped out.

Anyhow, I'm not saying that Marigold hasn't been a jerk. I'm just saying that *to her* (and to me) Dale has been a bigger jerk.

[ink slinger]

Marigold and Dale will forever torment one another and call each other jerks...until they don't. Because there's a fine line between hate and lust. But I'm not one to 'ship and I kind of doubt that Jeph would actually put them together anyway.

[de_la_Nae]

I don't mean to be white-knighting for Dale here (the Alliance scum!), but I've gotta be honest, I sort of see what you're saying about the stalking angle but...then again I don't.

Maybe I'm misremembering the circumstances, but first
Real Life meetings: They seemed mostly happenstance. He took the time to do some trash-talking, which is a little jerky, but I'm hard-pressed to see any stalking here, barring further evidence.
Online: He did mention that he had friends on her server when she told him what it was, didn't he? And yeah he did move servers with challenging her as a goal, from my time in MMOs that doesn't...maybe I'm simply inured to it, but that doesn't seem to carry as much of a stalking/creepy stigma to me as I think it is to others. People changed servers all the time for new challenges, seek out new social scenes (or escape old ones). Mind I don't think a lot of people I knew did it for the chance to take a shot at a particular player, though I do remember people changing factions partially so they could have a go at some of their former allies they weren't fond of.

However I spent years in those things, and then went on to play EVE here and there, so maybe I'm just a bad person. D;




Oh also Jeph will keep acting like Dale and Marigold will get together, then at the last second Dale will start going with Claire. But it'll be fine because after a short sulk at getting figuratively kicked in the face again, Marigold will find herself in a love/lust triangle with Sven and Amir, which will be a little stressful but still pretty cool once she eventually conquers the challenge.
Dora will attempt to kick Sven's ass, but will be lovingly hugged out of her HULK SMASH by Tai. D'awws all around, and Pintsize discovers the true meaning of Boxing Day.

[Mr. Doctor]

Not seeing that much of a stalker/creeper on him either. Specially because he already played on the same servers as her. Meh, different opinions and stuff.

I have a hard time looking a comic like http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=1895 and not concluding that Dale is deliberately trying to antagonize Marigold.

He's doing it just for the lulz because Mari takes it way too seriously sometimes. Granted, he could have been a tad less close but still... It's more like teasing.