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Bootleg videos of robot fighting (Faye)

Blind reaction videos to the latest indie music (Marten)

"You Thought You Knew Libraries?" (10-part serial hosted by Claire)

"If it Exists, Clean it!" (Hannelore responds to 'help me' pleas from those with intractable messes)

Professional-Level 'How to Play' For JRPGs (Clinton)

"Making Work Easy" (How-to for slackers by Tai)

Victory Trolling Videos (Marigold)

"Demons and Angels" (Ethical debates between Momo and either May or Pintsize)

Political rants, various (PT410X)

"Girls, Let Them Hear You Roar!" (Self help/agitation videos by Dora)

[Detachable Felix]

FWIW, whilst I've met people who make gender-based assumptions about interests, I've never seen that extended to hardware purchases.

I've experienced it purchasing tools and bicycle parts, though it wasn't quite as explicit as Chad in the comic. There's some comedic exaggeration sure, but not that much.

Obviously you've never bought parts from MSY. went in with my sister to get stuff for her rig, and the staff kept ignoring her and asking me all the questions, not to mention being rude as hell to her when she did speak up.
I was literally only with her because I was driving, she knows way more than I do about PC stuff.
Suffice it to say, we don't shop there anymore.

[osaka]

Just with Chad's first line I knew what was going to be up. Is it sad that about all of white bois are that predictable? I think it's sad. It's definitely sad.

I don't know, maybe it's just me, but if I were selling stuff and someone came with such clear intentions I'd just be like "Right over here sir/lady, would you like *related article* with that?". You're much more likely to sell more if you're not an ass.

EDIT: After reading my post 3 times I'm now wondering if and when I've been chad and now I'm more sad

[pwhodges]

Remember that this campaign ran for over ten years, with approval from the Advertising Standards Authority - it showed blatantly how entrenched sexism still was just recently.

[BenRG]

Remember that this campaign ran for over ten years, with approval from the Advertising Standards Authority - it showed blatantly how entrenched sexism still was just recently.

My mother likes Yorkie Bars; I did ask once and she told me that she thought it was more than a little funny. She did not believe for a moment that it was an attack on her or women in general but thought instead that it was simply an example of trying to give a brand a 'personality' that did not in any way indicate a realistic attempt to specify a gender bar to sales.

[USS Martenclaire]

I really liked the Yorkies in the pink wrapping. Much more aesthetically pleasing than the normal blue ones. But yeah, that ad campaign sucked massively.

[Azhchay]

This comic hit so close to home it made me stop lurking and register.

I was at an electronics store two weeks ago to get a new monitor for the boyfriend and a new mouse and headset for myself. The sales guy kept talking to my boyfriend while we were looking for my stuff, and when we pointed out that it was for me, he stopped giving technical specs completely. Instead he would point out how the mouse could change colors or how the headset could easily fold up to go in a purse.

I wasn't carrying a purse.

I was livid, but just gritted my teeth and kept quiet. He put his commission stickers on both the mouse and headset despite the fact that I picked them out and he had no input. Actually I had already picked the mouse, put it in the cart, and was looking at headsets when he walked up and started his talk about the mouse.

I picked off the commission stickers. Petty? Yes. But he didn't actually "sell" me anything. Both the headset and the mouse were things I had already picked out and decided on myself. He just happened to walk up and start talking about how great they were. There was no "sale". He just talked over me, or patronized me. No, I'm not giving commission on that.

Worse was buying a car. I walked in saying I'd like to test drive [make and model] in black and with a manual transmission. Sales guy went "pooh we have this PRETTY RED one and it's an AUTOMATIC" (said really slowly). I said "Black or grey, and manual please. Like I asked for." He found a grey one and kept talking about the "pretty" feature while driving me to the place where we'd swap seats. I kept quiet.

Then slammed him into his seat when it was my turn and nearly was in 4th gear leaving the (small) parking lot. He was very quiet and said "You're.......not a normal girl, are you?" All I said was a short "No".

He was silent the whole way back. And then handed me the book on the car showing all the important specs and things I really wanted to know. He didn't get the sale. Mainly because I really wanted the black, but also because of his attitude.

So this comic hits WAAAAY too close to home. I hate shopping for electronics or car parts. :-/

[BenRG]

Then slammed him into his seat when it was my turn and nearly was in 4th gear leaving the (small) parking lot. He was very quiet and said "You're.......not a normal girl, are you?" All I said was a short "No".

This bit made me laugh. Maybe it's wrong of me but it did. I would enjoy sitting down with this guy and ask him what his definition was of the term 'normal girl'.

Anecdote: I have been in the passenger seat of a tiny 1000cc Fiat 131 driven by a lady senior citizen. She tried to race a V8 Jaguar XJS off of a traffic signal and only backed down when she needed to brake to make a turn. Scariest experience of my life.

I guess that's my blessing. For most of my life, I've been surrounded by strong and independent female personalities (raised by a single mother who learned being tough from my grandmother); sister who is in the traditionally male-dominated career of cinematic projectionist (with a bachelors' degree in the subject). Consequently, I really, really can't personally take common female stereotypes seriously.

[Neko_Ali]

This sort of thing does happen in reverse as well. Sales people or crafts people who are assumed/judged incompetent in their jobs because of their gender. More towards women than men, but also towards men in women dominated fields, like nursing or some performing arts. I've had that myself, back when I was still living as male and working in the soft goods department of a department store. Because obviously being 'male' meant that I couldn't sell people bed linen or curtains properly.... 

It is actually one of the few amusing things about being visibly transgender... Watching clerks in situations like that have to suddenly and unexpectedly try to figure out what gender I am so they know how they are supposed to pitch their sale to me. It sometimes gives me a chuckle watching their little brain-hamsters suddenly have to kick into high gear. Mostly it's just annoying and offensive though, because they are going to hit me with a high pressure, offensive sales pitch.

[wlewisiii]

FWIW, whilst I've met people who make gender-based assumptions about interests, I've never seen that extended to hardware purchases. I'm guessing that this is one of those "parody through exaggeration" things.

I've seen women get given hell by sexist salescritters for wanting to buy cars, computers, guns, cameras, etc. It's a nearly universal truth in America that if a woman goes shopping for "men's" things, the condescension and sexism will start off at high and usually only go higher unless smacked down like Sam did at the first instance.

[ankhtahr]

I don't think today's comic is exaggerated. In addition to the sexism there's also the patronising because she's young. I've had salespeople question my choices, when I intentionally asked for specific professional hardware, like managed switches, ECC-RAM, and once I even encountered somebody who tried to talk me into buying Beats headphones, when I asked for Beyerdynamic DT-250 Studio headphones ("But the Beats have more bass!"). It's gotten better with age, so yeah, the sexism is by far worse.

[Omega Entity]

I've worked at a major video game retailer for over 8 years, and while I do get the occasional 'Oh, you play games too?', I've honestly rarely had that blatant level of sexist comments, nor have I really experienced it when shopping for 'boy' things. I must not be pretty or 'girly' enough to get that kind of treatment, I guess.

I do revel in putting teenage boys in their place when they try to out-knowledge me on older stuff. It's like, 'Little boy, I've been gaming for about a decade longer than you've been alive.'.

[thedevilissix]

Fucking *preach*, Sam! (and Jeph! )
I will have to channel this every time I'm in the music instrument and tech gear superstore near me. "Oh, is it for your boyfriend?"

[WareWolf]

Worse was buying a car. I walked in saying I'd like to test drive [make and model] in black and with a manual transmission. Sales guy went "pooh we have this PRETTY RED one and it's an AUTOMATIC" (said really slowly). I said "Black or grey, and manual please. Like I asked for." He found a grey one and kept talking about the "pretty" feature while driving me to the place where we'd swap seats. I kept quiet.

Then slammed him into his seat when it was my turn and nearly was in 4th gear leaving the (small) parking lot. He was very quiet and said "You're.......not a normal girl, are you?" All I said was a short "No".

He was silent the whole way back. And then handed me the book on the car showing all the important specs and things I really wanted to know. He didn't get the sale. Mainly because I really wanted the black, but also because of his attitude.

So this comic hits WAAAAY too close to home. I hate shopping for electronics or car parts. :-/

A few years ago my mom bought a Saturn (remember those?) because the Saturn dealership was the only one where they  didn't do stuff like that. She made a point of telling the salesman how much she appreciated not being talked down to or having her wishes ignored. In fact, she told the guy, she'd like to talk to the sales manager to let them know that. Guy turns around and calls to the back office "Jane? We have a customer who'd like to talk to you..."

[WareWolf]

Fucking *preach*, Sam! (and Jeph! )
I will have to channel this every time I'm in the music instrument and tech gear superstore near me. "Oh, is it for your boyfriend?"

I love going to the Guitar Center with my friend Zoe, who's a much better acoustic player than I am and who blows my doors off when it comes to electric. The sales guy will be doing the usual shtick of trying to sell to me (when I'm probably just there to buy strings), then she plugs in and starts shredding like Steve Vai on amphetamines.  It's fun to watch their eyes pop and their mouths drop open. The guys at the locally owned shop already know her, so they know better.

[Kugai]

Way to go Sam!  He was being an ass and you dropped the hammer on him as he deserved.

If Faye had been with her, he would no doubt have been a HANGING Chad 

[Method of Madness]

The guys at the locally owned shop already know her, so they know better.

Hopefully they're not shitty enough to need to know her to know better.

If Faye had been with her, he would no doubt have been a HANGING Chad 

I'll always associate this joke with HIMYM (because the protag made it his Halloween costume for years after 2000)

[chaospersonified]

If Faye had been with her, he would no doubt have been a HANGING Chad 

I'll always associate this joke with HIMYM (because the protag made it his Halloween costume for years after 2000)

I will associate it with HIMYM because I was 8 in 2000 and had no idea what this was until I got curious and googled it after seeing that episode

[Penquin47]

The ridiculous sexism goes the other way too - women who work in gaming/comic/home improvement/sporting goods/otherwise stereotypically for dudes places get a LOT of people who come in and refuse to believe the female employee has any idea what she's talking about.

[Zebediah]

Eons ago I used to be in a D&D game that was about 40% female, including the dungeon master, who was the most inventive DM I ever knew. There were a few guys who couldn't deal with being in her game, but most of us were happy to be around women who shared our level of geekery. Anyone who can't handle girl geeks is just a pathetic loser who probably deserves his lonely life.

Incidentally, I married a geek. My wife can totally kick my butt at Tolkien trivia. 

[Is it cold in here?]

This comic hit so close to home it made me stop lurking and register.

Welcome, new person!

[DSL]

At the hobby shop I visit occasionally to acquaint myself with how expensive it is to revisit my youth works/worked a young lady who was the shop's acknowledged expert on radio control cars, boats and planes. I overheard one of her young male colleagues deal with a customer who just didn't want to deal with a female in regards to his manly-man (or so he thought) hobby. He finally said to the customer: "You can ask me any question you want, sir. I'll just pass the question to her."

But my favorite example involved real aircraft at an air show. The announcer had just finished introducing a female US Army captain who was demonstrating one of those helicopters that you don't want pissed off at you and decided to talk about the system of numbering airport runways. "So, pilots, you might want to explain to your wives that ... " and on he went to explain rounding off compass headings and chopping off the last digit, and so on. Then, a few minutes later, he comes on the PA again to say that he was sorry, he didn't mean to imply etc. etc. ... and hovering meaningfully in front of the announcer's stand was the lady captain's don't-piss-me-off helicopter. I laughed and laughed ...

[War Sparrow]

I just imagined a sentient, cranky lady helicopter. I wish my army had one.

And on the thought of "helicopters you don't want pissed off at you" the American Apache helicopter is reportedly scarier than the Canadian Griffin helicopter. in case you were curious, as I was.

[Zebediah]

I just imagined a sentient, cranky lady helicopter. I wish my army had one.

That was May's second choice.

[ysth]

Well, it kinda looks like a Telefunken U47.

[Lioness]

Da da da DA!

"You got a Blue Yeti! Now you can perform a Let's Play! Set it to C when you want to put sexist customer service assholes in their place!"

[MrNumbers]

Is Marigold coming off as creepy to anyone else? Again, I know I'm more skewed towards negative opinions as a general, but a mid-to-late-twenty-something should not be this... eager for a fourteen year old's attention and approval. I guess? I mean, it makes sense, it's a particular awesome fourteen year old doing an activity Marigold loves geeking out on, but it's just one of those things that I think her Dad especially might have to step in and say "No" at some point.

[mustang6172]

Is Marigold coming off as creepy to anyone else? Again, I know I'm more skewed towards negative opinions as a general, but a mid-to-late-twenty-something should not be this... eager for a fourteen year old's attention and approval. I guess? I mean, it makes sense, it's a particular awesome fourteen year old doing an activity Marigold loves geeking out on, but it's just one of those things that I think her Dad especially might have to step in and say "No" at some point.

That's exactly what I was thinking!  Furthermore, this is what an adult should think whey they see another adult getting this excited about following a fourteen-year-old home.  If Jim isn't home, Chris Hansen better be at the door.

Is this what it's come to?  Clairten fertility jokes are off limits because they can hurt trans people, but implied pedophilia is perfectly fine?  Not sure whether to laugh or cry at that.

[Thrudd]

I just imagined a sentient, cranky lady helicopter. I wish my army had one.
And on the thought of "helicopters you don't want pissed off at you" the American Apache helicopter is reportedly scarier than the Canadian Griffin helicopter. in case you were curious, as I was.

Every Navy has at least one.
I always thought that the CH-113 Labrador was the scary one with its tendency to stop flying if you pissed it off?

[SomeCanadianWeirdo]

Is this what it's come to?  Clairten fertility jokes are off limits because they can hurt trans people, but implied pedophilia is perfectly fine?  Not sure whether to laugh or cry at that.

"Implied pedophilia?"  Seriously?

[Penquin47]

I think it's pretty clear that while Marigold's a little over-invested in Sam's hobby because she can relate, there's no actual WEIRDNESS behind it.  Yes, Jim and Sam's mother and to some extent Veronica and any SO Sam's mother may have should probably be concerned about Sam picking up yet another 20+ friend, and keep an eye on things, but the concern here has nothing to do with "lol pedophilia" but "why are all of our daughter's friends twice her age?"

[Tova]

If you're really reading that into today's comic, I think a bit of serious self-examination into what emotional baggage you're bringing to the comic is called for.

One of them bought a new, cool bit of kit. They're both geeks. It's not complicated.

Edit: Almost forgot what I originally wanted to say. The perspective in panel one is pretty cool.
Second edit: Salt and vinegar chips are, indeed, the best.

[HeavyP]

I came in here to say much the same thing, but I started thinking about it, and realized a few things.
1) For what it's worth, Sam knows Marigold well enough to have been to her apartment (in the company of Momo, to present Froglord and subsequently freak Marigold out) - I had to stop and think because my first reaction was "does Sam even KNOW Marigold apart from a brief meeting or two?"
2) While she's come a LONG way from when we first met her, Marigold is still socially awkward as F*CK, and I don't believe she has any IRL friends apart from the main cast.  Her boyfriend is a dork, but I don't think anyone else in the cast shares her niche, so she may be irrationally excited about potentially having another friend she can really dork out with (her friends have been very accommodating, but there's "watching someone else enjoy their hobby" and there's "can actually discuss and enjoy said hobby WITH the person").
2a) As an addendum to the above, I really do not think it has or will occur to her that "unrelated adult hanging out with child/young teenager" is typically viewed askance - call it naivete or innocence, but I honestly don't think that level of "bad things happen sometimes" has ever occurred to her.

[MrNumbers]

That's exactly what I was thinking!  Furthermore, this is what an adult should think whey they see another adult getting this excited about following a fourteen-year-old home.  If Jim isn't home, Chris Hansen better be at the door.

Is this what it's come to?  Clairten fertility jokes are off limits because they can hurt trans people, but implied pedophilia is perfectly fine?  Not sure whether to laugh or cry at that.

You're one of those people who I can find incredibly disagreeable, even when you're agreeing with me.

There's no implied pedophilia. Marigold is just incredibly socially awkward. Fertility jokes should be off-limits in a moderated forum because those jokes can seriously affect the lives of the people you're joking about, and while I don't disagree with the right to joke about any subject, Don't Punch Down is pretty much rule #1 of comedy, and that's about all you're doing there.

I'm going to point back up to Penguin47's answer instead.

[Is it cold in here?]

We know for a fact that Marigold is oriented toward adults.

If you want to get disturbed, then pity Marigold for trying to recapture her lost teenage years by finally, ten years too late, making a teenage friend. The only things going on here are shared interests and awkwardness.

Now for one of my pet peeves. Teenagers should have adult friends. Nobody learns how to be a grownup by interacting with other children. William Golding wrote a novel about what happens when adolescents have only each other for company. It wasn't pretty.

[DSL]

I was just coming in to post that Marigold has seemed to be drawn younger -- way younger --  in the last couple of strips, snd has found a new bestie.

"Implied pedophilia"? Really? This kind of discussion makes my sentient lady helicopter friend kind of cranky. Don't make her come over and explain runway numbering.

[Somebody]

Edit: Almost forgot what I originally wanted to say. The perspective in panel one is pretty cool.

As @Lioness already implied, it's a direct Legend of Zelda riff. Since... Wind Waker, I think... Link tends to assume that pose when getting something from a treasure chest.

[Omega Entity]

I think just about every Zelda game has that pose or similar, but just not the same angle.

[Mad Cat]

Then, a few minutes later, he comes on the PA again to say that he was sorry, he didn't mean to imply etc. etc. ... and hovering meaningfully in front of the announcer's stand was the lady captain's don't-piss-me-off helicopter. I laughed and laughed ...

That actually kinda sounds like a set up the lady pilot and announcer had rehearsed before hand.

Still funny, though.

[Timemaster]

Good morning,

I think Marigold really acts a bit creepy here, but "implied pedophilia" is taken way too far.

An can someone please explain Jephs comment "don't @ me with your chip opinions" to me? It may be due to my poor englisch, but I just donīt get it.

Thanks: TM

[Mad Cat]

An can someone please explain Jephs comment "don't @ me with your chip opinions" to me? It may be due to my poor englisch, but I just donīt get it.

Text at the bottom of the strip image, "I think salt and vinegar potato chips are the best". "@" is a reference to e-mailing.

[Method of Madness]

I think @ is specifically a Twitter thing in this case.

[mustang6172]

Upon further consideration, I apologize.  Tova was right; I do have some baggage on this subject, and I am not ready to discuss it further.  I'm sorry.

[DSL]

Then, a few minutes later, he comes on the PA again to say that he was sorry, he didn't mean to imply etc. etc. ... and hovering meaningfully in front of the announcer's stand was the lady captain's don't-piss-me-off helicopter. I laughed and laughed ...

That actually kinda sounds like a set up the lady pilot and announcer had rehearsed before hand.

Still funny, though.

I had wondered. The announcer has a national reputation on the air show circuit (and certainly would have known better) and this was not exactly a planes-and-pancakes fly-in.

[electromgneticDstroyosaur]

I just imagined a sentient, cranky lady helicopter. I wish my army had one.

That was May's second choice.

Or Ultra-Car got an upgrade...

[BenRG]

Yeah, Marigold is definitely returning to her teen years! Of course, I don't think that, when she was Sam's age, there was anyone who shared her interests who was as cool as Sam. So, it isn't surprising that she is the eager nerd sidekick to the outdoorsy alpha personality!

[Timemaster]

Thanks for the explanation, Mad Cat. I hadnīt seen the potatochip-remark beneath the stip. Now it make sense.

I wonder if Jim an Marigold have met before and what will happen when Sam brings her home. I see potential for comedy gold here. 

TM

[BenRG]

I've already speculated on a previous thread about the possible outcomes (for Dale) should Marigold encounter Sam's Wicked Mother-in-Law-to-be. A Marigold makeover followed by she and Dale not coming out of their room for a day or so. Again.

MAY: "Hey, Girl-Scout! Whatya doin' over here?"

MOMO: "Looking for a place to sleep without being interrupted by those two!"

[Storel]

If Faye had been with her, he would no doubt have been a HANGING Chad 

I'll always associate this joke with HIMYM (because the protag made it his Halloween costume for years after 2000)

I will associate it with HIMYM because I was 8 in 2000 and had no idea what this was until I got curious and googled it after seeing that episode

I had to google the acronym "HIMYM"... 

[USS Martenclaire]

Now for one of my pet peeves. Teenagers should have adult friends. Nobody learns how to be a grownup by interacting with other children. William Golding wrote a novel about what happens when adolescents have only each other for company. It wasn't pretty.

Lord of the Frogs, in this particular case.

[TheCollector]

Huh. Y'know, I've suspected it the past few days, but that first panel kinda makes me think I was right, but does it look to anyone else like Marigold has put on a little weight?

Not that I care, she looks as amazing as ever, but can't tell if she did or if it's the new art.