What hobbies have the most and least overlap with the roadgeek community?

Started by Roadgeekteen, December 17, 2024, 01:12:52 AM

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vdeane

There seems to be a bit of an overlap between roadgeeks and the furry community as well.  Oddly enough, something a friend of mine mentioned today reminded me of this - right on the same day this thread was posted!
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position of NYSDOT or its affiliates.


JayhawkCO

Quote from: Scott5114 on December 17, 2024, 08:42:03 PM
Quote from: JayhawkCO on December 17, 2024, 04:53:47 PMHeavy Board Games

This is a little surprising to me. You'd think there'd be more board gamer/roadgeek overlap. (I haven't really done any of the really hard drugs when it comes to board games—I made it through one turn of Twilight Imperium once—but you'd think there'd be people into the Catan-tier stuff.)

I'm also kind of surprised that I'm pretty sure there's only one other D&D player here besides me (and I only know that cause I DMed him to tell him his avatar was cool, and it turned out it was his D&D character).

And in my world, Catan is a light game. Definitely a gateway game to the heavier stuff though.

texaskdog

Map collecting.  I'm also realignment chair for my Toastmasters district, which involves stars on maps. 

Takumi

Quote from: Scott5114 on December 17, 2024, 08:42:03 PM
Quote from: JayhawkCO on December 17, 2024, 04:53:47 PMHeavy Board Games

This is a little surprising to me. You'd think there'd be more board gamer/roadgeek overlap. (I haven't really done any of the really hard drugs when it comes to board games—I made it through one turn of Twilight Imperium once—but you'd think there'd be people into the Catan-tier stuff.)

I'm also kind of surprised that I'm pretty sure there's only one other D&D player here besides me (and I only know that cause I DMed him to tell him his avatar was cool, and it turned out it was his D&D character).
My wife and I have talked about getting into D&D, and even bought a new player starter kit months ago, but we just haven't had time. We do play some board games, such as Carcassonne (which is sort of like Catan, but a bit simpler and able to be played with only two players).

Quote from: Max Rockatansky on December 17, 2024, 02:52:55 PM
Quote from: Takumi on December 17, 2024, 02:04:35 PM
Quote from: thspfc on December 17, 2024, 12:35:49 PMI'm surprised we don't have more "car guys" here.

We're out there, but cars are an expensive hobby and a lot of us have disparate interests in the specific cars we like and there isn't much overlap.

I'm certainly a car guy myself.  I'm more from the world of car clubs prior to my time on the forum.  I used host to driving events with the last major club I was part of a couple times a year.  They weren't too dissimilar to how road meets go.
I tried doing that a few times, but lack of interest, and infighting among those who were interested, turned me off to the idea. Now I just go to the local Cars & Coffee once every year or two.
Quote from: Rothman on July 15, 2021, 07:52:59 AM
Olive Garden must be stopped.  I must stop them.

Don't @ me. Seriously.

bandit957

I like Dungeons & Dragons, but I don't do much of it anymore.

We had a big Dungeons & Dragons campaign that lasted for years.
Might as well face it, pooing is cool

Max Rockatansky

Quote from: Takumi on December 17, 2024, 11:07:32 PM
Quote from: Scott5114 on December 17, 2024, 08:42:03 PM
Quote from: JayhawkCO on December 17, 2024, 04:53:47 PMHeavy Board Games

This is a little surprising to me. You'd think there'd be more board gamer/roadgeek overlap. (I haven't really done any of the really hard drugs when it comes to board games—I made it through one turn of Twilight Imperium once—but you'd think there'd be people into the Catan-tier stuff.)

I'm also kind of surprised that I'm pretty sure there's only one other D&D player here besides me (and I only know that cause I DMed him to tell him his avatar was cool, and it turned out it was his D&D character).
My wife and I have talked about getting into D&D, and even bought a new player starter kit months ago, but we just haven't had time. We do play some board games, such as Carcassonne (which is sort of like Catan, but a bit simpler and able to be played with only two players).

Quote from: Max Rockatansky on December 17, 2024, 02:52:55 PM
Quote from: Takumi on December 17, 2024, 02:04:35 PM
Quote from: thspfc on December 17, 2024, 12:35:49 PMI'm surprised we don't have more "car guys" here.

We're out there, but cars are an expensive hobby and a lot of us have disparate interests in the specific cars we like and there isn't much overlap.

I'm certainly a car guy myself.  I'm more from the world of car clubs prior to my time on the forum.  I used host to driving events with the last major club I was part of a couple times a year.  They weren't too dissimilar to how road meets go.
I tried doing that a few times, but lack of interest, and infighting among those who were interested, turned me off to the idea. Now I just go to the local Cars & Coffee once every year or two.

I just wish Fresno had a decent car show scene.  The handful of shows I've been to have been comprised of mostly tuner cars.  I don't mind that segment, but it gets boring when that is the only thing there.   

TheCatalyst31

Quote from: Ted$8roadFan on December 17, 2024, 05:24:00 AMFor some reason, I think collecting license plates (which I do) qualifies.

There's enough overlap between license plate collectors and county counters that they host their annual conventions at the same place, and the latter group has a ton of overlap with roadgeeks. There's a common thread of being interested in geography and visiting new places.

Two of my other hobbies, birding and theme parks, are similar to each other in that they can involve traveling to new places but it's not an intrinsic part of the hobby. I know a few people in each of those who are also into roads, but not all that many.

Takumi

Quote from: Max Rockatansky on December 17, 2024, 11:11:36 PM
Quote from: Takumi on December 17, 2024, 11:07:32 PM
Quote from: Scott5114 on December 17, 2024, 08:42:03 PM
Quote from: JayhawkCO on December 17, 2024, 04:53:47 PMHeavy Board Games

This is a little surprising to me. You'd think there'd be more board gamer/roadgeek overlap. (I haven't really done any of the really hard drugs when it comes to board games—I made it through one turn of Twilight Imperium once—but you'd think there'd be people into the Catan-tier stuff.)

I'm also kind of surprised that I'm pretty sure there's only one other D&D player here besides me (and I only know that cause I DMed him to tell him his avatar was cool, and it turned out it was his D&D character).
My wife and I have talked about getting into D&D, and even bought a new player starter kit months ago, but we just haven't had time. We do play some board games, such as Carcassonne (which is sort of like Catan, but a bit simpler and able to be played with only two players).

Quote from: Max Rockatansky on December 17, 2024, 02:52:55 PM
Quote from: Takumi on December 17, 2024, 02:04:35 PM
Quote from: thspfc on December 17, 2024, 12:35:49 PMI'm surprised we don't have more "car guys" here.

We're out there, but cars are an expensive hobby and a lot of us have disparate interests in the specific cars we like and there isn't much overlap.

I'm certainly a car guy myself.  I'm more from the world of car clubs prior to my time on the forum.  I used host to driving events with the last major club I was part of a couple times a year.  They weren't too dissimilar to how road meets go.
I tried doing that a few times, but lack of interest, and infighting among those who were interested, turned me off to the idea. Now I just go to the local Cars & Coffee once every year or two.

I just wish Fresno had a decent car show scene.  The handful of shows I've been to have been comprised of mostly tuner cars.  I don't mind that segment, but it gets boring when that is the only thing there.   

I get that. Richmond's car scene has a bit of everything, which is fun. I enjoy Cars & Coffee because you'll see a Nissan Skyline parked next to a newish Mustang next to an old truck parked next to a Ferrari next to some obscure JDM import. I just haven't gotten around to going there since they changed locations.
Quote from: Rothman on July 15, 2021, 07:52:59 AM
Olive Garden must be stopped.  I must stop them.

Don't @ me. Seriously.

dlsterner

Quote from: bandit957 on December 17, 2024, 08:40:28 PMThere seems to be more people here interested in 'American Top 40'.

Having been an avid listener of AT40 in the late 70s and early 80s, I can see the commonality.

People in the road geek community seem to like to see things in order.  Orderings and Lists.  Like those who talk about the Interstate grid (and complain about violations).  Or topic like "Lowest Numbered Route You Haven't Been On", "How Many Mississippi River Crossings Have You Made", "What's The Highest Exit Number In Your State", on and on.

Kind of the same thing with the countdown.  Seeing the music we listened to organized in neat numbered lists.

dlsterner

Actually I can come up with two hobbies of mine with nearly identical names but are at the two extremes of the spectrum.

Among most overlap with road geek community - Bridges (the highway structures)
Among least overlap with road geek community - Bridge (the card game)

LilianaUwU

Quote from: vdeane on December 17, 2024, 09:16:25 PMThere seems to be a bit of an overlap between roadgeeks and the furry community as well.  Oddly enough, something a friend of mine mentioned today reminded me of this - right on the same day this thread was posted!
Despite my username, I'm not a furry. I absolutely hang out in communities that have a lot of furries, though.
"Volcano with no fire... Not volcano... Just mountain."
—Mr. Thwomp

My pronouns are she/her. Also, I'm an admin on the AARoads Wiki.

freebrickproductions

I kinda am a furry, admittedly. More in the brony community/MLP fandom though.
It's all fun & games until someone summons Cthulhu and brings about the end of the world.

I also collect traffic lights, road signs, fans, and railroad crossing equipment.

(They/Them)

Rothman

Quote from: LilianaUwU on December 18, 2024, 01:29:51 AM
Quote from: vdeane on December 17, 2024, 09:16:25 PMThere seems to be a bit of an overlap between roadgeeks and the furry community as well.  Oddly enough, something a friend of mine mentioned today reminded me of this - right on the same day this thread was posted!
Despite my username, I'm not a furry. I absolutely hang out in communities that have a lot of furries, though.

We're all here to support you when you're ready.
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position(s) of NYSDOT.

formulanone

Quote from: Scott5114 on December 17, 2024, 07:03:17 AMThings with no obvious reason to have any overlap, but they seem to:
- Game shows. There's at least three people here that have accounts on golden-road.net. The host of Jeopardy! has an account here.

Numbers, I guess. Many of them are based on matching or guessing numbers, and that puts things "in a place".

Also, the number of people that are fascinated with retail (not necessarily "shopping"), which might explain its own overlap.

Jeopardy! because we all like to show off what we know. Or find out what we don't know.

Quote- Weather, specifically The Weather Channel. I think our rules set is based on one from a Weather Channel forum. Most roadgeeks seem to know what the WeatherStar 4000 is.

Where there's maps, travel, planning, and more numbers; weather surely plays a part. But yeah...maps!

Back when I was like 9-10, watching TWC for an hour was like an easy travel escape. We didn't really have the means for a trip to places like Bismarck or Altoona, so that's how you caught a glimpse of how life might have been like there.

index

Quote from: freebrickproductions on December 17, 2024, 03:11:03 AMFor least, one of them has to be tornado sirens. I certainly ain't too aware of too many other people on here who are also siren enthusiasts, though I'm aware of a few siren enthusiasts who are also traffic signal collectors or railfans.

You could argue there's some overlap as it relates to both sirens and roads being part of our overall infrastructure. I have a vague interest in a lot of other topics tangentially related to roadgeeking, like sirens, aviation, and railfanning, but I never get very deep into it.

Furry stuff seems to have a huge overlap with essentially every "nerdy" niche hobby/interest probably just because it's a nerd/geeky thing to do. I have a few friends who like it. Admittedly I dabble in it every now and then thanks to their influence, but it's not a huge interest of mine.

Quote from: Rothman on December 17, 2024, 08:25:37 AMAll this speculation needs to be confirmed via a survey of our forum members. :D

With mod/admin approval I would gladly conduct one (what do y'all think?). I am a nerd for demographics and useless niche statistics. In a few demographic areas I probably stand out a little from most of this forum lol.

WillWeaverRVA

Quote from: Max Rockatansky on December 17, 2024, 08:09:57 AM
Quote from: hotdogPi on December 17, 2024, 07:37:57 AMI have no idea what the racial makeup of this forum is. Do we know it's whiter than US demographics would indicate?


While there isn't a data set one can glean it is highly caucasian and male from off forum road fan groups.

Interestingly our Facebook page offers some demographic statistics.  We have a 66.3% male following and are most popular in the 45-54 age demographic at 21.2%. 

The funny thing is I recall going to the Richmond, VA road meet and being the only non-Caucasian person there.  :-D

But yeah, a lot of my interests overlap the ones already listed: weather, game shows (particularly TPiR and Jeopardy!), motorsports, gaming, photography...not a furry, though, that's not for me.

Quote from: index on December 18, 2024, 01:00:57 PMWith mod/admin approval I would gladly conduct one (what do y'all think?). I am a nerd for demographics and useless niche statistics. In a few demographic areas I probably stand out a little from most of this forum lol.

Hey, I'd totally fill one out if you conducted one.
Will Weaver
WillWeaverRVA Photography | Twitter

"But how will the oxen know where to drown if we renumber the Oregon Trail?" - NE2

Max Rockatansky

Amusingly my wife I believe has been the only non-Caucasian at the three meets she has attended.  I'm also wondering if she is near the top of the list of spouses that has attended the most meets.

Henry

Quote from: Roadgeekteen on December 17, 2024, 01:12:52 AMLook at the length of the baseball thread vs the NBA thread. This forum seems to match the interests of white men aged 25-65 though there are some exceptions.
The NFL far outpaces the baseball thread, and hockey is not too far behind either. But for some reason, only college football and NASCAR trail the NBA by a considerable margin, so I have reason to believe that Northerners are more interested in this forum than Southerners.

(Go Cubs, Bears, Bulls and Hawks!)

Quote from: dlsterner on December 18, 2024, 01:12:41 AM
Quote from: bandit957 on December 17, 2024, 08:40:28 PMThere seems to be more people here interested in 'American Top 40'.

Having been an avid listener of AT40 in the late 70s and early 80s, I can see the commonality.

People in the road geek community seem to like to see things in order.  Orderings and Lists.  Like those who talk about the Interstate grid (and complain about violations).  Or topic like "Lowest Numbered Route You Haven't Been On", "How Many Mississippi River Crossings Have You Made", "What's The Highest Exit Number In Your State", on and on.

Kind of the same thing with the countdown.  Seeing the music we listened to organized in neat numbered lists.
The Casey Kasem-hosted AT40 is in a class of its own, because the music it showcased is way better than the newer stuff that Ryan Seacrest has to work with. I love to hear the 80s shows in particular because that was the decade when pop was at its absolute best.
Go Cubs Go! Go Cubs Go! Hey Chicago, what do you say? The Cubs are gonna win today!

webny99

Not necessarily a separate hobby, but I am fascinated by traffic-generating events, often to the point of obsession.

Half the reason I was so closely following the eclipse earlier this year - which brings up another overlapping hobby, by the way - was because of the incredible and unusual movement of people to/from a certain area.

Scott5114

Quote from: JayhawkCO on December 17, 2024, 10:08:13 PM
Quote from: Scott5114 on December 17, 2024, 08:42:03 PM
Quote from: JayhawkCO on December 17, 2024, 04:53:47 PMHeavy Board Games

This is a little surprising to me. You'd think there'd be more board gamer/roadgeek overlap. (I haven't really done any of the really hard drugs when it comes to board games—I made it through one turn of Twilight Imperium once—but you'd think there'd be people into the Catan-tier stuff.)

I'm also kind of surprised that I'm pretty sure there's only one other D&D player here besides me (and I only know that cause I DMed him to tell him his avatar was cool, and it turned out it was his D&D character).

And in my world, Catan is a light game. Definitely a gateway game to the heavier stuff though.

Catan's complexity level is where most of my experience is. Before the pandemic we were friends with the owner of a board game store, and we would get together with him and a few other friends and play the hot new releases so he'd be able to advise customers on them (he basically functioned as a sommelier of board games, where he could find out someone's preferred themes, complexity level, and game mechanics and recommend a game they'd like). Most of his customers were looking for games in the Catan-level complexity range, so that was most of what we'd play. (He mostly drug out Twilight Imperium that one time just to illustrate that games could get way, way heavier than that.)

Of course, the worst thing about learning anything at all about the board game scene is that you also have to learn to bite your tongue when someone brings up anything in the Parker Brothers/Hasbro tier as being any good.
uncontrollable freak sardine salad chef

Rothman

Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position(s) of NYSDOT.

JayhawkCO

Quote from: Scott5114 on December 18, 2024, 04:22:40 PM
Quote from: JayhawkCO on December 17, 2024, 10:08:13 PM
Quote from: Scott5114 on December 17, 2024, 08:42:03 PM
Quote from: JayhawkCO on December 17, 2024, 04:53:47 PMHeavy Board Games

This is a little surprising to me. You'd think there'd be more board gamer/roadgeek overlap. (I haven't really done any of the really hard drugs when it comes to board games—I made it through one turn of Twilight Imperium once—but you'd think there'd be people into the Catan-tier stuff.)

I'm also kind of surprised that I'm pretty sure there's only one other D&D player here besides me (and I only know that cause I DMed him to tell him his avatar was cool, and it turned out it was his D&D character).

And in my world, Catan is a light game. Definitely a gateway game to the heavier stuff though.

Catan's complexity level is where most of my experience is. Before the pandemic we were friends with the owner of a board game store, and we would get together with him and a few other friends and play the hot new releases so he'd be able to advise customers on them (he basically functioned as a sommelier of board games, where he could find out someone's preferred themes, complexity level, and game mechanics and recommend a game they'd like). Most of his customers were looking for games in the Catan-level complexity range, so that was most of what we'd play. (He mostly drug out Twilight Imperium that one time just to illustrate that games could get way, way heavier than that.)

Of course, the worst thing about learning anything at all about the board game scene is that you also have to learn to bite your tongue when someone brings up anything in the Parker Brothers/Hasbro tier as being any good.

I try not to be a board game snob. But I own about 120 games or so, most of which are of the heavy variety that take at least 30 minutes to explain the rules and 2-3 hours to play. Never actually played TI as I don't often have 8-9 hours to dedicate to anything at all, much less a board game. The new hotness that is TI-esque is called Arcs and you can break up the campaign pretty easily into three 2-3 hour chunks. Looking to try that campaign soon, but have only played the base standalone game thus far.

formulanone

Quote from: Scott5114 on December 18, 2024, 04:22:40 PM...you also have to learn to bite your tongue when someone brings up anything [...] as being any good.

There's a certain skill in answering those kinds of questions without losing the ability to garner respect, friends, and/or ever getting laid again.

On the Internet, eh...not so much. Freak flag's a-flying in all but the worst weather.

Scott5114

Quote from: formulanone on December 18, 2024, 05:13:54 PMThere's a certain skill in answering those kinds of questions without losing the ability to garner respect, friends, and/or ever getting laid again.

Learning when such things are not worth the trouble is also a skill. (For example, is it actually a good idea to lower one's standards to the point of sleeping with someone who thinks Monopoly is a good game?)
uncontrollable freak sardine salad chef

JoePCool14

Quote from: Scott5114 on December 17, 2024, 07:03:17 AMThings with no obvious reason to have any overlap, but they seem to:
- Game shows. There's at least three people here that have accounts on golden-road.net. The host of Jeopardy! has an account here.
- Weather, specifically The Weather Channel. I think our rules set is based on one from a Weather Channel forum. Most roadgeeks seem to know what the WeatherStar 4000 is.

I concur about TWC. Since I'm younger, I grew up with the IntelliSTAR 1, but the interest remains the same. I've even created a few simulations on YouTube within the past couple years and I'm still trying to purchase an IntelliSTAR 2 from someone.

As for least hobbies, there's one that I have in mind that I participate in. I know one other person that uses this forum regularly who also shares this hobby and that I have seen at conventions carrying around an Interstate shield...

:) Needs more... :sombrero: Not quite... :bigass: Perfect.
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