Poll
Question:
What type of roadgeek are you?
Option 1: Regional Traveler
votes: 46
Option 2: National/International Traveler
votes: 23
Option 3: Signmaker
votes: 19
Option 4: Poster
votes: 25
Option 5: Fictional Highway Maker
votes: 18
Option 6: Sign Hunter
votes: 16
Option 7: Viatologist
votes: 9
Option 8: Cool pooer
votes: 4
There are different types of roadgeeks. Some roadgeeks can belong to more than one category. Here is a list of the types I have seen:
Regional Traveler
Travels on many roads within his/her own state/province or sometimes an adjacent state/province, sometimes trying to clinch all numbered routes in his/her home state/province. However, focus is just on a small region of the country.
National Traveler
Travels on many roads around the country. Some have been to every state/province/territory of his/her own country. A few have clinched the Interstate system.
International Traveler
Travels on roads in several countries. Two countries are enough if he/she has been in most regions of both countries.
Signmaker
Is interested in making road signs and evaluating others' road signs. The signs usually are meant to follow the MUTCD.
Poster
Spends much more time on this forum than actually traveling on new roads. This may be because he/she doesn't have a car.
Fictional Highway Maker
Wants new roads built and roads renumbered. Sometimes the proposals are realistic, but some of the ideas are crazy.
Sign Hunter
Loves old signs, especially non-reflective button copy. State-named Interstate shields are also good. Some love erroneous signs, too.
What about that last one? :spin:
What, no casual/ lurker option(s)?
I'd consider myself to be more of a highway history nut, to be honest.
Signmaker and a Poster. Maybe a fictional highway maker as well, but that falls into a broader category because I'm more of a city and 'map' maker.
Who the fuck picked "viatologist"!?! I thought this was a viatology-free zone?
Quote from: Brandon on March 08, 2014, 06:06:56 PM
Who the fuck picked "viatologist"!?! I thought this was a viatology-free zone?
Calrog secretly lurks. :spin:
Im a regional roadgeek for sacramento and solano county ca also i like county routes and county owned highways nd expressways
I obsess over development history. This is just part of the picture.
Regional, for the GTA obviously. At this point I wouldn't try going north of Newmarket. And when I get back to the Philippines, probably the Baguio and Manila areas.
Signmaker. It's like one of my favorite parts.
And Poster. Duh. :P
Regional traveler and sign hunter.
Quote from: sammi on March 08, 2014, 06:07:49 PM
Quote from: Brandon on March 08, 2014, 06:06:56 PM
Who the fuck picked "viatologist"!?! I thought this was a viatology-free zone?
Calrog secretly lurks. :spin:
Obviously, and he has two clones.
Quote from: Brandon on March 08, 2014, 07:01:00 PM
Quote from: sammi on March 08, 2014, 06:07:49 PM
Quote from: Brandon on March 08, 2014, 06:06:56 PM
Who the fuck picked "v*********t"!?! I thought this was a v*******y-free zone?
Calrog secretly lurks. :spin:
Obviously, and he has two clones.
I posted that when there was still only one v*********t.
Why does that word just make me think "Scientologist"?
Quote from: Pete from Boston on March 08, 2014, 08:01:08 PM
Why does that word just make me think "Scientologist"?
They mean the same thing. :pan:
Viatology: the scientific study of roads* led under the tutelage of Lord Sir Calrog, the Great and Powerful.
*also Viagara
Quote from: vdeane on March 08, 2014, 09:21:18 PM
*also Viagara
Ooh, I've been to Viagara Falls a few times! :pan:
Goatse is always wide open.
Quote from: NE2 on March 08, 2014, 11:00:25 PM
Goatse is always wide open.
So are Lucy's legs.
Quote from: 1 on March 08, 2014, 04:39:22 PM
Signmaker
Is interested in making road signs and evaluating others' road signs. The signs usually are meant to follow the MUTCD.
I don't follow MUTCD due to obvious reasons.
Quote from: CNGL-Leudimin on March 09, 2014, 05:12:22 AM
I don't follow MUTCD due to obvious reasons.
You hipster, you.
I'm more of a regional traveler and poster.
Did not vote as my primary foci either weren't listed or were defined incorrectly.
I just like roads in general. I love seeing the many different things that go on with them such as new road and rehabilitation projects, new signs, and other things related. I do not know how I would categorize it, so I just tell you how it is.
Quote from: froggie on March 09, 2014, 09:08:12 AMDid not vote as my primary foci either weren't listed or were defined incorrectly.
I didn't vote either. The list of possibilities is tilted toward field categories, with some office categories (map collector, sign design sheet collector, photolog reviewer, etc.) not included. I don't think "doesn't have a car" is a typical motivation for people in the Poster category, particularly ones who are old enough to drive and own cars that run but have work, school, or other scheduling commitments that make it easier to spend unstructured time online than to try to carve out blocks for vehicle-borne roadgeeking.
Quote from: CNGL-Leudimin on March 09, 2014, 05:12:22 AMI don't follow MUTCD due to obvious reasons.
Does that mean you try to conform to Norma 8.1-IC?
If you're categories aren't properly listed, you can always vote viatologist in protest.
Quote from: J N Winkler on March 09, 2014, 11:58:06 AM
I didn't vote either. The list of possibilities is tilted toward field categories, with some office categories (map collector, sign design sheet collector, photolog reviewer, etc.) not included.
That's because there will be very little turnout for any of those categories (with the exception of map collector). Seriously, there isn't anything on this list you fit into?
Quote from: Molandfreak on March 09, 2014, 12:38:44 PMThat's because there will be very little turnout for any of those categories (with the exception of map collector). Seriously, there isn't anything on this list you fit into?
All of them (except Viatologist) apply or have applied to some degree in the past, but the poll allows a choice of only three. Currently, the options that are listed take up less of my time and interest than the possible options that are not listed. The poll is anonymous, so people aren't going to use the options you actually chose to take a reductionist view of your interests. But it seems to me better to abstain than to cast a vote that essentially says "these are the options that fit me" when other people might be casting their votes on the basis of "this is who I am as a roadgeek"--you see what I mean?
Quote from: J N Winkler on March 09, 2014, 11:58:06 AMThe list of possibilities is tilted toward field categories, with some office categories (map collector, sign design sheet collector, photolog reviewer, etc.) not included.
Or road history geek, or road numbering geek, etc.
Quote from: Molandfreak on March 09, 2014, 12:38:44 PMSeriously, there isn't anything on this list you fit into?
Some would apply to me, but not primarily. None of the options are "what kind of roadgeek am I" answers. Some of them are things I don't mind doing.
What you are doing is along the lines of, after being asked "what colour is your favourite: blue, navy, sky blue, lime, green, yellow, goldenrod or glitter?", changing the question to "what colour do you like best?" when people ask for red.
OK, viatologist has nine votes currently. Looks like Calrog and Abda Dabba Doo have either cloned themselves multiple times, or we have a board full of smart-alecks.
Quote from: hbelkins on March 09, 2014, 04:34:01 PM
OK, viatologist has nine votes currently. Looks like Calrog and Abda Dabba Doo have either cloned themselves multiple times, or we have a board full of smart-alecks.
I'm guessing (and hoping) that it's the latter.
Odd but related: about a week ago I had lunch with the guy mentioned in this thread. (His friend happens to work in the same building as me, noticed a freeway photo at my desk, and soon established that he was friends with He Who Shall Not Be Named.)
So, the Degree of Separation set up a lunch, and out of curiosity I accepted. Turns out it was not the train wreck I was fearing / hoping for. We didn't talk about his site, or field of study, at all. Instead, it was mostly about places we've all been (separately) in the Eastern Sierras. If you're looking for signs of his online personality in person, you can find them, but otherwise he's just another Silicon Valley engineer who's done some traveling.
More on topic, I am definitely a historical roadgeek, who will gladly spend 8 hours in a transportation library reading as many maps, highway logs, studies, plans, etc. that I can, and piecing these stories together. I also collect sign snaps and route numbers, but it's been about 6 months since I've been someplace new.
I would describe myself as a road history buff and map collector and can spend hours perusing old maps. I am interested in roads everywhere; I driven some nationally and internationally but the vast majority of my experience and knowledge is within Texas. I also enjoy studying bridges, tunnels and other instances where geology, geography and topology have been factors in road construction.
I have few opportunities to travel these days, except related to work; I hope to be able to travel for fun again in the future. I collect the occasional sign picture (esp. non-standard and error signage) but do not make signs. I have only a mild interest in fictional roads currently; I can enjoy the mental exercise but really do not have the time. So, place me in whichever category you like -- except v*****t.
refraining from voting myself in protest of the detail ;) (no bunker-blasting :P )
Just say I'm a blooming into a national geek - I've been to all corners of the country and the national travel peaked last year with not one but two cross-country trips (1 N-S and 1 ELONGATED E-W) I have the counties and Interstates of Arizona and Rhode Island to prove it (and if it weren't for I-5 N of I-505 -- I'd have the Interstates in California as well.)
I've also done extensive regional geeking - new routes each time in WI, IL and IA.
I'd rather be called a viatologist than a roadgeek.
Quote from: bugo on March 09, 2014, 07:58:28 PM
I'd rather be called a viatologist than a roadgeek.
Agreed 100% :)
Quote from: kurumi on March 09, 2014, 05:09:01 PM
Odd but related: about a week ago I had lunch with the guy mentioned in this thread.
Anybody else ever met him?
Quote from: Molandfreak on March 09, 2014, 08:00:40 PM
Quote from: bugo on March 09, 2014, 07:58:28 PM
I'd rather be called a viatologist than a roadgeek.
Agreed 100% :)
Said it before, and I'll say it again. I still don't get this irrational hatred for the term "roadgeek."
You didn't go to middle school in the '80s. It's a generational thing.
I'm definitely a regional traveler, including all of the northeast states, plus traveling around all of the places I visit. I'm also definitely a sign hunter, since I'm always on the lookout with my camera on the road looking for old and cool signs. If anyone finds an old sign within driving distance of me, I'll sometimes drive out to see and photograph it.
Quote from: bugo on March 09, 2014, 09:58:49 PM
You didn't go to middle school in the '80s. It's a generational thing.
Late 80s/early 90s. Now, it's geek chic, and proud to be a nerd. :cool:
That may have something to do with a certain Doctor making it cool.
Quote from: bugo on March 09, 2014, 07:58:28 PMI'd rather be called a viatologist than a roadgeek.
The fail at classics annoys me* - rather be an odologist than either! Though viatologist, while pretentious-sounding and Calrog-linked, is better than 'roadgeek'. Some geekery is cool, others are just lamer than they were due to the intermediate stages going up in coolness.
Look on the 'Big Bang Theory' - the show now doesn't treat their collecting of comics as lame, but the store they go to and the fact that they get memorabilia. It doesn't consider them playing more geeky type of computer games lame, but that they will play old text-based adventure games. It doesn't view their watching of sci fi / fantasy serieses lame, but how they stalk the actors or watch the DVD commentary or be fanatical about never-seen-before director's cuts. Oh, and they bring up Sheldon and trains when they really want to show him as a man-child.
*even if you overlook the Latin/Greek hybrid, shouldn't it just be vialogist? Where did the 'to' in the middle come from?
Quote from: kurumi on March 09, 2014, 05:09:01 PMSo, the Degree of Separation set up a lunch, and out of curiosity I accepted. Turns out it was not the train wreck I was fearing / hoping for. We didn't talk about his site, or field of study, at all. Instead, it was mostly about places we've all been (separately) in the Eastern Sierras. If you're looking for signs of his online personality in person, you can find them, but otherwise he's just another Silicon Valley engineer who's done some traveling.
Did you really expect a different outcome? Geek-baiting on an unmoderated Usenet newsgroup falls into the category of disreputable things people do (like frequenting prostitutes or running a payday loan business) that are ignored as long as they take place on "own time" and don't intrude into professional contexts. On the other hand, if he had carried on at this lunch the same way he does on MTR, the negative effects would have rippled out (probably irreparably) through his professional networks.
For similar reasons, you could build an argument that excruciating politeness, not open rudeness, is the real hazard at roadgeek meets where a majority of the participants know each other only from online contexts.
Quote from: J N Winkler on March 10, 2014, 01:01:04 PM
Quote from: kurumi on March 09, 2014, 05:09:01 PMSo, the Degree of Separation set up a lunch, and out of curiosity I accepted. Turns out it was not the train wreck I was fearing / hoping for. We didn't talk about his site, or field of study, at all. Instead, it was mostly about places we've all been (separately) in the Eastern Sierras. If you're looking for signs of his online personality in person, you can find them, but otherwise he's just another Silicon Valley engineer who's done some traveling.
Did you really expect a different outcome? Geek-baiting on an unmoderated Usenet newsgroup falls into the category of disreputable things people do (like frequenting prostitutes or running a payday loan business) that are ignored as long as they take place on "own time" and don't intrude into professional contexts. On the other hand, if he had carried on at this lunch the same way he does on MTR, the negative effects would have rippled out (probably irreparably) through his professional networks.
I'd like to know if he really believes that viatology business,and why he continues to spout on about "US Federal Route 31-Dub" in the face of repeated admonitions that the terminology is simply not correct.
QuoteFor similar reasons, you could build an argument that excruciating politeness, not open rudeness, is the real hazard at roadgeek meets where a majority of the participants know each other only from online contexts.
I don't think that's necessarily the case anymore, given the number of people who've met at various meetings numerous times and now socialize outside the context of this shared common hobby.
Quote from: english si on March 10, 2014, 10:17:57 AM
*even if you overlook the Latin/Greek hybrid, shouldn't it just be vialogist? Where did the 'to' in the middle come from?
Because Calrog. :pan: And because
dromology was taken.
Quote from: hbelkins on March 10, 2014, 02:34:12 PMI'd like to know if he really believes that viatology business,and why he continues to spout on about "US Federal Route 31-Dub" in the face of repeated admonitions that the terminology is simply not correct.
I don't think he would ever admit he doesn't really believe it if making such an admission would mean sacrificing his ability to bait the geeks. I don't know if he sincerely believes it or not, but he clearly knows that it works quite well at riling up others.
FWIW, "Federal Route" or "Federal Highway" for US highways is not entirely his own invention. Georgia DOT was using such terminology on construction plan title sheets long before Carl Rogers appeared on the horizon. Just thirty minutes ago, while eating sausage-and-bean soup and casually browsing the
NYT online, I read a correction to an article (http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/11/us/need-for-speeders-puts-tiny-florida-city-on-brink-of-erasure.html?_r=0) about the Hampton, Florida speed trap which may result in the town being compulsorily disincorporated by the Florida legislature: "An earlier version of this article misidentified the road through Hampton, Fla. It is Route 301, a federal highway, not County Road 301."
After I figured out what he was about, I deliberately
mokusatsu'd Carl, but this takes a level of discipline that not all (or even a majority of) regular participants in an unmoderated newsgroup possesses. This is why geek-baiting was such a rewarding activity for him until MTR finally died.
Quote from: Brandon on March 08, 2014, 06:06:56 PM
Who the fuck picked "viatologist"!?! I thought this was a viatology-free zone?
Count me in as part of that "What the hell is a viatologist???" group!
Quote from: J N Winkler on March 10, 2014, 02:48:21 PM
FWIW, "Federal Route" or "Federal Highway" for US highways is not entirely his own invention. Georgia DOT was using such terminology on construction plan title sheets long before Carl Rogers appeared on the horizon. Just thirty minutes ago, while eating sausage-and-bean soup and casually browsing the NYT online, I read a correction to an article (http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/11/us/need-for-speeders-puts-tiny-florida-city-on-brink-of-erasure.html?_r=0) about the Hampton, Florida speed trap which may result in the town being compulsorily disincorporated by the Florida legislature: "An earlier version of this article misidentified the road through Hampton, Fla. It is Route 301, a federal highway, not County Road 301."
Looks like the article needs a correction for the correction.
eh. I use "federal highway" as a general term for "US or interstate route".
Quote from: hbelkins on March 10, 2014, 02:34:12 PM
Quote from: J N Winkler on March 10, 2014, 01:01:04 PM
Quote from: kurumi on March 09, 2014, 05:09:01 PMSo, the Degree of Separation set up a lunch, and out of curiosity I accepted. Turns out it was not the train wreck I was fearing / hoping for. We didn't talk about his site, or field of study, at all. Instead, it was mostly about places we've all been (separately) in the Eastern Sierras. If you're looking for signs of his online personality in person, you can find them, but otherwise he's just another Silicon Valley engineer who's done some traveling.
Did you really expect a different outcome? Geek-baiting on an unmoderated Usenet newsgroup falls into the category of disreputable things people do (like frequenting prostitutes or running a payday loan business) that are ignored as long as they take place on "own time" and don't intrude into professional contexts. On the other hand, if he had carried on at this lunch the same way he does on MTR, the negative effects would have rippled out (probably irreparably) through his professional networks.
I'd like to know if he really believes that viatology business,and why he continues to spout on about "US Federal Route 31-Dub" in the face of repeated admonitions that the terminology is simply not correct.
The funny thing about the internet granting people anonymity is that some people do not behave the same way online that they do in real life. People who are deliberate forum trolls (as opposed to just idiots) generally do what they do because they think it's fun to screw around and see what kind of reaction they can get out of people. They go nuts doing this online because they can do so with relative impunity (being banned from a website is not going to really hurt anyone), but they keep it tempered in real life because they recognize that it would be detrimental to their career and their social life otherwise.
It is entirely possible for someone to be a total troll on forums but at the same time be really cool to hang out with in real life. I know at least one person (in real life) who fits this description.
Quote from: Brandon on March 10, 2014, 09:40:08 AM
Quote from: bugo on March 09, 2014, 09:58:49 PM
You didn't go to middle school in the '80s. It's a generational thing.
Late 80s/early 90s. Now, it's geek chic, and proud to be a nerd. :cool:
That may have something to do with a certain Doctor making it cool.
Geek = queer, i.e. a pejorative term now embraced by its targets to defuse it. Most such uses of "geek" end up being painfully cutesy.
I am a roadgeek who would rather not waste time discussing people I don't know.
For someone many folks can't stand the words of, his offbeat terminology certainly gets the conversation going here every sixty days or so.
Signmaker and sign hunter.
Quote from: formulanone on March 11, 2014, 10:01:14 AM
I am a roadgeek who would rather not waste time discussing people I don't know.
For someone many folks can't stand the words of, his offbeat terminology certainly gets the conversation going here every sixty days or so.
Agreed. It's fine to make a little joke about him here and there if it pops up organically, but we don't need to devote two pages of every topic to him.
Quote from: Pete from Boston on March 10, 2014, 09:59:25 PM
Geek = queer,
Only some of us! :-D :-D :-D
Anyway... I'm mostly about historic stuff. Old alignments (especially driving them), highway history, old signs, occasionally old bridges. Fictional highways are sorta fun, and in contrast to all the "old" stuff, I really like unique and complex interchanges.
I'm
very much a regional roadgeek, to the point that I don't generally keep track of clinches outside of Michigan. But I'd like to start changing this, as we wouldn't have much to talk about if we all only cared about our home states...
Also missing is the category of bridge hunter or old-alignment hunter. Usually an alignment hunter will do so looking for either old bridges or old signs, so it is linked to those categories, but there is appeal in the old pavement styles and geometry found on old alignments.
There should be a sub-category under regional for people who focus on a specific region/county in their state. I'm pretty sure that I can give a person directions to anywhere using any road in Lawrence County. I don't care about East River as much.
I started out as a sign geek, making signs on my computer and stuff.
Now I'm a mix of a sign hunter, bridge hunter, sightseer and highway clincher. I've started making fictional highways too, though I need more experience with that.
Definitely poster and SignMaker.
I'm definitely more of a regional traveler - my expertise is mostly in Maryland and Virginia (in and near the places I've lived). I really should embrace these states more than I have - my knowledge of the far corners of them is limited, and I can't truly be an expert if I don't know them!
I do enjoy national and international roadgeeking, but my knowledge is even more limited of those routes.
I'd also like to look for old and erroneous signs in the wild. I collect old maps - state officials, gas station maps, etc. I love reading about road history and transportation planning history. And of course I love posting here - that would describe pretty much all active posters here, lol.
I usually go where the roads take me (no pun intended). I've been up and down the East Coast a few times and I love taking pictures of every sign that I pass (especially the beautiful button-copy and paint-chipped signs). I've gone all over Long Island looking for odd signage and what-not, and I'm not even close to clinching every road that my regional home has to offer.
I also have a myriad of created signage (that's probably crap comparing to how wonderful everyone's imagination & creativity is on here) of real signs that are out there and a fantasy system that I've created for LI.
I'm also a HUGE fantasy re-router of practically almost every highway created because I have nothing to do with my life (hypothetically speaking, of course!). I'm in the process of finishing NY (600+ series routes) and NJ (if county maintenance was different within the state, but I still love the 500s), while I've completed Pennsylvania and a new Interstate Highway numbering which actually has a viable grid! When I finish typing the whole damn thing up, the whole thing will come up on here and I really can't wait to!