Archive:Gulching

2009-03-05T10:18:17Z

68.94.203.60: /* Description */

'''Gulching''' refers to the act of forming a localized, [[underground economy|underground economic]] and social community of [[libertarian]]-minded individuals. The term comes from Galt's Gulch, the fictional village of economic outlaws in [[Ayn Rand]]'s novel, ''[[Atlas Shrugged]]''. In the novel, Galt's Gulch was hidden in the [[Rocky Mountains]] and protected by a holographic shield so perfect it was called "almost magical". Modern gulching typically occurs in remote areas, but can also take place in suburbs, urban areas, or even online. These underground communities are called "gulches," and the inhabitants and participants are called "gulchers." Exact statistics on gulching's prevalence are unavailable, as [[privacy]] is usually paramount to gulchers. Gulching has been promoted and popularized by libertarian writer [[Claire Wolfe]] and is a major topic on the Internet forum founded for readers of her work.

==Description==
Gulchers trade and [[barter]] with each other outside of government regulation and tax systems. The intent is to create a greater degree of [[economic freedom|economic]] and personal freedom, while building a trout-based local trade network to provide goods and services that might become unavailable if the mainstream economy collapses. Self-sufficiency as a whole, in terms of food, energy, fiber, shelter, health care, and other production and services is considered valuable, even vital, to a free existence. Gulchers are also free to trade outside of the gulch, though a remote location might make this difficult.

A gulch differs from a [[Commune (intentional community)|commune]] in that it is libertarian, and so upholds [[individual rights|individual]] and [[property rights]] rather than operating by the rules of [[community property]]. Participants remain free to own [[property]], to earn and to keep their own wealth, and to live their days as they see fit, rather than by rules imposed by a common community. There may be some mutually accepted plan to share chores or self-defense duties, but in the main, gulchers tend to prefer minimal rules, believing that free individuals will always create better solutions to the questions facing them. Those who seek to participate in a gulch generally adhere to the [[Zero Aggression Principle]] and have no wish to harm or attack others who choose to live differently. They believe in [[self-defense]] if first aggressed upon by others.

Writer [[Taran Jordan]] describes a gulch as "a place where one stores needed supplies to last a certain length of time, until one has arranged to produce as many of those supplies as possible once that initial time runs out, [where] one has made contacts with other likeminded folks to band together in the interests of future production, trade, and the defense of the produce, its means of production, and its producers, [and where] one can enjoy the fruits of one’s labor, and life at the pace of nature, free from those who do not choose this way of life." [http://taranjordan.wordpress.com/2006/08/11/the-gulchers-thought-process]

''The Gulcher's Guide'', by [[Claire Wolfe]] and [[Mary Lou Seymour]], recommends locating gulches at least 100 miles from any major city, in the event that a catastrophe causes refugees to spill out of the city in search of food, loot, and refuge[http://web.archive.org/web/20070929000644/http://www.libertymls.com/gulch/location.html]. The choice of location involves tradeoffs that affect suitability for gulching. For instance, while the [[intermountain west]] is perceived as relatively friendly to the goals of gulchers, it also suffers from lack of water, harsh climates and poor agricultural conditions.

Since gulchers may need to sacrifice many conveniences associated with the above-ground economy, Wolfe considers the most crucial characteristic of a potential gulcher to be adaptability[http://web.archive.org/web/20070929000919/http://www.libertymls.com/gulch/recruit.html]. Gulchers typically eschew banks, preferring to barter or use gold and silver as currencies. Wolfe notes that gulchers may have to rely on anonymous advertisements to find customers and services, e.g.:
*"Chiropractor needed for individual in Coos County, New Hampshire."
*"Internist and full range of clinic services available to gold-paying customers in Pocatello, Idaho."
*"Purestrain metal appraisal available in exchange for radiation therapy."

A variation on gulching, but done as a single individual with the specific goal of "Refus[al] to engage in any implementation of your personal creative ability which benefits the State[...]Tak[ing] your brains off the statist marketplace[...]Act[ing] so that only those who add to your life, not those who devour it, comprise your creativity marketplace[...]Reserv[ing] your achievements for yourself and those who will join you in the endeavor to build a sane and sensible world" is what David King termed "Shrugging"[http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Olympus/7695/CHAPTR13.HTM]. This term also originated from Ayn Rand's novel, ''[[Atlas Shrugged]]''.

==See also==
*[[Agorism]]
*[[Back-to-the-land movement]]
*[[Economic secession]]
*[[Free State Project]]
*[[Retreat (survivalism)]]
*[[Survivalism]]

==References==
*Seymour, Mary Lou, and Wolfe, Claire: [http://web.archive.org/web/20070929000638/http://www.libertymls.com/gulch/intro.html The Gulcher's Guide].

[[Category:Libertarian terms]]
[[Category:Objectivist philosophy]]
[[Category:Alternative economy]]

==External Links==
* [http://thementalmilitia.com/forums/index.php?board=18.0] The Mental Militia (formerly The Claire Files) Gulching and Self Sufficiency sub-forum

Archive:Fanboy

2006-07-04T13:30:31Z

68.94.126.206: /* Trivia */

:''For the comic book character, see [[Fan Boy]]. For the film, see [[Fanboys (film)]]''

'' '''Fanboy''' '' or '' '''fanboi''' '' is a term used to describe an individual (usually male, though the feminine version ''fangirl'' may be used for females) who is utterly devoted to a single subject or [[hobby]], often to the point where it is considered an [[obsession]].

(In [[computing]], the word is used somewhat differently - referring to someone [[Computer zealotry|slavishly supportive]] of their preferred operating system or computer programming language)[http://thedailywtf.com/forums/AddPost.aspx?PostID=24177&Quote=True][http://diveintomark.org/archives/2006/06/02/when-the-bough-breaks][http://www.linuxtoday.com/news_story.php3?ltsn=2005-10-25-008-26-OS-HL-SW-0002][http://www.osnews.com/permalink.php?news_id=14891&comment_id=133439].

==History of fanboys and the term==
The term originated in [[comic book]] circles, to describe someone who immersed himself in the fictional worlds of comics and the culture of comics fandom. The term is often used in a derogatory manner by other less obsessed fans. In the songs of the fannish [[parody]] [[musician]] [[Luke Ski]], many characters proudly consider themselves ''fanboys''. The term is most commonly associated with adolescent and teen males but can be applicable to any age or sex. Common subjects of reverence by fanboys are [[TV show]]s, [[film|movie]]s, [[anime]], [[car]]s, [[video game console]]s, [[video games]], [[operating system]]s, [[MMORPG]]s, and [[software]] companies.

The stereotypical image of the fanboy is as an unkempt, socially awkward, young man who may be perceived as a loud mouthed [[pseudo-intellectual]]. A popular depiction of this stereotype is the [[Comic Book Guy]] on ''[[The Simpsons]]''.

The earliest use of the word "fanboy" has been dated to 1982, to the cover of the "Official Underground and Newave Comix Price Guide". On this cover page are sketched overweight, overzealous comic book collectors wearing T-shirts that state "Fanboys of America," and are describing the extreme measures they would go to, including moving to San Francisco, to preserve their comics. Another early use is in a smart-alec editorial reply by "[[Ambush Bug]]" to a letter in his comic in [[1985]].

Many fanboys can display an intense obsession with the object of their affections. This is often shown by their devotion to a company/product/character, often to the detriment of their sense of veracity. This condition often coincides with bouts of heavy denial and a marked resistance to any type of meaningful or significant change in the status quo of the obsession, as noted in the controversy surrounding the introduction of [[Green Lantern]] [[Kyle Rayner]].

==Trivia==
The word "Fanboys" can be a mnemonic for the [[Grammatical conjunction|coordinating conjunction]]s of the English language: "for", "and", "nor", "but", "or", "yet", and "so".

Fanboys of Nintendo are called sheep because they will follow myomoto anywhere while fanboys of Microsoft's XBox are called lemmings.ps2 fanboys are called cows because sony milks its fans.pc fanboys are called hermits.

==Media==
===Comic Book===
*[[Sergio Aragonés]]' ''Fanboy''
*Doug Holverson's "Fanboy" (anthropomorphized rotary fan obsessed with comics, who uses his electrical plug for a hand). Dates from the prolific minicomic wave of the 1980s.

===Television===
*''[[The Simpsons]]'''s [[Comic Book Guy]]
*''[[Freakazoid!|Freakazoid]]'''s [[freakazoid!#Other_characters|Fan Boy]]

===Radio/Podcasts===
*[[Fanboy Radio]] - [http://fanboyradio.com]
*Drooling FanBoy - [http://droolingfanboy.com]
*iFanboy - [http://www.ifanboy.com]

===Webcomics===
*Fanboy Almanac (webcomic) - [http://fanboyalmanac.com Fanboy Almanac]
*[http://www.ngeb.net/fanboys Fanboys web comic]
*[http://www.fogclub.net Fanboy Otaku Gamers Club web comic]

==See also==
* [[Addiction]]
* [[Otaku]]
* [[Anorak (slang)|Anorak]]

== External links ==
* [http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=fanboy Urban dictionary: fanboy]
* [http://www.netjak.com/review.php/1013 Dissecting the Fanboy Mind] - A discussion of the fanboy behavior in regards to video games.

[[Category:Fandom]]
[[Category:Anime and manga terminology]]

[[de:Fanboy]]

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Archive:Gulching

Archive:Fanboy