Why are some of Feliks Zemdegs' fans rude?

[NeilH]

speedcubing is a competitive hobby. fanbases and comparisons and all of that come with anything competitive. I don't think you can necessarily be mad at feliks' fans because most are nice, and many of his fans come from different backgrounds, are different ages, and think differently, so this kind of stuff just happens

 

[TheSilverBeluga]

Also, if you think feliks is immune, have a look at his recent world record thread on the forums.

This is a fine example of the difference between people being rude and making a joke. Seeing how Feliks himself has said that his global average is sub-7, it's all in good fun. As far as I can tell. If you look at some of his other recent world record threads (for example, the 5x5 single,) you'll see normal reactions.

(also yes, I did exaggerate on the amount of people "hating" but there's still a decent amount, especially if you look up some former/world record videos that aren't by Feliks i.e 3x3 single, 4x4, OH, etc.)

I feel obliged to point out that the vast majority of the comments on the current 3x3 single world record video are people hating on the kid screaming "what are those."

 

[Dene]

The problem is that I always viewed the cubing community as a nice and friendly community almost in an angelic way, but after coming to realize this bias that people have towards the best in the world, I'm not sure if I think the same anymore

Cry me a river man. Your way of looking at things is weird and naive.

 

[XTowncuber]

Yeah nubs can be rude in their comparisons. Unfortunately they aren't the type to read this stuff anyway. They'll either grow up or go away.

But Feliks is not overrated. Whether it's rude to say it or not, he would destroy (and has destroyed) Lucas, me and anyone else. Those are the facts.

 

[PenguinsDontFly]

Yeah nubs can be rude in their comparisons. Unfortunately they aren't the type to read this stuff anyway. They'll either grow up or go away.

But Feliks is not overrated. Whether it's rude to say it or not, he would destroy (and has destroyed) Lucas, me and anyone else. Those are the facts.

Haha growing up is the same as going away in cubing. Most of us will end up getting busy and quitting someday.

This. Feliks is still probably at least a half second faster than everybody else.

 

[mafergut]

Haha growing up is the same as going away in cubing. Most of us will end up getting busy and quitting someday.

This. Feliks is still probably at least a half second faster than everybody else.

Completely agree about that last part. Or that's what the 3x3 average world rankings say, anyway. And now he's almost a tenth of a second farther away of anybody else, after 3 long years without beating it.

 

[stoic]

So, on the day that Feliks set a new WR - arguably the most prestigious cubing WR to hold, beating his own record for the eight consecutive time - the OP sees fit to start a long, rambling thread calling him "overrated" and complaining that people sometimes use him as a benchmark or say silly things in YouTube comments.

Er, ok then.

 

[Matt11111]

I do think that with world-class skills, you have a fanbase. And probably the biggest one in your field. I guess that being the best at what you do is both a blessing and a curse, since with fans, there are rabid fans. Rabid like the kind of people who will deify him no matter what he or anyone else in his field does and criticize others for not being as good as them. It's just kind of unavoidable. Am I saying they're right? Heck no. What if Feliks quits cubing altogether? Then what do you do, kids who have been watching Feliks and no one else? Stop cubing too?

 

[Ingo]

hey man, what's the point in saying that? I mean are you really contributing anything useful? It's not even like I'm whining or complaining, I'm literally pointing it out so I can raise some bit of awareness.

My contribution? Well, i tried to raise some bit of awareness, but it seems i failed.
Please don't take all these youtube comments too seriously. Thats all i was trying to say.

 

[turtwig]

They're all anonymous, they can say anything with no consequences. Be glad it isn't worse. Everyone's just joking around. Personally, if I got a record and people told me that no matter what I'm still worse than Feliks, I wouldn't be offended. They're all joking around so it's more like support than anything. If they actually hated you the comments would be much worse than "Feliks is better than you".

Also, Feliks is not overrated. He's maintained his world-class status for longer than anyone else, is the only two-time world champion, and has more world records than most countries.

 

[potatoman]

So, on the day that Feliks set a new WR - arguably the most prestigious cubing WR to hold, beating his own record for the eight consecutive time - the OP sees fit to start a long, rambling thread calling him "overrated" and complaining that people sometimes use him as a benchmark or say silly things in YouTube comments.

Er, ok then.

Holy crap how many times do I have to repeat myself? Firstly, I posted the thread before I saw his World Record video, which I was unaware of at the time, so don't connect that me as a way to counter my words. Secondly, me calling him overrated was simply to emphasize how much some of his fanbase adores him, and not in a positive way because they're going on other people's channels and hating on them USING Feliks. Do I personally think he deserves the love he gets? Yes, but not in the way that people are using it against others. Using him as a benchmark? No, that implies that they're giving off a friendly "competitive" vibe, which is absolutely not what these people are doing. They're insulting the cubers, calling them crap because they aren't "as good as Feliks" even when they've done something incredibly impressive. Is it really that bad of me to think for other people and not just Feliks himself? Feliks is a cool guy, I admitted that. I think he's the best in the world. Does that mean no one else's accomplishments and feelings matter? I don't think so.

I use Youtube comments as an example because that's where the majority of his fanbase is. It's the best available source, so why shouldn't I use it?

They're all anonymous, they can say anything with no consequences. Be glad it isn't worse. Everyone's just joking around. Personally, if I got a record and people told me that no matter what I'm still worse than Feliks, I wouldn't be offended. They're all joking around so it's more like support than anything. If they actually hated you the comments would be much worse than "Feliks is better than you".

Also, Feliks is not overrated. He's maintained his world-class status for longer than anyone else, is the only two-time world champion, and has more world records than most countries.

Not sure if I agree with the "joking around" part. People on the internet are immature. They troll and hate, and we can't do much about it. I'm not even trying to find a solution, because I can't come up with one. I'm literally saying, hey everyone, be aware of this stuff is happening, and you should all try and diffuse it because its the right thing to do. Even if they're joking, you have no idea how words can affect other people. You can't just assume "they're joking, so their words don't hurt". It's not how it works.

Yeah, he's overrated in the sense that people are so in love with him that they'll openly insult other people. Do I think he deserves the love he gets? Completely. He's a great person. He's fast. He's super open and friendly. He should deserve all the praise and love he gets, but when people use that against others, that's when you need to realize that it's too much.

also lmao this kind of blew up

 

[shadowslice e]

...

Honestly, I think you just can't tell the difference between people teasing and actually insulting.

I'm willing to bet that half of the "hate" comes from people who either actually know the cuber or consider the cuber to actually be fantastic by comparing them to the single best cuber in the world.

And if you think this is just cubing and with younger immature people, I would like to point out that one of the "insults" that professional professors in mathematics and physics say "well, he's no Gauss/Newton/Einstein" and if you know anything about those people, you will understand how little of an insult that is.

And as I happens, it occurs in all of the other fields of competitiveness as well such as Swimming (Phelps), Running (Bolt) or even chess (Fischer).

 

[Matt11111]

Let's just be glad cubing isn't that big (not as big as, say, gaming). If Feliks was as big as PewDiePie... Hooooh boy.

 

[potatoman]

Honestly, I think you just can't tell the difference between people teasing and actually insulting.

I'm willing to bet that half of the "hate" comes from people who either actually know the cuber or consider the cuber to actually be fantastic by comparing them to the single best cuber in the world.

And if you think this is just cubing and with younger immature people, I would like to point out that one of the "insults" that professional professors in mathematics and physics say "well, he's no Gauss/Newton/Einstein" and if you know anything about those people, you will understand how little of an insult that is.

And as I happens, it occurs in all of the other fields of competitiveness as well such as Swimming (Phelps), Running (Bolt) or even chess (Fischer).

Don't you understand my point? I don't care if it's teasing or insulting; you can't assume it doesn't affect the cuber at all. It's like saying for someone "he's not getting bullied" or "he's not depressed, he's just joking around." You can't say that, because you don't have the ability to tell what they're actually feeling. It's a pretty ignorant thing to "assume" the "hate" is all "jokes and laughs" and no one cares about it. Might as well join in. Haven't you ever had the bullying lecture in school before? They tell you to take action, even if it seems harmless.

The saying you brought up can be applied to many things actually, which would be considered to be insulting or rude. Someone solves a huge mathematical dilemma or provides a new theory, and you tell them "Not impressive, he's no Einstein." It's rude. Common etiquette would suggest you congratulate them, but imagine if people chose to say that instead to everything you've done.

You are correct, it does appear in all other fields of competitiveness. However, cubing isn't as big as any of the sports you listed (perhaps except chess, I don't know too much about that) and really, I'm just trying to raise awareness to this thing happening because people seem to think our community is angelic and pure or something; it really isn't the case.

 

[Xtremecubing]

Haha growing up is the same as going away in cubing. Most of us will end up getting busy and quitting someday.

This. Feliks is still probably at least a half second faster than everybody else.

Officially in 2016, the average of all the averages that Feliks has done is 7.56 and these are the top 5 people from what I can tell, in this category.
Feliks Zemdegs: 7.56
Bill Wang: 7.85
Seung Hyuk Nahm : 7.97
Phillip Weyer : 8.10
Lucas Etter : 8.15
This might not be perfectly representative, because all of these people have done a different amount of official averages in 2016, so it can probably be interpreted in different ways.

 

[Ollie]

My two cents.

I remember seeing some comments like the ones you've described on Rowe Hessler's channel and it (quite rightly) pissed him off to the point he took some videos off or just didn't bother for a while. I still see it and there is a culture of making comments like that, but it's not specifically Feliks's fans that do it, or Feliks's times that people compare. BLDers get ribbed for it, and so do other fast cubers (and not as fast cubers) in a lot of events.

I think the majority of cubers are young and just copy what others say. When they hear it it's usually a joke between two good friends who cube. Some take it too far, some don't.

I guess the other side of it is is that it makes some people try harder. Give credit where it's due, but complementing someone when they can do much better isn't useful for anyone. I've had similar comments and they only made me try harder.

The majority are fine and can judge the situation appropriately. Those who can't recognise a good accomplishment from someone other than a top cuber aren't worth arguing on a forum over.

 

[IAmEpic2004]

lolpotato
its called sarcasm bruh

 

[potatoman]

lolpotato
its called sarcasm bruh

lolepic
who says sarcasm can't hurt?

 

[Yetiowin]

lolepic
who says sarcasm can't hurt?

It can't. A sarcastic joke can't offend the person if they recognize the sarcasm.

 

[potatoman]

It can't. A sarcastic joke can't offend the person if they recognize the sarcasm.

you really have no right to say whether a "joke" hurts someone or not, unless you are that person.

It's like calling someone who's saying they're depressed not depressed; you don't do that because you have absolutely no control over what they feel, nor do you actually know.

Point is, sarcastic or not, it's pretty rude thing to say to anybody.