User:Scumbag/INAE

INAE, or Inverse Nerd Appreciation Effect is a noticeable correlation between how much any given internet-based community feels about a product, idea, or service, and how the rest of general society feels about that same product.

It is interesting to note that those who disagree about the concept of INAE are typically the ones who most effectively provide evidence of INAE.

Definition
INAE can, perhaps be written as such:

The more people saying they like (or dislike) something online, the less likely you will find a random person in real life that says that same thing.

Origins
In some examples, INAE is formed by a shift in demographic power. Early adopters, for example, may enjoy being the central demographic for a product. As the product becomes more popular outside of the early-adopters, developers begin to listen to those people when developing newer products. Because the early adopters feel that they are more relevent than the "masses", they begin to exhibit signs of INAE as a result of this increasing rejection.

It could also be argued that INAE is caused by different sorts of people who now visit sites on the internet. For every person who regularly visits Gamespot, for example, there are likely hundreds who purchase products without ever seeing fit to visit that site.

When someone is mentioning that a product is being "dumbed down for the masses", or something along that lines, INAE is clearly being manifested.

Computer Gaming: Praised offline, disliked online

 * The Sims, and its sequels and expansion packs, are extremely popular among modern gamers. Among older, harder-core gamers, these games are looked down upon.
 * EA is considered the Illuminati of gaming, despite making games which are extremely popular to most gamers.

Computer Gaming: Praised online, disliked offline

 * Planescape: Torment sold a fairly low amount of sales, and is effectively irrelevent in the minds of modern gamers. Online, however, it is praised as a masterpiece.
 * Fallout has been so ignored by modern gamers, to the point where the Fallout Community has even isolated itself from other older gamers. Even the ressurection of the series by a modern game designer has been met with derision.
 * System Shock is also praised online, despite both games in the series being ignored in favor of Doom and Half-Life, two games which are infinitely more remembered than System Shock. The original developers have been forced to create a spiritual sequel to this game due to the liquidiation of the original after the second game being a dismal failure. EA's announcement of a modern sequel has been met with dissapointment, likely because EA will create a mainstream, popular System Shock, whereas Bioshock will repeat the same mistakes as the original (which they, despite poor sales, refuse to admit they are mistakes).

Television: Praised online, disliked offline

 * Firefly is regularly praised in online forums, despite it being ignored by most people and having a limited lifespan on TV. Online members even duped movie execs into producting a movie based on the series, which met with the same dismal result as the original movie.
 * Un-localized anime, complete with not-safe-for-work content, is often desired by the online anime fanbase. When un-localized DVDs were released for Yu-Gi-Oh!, they were dismal sellers.

Movies: Praised offline, disliked online

 * Michael Bay's name on a project is often met with scorn in online communities, despite his projects often doing well.