It appears to me that the different types of halfbakers can be divided into groups by their behaviour, that is by the annotations and ideas they post. Perhaps some people will fall into more than one group, and it's also possible that individuals will develop from one category to another. However, I still think the categories that follow accurately describe separate behaviour patterns of different bakers.
Hypothetically, each user could be assessed with a personality test, and these results could be used as part of the filtering on the site. Or we could use the results to treat undesirable tendencies and spread peace and love in much the same way as the practice of psychoanalysis has bettered the human race throughout the last century.
These are the types I perceive. Feel free to differ. The newbie is not included, since that's a common foetal stage for everyone.
1. The scientist. The scientist looks to the Halfbakery as a forum for scientific theorising and intellectual exercise. This type can be recognised by their love of equations, numbers and diagrams. Typical annotation: "But if you consider that E = 1/2 m v^2, take into account the tidal influence of Neptune..." Typical idea: "Piezo-electric nanobot path to the moon". Halfbakery superhero: General Relativity.
2. The researcher. Like the scientist, the researcher is obsessed with facts and knowledge. However, this generally manifests itself on a lower level, as the researcher uses his or her Googling skills to pronounce an idea baked or provide relevant links. The researcher is a harmless drudge, sometimes informative, sometimes irrelevant, sometimes overlooked by people who seem not to read the links column. Annotation: "Baked. See link." Idea: "SQL interface to Halfbakery database". Superhero: Recursive Man, Man.
3. The conversationalist. One of the more controversial types, the conversationalist is easily detected in the annotations column by having added 4 or 5 notes before most people have even read the idea. Ideas posted by the conversationalist tend to be reflections of their everyday lives. Annotation: "I found a stray bagel on my desk this afternoon. It looked like my ex-wife." Idea: "I-Hope-You-Don't-Get-Fired cards for cow-orkers". Superhero: Office Man.
4. The judge, or ruler. A wise parental figure, the principal aim of the judge is to uphold the standards of the halfbakery. Their comments tend to be restricted to whether an idea does or not belong on the website, and their ideas will either be satirical parodies of bad ideas, or schemes for keeping trolls off the halfbakery. Annotation: "[m-f-d] Not an idea." Idea: "Quiz all new members about HB help page". Superhero: Murphy's Lawyers.
5. The Edison. Scattering hundreds of ideas behind them, the Edisons are the lifeblood of the halfbakery. Ideas may not be well thought out, but are inventive and aimed at genuine needs. Annotation: "If we replace the fins with beachballs and fill the u-bend with turnips this would be perfect." Idea: "Shoe tree for socks". Superhero: WIBNI Man.
6. The joker, or clown. A simple soul, the joker's ideas are whimsical and humorous, and the joker's annotations are designed to not be taken seriously. Quantity and quality are two factors for determining if the influence of jokers is benign or malign. Annotation: "The gropes of wrath?" Idea: "Exploding custard lobster bibs". Superhero: Captain Mayonnaise.
7. The Pedant. The Pedant believes in traditional values: good grammar, proper spelling, and accurate pronunciation; he or she may come across as stuffy and unworldly. Annotation: "There are 3 Ns in 'cunnilingus'". Idea: "Nail AOL users to the space shuttle and use them as heat-proofing". Superhero: El Pedanto.
8. The Partisan. The partisan loves a fight, and is happy to take on anyone. Sometimes from the left politically, sometimes from the libertarian right, the partisan is distinguished from the troll by confining their argument to semi-appropriate ideas. Annotation: "Israeli funding of Serbian war criminals in Bosnia strips them of any moral authority in the West Bank." Idea: "Force Royal Family to copulate in public". Superhero: The Assassin.
9. The troll. The troll exists simply to tease or annoy other users. Sometimes the troll is a legitimate loser gone bad, sometimes they've arrived to cause trouble. Their ideas are on controversial subjects, such as sex, social issues and politics. Since most halfbakers are too mature to giggle at the mention of sex, killing animals for sport appears to be the most common and effective method of trolling. Annotation: "What if we gave the monkeys hand grenades?" Idea: "Poodle-wrestling". Superhero: Bruckheimer Man.
10. The bard. The artistic voice of the Halfbakery, always ready to respond in verse or worse. A few bakers have also shown talent at the visual arts, but since they cannot post pictures on the site, poetry remains supreme. Annotation: "The halfbakery / Is full of wit and rakery." Idea: "The Ballad of Timmy Halfbaker". Superhero: Lord of the Pants.
11. The passer-through. The passer-through has worked out that the site has something to do with inventions but hasn't grasped the finer details. The passer-through soon passes through, and is to be distinguished from the newbie by the fact that the newbie turns into one of the other types. Annotation:"What does WTCTTISITMWIBNIIWR mean?" Idea: "Ladies' watch with moon phases". Superhero: ISOMan.
12. The victim, or whiner. After receiving measured criticism, the victim becomes convinced that they are the centre of some Kafka-esque conspiracy. Annotation: "All I want is constructive suggestions not criticism and puns." Idea: "Suggested improvements for Halfbakery". Superhero: Have-a-go Superhero.
You will note I have named no names. Please keep the debate polite.-- pottedstu, Jun 08 2002 Geek Code http://www.halfbake...om/idea/Geek_20CodeWhy not just use this? [phoenix, Jun 08 2002, last modified Oct 05 2004] tarot deck http://www.mcn.org/...umbledance.ma1.htmldon't like the art much, but I promised a link [earl, Jun 10 2002, last modified Oct 05 2004] sctld had a similar idea.. http://www.halfbake...itical_27_20Parties [yamahito, Jun 12 2002, last modified Oct 05 2004] <judge/smug git> is this an idea? </judge/smug git>
I'd be interested in a test which gives you percentile scores in each catagory - I'm guilty of being 6 out of 8 of those on occasion...-- yamahito, Jun 08 2002 //The joker. A simple soul//Complex soul, actually. It's not easy being a genius such as myself. 2,4,6-- thumbwax, Jun 08 2002 I think there are a few categories missing. what about the genuine half-baker for one?-- po, Jun 08 2002 Everyone thinks they are the 'genuine' halfbaker. In fact, who can say what is 'genuine?'-- yamahito, Jun 08 2002 I can, because I'm always right. That's another category that's missing - always right.-- thumbwax, Jun 08 2002 I think that's just smug git with a pinch of judge (or even... dare I say... troll). The categories are pretty well covered. Someone with excess time on their hands should design a test, perhaps...?-- yamahito, Jun 08 2002 no, you are wrong, thumb is right.-- po, Jun 08 2002 Instead of "the joker," I might've named no. 6 "the clown."-- beauxeault, Jun 08 2002 And speaking of the joker, could we produce a season of "Batman" shows (1960s style, not 1990s style) where each of these types is condensed into a supervillain to be vanquished by the Dynamic Duo? That would be fun.-- beauxeault, Jun 08 2002 9. The surrealist. 10. The pseudo-surrealist. 11. The appeaser. 12. The crowd-pleaser. 13. The non-scientist.-- RayfordSteele, Jun 08 2002 please explain 10 to me, Ray-- po, Jun 08 2002 The pseudo-surrealist is someone who thinks he's surreal but actually isn't. He's like a horse in winter, or a terrible fish.-- [ sctld ], Jun 08 2002 what's the difference between 11 and 12?-- yamahito, Jun 08 2002 <joker>What if you're like a horse all year round? That's what they tell me, anyway, boom, boom.</joker>
Ah well, at least no-one can throw tomatoes here.-- Guy Fox, Jun 08 2002 quick, duck.-- po, Jun 08 2002 Oh great, now we have to make a 'Tommato Thrower' psychological type...-- [ sctld ], Jun 08 2002 <throws tomato at Guy. It misses>
Wow, guess you were right. <shrugs>-- yamahito, Jun 08 2002 Hmmm...
10 is a wanna-be, and so would probably just be a 12 in disguise. He's surreal north by northwest. But when the wind blows southerly he knows a hatstand from a fishhook. I'm probably a something of a 10.
11 was intended as being the opposite of 12, although I could've picked a better word. The 'appeaser' is someone who is trying to maintain the peace, while a 'crowd pleaser' would be one to work towards their own advantage at the expense of person who is the brunt of the joke. Perhaps a better word for 11 would be a 'referee.'
The Geek code is probably better, though, and already half-baked.-- RayfordSteele, Jun 08 2002 //the clown// The Joker covers many facets, one of which is practical jokes. Clowns are only good for squirting flowers or burying their murder victims under their own home.-- thumbwax, Jun 08 2002 [beauxeault]: I dunno, I think a 90's-style Batman would deliver a lot of satisfaction in slicing up a pedant and dropping him/her into a vat of acid or something like that. <glances over shoulder>-- jester, Jun 09 2002 I don't recognize any of these people. Although this whole thing brings to mind some odd National Enquirer article... the headline in 26 point Futura bold: "Your Halfbakery username reveals your personality!"
What is the idea here? That these exist?-- waugsqueke, Jun 09 2002 Recategorized to 'Halfbakery: Culture' because this doesn't really apply to A user, it applies to TYPES of users, who make up the culture.-- StarChaser, Jun 10 2002 We put the "cult" in culture-- thumbwax, Jun 10 2002 Are you casting yourself as a judge by posting this [pottedstu]?
While you've probably touched on some halfbakery personality types, I have to say that I would have difficulty placing most of the halfbakers that I'm familiar with in any of these pigeon holes.
Maybe you *should* have lobbed shit towards the fan and actually 'named names'.-- stupop, Jun 10 2002 thumbwax: In truth I have no qualms with the term "joker." My suggestion about "the clown" was meant to be a reference to my name, and thus an acknowledgment that I am sometimes described by that category.-- beauxeault, Jun 10 2002 Accepting these categories for a moment (and the idea that individual halfbakers have fairly stable roles), I don't think I've found my place yet... Looking back over my ideas and annotations from the short time I've been here, I feel they have strong indications of 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 8. Veering wildly around, one moment righteous, the next moment bewildered, the next moment deeply in the wrong, getting used to things, diving into HB lore... Keeping all this in mind, I think "cub" or "hatchling" should be another type.
Or, we could categorize bakers according to the pseudo-Jungian typology found here in this disturbing book, *The Hero and the Outlaw: Building Extraordinary Brands Through the Power of Archetypes":
Creator (crafts something new)
Caregiver (cares for others)
Ruler (exerts control)
Jester (has a good time)
Regular Guy/Gal (be OK just as they are)
Lover (finds and give love)
Hero (acts courageously)
Outlaw (breaks the rules)
Magician (affects transformation)
Innocent (renews faith)
Explorer (maintains independence)
Sage (understands the world)
If archetype analysis can help me convince you to buy gum, liquor, soup, and cars (and the jury is still waaay out on that), maybe it can help us in this context as well.
Or, we could each identify which card in the tarot deck best reflects our HB personality! I'm going to go find one right now.-- earl, Jun 10 2002 Hmm, there's a pretty strong correlation between the Jungian types and the ones I made up above. jester=joker, ruler=judge, innocent/regular guy=passer-thru, lover/caregiver=conversationalist, outlaw=troll, sage=scientist, explorer=researcher. But since Jung is not the acme of experimentally-verifiable psychology, that's possibly not much validation.-- pottedstu, Jun 10 2002 With bristolz's Hullaballoon in mind, I am moved to suggest the Artist or the Dreamer as another category.-- earl, Jun 10 2002 [blissmiss]: No slight intended. Can you link to the idea?-- earl, Jun 10 2002 Delightful! Here, I have discovered that I am a conversationalist, joker, jester, lover, caregiver, innocent, and sage. Put me in a Shakespeare play, and I could lead a blind old king through an evening storm on the heath.
Though I generally resist the application of roles, I like the idea of these ... it would facilitate the 'Bakery's split into "cliques", whose members could then communicate only with one another, while lobbing insults at opposing cliques. ("Okay, fellow Innocents, one of the Judges has posted an idea: let's roll!")
P.S. to bliss, regarding family roles: couldn't agree more. As the second of six, I quickly adopted a distinct and unusual role among my perfect, high-achieving siblings: drama queen/subversive.
It's still my favorite role in life ...-- 1percent, Jun 10 2002 You may notice I've modified the categories, in response to suggestions. I added the "Edison" to meet calls for a true halfbaker, and followed UnaBubba's suggestion for the Victim or Whiner. And I added the Bard, which I prefer to the artist, because apart from bristolz's numerous contributions and Zippyanna's Chicken Bong most people are more expressive in verse.
I also split the Show Off into the Pedant (which in fairness to HB tradition should have been a category in its own right right from the start) and the Partisan, to reflect the Tory and Whig aspects of the character. And because at least 93% of us are show-offs. I considered having "rebel", "guerilla" or "subversive", but they are close to the Partisan, Troll or even Joker. But I won't waste any more time explaining myself. Other than to say I don't think these categories necessarily apply singly to bakers, at least not to the multi-faceted old-timers here, but they do reflect approaches or moods of individual ideas or annotations.
This also means that everyone will have to re-write their earlier annotations that contain numbers. The old list was (I think) 1.scientist 2.researcher 3. conversationalist 4. judge 5.smug git 6. clown 7. troll 8. passer-thru.-- pottedstu, Jun 10 2002 pot, will there be a system of psycho-profiling in the manner of the HB Geek Code - as I feel we are all a mixture of these categories? bliss, you just zapped me there!-- po, Jun 10 2002 Croissant just for "Force Royal Family to copulate in public". Well written and researched, sir.
There is also the rare but occasionally seen surrealist. Obtuse and mysterious, the surrealist is often a one-off poster who leaves behind gems like "Constantly Punching Hands" and "garnut alboir sicomg."-- waugsqueke, Jun 10 2002 Thanks for the link, bliss. I just got back from seeing pottedstu's illustration of the Wrapping Hat in action, and I think it might make for a useful piece of Rorschach-type stimulus in connection with the idea currently under discussion.
So what kind of a halfbaker are you? Well, how do you feel about pottedstu's drawing?
-amused? -revolted? -afraid? -sympathetic? -puzzled? -aroused? -enraged? -other?
It's a way into the psyche, worth a hundred archetypes.-- earl, Jun 10 2002 pottedstu, you've really improved the entertainment value of this entry with your revisions.-- beauxeault, Jun 10 2002 My favourite new bit is "the gropes of wrath."-- earl, Jun 10 2002 As one who divides the world into two types of person (those who divide the world into two types of person and those who don't), I am uncomfortable with the notion that people can be categorised in the way that this idea suggests, particularly as not only can I not see where [pottedstu] would put me, I can't even see where *I* would put me. I also wonder (referring to 'The Edison') what 'genuine need' could be met by a u-bend filled with turnips. Having said which, I reckon the literary style is easily worthy of a flaky comestible.-- angel, Jun 11 2002 Renaissance (wo)man - not the Renaissance fair(e) type either, but the real thing.There's quite a few here and the previously unable-to-categorize-himself UnaBubba is but one of them, IMHOWhat is the best way to incorporate this on our profile pages? In order of "strengths" with<out omissions or like the Geek Code - a mish-mash of +/- ?-- thumbwax, Jun 11 2002 This seems to me a little like the result of some Belbin psych type profiling, and if it were to be used like that (on people's profile pages, as tw suggested) you would find it dificult to assign yourself to one 'type'. So do as Belbin does, and rate yourself pseudoproportionally between two or three (or many, if you are EveryMan).It would take a lot of work to do the real profiling, and to construct the question and answer sets for a questionnaire, but might be worth a project for someone. The biggest criticism of Belbin-style profiling is that it claims to tell you Who You Are, when in fact it is just a reasonable guide to What Your Comfortable Role is in whatever team/situation you find yourself in when you take this test. So in this halfbakery situation, when some people are being their natural selves and others are hiding behind personae, a belbin profile would probably suffice. Personally, I would put myself into 60% Researcher, 20% Edison, 10% Partisan and 10% Conversationalist. If I had to stick my neck out, that is.-- sappho, Jun 11 2002 the other thing about Belbin tests, of course, is that they depend on both self and mutual assessments..-- yamahito, Jun 11 2002 As one who is the closest thing that resemble a scientist here, I think I can formula an equation base on purely on buzz word pattern, post length, reply frequency that give concise psycological type as result or even write a java program that do the calculation on the fly as you post. But I am also lazy so you will just have to live without one.-- bing, Jun 12 2002 Some people call me a space cowboy Some people call me the gangster of love Some people call me Maurice <guitar> whoo whoo </guitar> 'cause I speak of the pompatus of love...-- barnzenen, Jun 12 2002 //As one who is the closest thing that resemble a scientist here,//
U sure 'bout that?-- yamahito, Jun 12 2002 Maybe it should have said: As one who is the closest thing that resemble a geek god here - saaaaaaay...-- thumbwax, Jun 12 2002 Although it may not be immediately apparent!-- angel, Jun 12 2002 I would be a scientist if they would let me but I am not allowed sharp objects or chemicals of any description in here.-- po, Jun 12 2002 Do engineers count as scientists?-- stupop, Jun 12 2002 Accountants do though.-- angel, Jun 12 2002 <snarky voice> Add a category for those that "Like to beat a dead horse" and "have to have the last word" ....and keep annotating and defending an idea long after everyone has stopped caring and/or jutta has said that it's not gonna' happen..... <snarky voice>-- runforrestrun, Jun 12 2002 ...and those that can't resist a shamefully contrived pun - Hmmm, shall I post "Halfbakery physiological types"?-- hippo, Jun 12 2002 snark·y Pronunciation Key (snär'ké) adj. Slang snark·i·er, snark·i·est
Irritable or short-tempered; irascible.
I also see it as slightly more snide and sly as well.-- [ sctld ], Jun 12 2002 So what am I?-- juuitchan3, Jun 14 2002 Everything you "know" is wrong.-- thumbwax, Jun 14 2002 ...so do me a favor, and play along for a minute, as the rusty gear turns...-- StarChaser, Jun 14 2002 ...don't be alarmed if you smell something burning upstairs. It's a little BB, rolling around in a boxcar...-- AfroAssault, Aug 24 2002 I think I'm a moderdoodlatroll-- bristolz, Aug 24 2002 I must admit that I'm not overly keen on the classification aspect of this idea. However I just *have* to give you a croissant for: "Nail AOL users to the space shuttle and use them as heat-proofing"
I guess I have bits of researcher, conversationalist, joker and partisan. With some (suppressed) bardish tendencies. Now you know what I am, feel free to avoid me.-- madradish, Aug 26 2002 Surprised I was by podettstu's clairvoyant musings. Surprised still further am I in reciprocal interest. (fuzzy logic is still a mathmatical concept is it not?--Are fuzzy and linear logics subsets of each other?)
Just as I began to pop a quip about the obvious absence of a-halfbaker-with-unproportional-amounts-of-leisure-time-compared-to-the-Bakers'-proper catogory the inner child in me awoke.
And wants to play..
Like 1percent's self-countering comment (is there a split personality archetype?) I find role assignments as appealing as girdles for the mind--but what if you turned the idea of 1%'s, "Bakery's cliques communicating with only their kind while lobbing insults..." into a Bakery version of "Survivor"..
"Convection Island"
Psychotypes organized into tribal clans:
"The Anolog Fritters" vs. "The Boolean Digi-buns"
"Doneness" challenges between clans for extra crumb rations.
The sole survivor to win a spat of butter!
Who should be host?
Aw man. This sinicism goes against my spychotype!(do not correct my typo. I like the way it looks.)
Let's start over - go the other direction.
Yes. Yes.. How about mood rings with a simple 16bit color palette. Primitive colors could represent the basic individual classifications. Halfbaker's rings could have multiple stones with each stone having its own base color respective to each of halfbaker's dominant sociopathatypes.
"Watch your ring create its own custom colors!"
Tenured bakers and those in higher eschelons gracing the Bakery with their quantum presence could have special rings with higher scan rates.
"..Yo 3wingbatweeble! wudz yur color mix-n?"
lower level Halfbaker initiates of their own tribal clans could play with complimentary "code rings" and "decoders"
Contests for leftovers rations between tribes where challengers name a halfbakers based on colormix percentage descriptions..
"Name ----- That ----- COLOR!!"
...Glorious, glorious color...
Yes. yes. Happy now am I.
Croisants for all! Tory fishboners, let them eat cake!
pssst. What is MY color??-- hollajam, Aug 27 2002 Well, I anticipated something slightly more linguistically dexterious. Perhaps 'Paisley Splash' but thankyou anyhow. I like bananas. Can we add scent to the personality stones?-- hollajam, Aug 27 2002 Yes. I meant dexterious.
deleriously more dextrous [In spirit, wit, humor, outlook...than some others]
And I was happy before you asked. Thankyou again.-- hollajam, Aug 27 2002 'sok, happy is good.-- bristolz, Aug 27 2002 'sok ? Bristolz?
Sadly someone deleated that charming contortion of my inquiry, "..adding scents to the personality stones?" becoming "...adding stoned to my personality". Honestly I took that as a compliment, having never actually been in my life. I came back several times for a reread to refreshen my giggles! A propor 'thank you' to the light hearted humorist.-- hollajam, Aug 27 2002 What catergory do those that post self analytical, inward looking, 'hey-isn't-the-halfbakery-a-rich-and-varied-place', ideas like this, fall into?-- Zircon, Aug 27 2002 Come to that, what catergory do I fall into for posting that last annotation? Or this one? My head's beginning to hurt.-- Zircon, Aug 27 2002 I dunno. Do you feel analogous or boolean in nature? What colors are showing in your personality stone?-- hollajam, Aug 27 2002 ZrSiO4, 10:1 odds you have a dominant analogue side. Tha'd be hands on experiential people motivated solution thinker type. Am I warm? -Ancestral links to hunter- gatherers...? You don't remember?
Piece of cake analysis. I'm sure that a "Booleanian" would have never ushered the keystrokes constituting your first of two posts. I don't think their code permits self-initiated introspective inquiry. I'm still chewing on the details of the original classifications but in awe of their poignancy. In contrast I believe you will find an example of a booleanian, though somewhat complicated, behind the posts of UnaBubba. A linear purist in eclectic areas, often unnoticed as such because of his seemingly analogous styled posts until just enough guard is lost to a typical days wear and tear to lay bare his true natural "on or off" underpinnings (read undercurrent). Others may include The Good Dr. (of vibrant warm undertones and most tolerating of analogues) and 8th of 7-(cooler shades but more self regulated)--Thumbwax is a sprite fence sitter at least when we are looking for clues to his(her?) classification. A talented bi-pneumonic entity, fluent to lark about in either camp, I suspect that thumbwax is in need of hang time until the prompts that stimulate blossoming take hold. I may be voted off this Island now...-- hollajam, Aug 27 2002 //I may be voted off this Island now...//Not by me; I have no idea what you're talking about.-- angel, Aug 27 2002 It was mine. I deleted it because, in retrospect, I thought it an off-the-cuff insult.-- bristolz, Aug 27 2002 I can hardly stop laughing Tiny Bubbles!-- hollajam, Aug 27 2002 Bristolz, I took it quite well. I'm sure I would not have been able to resist the same opportunity. I missed it when it was gone.-- hollajam, Aug 27 2002 I'm still trying to work out how piezo-electric nanobots are going to build a path to the moon....
If I write "13) The Collater" does that make me a collater or a pedant ?-- FlyingToaster, Jan 12 2009 Somewhere on here, i mentioned the possibility that everyone on here with an X in their name might be a Christian, but that's not so. I was then going to posit that people with asterisks and brackets in their names were Jewish and Muslim, but i don't think that can even happen.So, i can only think that the people who base their usernames on their actual names are either very open and honest or exhibitionists.-- nineteenthly, Jan 30 2009 //exhibitionists// sp. Narcissicists.-- csea, Feb 01 2009 [UB], i have two hypotheses. One is that you are, figuratively speaking, a zebra, i.e. in camouflage, and the other is that you are e++ on the HB Geek Code. I suppose a zebra is an exhibitionist and camouflaged at the same time.-- nineteenthly, Feb 01 2009 //We put the "cult" in culture — thumbwax, Jun 10 2002//
[marked-for-tagline]-- 2 fries shy of a happy meal, Oct 23 2022 random, halfbakery