Scrubbing the term

General Discussion
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Continuing the discussion from
Growing the Community: Combo Assist Mode Discussion:

Based on;

We all start out as both n00bs and scrubs. Unfortunately, while we all shed our n00b skin after some gameplay, not everyone scrubs it off after hundreds of hours of gaming.

While I do understand the use of both, depending on the context, the newer meaning is based off the original scrub learning “new” lingo and trying to bring others down to their level :smile:

An experienced scrub does not seek to better themselves and often seeks to lash out at others, outside of the game, because they can’t express themselves IN game.

… I love this story;

[quote]I once played a scrub who was actually quite good. That is, he knew the rules of the game well, he knew the character matchups well, and he knew what to do in most situations. But his web of mental rules kept him from truly playing to win.
He cried cheap as I beat him with “no skill moves” while he performed many difficult dragon punches. He cried cheap when I threw him five times in a row asking, “Is that all you know how to do? Throw?” I gave him the best advice he could ever hear. I told him, “Play to win, not to do ‘difficult moves.’”
This was a big moment in that scrub’s life. He could either ignore his losses and continue living in his mental prison or analyze why he lost, shed his rules, and reach the next level of play.

I’ve never been to a tournament where there was a prize for the winner and another prize for the player
who did many difficult moves. I’ve also never seen a prize for a player who played “in an innovative way.”

(Though chess tournaments do sometimes have prizes for “brilliancies,” moves that are strokes of
genius.)

Many scrubs have strong ties to “innovation.” They say, “That guy didn’t do anything new, so he is no good.” Or “person X invented that technique and person Y just stole it.” Well, person Y might be one hundred times better than person X, but that doesn’t seem to matter to the scrub. When person Y wins the tournament and person X is a forgotten footnote, what will the scrub say? That person Y has “no skill” of course.

You can gain some standing in a gaming community by playing in an innovative way, but that should not be the ultimate goal. Innovation is merely one of many tools that may or may not help you reach victory. The goal is to play as excellently as possible. The goal is to win.[/quote]

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That depends on the person though. You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink it. Plus, if you do, you’ll get horse kicked in the face.

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Most certainly :smile:

Not everyone fits into a cookie cutter mold, least alone the same one… And I do prefer to avoid labeling in the first place. As you can see, it’s when you brand a horse that they kick back.

Talk stern but softly to a horse, perhaps whisper to them, and just maybe you can convince one to drink.

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I hold more responsibility than you. Hopefully, can rectify fully later.

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A scrub is just somebody who thinks they know a lot about fighting game strategy, but demonstrably know very little about it. They often fight back about things that are not matters of opinion, but rather are easily testable and verifiable pieces of information, or pillars of fighting game strategy that are not up for debate (things like “throws are important and are not cheap”). I think it’s a pretty simple, easily applied definition actually.

You can be new to a game, or very bad at a game, and not be a scrub. You can also win a lot of matches and actually be a scrub.

Scrubs usually aren’t willing to learn, or listen to people who aren’t the world’s best tournament players. They repeat the same incorrect information time and time again and don’t respond to actual debate or debunking of their ideas. I think a scrub is pretty easy to spot.

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Continuing the discussion from Growing the Community: Combo Assist Mode Discussion:

While I do agree I wrote that without the same proper wording that caused me to respond, I can’t agree you’ve placed the better blanket over the term.

(and I do apologise, @Fnrslvr, not for the arguement, but for the poor wording which leads to a poorer tone).

While yes, many a scrub will mock others for using a tactic or strategy they deem cheap, it is a symptom of the larger issue which encompasses much more than “simply” labeling.

Would someone who has been part of the industry for over 30 years (playing OR developing) make such a write up, if “handicapped by self-imposed rules the game knows nothing about” didn’t mean more than a simple and offender-deflecting wording of "stop you from using a tactic the game allows.'?

Stopping us from using a cheap tactic is just one of the ways a negative scrub will act, it’s one the symptoms, not the telltale symptom.

No.
We all start out new, no shame in that.
A scrub is a player not playing to win, but acting like they are, through self imposed rules. They can be new up to very experienced.
New players with positive attitudes can very quickly learn play to win, negative attitude players rarely understand what it means to win in the first place… Oh, they place great value on the prestige of winning, indeed.

… And very experienced players can have moments of “scub mentality” by fearing an addition to the meta-game they themselves haven’t the data to give the scientific dissection.

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its just your way of describing the term scrub.

Others have another definition of scrub. There is no right or wrong.

In Germany there is a american tv series called Scrubs. Its subtitled with “the beginners”. When i google a translation i get beginners - amateurs.

That was my point there is no right definition and thats why discussing the term is pointless.

You can say no - scrub means that that and that. And another says no it means that. I dont want to discuss about the term cause using the term is scrubby… hope you understood what i meant.

Im out of this topic.

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Oh there is a wrong way of interpreting things. And yes it does happen a lot thanks to English and its adaptation of other languages.

ie: Scrubs was a pun meant to highlight how poor those characters are in both attitude and professional aptitude, not just to simply state they’re amateurs by experience alone, all the while they work in a hospital where you “scrub up” regularly.
There are many amateurs that are much smarter and professional than the characters portrayed on the show. The translation use to German was meant to use “amateurs” as though they were 3-Stooge amateurs, not simply new.

Amateur, can be used to describe someone’s attitude, which usually is meant to imply it’s without serious concern, while it can also be used to describe someone’s competitive standing within a sport, which has nothing to do with how long they’ve been playing.
So it’s a bit silly to be trying to explain how one definition fits by tossing words around without the context required.

Note, I gave the context. There is no telling me there are different definitions to go by when I’ve clearly linked recognition of multiple situations that also stated which one was within the scope.

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everything you wrote just mirrors what i described.

So happy discussing.

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Reading this thread remained me of those kids who play Call of Duty and Team Fortress 2 who get mad when people kill them, yet kill everyone around them with glee :sweat_smile:, If anything, if a scrub ends up getting mad for loosing and starts to bother you, you shouldn’t pay much attention to them.

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When in doubt, Urban Dictionary!

As far as what I think of when I think of scrub, I tend to lean towards the type of person who thinks they’re special or talented, but actually have little/nothing to show for it. They then try to show off and bluff through their insecurity, only to shove the blame for their failure on outside circumstances or trash talk anyone who beats them.
Examples can come not only from different games but many different walks of life.
A guy gets killed repeatedly in an online shooter by the same person using the same strategy. He blames this person for using “cheap” tactics or overpowered weaponry rather than using a different strategy to either avoid it defeat that player. The type that blames lag on a 50 ping connection.
There are examples in sports, on the road, in dating, everywhere. Some are benign, some are annoying, some are just rude. The scrub mentality can be pervading in many walks of life.
The “pro” who can’t catch a ball, the “everyone else is a bad driver”, the ones who blame everyone else for them being single, etc.

Lotsa different examples when you look at it that way.

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OMG… A guest character!

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To me, a scrub is somebody that blames their losses on everything but themselves. Your typical scrub will lose a match (matches) and instead of trying to figure out why he/she lost and what they can do about it, they will make up excuses that blames the loss on the winner ala " That character is OP, broken, cheap, brain dead " etc. and then say you are no good because you use that character. They might also blame your tactics or strategies. Instead of attempting to learn how to get around that guy at full screen eating him up with fireballs, he/she might call you a “spammer” and say you suck because that’s all you do.

These people are the true scrubs. Being a scrub is a mindset IMO lol Because I have come across some people (in other games like MKX for exmaple) who aren’t very good, lose, say GG , and then ask for tips to what they can do to get better or deal with certain things. I have also played people who were pretty good and even beat me in in some matches, then proceed to teabag me and nasty messages afterward lol

TDLR : I think the scrubs are those people with the sore loser attitudes that insult characters/gameplay/tactics etc. that they lose to.

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