One of the things I don't mind doing is explaining why I use old Mac OS X and
hardware when I have my modern gaming rig or Win7 laptop available. What I hate
is the follow-up that often comes after that explanation: "But...why, though?"
It's a question that comes off as disingenuous at best, and patronizing or
malicious at worst, even when not meant that way. The idea that I /just/ got
done explaining myself, only to be asked to effectively repeat myself, is
infuriating. Like... Was I not clear enough? Did you just want more information
or a bit of detail that I missed? Why not just ask what you really want to hear
about, instead of stating something so ambiguous and/or insulting?
I actually got this when I mentioned that I'd fallen in love with late 90s
and early 2000s web design again. I explained that it was just something from
my childhood, and I loved the simplistic code behind most of it, and that old
web stuff is kinda just something I enjoy in general. Then... "but y tho?"... Nothing else until I replied that I didn't get the question. Turned out it was
a moment of them "just not getting it", but it was frustrating to be asked that
question right after explaining it in as simple a way as possible.
I've gotten the same in the past over OS choices, but in a more hateful way.
I'd jut chosen to put Windows XP on my Dell Inspiron E1505, mentioning that I
was going to use it for old Windows games. First thing out of someone in the
chatroom was "Just use Linux, throw Wine on it, and deal with it right"[0]. My
response was "Wine doesn't work with everything, so I'm going with XP", and
then I got that stupid "but y tho" line that I'd already started to hate by
that time. It wasn't meant to be answered, but to mock my decision. And at that
time, I *was* using Linux as my daily driver OS. I wasn't happy[1].
It's a question that can be completely innocent, but is abused by toxic
personalities so often that I become suspicious of the intentions upon hearing
or reading it. It's, for all intents and purposes, a /triggering/ phrase for me
that I can't simply ignore anymore.
You wanna know what my modern reply is to the question?
"Because gerbils."
An answer meant to diffuse and reveal any ill intentions, and confuse someone
who asks legitimately, hopefully enough that they actually ask about what they
really want to know/hear. It's also my way of making sure I don't get angry
about the question if it turns out to be legitimate.
[0]: Paraphrased. It was much more leetspeak-y.
[1]: I believe my in-the-moment heated response was "Because I need fewer toxic
people in my life, not more", which got me warned by the mods.
