What is an 'Elitist'

[Themis]

e·lit·ism
/ɪˈlitɪzəm, eɪˈli-/
noun
1. practice of or belief in rule by an elite.
2. consciousness of or pride in belonging to a select or favored group.

It means the idea that there is a group of people, an "elite class" that has either the natural aptitude or simply superior training/education, who should be the ones who rule/govern/etc. In MMOs it's used to refer to players who are at the "top" of the game due to either natural skill or practice, telling others what they should do within the game because they have reached the highest tiers of success/ability/whatever themselves. Like all popular terms on the Internet, past a certain point people just start applying it to anything and everything they don't like because it has a negative connotation.

The real difference comes from the type of person they are. If they feel the need to berate everyone who they feel is below them, and thinks that no one else should be allowed to join at their level, then those are the kinds of "elitist" players that no one likes. But there are players who are really good at the game, and understand/know how things work, and are quite humble about their status. Those are the kinds that people should aspire to be like.

It's not being an elite player that is bad; it's the attitude that some come with. And usually, that comes from those who almost despise players they feel are beneath them. And those are the ones which gave rise to the negative connotation.

A good player (or players), who really can be proud to consider themselves elite, deserves the title and the respect that (should) come with it.

[DubstepNinja]

usually a tag in the real world that people give to others at the top of their chosen field, or who are outstanding at what they do

In video games its a title you give yourself, because you have no concept of humility.

[Issachar]

There's a difference between being elitist and being just plain better than most of the player base.

Elitists are the ones who think they're better and will do whatever they can to assert this, be it posting parses, speaking condescendingly to others, and refusing to help.

Skilled players help carry the party by doing their part and offering advice and tips to those that could use it, while not trying to wear the mantle of superiority.

Generally speaking, the latter end up having the best performance. At least, I have yet to meet an elitist that support their party as well I can.

[Krr]

As you can see by this thread, 'Elitist' is a word with a negative connotation that can mean very different but related things.

Used 'correctly,' it describes players with little skill, a large ego, and an exclusionary mindset toward other players based on that ego.

Used more commonly it describes anyone who's good at pressing buttons and expects other people to be good at pressing buttons.

[Gaist]

Nobody who calls themselves elite based upon motor functions and memory. chimps have those too.

[Gextiv]

When you know what your doing.

[zeroumus]

An elitist is the second highest form for gamer there can be. they are right between the people who are so good they write the guides everyone uses, and just good players


the order goes something like this

GODS, ( people who beat content on their own and make youtube guides for all those losers below )
Elitists , (the people who quickly read those guides and beat the content )
Good players, (the people who can dodge who elitists will tolerate carrying though fights )
scrubs, everything else

have a nice day

[Vinroke]

Anyone who equates higher gear to mean better skill.

[Dyvid]

I've seen the word thrown around too many times and different people give different views. So I wanted to know what do you guys view as an elitist?

Well if I'm not mistaken the Elitist was a very old wooden ship used by the British Navy in the 16th century.

[Elim]

Someone who politely tells a new or bad player what they're doing wrong and how to fix it and either get ignored or rudely spoken back to.

This. Basically, if you try to help a PuG, even in the nicest way possible, you become an eltist. The PuG will then proceed to rip your face off and eat you for dinner.

This is why giving a gold metal to everyone in a race and having no winners or competition is a bad thing. People can't handle constructive criticism anymore.