Quote Originally Posted by Rhomagus View Post
Elitists are defined in many ways by different people and I think there should be a tree to separate them out.

I'm not going to do it here but it's been my experience that elitists are very hard headed and think their way is the only way and shun people's sense of freedom.

There are good elitists and bad elitists and all the shades of grey including people who think they are elitists but aren't.

By no means is my experience of elitists the only definition but there is a common thread between good elitists and bad elitists. The bad ones stick out like a sore thumb and are often the ones I associate with the term "elitists" in it's neutral form.
This is how I use the term also. Selfish arrogant players who think their way is the only 'right' way and every other way is 'wrong', will put down people for not knowing tactics the first time they fight a dungeon/raid boss, and only use people selfishly as a means to get 'the best gear' with no appreciation to anyone in the group for making it possible.

The other ones that simply try to be the best, do things fairly, are open to opinion and try to help other players be 'the best' I associate with the term 'hardcore gamer', these people have aims and goals to do everything as best as they can, and realise that the only way to do this is with a group of friends, this player will also never try to aquire something that would ruin the game for the rest of the group.

So by definition:

Elitist = Horrible, selfish and narrow-minded, thinks gear = e-peen (Thinks he is 'uber-leet')
Gamer = Person with set goal (usually end-game content), wants to do everything fairly, generally nice, will help others aquire better gear to benefit the group and not just himself.