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How To Be a Nerdfighter: A Vlogbrothers FAQ

2009-12-28 · John, Hank · watch on YouTube · Nerdfighteria · conversation qa

John and Hank answer frequently asked questions for newcomers: what a Nerdfighter and world suck are, their real jobs, John's not blinking, DFTBA, that anyone who wants to be a Nerdfighter is one, and a lightning-round dictionary of in-jokes, then point to a 20-video starter playlist.

What is said

00:00:00 — Intro as the Vlogbrothers FAQ; what a Nerdfighter is (made of awesome, pro-nerd), the community and world suck

  • ★★★ John defines a Nerdfighter as a person made entirely of awesome instead of bones, skin and tissue; Nerdfighters don't fight nerds but are pro-nerd. (playful) — 00:00:14 · nerdfighter, made of awesome, nerd > «is made entirely of awesome»
  • ★★★ Hank says Nerdfighteria is the community that sprang up around their videos, which gets together to do awesome things, have a good time and fight world suck. — 00:00:26 · Nerdfighteria, world suck
  • ★★ Hank defines world suck as exactly what it sounds like: hard to quantify, but the amount of suck in the world. — 00:00:33 · world suck

00:00:40 — Real jobs: Hank's EcoGeek, John's books and awards; why John doesn't blink (tribute to Ze Frank)

  • ★★ Asked whether they have real jobs, John says Hank runs the environmental technology website EcoGeek. — 00:00:44 · EcoGeek
  • ★★ Hank says John is an award-winning author of Looking for Alaska, An Abundance of Katherines and Paper Towns who has won awards including the Edgar and the Printz. — 00:00:49 · Looking for Alaska, An Abundance of Katherines, Paper Towns
  • ★★ John says he doesn't blink on camera because he is focusing, and it is also a tribute to their hero Ze Frank, the original video blogger. — 00:01:01 · Ze Frank

00:01:13 — DFTBA as an initialism; nobody is too anything to be a Nerdfighter

  • ★★★ After John insists DFTBA is an initialism, not an acronym, Hank says it stands for Don't Forget To Be Awesome. — 00:01:13 · DFTBA > «Don't Forget To Be Awesome»
  • ★★★ Asked whether anyone is too young, old, fat, nerdy or even dead to be a Nerdfighter, John answers that if you want to be a Nerdfighter, you are one. — 00:01:29 · nerdfighter > «If you want to be a nerdfighter, you are a nerdfighter.»

00:01:38 — Nerdfighter dictionary lightning round: puppy-sized elephants, stuff on heads, gatherings, French the llama, puff levels, Decepticons, giant squid of anger, tiny chicken disease, secret siblings, in your pants, notsome, the Yeti, the Katherine, the gang sign

  • ★★ John says they asked natural selection for puppy-sized elephants, adorable enough to have an evolutionary advantage, and are waiting. (playful) — 00:01:41 · puppy sized elephant
  • ★ Hank says putting stuff on your head makes you feel better about life. (playful) — 00:01:50 · Stuff on Heads
  • ★ Hank says Nerdfighter gatherings are when Nerdfighters get together, sometimes with the brothers there. — 00:01:54 · Nerdfighteria
  • ★★ Hank says 'French the llama' is something John is trying to make into an exclamation and it won't work; John insists he will make it happen. (playful) — 00:01:58 · French the llama
  • ★★ John says his puff level is the height of the puff in his hair, which rises as he gets more stressed. (playful) — 00:02:09 · the Puff
  • ★★ John defines a Decepticon as the opposite of a Nerdfighter. — 00:02:16 · nerdfighter
  • ★★ Hank says a giant squid of anger is basically like a YouTube troll. — 00:02:18 · giant squid of anger
  • ★★ Hank describes tiny chicken disease as tiny chickens laying eggs in your head that come out your nose; John explains it is a common cold. (playful) — 00:02:22
  • ★★ Hank says secret siblings are anyone who makes video responses to their videos. — 00:02:30 · secret sibling
  • ★★ John says 'in your pants' was discovered by Maureen Johnson: adding it to book titles makes them funnier, e.g. The Sun Also Rises and A Spot of Bother. (playful) — 00:02:38 · in your pants, Maureen Johnson
  • ★★ Hank defines notsome as the opposite of awesome, pointing also to Fail Puppy and the Fail Boat. — 00:02:50
  • ★ The brothers explain that 'the Yeti' is John's wife and 'the Katherine' is Hank's wife. (playful) — 00:02:55 · Sarah Urist Green, Katherine Green

00:03:06 — Playlist of 20 Vlogbrothers videos for newcomers; send confused friends here; playlist song

  • ★★ John says they have made a playlist of twenty Vlogbrothers videos to give newcomers a broader sense of what is going on in Nerdfighteria. — 00:03:06 · Vlogbrothers, Nerdfighteria
  • ★★ Hank invites viewers to send friends confused by their videos (Star Wars, giraffe love, making the world better) to this video for a debrief. — 00:03:13 · Star Wars

00:03:49 — Thanks for the support into the fourth year; best wishes, DFTBA

  • ★★ John thanks Nerdfighteria for being awesome and for their support as the brothers continue into their fourth year of making videos. — 00:03:49 · Nerdfighteria, Vlogbrothers

Humor (significant)

  • John explains he doesn't blink on camera because he is focusing. — 00:01:04 > «I do blink in real life. That's why I still have eyes.»
  • Hank says secret siblings make video responses 'down here'; John points to where responses appear. — 00:02:35 > «Down here, in my pants.»
  • Hank introduces the Nerdfighter gang sign. — 00:03:03 > «So, if you see somebody doing this, you know not to shoot them.»
  • Hank lists what their videos are about: Star Wars, giraffe love and making the world a better place through video. — 00:03:21 > «Those, those are three interconnected ideas.»

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