Skip to content

How To Be a Nerdfighter: A Vlogbrothers FAQ

2009-12-27 · Q&A · John, Hank · 3:58 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Nerdfighteria (also: Personal life) · mode: Q&A & conversation · tags: community lore, guest or collab

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

The parts of the video and what is said in each (★ — how much it matters to the video).

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

    “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)

00:01:13 — DFTBA as an initialism; nobody is too anything to be 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 · Decepticon, 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 · tiny chickens
  • ★★ 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 · notsome, Fail Puppy, Fail Boat
  • ★ both: 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

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.”

Threads in this video

Mentioned

Central: DFTBA · nerdfighter

Also: People: Katherine Green · Sarah Urist Green

Projects: EcoGeek · Stuff on Heads

Works: A Spot of Bother · Star Wars · The Sun Also Rises

Rituals: Nerdfighter gang sign

Terms: Decepticon · Fail Boat · Fail Puppy · French the llama · giant squid of anger · in your pants · made of awesome · notsome · puppy sized elephant · secret sibling · the Puff · tiny chickens · world suck

Concepts: giraffe · nerd · online disinhibition effect

Characters: Mario

Only in the description or credits: An Abundance of Katherines · Edgar Award · Looking for Alaska (novel) · Maureen Johnson · Michael L. Printz Award · Paper Towns · Ze Frank

← Previous: Amazing Christmas Facts With John and Hank · Next → Adorable Puppy Explains Health Care Bill