1,054 thoughts on “experiencing the social part of social media”

1. Hi! I’m Micha (“meesha”), 35. About 3 years ago, my husband and I were looking for a new hobby that we could learn together and we decided to finally try D&D. I’m fairly certain it’s helped save our marriage. We roll dice at Meltdown comics every Sunday & it’s the best church ever. (Favorite character is still my Fimbrethel, a Fey-Pact Hamadryad Warlock, although I’m working on an Aasimar Life Oracle right now that I’m quiet excited about.)

   My life is quiet & small, but it’s full of friends and laughter and good stories. Even in the darkness, I wouldn’t want a different one. (So very cheesy – but true).

2. Hi, my name is Emily, 32, from the East Coast Portland. I think anyone that likes beer and food should come visit. I’ll be the one in the corner of the bar with the TARDIS cookie jar.
   I’m a Trekkie because of my dad, a Whovian because of my uncle, and a player of games my whole life. I umm… Yea, I work nights and my brain just decided my day was over. Goodnight all!

3. I’m Rachel and I like following Wil because we enjoy a lot of the same things. Star Trek, sure, but also Harry Potter (Ravenclaw 4 eva!) and the tenth Doctor and Buffy the Vampire Slayer and pets. I don’t like everything Wil likes (i.e. horror, RPGs, naughty words) but if he recommends something I’ll usually check it out. I checked out Tabletop and now I’m a board game addict. (So thanks for that.)

   If you don’t mind a shameless plug, I blog about being a nerdy parent at thekidproject.wordpress.com so if you like that sort of thing, you might like to read about my experiences teaching my kid about nerdy things.

4. Hi! I’m Caroline. I love making stuff with my hands, current obsession is anything paper-based. I also dabble in making clothes, jewelry and pretty knitted things. Trying to take it from a hobby into a job because making things makes me happy. Hardcore introvert with anxiety and depression issues to boot. Found you after the awesome collating paper photo for the Bloggess. Thank you!

5. My name is Doug and I am an old school geek. I’ve been play D&D since 1978 and am now teaching my 8 year old son how to play. I’m so old I remember the days before home video game systems. I am an aspiring novelist and now have a kid’s novel on Amazon called Devon Blake and the Starship Crash. I can vouch for its geekyness.

6. Hi, I’m Angelica. Married, 3 kids, two dogs, two cats and soon to be added gecko. Big fan. Live outside of Seattle. We play D&D, as well as other board games, RPG video games. Just started watching Tabletop- didn’t have internet for the past two years . Love all things Marvel, Joss Whedon, Scifi (I miss Scifi- not a huge fan of Syfy), @midnight

   Merry Christmas!
   This was a brilliant idea.

7. I’m Mark (@Darkaine) and I follow you well because you are awesome. I may not always agree with what you say and have called you out once or twice (Hey maybe that’s why I was one of the lucky few that were blocked lol) but you are a genuinely cool dude who I have always liked when I’ve seen you on the screen.

   I’m a pretty boring geek but have fun playing games with family and friends. I have battled depression myself which is probably another reason I follow Wil and Anne since they are very honest about their battles and it helps me work through my own stuff.

8. Hi, I’m Kimberly. I live in KC and I have Tourettes. It’s a lot more than cussing, which affects only a small percentage of us. Among other things I do bark, which scares the crap out of people and that is funny.

   1. Glad you can find the humor, Kimberly

9. Hi Everybody! I’m Mark, and I’m a geek. I know this because my girlfriend regularly reminds me – whenever I do or say “something geeky.” I’m a technology consultant by day, and a writer wanna be by night. I have a 15yr old daughter who is a Freshman in high school – she’s a closet geek. I raised her right – and by that I mean that we watched Stargate SG-1, Star Trek, and other Sci-Fi goodies.
   I’m on twitter @Downslide, though I don’t tweet as much as I used to. I’ve been following Wil forever (but not in a stalky “WATCHING YOU SLEEP” kinda way- I mean, I couldn’t- I live in Wisconsin so that’s just impractical.) cuz we’re about the same age, and he had the COOLEST JOB when we were kids! Now he’s older and wise in the ways of geekery and people, and entertaining as hell to follow.

   Merry Christmas everybody!! May Peace and Harmony find you. (yeah I know, I’m a non-practicing Catholic, who has found my neo-pagan Celtic roots, sue me.)

   1. Go SG-1!!!

10. Hi, everyone! I’m Kim. I’m originally from Southern California, but live somewhere in flyover country now. I have 2 amazing little girls and an awesome husband. I’m a writer (and no, I don’t have a blog). I’m a gamer geek and a reader and I want a dog for Christmas. Um…I guess that’s all. Hi, Internets!

11. Hello! My name is Josh, and I make internets for a living. I’m also an author, a father, a cook, and a player of fantasy football. I run more than a dozen tumblrs, so that’s a thing.

12. Hi! I’m Josh, I’m turning 45 tomorrow, I’m a librarian by profession and a writer by passion. (Writing is here: http://www.goblin-cartoons.com/) I’m not married, I have an amazing daughter who is getting close to getting out of the house and going off to college, and I have a cuddly, mischievous, black cat named Oberon. I’m a huge fan of Doctor Who, superhero comics, postpunk music, Surrealism and Dada, and tabletop games. I’ve been following Wil’s online adventures for over 10 years. Also, I’m on Twitter: @joshuamneff.

13. I’m Ross, and I’m a single college student studying to be a high school math teacher. I used to only really be a video gamer who read manga, but then I watched the video in which Wil told baby Violet why being a nerd is awesome, and it changed my entire view of what being a geek is. I started tabletop gaming because of Tabletop, I began doing research of comic universes so I could really appreciate the easter eggs in shows like Arrow and movies like The Avengers, I opened my mind to other geeky experiences like Doctor Who, and I’m never going back. I’ve become so much about promoting geek culture, the idea that anyone can be a geek if they love things the way we do, that I started my own charity fundraiser at my college this past year. It’s called Geek Out Day (the one at West Chester University, not the one in Pittsburgh), and we raised $1,221.24 for Child’s Play.

    This coming semester, I’ll be student teaching and DMing a D&D campaign for the first time, and I’ll be going all-out with a story and world that I’m currently designing. I don’t think any of these amazing things in my life would have happened had I not been inspired by Wil.

14. Maddie here! Infection control nurse, wife and mother of 2 (1 is still cooking!) We are big gamers…board games, video games, RPGs, and of course D&D! We love introducing people to new games and seeing them get creative and excited about trying something different! Thanks for being an inspiration and an advocate for geeks and gamers!

15. Hi. My name is A.J. I’m 37 and live in Utah. I’m married and have 4 kids. I work as a computer programmer. Hiding in my basement are books for several old role-playing games waiting until my kids are old enough to play with me. I also have some excellent board/tabletop/party games that I pull out whenever I can.

16. Hi All – Mullet (aka Mark) here. Reader friendly version: ex-F-16 Pilot and Parachutist, now working for the ‘real’ Stark Industries. Family scattered across 4 continents, Wil’s “Tabletop” has helped bring us all back together. Meeting on a cruise out of Sydney to ‘play more games’ after daughter #2’s wedding in Byron Bay next month!

17. I’m an IT director for a local county court system. I’m also an avid boardgamer/video gamer.

    I got into computers when I was in middle school and couldn’t learn enough about them. I went though a long period of self-study which pretty much consisted of learning from friends how to modify config.sys and autoexec.bat to squeeze as much conventional memory out of DOS that I could so the Doom shareware would run properly.

    Games. Games started me on a path that I’ve made a career out of. I wanted to know how a computer worked so that I could play games better. And that led to a job as a phone support guy, which eventually turned into server administrator. Funny thing is I don’t even have a degree, just 17 years of hard work, research, and gaining experience wherever I could.

    Then, back in 2005, I started playing HeroClix with a few friends of mine. We were all comic geeks, so this was a great time. Four of us around a map and having a great time. A year later, it led to my first game convention with Origins. Had a great time and played much, much more than HeroClix and found I really enjoyed hobby gaming scene. I stopped playing Clix and started playing Catan.

    A couple years later, I started volunteering for Mayfair at conventions. I had so much fun doing it that I now demo games for them at every convention I can afford to go to. I absolutely love teaching someone how to play a new game and I have no problems missing 90% of everything going on at the cons to be at a table doing it all day long. It’s why I play board games. The people, the interaction. And I get to do it hundreds of times across four days.

    Recently, I’ve started to become a champion of silly. I have fun Photoshopping board game boxes with silly themes, including one of Wil with his #PhotoshopWilWheaton postings. I walk around the conventions with a bag of googly eyes in my pocket, not because of VandalEyes, but because someone may need some on their convention badge. Just in case. I started a GenCon game publisher cookie exchange last year that may become an annual silly event.

18. I’m Barbara. 40 years old in Oklahoma. I have two daughters, 3 dogs, 4 cats and one husband who is very tolerant of my obsession of all things techie. I am a receptionist by day, amateur photographer by night. I do want to thank you for your blog. It’s very refreshing to have an honest, real life perspective from someone in the spotlight. I think sometimes fans forget you are real people with real thoughts and feelings. You don’t gloss over it and I appreciate that.

19. Teklar Meeps (a nom de plume) born in 64 a sci-fi fan since I can remember, Star Trek was like mother’s milk. Read the genre voraciously and gamed like crazy from 20s to 30s, D&D,Traveler, Car Wars, SFB… good ole dice and paper stuff. At 30 became a father, at 32 a single father. I raised 2 humans to adulthood on my own over the next 18 years pulling a plow (metaphorically). Present day, I have been united with my bride after a 7 year delay in Immigration and am in my 2-3 year of University pursuing a BA Hist (the wisdom of the ancients be there). I fear (excited?) I am living in reverse of the cultural norms.
    I regret the razzing given to you in the TNG days, It was such a shock to see children on the Enterprise (the premise = a navy ship is no place for younguns). I am pleased (by the delicious irony) your character became the Übermensch. It leads to an interesting question, what happens when he comes home? will he?, eek!
    Be that as it may I sincerely apologize for my infantile criticisms of a job you had in the past. I owe you for a lesson in compassion and maturity. I support you now, we may never meet but I am an ally in your camp. No twitter to many geegaws, thingamijigs and plumbing already. I had a TRS80, rode the horse to the 21st century, I aint no Luddite but gotta draw a line somewhere.
    Do that voodoo you do do so well and party on!

20. Hello fellow blog readers! My name is Erika. I think it was my friend Tanya who first told me about Wil’s blog many years ago (thanks Tanya!). Been a loyal reader ever since. I almost never comment though. #shy

    I live in the frigid wastes of Edmonton, AB Canada. (It’s actually quite lovely, and I couldn’t be happier here.) Moved here this year from Madison, WI after meeting my now-husband via his Doctor Who podcast (Radio Free Skaro) and Twitter. (A match made in cyberspace!)

    I now have my very own Doctor Who podcast (Verity!) where 5 other women (from all over the world) and I geek out about a thing we love so very much. I’ve taken Wil’s advice to heart–I try to be myself and never feel ashamed of the things I love or the way I love them. We often get comments from listeners who are amazed we can disagree so fervently and still be nice to each other and stay friends. I wouldn’t say I learned that from Wil, but he’s definitely one of the shining examples of this in the world.

    I also cohost another podcast called The Audio Guide to Babylon 5, co-produce Uncanny Magazine’s monthly fiction/interview podcast, and am a panelist on Jason Snell’s The Incomparable (plus I play D&D online on the Incomparable Radio Network’s Total Party Kill podcast). So you could say Wil’s advice about getting out there and making something is another thing I’ve taken to heart!

    It warms the cockles of my fangirl heart to know there are happy, intelligent, welcoming corners of the internet like this one. Every time I come here, I know I’m among “my people”, and I couldn’t be more grateful for that. Thanks Wil!

21. Hello, I’m Cindy! I’m currently a junior in high school in Georgia at the Gwinnett School of Math Science and Technology. I’m currently dating the sweetest guy in school. I’m a seasonal worker at the moment. I’m the camp photographer at the Girl Scout camp I went to throughout my childhood. I’m a ST:NG fan, as well as a TableTop and Leverage (Chaos was awesome!) fan. I love anime. My favorite voice actor, who I finally met at AWA and who I’m pictured with, is J Michael Tatum. I have a Nikon D5200 that I’ve named Rock of Ages, Ages for short. And, yah… That’s all… Bye Interwebs!

22. I’m Liz. My husband and I live in NorCal. He’s a scientist and I’m a stay at home homebrewer, and both “geeks”. My husband is not on G+ so I frequently show him Wil’s posts, especially about brewing. We frequently do demonstrations teaching people different methods of homebrewing (we do all grain but know how to do it all) as well as teaching how to make mead.

    Wil, you should come up to the Winter Brews Festival in Concord this January where I will be volunteering. 🙂

23. Hi, I go by JP Rakath on the Twitter. I live in Northern Finland, work in an office and I like to create stuff with Photoshop. Recently I’ve been making AD&D monsters doing silly stuff and G&S related fan art.
    Random fact: Rakath is not my real surname, it’s the name of my first AD&D character from 23 years ago. It’s just random syllables I threw together. Yes, I’m a geek 🙂

24. Hi everyone, I’m Jen! Let’s see I’m married to my high school sweetheart- we started dating when I was 16 (he was 18) and dated for 7 years before marrying which was 10 years ago. Our son was born almost two years ago. We have 2 lazy lap cats and a great dane named Mouse (via Dresden).

    I work onsite tech support for a shipping warehouse.

    I watched Wil on Star Trek when I was younger but really started following him when I crossed paths with his blog in a post about his kids. I like all of Wil’s posts but the ones about his family are my favorites.

    I am a huge board game geek, rpg geek, occasional tabletop rpg’er, reader of fantasy/sci-fi and movie buff.

25. Hi, Wil, I’m Maureen, from Maryland. Old enough to know better. My favorite game is Fluxx, and I’m helping a friend make her own Fluxx deck based on Sherlock (the BBC series), and discovering that game development is fun! When we’re not playing Fluxxlock, I guess my favorite version is Monty Python Fluxx. I think the whole world would be better if everyone just lived by Wheaton’s Law!

26. I’m Kristen, I’m 32, and about to have my first baby (like literally, having early contractions and everything, and trying desperately to keep myself occupied in the mean time).

    I’ve been following Wil since I was a kid, and he was on StarTrek, and I had a huge crush on him. For years I was convinced I would name my first son Wesley. Not so much after the character, but StarTrek was where I was introduced to the name and where I came to love it (but I’m having a girl anyway, and my husband has vetoed Wesley for a boy.. lol).

    I met Wil once at a small convention in Toronto, Canada; Polaris. It’s a convention I don’t usually go to and went out of my way to make it so that I could meet him. Everyone has that celebrity that they’d just die if the met, and mine was Wil, and I completely fan girled. My husband did most of the talking for me. I came wearing one of Wil’s shit.woot designs, and had him sign another one I had with me. It was late on the Sunday of the convention and he seemed exhausted and less than impressed about still meeting people, but I can understand that, I’ve worked conventions in Artist’s Alley, I know how exhausting they can be, so I don’t hold it against him.

    My husband and I are avid gamers, but video and table top. We’ve been running a Pathfinder campaign of my husbands design off and on for the better part of three years. Sadly, we’ll be moving away from our gaming group within a month. We’re hoping we can find a new one once the baby lets us have a life again.

    I love TableTop and watch as often as I can. I still want the show to review “Red November” but as it’s a game where a player can technically die (though in all the games I’ve ever played no one ever has) I can understand why it hasn’t made the cut. That and there are probably just so many games that are screaming to be played and I’m sure it’s hard to just pick the small amount for each season.

    This has gotten longer than I intended, and I completely understand if you TL;DR, but like I said… keeping myself occupied, but I’ll sign off. Wil, you’ve been an inspiration, to do what I love, and to embrace my geekdom for all of it’s glory. Keep it up.

    1. Congrats on the little one on the way! PUSH!!!

27. My name is Jason! I’m a 28 year old flight instructor in Florida. I’m married, been so for a little more than a year, we have no kids yet but my wife is wanting to try soon. We have two cats, though, and they’re spoiled rotten.

    My geekiness knows almost no boundaries, but my first geek obsession was Star Wars, and it still remains my favorite.

    I started following Wil’s blog after one of my best friends pointed me in the direction of TableTop. My wife, who was my girlfriend at the time, had been slowly introducing me to the more fun side of board gaming, and our friends had picked up Elder Sign wanting to play with us. We watched the Elder Sign episode, then proceeded to marathon the entire run of TableTop and continue to catch it every two weeks when the new episode dropped. We attended International TableTop day last year, and we contributed to the cause for Season 3. Our game collection has grown substantially ever since!

28. My name is Thomas and 2014 has been the worst year for me, ever.

    1. Sorry to hear that, Thomas. Wishes you all the best in 2015.

    2. I’m sorry to hear that! I send you good wishes for 2015.

    3. Sending you a virtual hug!! The beauty of it is you can start fresh in 2015!! I hope you get to do things you really enjoy because I find that feeding my soul helps me cope in challenging times!

    4. You are not alone Thomas and you are strong. We are with u. Be well. All the best.

    5. Hang in there, Thomas. There are a lot of us due for a good year.

29. I’m Rivka. Hi, Wil! Hi, other WWdN readers!

    When ST:TNG was new, I had a total crush on Wil. (Seeing him very playfully heckle Gene Roddenbery at a convention did not help with that particular affliction. 😉 )

    These days, I am a single mom with teenagers. And my crush has matured into a quite platonic appreciation of how awesome it is to see a guy who not only married a single mom with the intention of accepting her kids as his own, but really did it. And how! I adore all Wil’s posts about Ryan and Nolan. 🙂

    Also, I work for a website I won’t specify, but Wil, I gave you one of our bookmarks a few years back. (That should narrow it down to a few hundred sites.)

30. Bill, @kscharger, here. Mild-mannered sales person by day, nerd by night. Love Star Trek, Firefly, reading, playing games, etc. Following Wil reminds me that, even though I’m more of a lurker, I’m still part of a community. Love to you all!

31. Hi Wil, I’m Will. I’m a software-engineer who has transitioned back to academic life and am back in school for my PhD in Computer Science, probably to become a professor in the long run. I enjoy board games and computer games (especially sandbox-style games like KSP and Minecraft) and bad disaster movies. I grew up with Star Trek: TNG, which is how I’m familiar with your name; and when I heard it in connection with digital activism a few years ago, I jumped on the Wil Wheaton bandwagon.

    My wife is the pastor of a church in the Boston area. She is also into Star Trek in a big way and we watch through them on Netflix, periodically. She also likes to knit and listen to old-timey radio shows on the “Relic Radio” podcast. We both listen do a lot of Diane Rehm and don’t know what we’re going to do when she retires.

    Anyway, thank you for the invitation to introduce myself. Also, thank oyu for being so forthcoming about your struggles with depression. I don’t suffer from depression, but there are a lot of people I care about who do, and you’re a good man for using your voice to educate people about it. Have a merry Christmas, and any and all other holidays you celebrate, this time of year.

32. Hi Wil! My name is Brian and this is my first comment on your blog but I check it at least a couple times a week. I’m 40 and married with 4 kids, am a scientist, and am Cubmaster for my boys’ Cub Scout Pack. I found your blog due to regularly following Scalzi’s blog and then listening to your audio of RP1. I have stayed a regular reader because I find you to be an engaging writer who is not afraid to comment on the extremely serious down to the mundane: In short, someone who is being real about who they are and what they are feeling, and I appreciate it.
    Have a great holiday season, and continued wishes for the best for you and yours!

33. My name is Anwen. I’m a biologist. I follow Wil because he spells his name correctly but also because I enjoy his writing style. I don’t keep up with actors I like, but I do like to follow the makers and creators.

34. Hi everyone, I’m Bea. I’m a Med.school student from Northern Europe currently studying abroad. Tabletop games and card games were a big part of our family fun when I grew up and I was so happy to find Tabletop because it reminded me how much I love to game. Video games also makes an occasional appearance in my spare time and it has become like a bonding time thing for me and my older brother seeing as we live quite far away from each other. I also enjoy watching Star Wars (have to thank my older brother for teaching me all about it as a kid haha) Lord of the Rings and Supernatural whenever I have some free time from all the medical books and essays haha.
    Wish you all Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year!

35. Hi! My name is Tina. I am married and have three kids. I am an IT Systems Analyst. My hobbies are doing whatever I feel like doing. I work on my own car, study Korean, and listen to a wide variety of music – a lot of which the majority of you have probably never heard of. I decided a long time ago that there is no point of creating a bucket list if you won’t actually accomplish any of it. So, instead of creating a list… I just do. Well, within my financial and physical abilities, that is!

36. I’m Luke. (No, you are not my father.) I am married and have three kids, from 5 to less than a year. I am a software engineer now, but was in the USMC band from 99-03. I like computers, electronics, making beer, and reading science fiction (or listening to audio books while I drive.) I also love games, video, card, board, all are good. Fluxx is still one of my favorites!

37. Um. Hi. I have a blog (which will be linked here), and I also write for Atlas Obscura now and then; I used to work in theater. I currently live in Brooklyn but grew up in Connecticut, in the middle of nowhere in a town obsessed with frogs and near one of the only two universities in the country where you can get an MFA in puppetry.

38. Good morning, Wil. My name is Steph. I’ve got a wonderful husband of almost 17 years and two adorable children, ages 12 and almost 3. I started out as a video game geek at about 8 years old, then when I met my husband, he was/is and avid role player and video game player, so I started getting into table top gaming. We don’t play RPGs as often, but we shifted over to board games thanks to a great friend of ours who owns a hole-in-the-wall board game shop in PA and has gotten us into many games. I follow you because you have some great insight and are thoughtful in a lot of things that you say about various events going on in and out of the gaming world. You have a way with words and a great connection to your audience/fans by being yourself and we all greatly appreciate it. Have a great holiday, whichever you and Anne may celebrate

39. Hi! I’m Amanda. I’m a stay-at-home-mom of two young boys as well as a writer. I self-published my first fantasy novel, “The Golden Orb”, this May and am finishing up a short sci-fi novel that I hope to publish in 2015. I love to play board games and video games as well as sew and cosplay. I’ve been following Wil for a long time now, because I grew up watching him on TV, but also enjoy hearing about his life as a father, actor, and writer. In fact, it was Wil and Neil Gaiman who inspired me to start writing over six years ago. Thanks so much, Wil! By the way, I played games with you and Anne at this year’s Gen Con and had a blast.

40. Hi, Wil. This is a great idea! I’m going to spend some time going through other people’s comments and getting to know folks.

    But first!

    My name’s Matthew Wayne Selznick. I’m an author in a variety of genres probably best known (in a big-fish/small-pond kind of way) for my Sovereign Era novels “Brave Men Run” and “Pilgrimage.”

    I’m also a musician, OG podcaster (do people still use “OG?” Hi, I’m in my forties), and freelance creative services provider. I live in Long Beach, California with the best girl in the world and too many pets.

    I’ve been familiar with you since ST:TNG and “Stand by Me,” but, as I bet it is with many folks, I really came to know you through your blogging and podcasting.

    I really appreciate that I can write “came to know you” in a sense that’s more than just lazy writing, thanks to your consistent transparency online. You’ve been laying it on the line and being generous with yourself to your community for a very long time.

    I have a policy to be the same person online as I am in meatspace (within the bounds of respecting the privacy and safety of others in my circle, yadda yadda), so your own approach with your community resonates with me. Props!

    For what’s worth, I miss Radio Free Burrito. I know (hoo, boy, do I know) the time and effort required to do a regular podcast, and you’ve got other, paying, fish to fry, but I thought I’d let you know.

    Cheers!

41. Hey Wil, et al! I’m Kelly, and failed to read your instructions properly. I’m married to a wonderful woman who accompanies me to things like GenCon and a couple JCCC events, and even enjoys them! We’ve even had a couple of the kids join us for one of the cruises.

    Hope you’re getting commissions on all the TableTop-featured games we’ve been buying as gifts this Christmas.

    Blessings to all who read this, especially Thomas.

42. Hi…I’m Meredith. SAHM to a kid I raised to be a Whovian, Trecky, Star Wars fan and gamer..etc. Nothing special about me. Not particularly smart or coordinated when playing games..but I am funny to watch! as I die a thousand deaths before getting past level one. I’m a huge bird nerd and volunteer at a parrot sanctuary and have 4 of my own..and two dogs. I’m a Whovian..Trecky and Walking Dead fan, have a deep love of Science and big time fantasy reader. My family and friends have been loving TableTop and have quite a collection of games. I LOVE Wil’s blog!
    Merry Christmas Everyone!!!

43. Howdy! I’m Matt in TEXAS. . I am married and have a 4 1/2 year old little girl. I am about the same age as you, I was born in 1970 so I had a similar Sci-Fi experience growing up – I am a huge fan of Star Wars, Doctor Who (I was Dr Who’ing before all these young whippersnapper fans were a gleam in their parents eye… Tom Baker is my favorite Doctor… and get off my Gallifreyan lawn), Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, D&D 1st and 2nd editions, love the Dragonlance Trilogy Books, Star Trek, TNG, Stargate SG1 & Warhammer 40k. I attended Texas A&M for college- Theater Major (AggiePlayer for life baby!), joined the US Marine Corps in 1995 until 2003 and I am still in the TEXAS Army Nation Guard. I had a Combat tour in 2007-2008 to Iraq- my wife shipped my 40k stuff over there and I found a regular group to game with during down time. Now, I am a USW Pipefitter at a refinery on the TEXAS Gulf Coast. I use lasers, AutoCAD & a lot of math daily in my job to design new pipe runs for the different units in the refinery.
    I rarely make it to the movies anymore, but like to watch a few shows on TV- in addition to local sports teams and the news- we DVR: Mythbusters, Vikings, House Hunters, Alaska- The Last Frontier, Big Bang Theory, Star Wars: Rebels, Survivorman, Shark Tank, Blue Bloods, The Good Wife and Modern Family. I love to game: cards, dominos, board, tabletop miniatures- historical, fantasy, and dark future settings, and RPG. I also enjoy hunting, fishing, cooking and I help teach a Sunday school class at my church. My new, favorite game is the Star Wars X-wing Miniature Game and I started playing after seeing y’all play it on TableTop last year. It is a good, balanced game and when I can, I play many times a month with the X-wing community in my area- they are a big, friendly group.
    I have been reading blogs and online comics about the gaming community since I found the interwebs back in the mid 1990’s- PvP, Penny Arcade, Nodwick, Dork Tower, Table Titans, The Trenches are comics that I read every day as well as your blog, TheForce.net, TheOneRing.net, TableTop, and I’m a big fan of Molly Lewis over at sweetafton23.com. I am going to PAX-South (Fri & Sat), my 1st PAX, and I am very excited- it looks like tons of fun. Right now the games that I play the most are The Memory card game and The Frozen game with my little girl and wife and when I get out the X-wing game at home my daughter rolls the dice for me.
    I enjoy reading your post and watching your productions- Wil, keep on going. You have a different perspective/view on life and life-stuff than I get in my personal everyday life. I appreciate you sharing online when you can about your family, your day, your struggles, and your insight into how things in the entertainment industry work. I’m a big fan and value your body work! Thanks for asking me to share a slice of my life with you- Matt in TEXAS

44. Hi Interwebs, Bella here. I’m a total lurker and never contribute anything online. Something to do with the voice in my head telling me that nothing I do is good enough to merit the attention of a fellow human. (so this is actually a first for me, yay!) Let’s see… I live in the Netherlands, I do tricky things with stocks and bonds, love sci-fi, fantasy, cosplay, Discworld, boardgames, would love to try a tabletop RPG once, I’ve just finished a Dutch translation of Cards Against Humanity, and I’m a huge fan of Wil obviously. Seriously man, the beauty of your personality and strength of character shines through in everything you do and for that, I both applaud and envy you sir.

45. This will be my first post here, so thanks for the invite. I’m a bit of a wanderer (have lived in all four mainland time zones), married for just over 20 years, an animal lover who is currently between pets. My main geekery is reading, but I am also geek or geek-adjacent with tabletop, videogame, television, and movie loves of fantasy, science fiction, and mystery genres.

    I liked Wesley on TNG and have enjoyed your movies, tv appearances, and am a big fan of your audio book performances (Ready Player One, Boneshaker, half of Scalzi’s books…awesome!). Also thoroughly enjoy Tabletop and use it as a gift-buying guide for family and friends. I’m not sure how I stumbled onto this site, but I’ve lurked periodically for a while.

    I appreciate your honesty about struggles, especially with mental health, and I enjoy your successes. You’ve done a nice job of creating a community…just look at all the responses here! Thanks for being you.

46. I’m Debbie and I’m a web designer and developer. I play WoW, Warhammer 40k (noob) and have played a lot of old school D&D but not recently. I love painting Warhammer minis – just rediscovered how much fun painting is after a number of years. Also, tabletop games like Lords of Waterdeep, Pandemic, Forbidden Island and Netrunner. Fan of Star Trek, Star Wars, Firefly, Walking Dead, etc. Watched ‘Stand By Me’ last week.

    I appreciate the honesty in your writing (good days and bad days) and really enjoy reading your blog. My husband and I saw you and Felicia Day speak at Denver Comic Con in 2013, that was a great talk as well. Thanks for connecting with us!

47. Eric here, 46, from Denver, Colorado, originally from California. I’m a Java developer for a company in the Denver Tech Center. I’m formerly married (my ex-wife is in Finland…long story) and engaged again to a woman I met through Second Life (again, long story). I do a lot of reading and futz around with computers on the side (and play Minecraft), as well as other things I can’t talk about. Among other things, I’m a Top Writer for 2015 on Quora.com. And I believe that the next Star Trek series pilot should feature a visit by Admiral Wesley Crusher to the Enterprise-J, saying, “This is a new ship, but she’s got the right name. Treat her like a lady, and she’ll always bring you home.” 🙂

48. Wil,

    I’m Andy (44yrs old)… a father of two (11 and 8) who are just getting into the gaming thing. I gave my nephew Settlers of Catan for Christmas and the first thing I did was throw the Tabletop episode up on Roku for the kids to watch. Hmmm, do you ever go back and watch the old episodes?

    My favorite games are: D&D and Risk… though I’m open to just about any game.

    Andy

49. I’m Joe and I must be weird, because my favorite Star Trek Character was Wesley Crusher (after Picard, I mean … because Picard!). I’m married with three kids and a fourth on the way (due in March). I just up and moved my family from Central Ohio to Central North Carolina to pursue a job doing advanced analytics development for an insurance company. I write in my spare time and would like to write professionally some day. The only problem is professional writing doesn’t pay nearly as much as advanced analytics development for insurance companies. Plus, with the 3+ kids, it’s hard to find the time (unless I feel like not sleeping, which happens on its own every now and again anyway so maybe I should quit my bitching).

    So, in conclusion, I want to write but can’t; I have my head buried in stats; I like Wesley, but not in the way you’re thinking (not that there’s anything wrong with that); Picard!

50. Hi there! I’m Frank, better known in east coast fandom circles as Grayhawk. 44 year old father of two teens (both of whom are gamers and love Tabletop). To pay for my real life, I am the service desk team lead for one of the line offices within NOAA.

    Lessee…what else…I help run gaming and general fandom conventions in the Mid-Atlantic area, I’m a member of the Green Ronin demo team (Freebooteers) and the Steve Jackson Games demo team (Men in Black).

    I am also still amused by the Once Upon A Time episode of Tabletop, as I stand about 6’4″ and weigh…well, too much…and pretty much qualify to be “Frank the Giant”. Oh yeah, My younger brother is Steve.

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