Quote Originally Posted by anotherfluke
The hardcore movie fan may not watch all the movies out there, but he has a vested interest in them. A mainstream movie fan may watch almost every movie that comes out, but does not care about what happened before the movie was made, only whether the finished product is entertaining. The mainstream movie fan may even have excellent taste in movies, but his disinterest in the movie making process prevents him from caring about the industry itself and separates him from the hardcore movie fan.
An excellent analogy. Time spent with the hobby doesn't determine the status. Knowledge of the hobby is the main ingredient. It just works out that the most knowledgable end up playing more.