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We’re at midcourt, and the ball is about to go up…it’s Monday Tip-Off! Join me as I begin the week here at the NLSC with my opinions and commentary on basketball gaming topics, as well as tales of the fun I’ve been having on the virtual hardwood. This week, I’m tipping things off with a few thoughts on the habit of tossing out confidently incorrect gotchas in online discourse.
Through message boards, chat rooms, social media platforms, and Discord servers, the internet provides us with various ways to connect and discuss the hobbies and interests that are important to us. To that point, we have numerous avenues to tell each other that we’re wrong! This is of course a very old observation about online discourse. Cunningham’s Law posits that posting an incorrect answer is the best way to get the correct information about a topic. The iconic xkcd strip “Duty Calls” sums up our need to argue with each other: “Someone is wrong on the internet!”
You don’t have to be a troll or a toxic member of an online community to have felt the catharsis of telling someone they’re wrong and setting the record straight. As much as we rightfully call out the obnoxiousness of an “um, actually“, there’s no denying its appeal. Besides, it is possible to offer up a correction and useful information without being a pompous know-it-all. Unfortunately, the appeal of being the one to catch a mistake or misinformation leads some people to be very quick on the draw. In short, some of us are way too eager to shout “wrong” in an effort to embarrass someone else and sound smart. This is how we end up with so many confidently incorrect gotchas.
As is always the case when I feel compelled to comment on some aspect of internet culture, this was inspired by a specific incident. A while back, I posted a screenshot of NBA Showdown on the NLSC’s Facebook page, promoting my retrospective of it. Someone boldly insisted “This is Bulls vs. Blazers“, and someone else replied “Yep”. Now, the two games do look very similar, though the signature move that Michael Jordan was performing in the screenshot – as well as Charles Barkley appearing on the Suns – are clear proof that the game is indeed NBA Showdown. Of course, it’s easy enough to overlook those details, so I could understand being mistaken about that.
However, it wasn’t as though they were hazarding a guess about a screenshot that was provided without context or a label. I’d clearly identified it as NBA Showdown, so the suggestion that it was actually Bulls vs. Blazers was meant to dispute that. Mind you, this in turns suggests that I was unaware of the screenshot’s origin (impossible, since I captured it) or was trying to dupe everyone (for what reason, who even knows). Either way, they were wrong, but were very sure they were right! Similarly, we’ve received comments insisting that screenshots or footage from the SNES version of NBA Live 95 are actually NBA Live 96, or that our posts are otherwise incorrect or deceptive.
I was also hit with some confidently incorrect gotchas when I shared my “What If” article regarding Michael Jordan’s 1993 retirement. To promote it, I used a screenshot of Tim Perry on the Chicago Bulls in NBA Live 95 for SNES, with an excerpt that touched on the possibility that MJ would’ve been in NBA Live during the 90s if he hadn’t retired the first time. This led to responses telling me that he was in NBA Live back then, citing the ability to unlock him in the 16-bit version of NBA Live 96. I’m well aware of this, having covered that Easter egg in Wayback Wednesday back in 2016. It’s interesting trivia that’s worth noting, but it didn’t refute my actual point.
That point of course is that if Michael Jordan didn’t retire in 1993, he might’ve been readily available in the rosters of NBA Live 95 onwards, much like he was in NBA Showdown for SNES. Having the game automatically fill in his attributes in Create-a-Player when you enter his name in the 16-bit version of NBA Live 96 – something that the NBA was not pleased about – is not the same as officially appearing in the default roster! I was clearly talking about the latter in both the excerpt and the full article, but those posters ignored that obvious context to flex knowledge that they presumed I lack, thus “correcting” a “mistake” I didn’t make with an “um, actually“.
And that’s the thing about confidently incorrect gotchas. There’s an underlying desire to catch someone out for being mistaken, or lying, and then embarrass them with a smug correction. It’s an obnoxious enough attitude to have even if you do know your stuff and you’re actually correct, but at least it would be a fair call-out. Confidently incorrect gotchas are simply insulting, from their inaccuracy to the accusation they’re making. People who do this are way too eager to bleat “wrong” as soon as they enter the conversation, when ironically they’re the ones who are incorrect, or misguidedly refuting a point that wasn’t being made. They want to talk down to others, not to them.
I expect some of it is simply trolling. To me, that’s a silly and pointless exercise, but at least they’re being deliberately incorrect and obtuse! I don’t believe that explains all confidently incorrect gotchas, though. Some people do consider themselves to always be the smartest, most knowledgeable person in the room – real or virtual – and refuse to believe that they’re ever mistaken. It has to be the other person who’s incorrect, even if that would mean they’re lying or clueless. Just look at the comments on the EA Sports intro that I uploaded to YouTube. A lot of people have apparently misheard “it’s in the game” as something else, and insist what they heard is the actual tagline!
Videos that showcase mods and custom rosters often draw these confidently incorrect gotchas, too. People who are very familiar with a game are likely to recognise a mod or that something’s different about the roster, and have some questions about it. Quite often the description will include these details, but not everyone reads those. To that point though, people eager for a gotcha will claim that a video is trying to fool them. “That isn’t in the game; you modded it in!” Meanwhile, the title and description have made no attempt to hide this, especially if the video is meant to promote the mod! A lack of observation or a misunderstanding does not mean that you’ve been lied to.
A good example of this is when I overwrote Dell Curry in NBA Live 95 with his son Steph Curry as a fun retro gaming exercise for Wayback Wednesday. This involved an explanation of the process of modding NBA Live 95, and raw footage of two of the games I played with the edited rosters. Someone felt compelled to tell me “that’s Dell Curry, stupid” in a comment on one of the videos; as if I believed that they were one and the same, or that I was suggesting that Steph Curry was actually in NBA Live 95 despite being a child at the time. Amusingly, when I pointed out the concept behind the videos and that the descriptions made it clear, that comment quickly disappeared!
To me, that sums up the attitude that leads to so many confidently incorrect gotchas. The insults are a dead giveaway here. They’re what differentiate a gotcha from a well-intentioned correction when someone has misunderstood the situation. Someone who is prone to confidently incorrect gotchas believes they’re always right and can’t ever be fooled. As such, any time their views are challenged, it must be because the other person is wrong or dishonest, and thus should be harshly called out. Again, it’s trying to flex their supposed knowledge as arrogantly as possible and put you in your place for a silly mistake, or an attempted deception that they were far too smart to fall for!
Then again, to paraphrase a popular maxim these days, it isn’t necessarily that deep. Some people enjoy being contrarians or devil’s advocates, though Poe’s Law does make it difficult to distinguish them from the trolls. The anonymity of the internet also invites harsh, negative reactions, even when they aren’t warranted. And of course, some people are just mistaken and aren’t necessarily trying for gotchas, though they are still confidently incorrect! With that in mind, one could argue that their motivation ultimately doesn’t matter. Whatever the reason, instead of engaging politely, they’re choosing to respond with insults because of some desire or need to dunk on someone.
I’ll admit that this has become one of my biggest pet peeves with online discourse, right up there with thought-terminating clichés and performative debate in general. I suppose there’s a touch of ego there on my part. I like to think that I know my stuff when it comes to basketball and basketball video games. I’m certainly not infallible, but I have amassed knowledge about those interests and endeavour to do my research when it comes to my content. As such, I think there’s some natural defensiveness that kicks in when someone disagrees with you, or suggests you’re mistaken. Confidently incorrect gotchas will certainly brashly do that, while also being annoyingly wrong.
The accusation of lying also stings. To go back to my NBA Showdown screenshot which someone claimed was actually from Bulls vs. Blazers, I know the game that I fired up to capture that image. What benefit would there be to lying about which title it was? Beyond insulting insinuations though, it’s frustrating when you know you’re correct, and it’s easily proven! It isn’t difficult to quickly fact-check something as uncontroversial as information about a basketball video game. Also, critical thinking should allow us to analyse details that clearly identify a specific game, from the teams that players are on to scoreboard and stadium branding, and other such tell-tale signs.
When the only contribution that you can make to the conversation is to attempt to correct someone who isn’t actually wrong – especially if you’re insulting into the bargain – it doesn’t exactly scream intelligent and knowledgeable. Of course, it’s even worse when those comments receive Likes, up-votes, or other positive responses. It demonstrates how easily misinformation can spread. “They’re disagreeing, and doing so confidently. They must be correct!” Sure, it’s pretty low stakes when we’re talking about basketball and basketball gaming, but that way of thinking tends to carry over into more important matters. I won’t get into that here, but it’s a disheartening thought.
As far as basketball gaming is concerned, I wish that people who love to throw out confidently incorrect gotchas over such trivial matters were as willing to push back against creators who shill, create empty clickbait content, or are actually spreading misinformation for attention. Surely, if you believe that you can accurately spot the difference between a couple of 16-bit releases with similar graphics, and are appalled that someone would (supposedly) mislabel them, then someone shilling for a billion dollar corporation, making up rumours for their YouTube channel, or engaging in clickbait, won’t escape your attention or your willingness to call out errors and BS!
Or, you know, perhaps not. It’s easier to “um, actually” when the stakes are lower. Speaking of which, this is admittedly low stakes stuff at the end of the day. The occasional confidently incorrect comment from someone who prides themselves in dishing out supposed gotchas is just how it goes online. Going back to that xkcd strip, I suppose the only thing more frustrating than someone being wrong on the internet is someone being wrong about someone else being wrong on the internet! It’s tempting to push back, but even as someone with over 100,000 posts on a message board, deep down, I realise that’s pointless. I’m already giving the issue way too much attention.
Ultimately, it’s best to just roll your eyes and get on with your day when confronted by confidently incorrect gotchas. At the same time, I do feel compelled to point out what a miserably arrogant mindset it is to be champing at the bit (and yes, that is the correct saying!) to prove someone is wrong or lying; especially when it demonstrably isn’t the case. It’s the lack of knowledge, critical thinking, or simple comprehension skills, which make confidently incorrect gotchas so annoyingly ironic. Don’t be the person looking to “um, actually” everyone, but if you must, at least make sure that you’re correct and comprehend what was being said. If not, the gotcha will be on you!
