The following was extracted from The Electric NewPaper, 11th April 2006.

Online gamer who says he's a JC student sparks war in cyberspace when he calls polytechnic undergrads...

STUPID, CHILDISH

Stupid - 'If someone can't even meet the minimum cut-off to enter a JC, it's just plain sad'
Childish - 'People from poly should know their place'
'POLY students are stupid, childish and mindless kids.'

By Liew Hanqing

11 April 2006
'POLY students are stupid, childish and mindless kids.'
This comment posted on an online gaming forum website by a flamer, who claims to be a junior college student, has led to a 'poly-JC war' on the Internet.

A flamer is one who makes derogatory comments on the Internet.
It all started last Wednesday when the flamer, with the nickname Redpony, accused poly students of the increased 'ks-ing' - or kill-stealing - during gaming sessions.
Kill-stealing is the practice of killing an enemy which another player has already started to attack.

His original post read: 'The reason why you see ks-ing is because the polys are having their holidays now - who doesn't know that a lot of the poly people are just stupid, childish and mindless kids?'

Things turned ugly on the forum as some local enthusiasts of the online game MapleStory - developed by South Korean developer Wizet - turned game talk into outright flaming - directed at polytechnic students.

Multiple posts on the MapleStory forum, hosted by Asiasoft, contained comments that polytechnic students were inferior to JC students.

In one particularly offensive post, Redpony wrote: 'If someone can't even meet the minimum cut-off (points) to enter a JC, it's just plain sad.

'People from poly should know their place.'

Forums on massively multi-player online role-playing games (MMORPGs) are popular because these games often involve group missions, where multiple players must embark on real-time game quests together.

Players frequent these forums to discuss game strategies and group quests.
Gamers usually discuss topics such as whether the buying and selling of maps (or training spots) on the game was right or wrong.

But for this particular game, conversations on the game's online forum seem to have diverged from their intended topics.

SWAMPED

The flaming has escalated to the point that multiple forum threads are now swamped with incensed responses to Redpony's original post.

One forum member was so upset with his comments that she wrote to The New Paper.

Said first-year polytechnic student May Chan, 17: 'The comments have hurt me deeply - do JC students really think they are superior to us poly students?'

Other users responded angrily on the forum itself.

Said user n34tsd: 'Whether they are from the poly or not, it's wrong to stereotype that poly students are dumb, childish and that they can't make it to JC.

'You should be more sensitive in what you say and not generalise all poly students like that - such generalisation only shows your level of maturity.'

Other forum members lashed out against JC students.

Said Rambo2001: 'You think JC student so good, ah? In fact they are worse - they can't even think logically.

'They only know how to memorise books. So what if you are good in memorising but your mind is not flexible? You still lose out.'

But some provided level-headed responses.

One forum poster who claimed to have scored 9 points in the O levels wrote: 'I still went to poly instead of JC, because JC is for nerds.'

In response, a JC student said on the forum: 'I was from JC, and I entered JC because I didn't
know what path I wanted - that's why I didn't go to poly to specialise.

'JC is not below poly nor is poly below JC - they are just alternate paths after secondary school education.'

Said Benedict Chew, 18, a student at ITE Simei, who frequents the gaming forum: 'He (Redpony) came across as being arrogant, to the point of being boastful.

'Coming from the 'slower' group of students sometimes hardens someone against such remarks. But what I have against him is his arrogance and that he thinks he's above the rest because he's from a JC.'

On JC students, Benedict said that he didn't feel it was right to stereotype a group of students because of one black sheep.

'JC, poly and ITE are just different paths for one to choose from - eventually they lead to the same place,' he added.

Redpony declined The New Paper's request for an interview.

He simply asked us to refer to his posts on the forum thread.

Other JC students we spoke to were appalled with the insensitive nature of the forum posts.

Said Evelyn Low, 18, a second-year JC student: 'I know people who have done well in the O levels but who chose to go to the polys.

'They are people who know clearly what they want to do - poly courses are more specialised. Grades don't mean everything.'

Agreeing, Stephanie Tay, 17, a first-year JC student, said: 'The polys are increasingly being seen as an alternative to JC education - I don't think at all that they are 'dumping grounds' like what people used to think.

'It's childish to think you're above anyone else just based on grades.'

HEATED EXCHANGE 1

Redpony: The fact that we can do better in all the exams up till now means that we have a better learning ability than the rest of you. We still do well in subjects we don't like. Put an average JC student in a poly and he'll ace everything. HTML? Teach it to any JC student and he will definitely master it in less than half the time poly people take. I don't see how the poly kids can ever do better than any jc boy when they can't even do well for the O Levels. O Levels is just elementary stuff. Simple maths, simple science and basic mastery of your languages.

n34tsd: It's wrong of you to stereotype that poly students are dumb, childish, and can't make it to JC. I was from poly and am doing well in the university now. Who are you to call other people stupid, mindless and childish? You are being childish and pretty mindless in doing that. No one has the right to call anyone else stupid - you may be smart in your studies, but how street smart or how good are you in hands-on work?

HEATED EXCHANGE 2

Redpony: Why are you getting so upset over the things I said? The truth hurts doesn't it? I really wish I have as much time as the rest of you. Poly people have all the time. Like you need to put in any effort to get a diploma. LOL. I can't maple as much. I'm just browsing the forums and doing my work at the same time.

GospelFlame: Me upset? Nah, im just amazed about how your mind thinks. Such arrogance.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Donovan's comments?

"See? It's not whether you're from JC, Poly, or even ITE.
It doesn't matter even if your L1R5 score is a perfect 6 or a lagi-perfect 54.
All that matters is that this childish incident was sparked off by an immature mapler.
Ended by a journalist, who, I shall proudly presume, does NOT play MapleStory."

Donovan's comments to Redpony?

"Siao. Talk to the hamji (coward) for what? Let him rot in hell for all I care."

Moral of the story?

Fuck Elitism. Stop playing MapleStory. Stop being childish.