Yeah, I much prefer functional steampunk. I don't think I'd ever create something that wasn't functional.

A Duracell 9-volt battery can clearly be seen in that picture. That's not very steampunk…

I suppose opinions could differ, but steampunk to me is more about aesthetic than functionality. I'd rather see a "steampunk X" that looked awesome and didn't work than one that looked ordinary by contemporary standards but actually worked. But, of course, if it can do both, that's cool too.

>>48

And that's why I don't like it; because it's not just about form over function, it's about neglecting the function to the point where "steampunk" anything is basically a great big ornament.

First of all OP is a troll because if he didn't like steampunk he wouldn't be lurking. But I still give him a 3/10 for limited success.

Clever people who make functional steampunk props and other pretty things are what define the inventiveness, mechanics, and creativity that steampunk so often represents. But most people forget that it is a FANTASY SUB-GENRE. That means that the pageantry, the cosplay, the good and bad aesthetic creations, hell even the defining media and literature are nothing more than meanings to the means of those who make the wonderful working props and costumes.

So I love the idiots who slap cogs on badly sewn felt clothing. I love the lazy noobs that brandish badly painted nerf guns. I love the jealous morons who make fun of these things despite the fact that they do the same or worst. And I love the elitist assholes that look down their noses at the people who are just having fun. I love them all because without any of them we’d all just be a bunch of cyberfags and weeboos and we’d all have to find something else to bitch about.

TL;DR: Inb4 everyone bitching about what is and is not steampunk and arguing about why they are clearly better than each other.

>>50

I dunno, man. I just want to read stuff.

Stuff that actually works is preferable in my opinion. Non-functional stuff made of brass and wood and stuff is fine too. What i don't like are fake items that could actually be made to work (like guns), fake items that could never work (like ray-guns, I'll just read a book or watch a movie for that stuff), and stuff with pointless gears and shit glued to it, just make a cool design or something out of brass, it doesn't need to be gears.

See, if you used a leyden jar here instead, and charged it with a crank, that would do the trick, but it depends on the solenoid you're using there for that valve. Also a different contact switch, since you have the strapping handy, if you could make a simple trigger, you could put two bits of the strapping with a spacer between them to use as a momentary contact switch, and a more comfortable trigger to boot. So I'm curious what it does...

So my point might be that the ideal is function AND form, at least for me. Then again, I want to build a "steam punk" computer case that besides having a clever way to turn it on, has a fancy cooling system that fits the aesthetic perfectly. Perhaps you can make anything, and do so in a steampunk way, but I'd say overly superficial additions ("gluing gears on") is not to my taste. The answer to the question posed in panel 2 of the OP's picture should be "They protect my eyes you dolt!"

Pic related.

Roffle. I agree, though. Steampunk is all about aesthetic, but at some point you have to wonder how a teapot is improved by adding a dozen gears to the outside, particularly when many of them aren't even touching other gears.

This thread is why I hate steampunk faggots.

The idea is great. I like the idea of steam technology. Some of the fashion is pretty. But people like #48 need to be kicked in the head. Amazing looking steam-device that actually works, trash talk it for the power supply.

Steampunk is the use of steam/early-to-mid-industrial technology to accomplish things that are novel or that would normally be done using other technologies. In much the same way, Hacking is the alteration of electrical and mechanical equipment to make it more functional or to change its function, or the writing of programs to do things that are new and not originally intended to be done in a particular language. Steampunk is a subhobby of hacking. I don't think that a single one of you is steampunk with your brass patinas, misplaced gears, and talk about aesthetics.

>>112
I agree with everything said here.

>>113
and here

>>50
> it is a FANTASY SUB-GENRE

Yeah this was the appeal for me in the first place. I was intrigued by the whole concept and wanted to read comics and shit in that kind of setting. I never actually got into it (I'm only here because I lurk the other boards on this site) though I might yet get into it, but at any rate that's what I thought steampunk was. I was sort of surprised at the recent cosplaying trend, and paid little notice of it. I do like seeing some of the geeky shit people make, especially the modified gear like guitars and laptops. But I've actually heard people say that steampunk is ONLY a genre of cosplaying and that's all it ever was. Even I know that isn't true.

>>160

then why are you here?

>>166
> why are you here?

>>160
> I'm only here because I lurk the other boards on this site
> I do like seeing some of the geeky shit people make, especially the modified gear like guitars and laptops.

Well as you can see I've already addressed that. Plus, the concept is intriguing, as a genre of fiction at least. I just haven't gotten around to exploring it quite yet.

>>167

Lurks chans, read comics, thinks steampunk is "to geeky".

>>170
> "to geeky"
Not only is it inappropriate from a writing perspective to misuse quotation marks by placing them around a word or phrase that was never actually used, it's also misleading and even rude.

Second, that's not at all what I was implying, quite the opposite in fact, so perhaps you should slow down and take care to read what you're replying to in the future.

Third, it's "too," and not "to". Thank you and good night, sir.

>>176

"baw baw is old Tick Tock being two rude fow da baby. Look you're just doing a bad job of hiding the fact that you're one of those way to serious elitist steampunks that likes to bitch and moan about what "Is" and what "isn't" steampunk. So I'll tell ya what kid, when you pull that crumpet out of your bum I'll start to take anything you say seriously. Until then who has "too" fingers and doesn't hoot? Tick Tock thats who.

>>177
> you're just doing a bad job of hiding the fact that you're one of those way to serious elitist steampunks that likes to bitch and moan about what "Is" and what "isn't" steampunk.
I sincerely have no idea what you're talking about here. I've already stated that steampunk is merely a curiosity for me, something I've yet to fully explore. I'm no expert on the subject and don't claim to be.

sage

I like steampunk for it's creative use of limited materials. For me, it's lure is that you only have such a variety of parts to build with.

As integris pointed out, I believe steampunk to be a branch of hacking. Here's what I have to work with, let's see what I can make, or more so how I can make it.

An example would be building a source of power for my house that relies only on the power of STEAM. or maybe a functioning clock.

I admit, I like the look of steampunk most, but if it doesn't DO something, what's the point? I mean, even if what it does is completely unrelated to it's look, like the steampunk laptop, it still does something and looks cool as hell