Regarding the term "darkside"...

thisnamztaken · April 14, 2009 9:38AM

...what is its etymology - who coined it (no pun intended) - where did it originate?

wybrit · April 14, 2009 10:50AM

This is from an archived post by Askari, whose whereabouts are not known (last seen in 2005).

____________________________________________________________________________________
THE LEGEND OF THE DARKSIDE

Well, you're in the thick of it right now!

The "Dark Side" comprises CU's 'World & Ancient Coins' and 'US & World Currency' forums. "Liteside" refers to the 'US Coins' forum, which is haunted by sl@bgoblins and trolls amidst which you can sometimes discover some brilliant gems of wisdom and, if you're lucky and clever, return from. "Greyside" is a friendly monikor adopted by our collectors of numismia Canadienne since, like the citizens of that northern land, they know they're not part of the US, but they're pretty sure they're 'Americans' (especially after a few Molsons).

<< Okay, so where did all this "darkside" business come froom? >>

Ah, so you want the story as it's been handed down through the Dark Side generations? [That's "... generations, eh?" for you Greysiders.

] Well, pull up a comfy chair to park your keister in, open a cold one (non-domestic, natch), and listen up, my friend:

Once upon a time there were a few lonely posters whose interest went beyond and otherwise from US coin collecting. Alas, but their numerous forum brethren sneered and could see nothing worth collecting besides US coins. Whatever lay Beyond was obviously of little interest and no value. These “Litesiders” had lost their lore of where coins had come from and that money came in many shapes and sizes and material ... and from many, many lands other than their own. Indeed, the Litesiders (as they came to be called) didn't even really like their own coins ... they really lusted and yearned for plastic slabs with high numbers on them – with the coin sealed permanently within, untouchable ... its life history lost within its transparent tomb.

An intrepid duo, BigAlan and Askari, decided to unsettle their fellow collectors’ “Lite-dazed” lives by subtly revealing to them what lay beyond, in the Dark, in terra incognita. They dug a deep, dark Pit, one from which no Lite could escape, and threw a beer party (all non-domestic brew, natürlich, mein Herr). Slowly, but surely, more and more were enticed over from the Liteside to slip gently into the Pit of Darkness. Some went freely, some resisted and swore, some lasted days or weeks, but most were drawn in.

The minions of Lite, of course, became frightened and told wild tales (many true) of what went on during those drum-beating, pagan rituals and built a fortress they called “Registry” in which to live their pale lives, once again, in denial of there really being anything to the Dark.

But then, the Flame-Wars began in the Liteside and many brave and true collectors were scorched and singed and wounded – yea, even to their very souls – from battles waged through legions and factions of legions of trolls. Weary of these tiresome, never-ending conflicts, many left the Liteside, seeking solace beyond the Pale of Lite ... and finding, to their surprise and joy, Endarkenment amongst the hearty, hale-fellow-well-met souls collecting world coins, ancients, and banknotes.

... and here you are.

(And, as you may have suspected, the Darkside has been waiting for you!

)

JCMhouston · April 14, 2009 11:58AM

I love that story.

cacheman · April 14, 2009 12:22PM

It should really be pinned to the top which would alleviate the need for the question being asked about every two months.

MacCrimmon · April 14, 2009 1:03PM

Here's a classic Askari tome of yesteryear.

cacheman · April 14, 2009 2:34PM

Those were the days my friend, we thought they'd never end..... alas, the world of the DCAM taler is upon us methinks.

ProofArtworkonCircs · April 14, 2009 3:03PM

There was another "darkside" at the insurance agency where my daughter worked. Most of the programs ran in Windows. But there were a very few old little used programs that remained DOS. Nobody was very thrilled to have to run those. The appearance of the screen was dark with some white writing on it. They called running those programs as going over to the darkside.

thisnamztaken · April 14, 2009 5:30PM

Thank Ye for the info, Mates!

I guess I'm a "Zebrasider" then, since I major in liteside coins but now also minor in darkside?

Stork · April 14, 2009 8:14PM

Other phrases I have heard/used here are greyside (Canada) and farside (exonumia), but those didn't catch on so much.

For some reason I have a word file copy of a thread from 2/2001 -- I think it may be from the 'old boards' as everyone's join dates are something 2000 (including Mr. Paseo I see).

I have no idea where I found it or why I copied it...but apparently I did so in 2007. Anyway, here is a cut and paste from part of the thread...the formatting is lost, but you get the idea...(and I split it up a little so you can see who was saying what)

Member
Posts: 107
Joined: Apr. 00
more info
hello, all. I see that there is more to life than US Coins. After reading the posts here, it seems you all have tons of fun, so I'll see if anyone can give me a hand with some of my foreign coins...
My wife is a flight attendant for Continental Airlines. She travels overseas on occasion, and on her last trip to England, she picked up a handful of coins for me. What are these worth, if anything...
1.)1973 New Penny 2.) 1997 One pound (decus et tutamen on rim) 3.) 1985 One pound (pleidiol wyf i'm gwlad on rim)
Pound coins are heavy! thanks for any info!
D.B. Cooper
AKA CoinGeezer

BigAlan
02-13-2001 @ 2:33 PM

Member
Posts: 596
Joined: Aug. 00
more info
KM # 915-1973 New Penny $.60 UNC $1.25 Proof KM # 941-1985 One Pound Nickel brass $3.50 UNC $6.00 Proof Silver $31.50 Proof plant on reverse is Welsh leek
Krause Standard Catalogue of World Coins 1901-Present 25th edition
Sorry my copy doesn't cover 1997, time to upgrade I guess.
CoinGeezer at 33 offends those of us who turn 58 next week. What am I, fossil

twister2
02-13-2001 @ 5:17 PM

Member
Posts: 47
Joined: Dec. 00
more info
CoinGeezer,
Your first foray into the Dark Side..............
I'm sure that BigAlan and Askari will be happy little campers They are a tremendous asset to these boards, in addition to all the other fine folks both here and next door in the US board. I have had many a question answered here by them and be careful, they will try to keep you here
PS Big Alan, no your not a fossil, just a little closer to becoming one than most of the young newbies on the boards
PS Myself being one of those
This message was edited by twister2 on 2-13-01 @ 5:19 PM

Askari
02-13-2001 @ 6:14 PM

Member
Posts: 1308
Joined: Aug. 00
more info
Let's see, if I navigate carefully I can squeeze in between the no-longer-young 33 and the fossil 58 ... I only have about three weeks to get in shape so I can shimmy through with "most" of my dignity intact... Jelly donut to go with that imported brew anyone? :0
Welcome, yea verily, to the Dark Side, C.G.!! Take a seat and be sure to try one of those Czech Urquells over on the bar ... finest kind Old World brew!
So what do we have here? Let's see. Oh yes, a KM975a 1997 Silver 1 Pound Proof $40.00. The nickel-brass pieces lack the legend on the rim. [28th edn.> Would you like another cold one C.G.? Be a good lad, Twister, and bring Grand Pa some of those munchies - musn't drink on an empty stomach!

IloiloKano · April 15, 2009 11:37AM

<< <i>"Greyside" is a friendly monikor adopted by our collectors of numismia Canadienne since, like the citizens of that northern land, they know they're not part of the US, but they're pretty sure they're 'Americans' (especially after a few Molsons). >>

If other US-PI collectors have not approriated this same term (greysider / graysider) for themseleves as well, I most assuredly have, since on one side of each coin is "United States of America", but on the other side the words are in Spanish, except for one, which is the size of the denomination, i.e. one, five, ten, twenty or fifty.

But if there are any complaints, I can come up with several other descriptive terms for collectors such as myself, e.g. muttsider, mulesider or heinze57's. Or I may simply just hang around without officially being welcomed, since the litesiders often obnoxiously refuse to accept us on their team. It seems the "United States of America" bit just ain't enough for them, especially with them thar weird denominations of pesos and centavos.

Regarding the term &quot;darkside&quot;...

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Regarding the term "darkside"...