I play World of Warcraft a few hours per week and never raid, yet I've achieved every piece of equipment for every one of my Team Fortress 2 characters.

I blazed my way through Bioshock, yet I die in seconds when I try to play Call of Duty in a multiplayer environment.

I play every Final fantasy game until I achieve max level and max stats and every skill/spell learned on every possible character.

My Shoot 'Em Up skills are woefully inadequate, but I've won local Streetfighter Tournaments.

I play my Wii and DS as much as I play my Playstation 3 and my Xbox 360.  I play games on PC as much as on consoles.

Sometimes, I go weeks without playing any video games at all.

Why is our community obsessed with labeling our own members?  Why can't we unite as gamers instead of deriding each other as "casual gamers with no skills" or "hardcore gamers with no lives?"  Furthermore, why do we let our own sense of accomplishment and self-worth be defined by or determined by the actions of others.

I prefer to enjoy my games on my own terms.  I play lots of games.  I enjoy some of them and I am good at some of them.  I don't yell at people online, and I've never told someone to "learn to play" or one of its various, insidious abbreviations.  Sure, I've gotten pissed-off at a video game and thrown a controller before.  I've stopped playing certain games and never returned to them.

Gaming has gained popularity almost exponentially over the past several years, but it still has many social stigmas attached to it.  Despite this, instead of gathering behind a common banner, we divide further into cliques.  We poke fun at each other, turn our noses up at each other, and feel entitled to or jealous of what others have accomplished despite varying levels of commitment.

How about we shake hands, share our joy of gaming, and leave the labels to the marketing reps?