Breakfast Topic: Are you a closet nerd or a flag-waving nerd?

This Breakfast Topic has been brought to you by Seed, the Aol guest writer program that brings your words to WoW.com.

We all know about the idea of the overweight, basement-dwelling virgin, the idea that gamers and comic book nerds all look like the comic book guy from The Simpsons. Many of us know that is not the case. You even see people in trade chat calling each other "nerds" and "virgins," although the inevitable response of calling someone else a nerd in WoW is laughable. In my guild alone, we have a lawyer, an author and a chef, along with many happily married people with children. Some are openly proud of their nerdiness; some try to argue they aren't nerds over Vent.

My girlfriend hides her geek from a lot of her friends. She watches anime, is a gamer and even dresses up for our local comic book convention, but many of her friends and work associates have no idea about this side of her. Me, on the other hand -- I let the geek flag fly. I wear my gamer T-shirts. I talk openly about WoW and other games with my friends. I still complain about the fact Firefly never got a second season.

It seems that being a nerd has become less of a stigma than previously, but some people still fear letting others know they are gamers. Many of us are proud of our gaming and science fiction fandom, and some of us are closet nerds. Which are you? Does playing WoW and other video games make you a nerd? Is that a bad thing? Are you proud to be a nerd, or do you rebel against the label? Is your WoW habit something you hide?

Have you ever wanted to write for WoW.com? Your chance may be right around the corner. Watch for our next call for submissions, and be sure to sign up for Seed, the Aol guest writer program that brings your words to WoW.com. The next byline you see here may be yours!