People can become obsessive about their hobby, no matter what it is, and it is this that attracts negative comments more than the hobby itself.
I know real ale fanatics who are obsessed with trying every beer they can. I have heard them referred to as 'scratchers' amongst the real ale fraternity and, while not ridiculed as such, they are gently teased by others who do not have the same passion!
Similarly, my brother once became very interested in radar systems, and became quite obsessed with elarning all that he could about the different ones used, both military and civilian radar types. Again, it wasn't the hobby itself that made people laugh, but the zeal with which he constantly talked about radar at every possible opportunity Fortunately, his obsession wore off after about a year!
Enthusiasm for trains is a more widely known pastime than radar spotting,ior beer sampling. The well known stereotype of a spotter, with anorak, notebook and chocolate bar, is now outdated (if it ever was accurate in the first place!), but it derives from the o0bsessional behaviour of a few individuals. There is nothing wrong with such behaviour, but it's unrealistic to expect such things not to be noticed and commented on!
By the way, when I first joined CAMRA I was given a welcome pack which contained advice on how to behave in pubs! One of the things mentioned was that there ar eother things to discuss than beer! It warned that to continue to drone on about ale in the company of non beer drinkes was boorish, and likely to bring real ale drinkers into disrepute!
