It's funny that you were worried about offending me, since I'm always worried about people giving me the side-eye if I mention it. But yes, a lot of people don't get that it's just like any other fandom, mostly cool people mixed with some nuts and scary weirdos.

I went to cons, never got into mucking though since I could never get the hang of it, did a lot of art and was getting close to BNF-hood when I started to lose interest. Do still miss some of the people though. The cons were a hoot and I always made a bundle and had a really great time.