Away with the Wee Folk

"Which version? Because the best one is 'Hey Sexy, You Baptised?'" absolutely in reference to This Post (which I may or may not talk about separately at some point).

Setting aside my distaste for the term 'version' for a moment, this really bugs me for a couple of reasons. First, it implied to me that this person felt they had superior knowledge about the subject before we had even started discussing it. By declaring a "best" retelling, it's like they're trying to speak from a place of authority rather than a mutual interest in the topic. Secondly, it sets me up as the responder to either agree with them or disagree and therefore be automatically "wrong". I didn't feel like I was entering into a conversation so much as I was being pulled into a competition.

I politely replied that I collect Tam Lin retellings and therefore have shared many of them to the chat over the years. They then fully jumpt topics to talk about their roommate who is studying Riddles Wisely Expounded and its retellings (goodbye Tam Lin, I guess?). They also meantion a Scandinavian folk ballad which apparently has some parallels. Maybe it's just me, but this feels like someone trying to 'win' the conversation by showing off their obscure knowledge. I told them (again, very politely and positively) that I love that ballad, as well. I openly admitted to having never heard of the Scandinavian one. And I even suggested a favourite riddling song, Captain Wedderburn, for their roommate to listen to if they hadn't already. This person then proceeds to just drop the conversation with me entirely while continuing to talk with others on a different subject.