We are the nerds and dorks; the social outliers of society.

But now we have formed our own meeting places. We have created safe havens from judgment. Hotel lobbies filled with people who enjoy things like role-playing games, Japanese animation, rolling dice and board games.

We call these places “conventions” or “cons,” and there’s one for almost any nerdy hobby that comes to mind.

There is ComiCon for comic book nerds, E3 for video game and technology nerds and DunDraCon for role-playing nerds.

To most people, the word “nerd” itself seems to be some kind of backhanded insult. Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary even defines a nerd as being “an unstylish, unattractive or socially inept person,” who is “slavishly devoted to intellectual or academic pursuits.” And the latter part of the definition couldn’t be more right.

Do you collect a lot of music? Do you keep track of your Fantasy Football team? Do you know famous fashion designers’ names? If any of the above applies to you, you’re probably a nerd.

Sure, you might not be the kind of nerd who collects polyhedral dice or role-plays as a samurai from feudal Japan, but you’re just as much of a nerd.

Why? For most of us, being a nerd is about the pursuit and exchange of knowledge. Yes, sometimes this makes people in the nerd community a bit less socially experienced than others, but it’s rare to find someone who could be considered “socially inept.”

I dare say that there is not a more approachable, less judgmental group of people than a congregation of nerds. After all, it’s hard to be judgmental when you know how low you stand in society.

Conventions tend to give nerds the opportunity to be social and freely exercise their imaginations, without having to worry about being ostracized for some of their more eccentric hobbies. Nerds who enjoy creating and wearing elaborate costumes tend to fall into this category. As such, convention halls tend to be filled with an extravagant array of clothing that will rarely ever be seen by the public eye.

And despite the stereotype about nerds being predominantly men, people at the registration desk for this year’s DunDraCon said there seemed to be more women in attendance than ever before.

Married, dating and single women made up a strong part of the 1,500 people in attendance at the Con over Valentine’s Day weekend. The surprised exclamations of several convention attendees reflected how the proportion was beginning to balance out.

My fellow nerds, there’s no need to be ashamed of your affection for anime or role-playing games anymore. Don’t hide your 20-sided dice in shame; you’re part of a community that’s growing larger and getting more popular every day.

David Loret de Mola can be reached at [email protected]