Elevator enthusiast
An elevator enthusiast or elevator fan (American English); lift enthusiast or lift fan (British English),[note 1] is a person interested, recreationally, in elevators, especially riding and photographing them. The term may also refer to the related subculture (often called the elevator enthusiast subculture), which is relatively modern. Elevator enthusiasts can be found all around the world, especially in cities, and are usually children and young people.[1]
Activities and interests[edit]
Elevator enthusiasts enjoy spotting and riding elevators. They may be interested in characteristics of specific elevators or models, including elevator hoist mechanism (such as hydraulic or traction), design (including doors and whether or not the elevator is MRL), motors (and motor rooms, for non-MRL elevators), leveling, logic, fixtures (including the cab, buttons, lanterns and position indicators), and chimes or floor passing beeps. Also, elevator enthusiasts may be interested in the history of the elevator industry and specific elevator companies (including different models and test towers). There are several online communities for elevator enthusiasts, where members can discuss various elevator-related topics.
Many elevator enthusiasts also are enthusiasts of other modes of public transport, such as bus enthusiasts or train enthusiasts.
Elevator photography[edit]
Elevator photography, especially filming, is a popular activity among elevator enthusiasts. Not all elevator enthusiasts film videos (some do not film videos but do watch them). Usually, videos are taken using a camera or smartphone and uploaded to a video sharing site such as YouTube, which has a sizable elevator community from all around the world. Most of the time, the elevator is taken from the bottom floor to the top floor and back, however this is not always done. Videos focus on various aspects of the elevator (depending on the filmer) such as the cab, floor indicator, buttons, sounds and the view outside (for glass elevators). Normally, elevator filming is done on one's own, however multiple elevator enthusiasts sometimes meet up in real life to film elevators together. Elevator photographers often run into problems with building owners or security, especially in private buildings (such as residential or office buildings) or buildings which prohibit photography.
Elevator tours[edit]
In buildings with multiple banks of elevators, videos called elevator tours (also known as elevatours, a portmanteau of elevator and tours coined by Dieselducy, or lift tours) may be made, where all or most banks of elevators in a building are filmed in a single visit and video.
Elevator simulators[edit]
Some elevator enthusiasts enjoy using or playing elevator simulators, which are programs (some can be considered to be games) that simulate the movement of elevators, as well as various other aspects (which differ between elevator simulations) including sounds, floor indicators, buttons, doors, leveling and virtual passengers. These often have a community where people can discuss about the simulator and elevators in general, sometimes including other topics. Compared to some other modes of public transport (such as buses and trains), elevators are the subject of less simulators.
Scratch, a programming language and website created by MIT and targeted towards children and young people ages 8–16, was not intended for making specific types of programs or as a social media site, but nonetheless has a large community of elevator enthusiasts worldwide who do various things including making elevator simulations (and playing other users' elevator simulations) and discussing elevator-related topics.
The LiftSim program, which simulates four elevators moving in a building and the people riding them, is liked by some elevator enthusiasts.
The now-discontinued Skyscraper Simulator (or Skyscrapersim) program (which still has an unofficial community forum, created by an administrator of the previous forum which was shut down in 2018) is liked by some elevator enthusiasts.
Aside from elevator simulators, there are several games which have elevators as an important part of them, such as SimTower (a simulation game which was actually initially designed as an elevator simulator) or Elevator Action (an arcade game which, as the title implies, is about elevators), which some elevator enthusiasts may enjoy playing.
Collecting elevator parts[edit]
A hobby of some elevator enthusiasts is to collect elevator parts, including fixtures and buttons. A well-known elevator part collector is Dieselducy, who has his own "Elevator Museum" where he displays his collection of elevator parts. Vintage or unique elevator parts may be more desired. Elevator parts are collected in several ways, including from the company that modernizes an elevator.
Reputation[edit]
Elevator spotting is less popular and mainstream than some other transport-related hobbies, such as bus spotting, trainspotting and aircraft spotting, and is often considered less acceptable. Elevator enthusiasts often get caught – or even harrased – by building security or owners while photographing and filming elevators, especially in private buildings or buildings banning photography, as well as when doing inappropriate or illegal behavior (such as causing a nuisance to other passengers, unauthorized elevator key use or elevator surfing, which not all elevator enthusiasts do).
On the other hand, a few more well-known elevator enthusiasts, such as Dieselducy (real name Andrew Reams, from Roanoke, Virginia), who is widely recognized as the first person to film elevators as a hobby (he filmed his first elevator on June 5, 1993) and the one who popularized the hobby, have received positive media attention and sometimes even been invited to elevator companies' offices and test towers.[2]
Elevator enthusiasm and autism spectrum disorder[edit]
Elevators have several attributes that tend to make them appealing to people (especially children) with autism spectrum disorder, including sounds. Thus, a very high percentage of elevator enthusiasts (including filmers and non-filmers) have autism, including Dieselducy (who views his hobby as a form of autism outreach).[1][3] Many were interested in elevators since they were a child (which is not only true of autistic elevator enthusiasts).
Notes[edit]
- ↑ Elevator/lift fan may also refer to a fan, as in the ventilation device, inside an elevator. Also, elevator/lift filmer/photographer technically refers to those who film or photograph elevators, but could also refer to the hobby in general, which can be called elevator spotting by analogy with bus spotting and trainspotting.
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Peters, Justin (April 9, 2018). "Lovin' an Elevator". Slate. Retrieved June 10, 2020.
- ↑ Berrier, Ralph (October 20, 2013). "The legend of Dieselducy: Vinton man's elevator videos go viral on YouTube". The Roanoke Times. Berkshire Hathaway. Retrieved June 10, 2020.
- ↑ Nolan, Markham (August 29, 2016). "The uplifting story behind YouTube's insanely popular elevator videos". The Week. Adam Dub. Retrieved June 10, 2020.
Elevators have a bunch of attributes which make them appealing to people with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Dr. Amanda Bennett, who works with autistic children at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia told Vocativ: "For people who have ASD, a core symptom is a difference in how they process sensory input." Until 2013, doctors had focused on the sensory-avoiding aspect of ASD, but a recent change in diagnosis means doctors have started examining the other side of the coin. "For others, the sensory-seeking component [of ASD] means they seek out certain sounds, senses, or feelings," said Bennett. "In an elevator, the lighting is different, there are the noises the button makes, and the mechanical sounds of the elevator moving up and down in the elevator shaft." She says all of those could contribute to making elevators so compulsively attractive to this group of people.
External links[edit]
This article "Elevator enthusiast" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Elevator enthusiast. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.
