>>346
QFT.

The people who most commonly and casually use "otaku" to describe themselves are usually not otaku, but neophytes who think it's a cool Japanese term for "anime fan." Fans who know enough about the Japanese language and culture to know that the term is profoundly not one of respect either:

Accept their position as social outcasts with pride, and embrace the term (these are the *true otaku).
*Prefer to avoid the association, and therefore don't identify with the term (some of these might be considered closet otaku).