i always get confused when people either point to others and say "you're a console gamer," or when people use the term to describe themselves.
in the last 25 years, i've owned 13 consoles. i play my PSP daily and my dreamcast at least once a week. i dont know what a console gamer is, tho. (the majority of my gaming is and has taken place on DOS or windows platforms)
i just think of it all as gaming. dunno.
(i'm further confused because people tend to mean it as an insult when using it to describe someone else.)
what do you mean when you use the term?

Bingo. The whole PC Vs. Console pissing match is absurdly pointless.

It's a pure stereotype, I don't use it.
Sometimes I'm kinda tempted to use when I see some kid that thinks stuff like "Halo iz da best game evah!" and neither care about nor know anything about the gaming history, but I don't do it, because I know it would be completely without any effect.

I'd say that's when using the term with the same meaning publishers do when looking at projected sales figures for their next uninspired console action/shooter-game and being disappointed that it'll only shift two million units. For the Average Joe that wants nothing but to pop the game into his console of choice, sit down for an hour or so, and not be bored out of his skull while chopping up aliens. The guy who might be subconsciously aware that games were released even in such ancient times as "two years ago", but does not really care, does not really know.
The Average Console Gamer might very well be a mythical creature, not existing in reality. I feel there are still far too many games made with him in mind.

It tends to be about people that mainly or only play on consoles. I think it's used as an insult because console gamers don't really know anything, they think halo was good and, now at least, they think a game has to run at 60 fps or it's crap (which is dumb because the film standard is 30 fps, and there are some pretty realistic CGI films out there). I suppose it's also as a way to look down on people who play consoles for using something inferior to a PC but thinking their console is the best thing ever (I play on some consoles but i still think PCs are best and manage to look down on the impure "console only" people XD)

where does that logic come from?
i'm probably doing my best caricature of myself as an utterly naive 5 year old here, but why is the tendency to denigrate something in the process of praising something else.
also:
is interesting. used as a short-hand for "you are under-educated about your own hobby," makes a lot of sense. i can see where the comparative ease of console gaming and its this-year's-version-itis could definitely breed a lack of knowledge of game history and design.
so to go back to Bopoo's comment, isn't that (partially) what a place like GOG is supposed to be changing? or at least trying to. i mean, if they've gotten this far, the least we can do is to teach them something (get them to buy a game! haha), rather than point fingers at their ignorance and make that nelson muntz noise at them.

Because people suck.
Everyone wants to be part of a group/gang and at the same time they want to alienate everyone else.
"If your not with MY group then you are in THEIR group. AND MY GROUP IS BETTER SO THAT MEANS IM BETTER THAN YOU!"
This is the main problem with internet message boards.

if i could +10 your post, i would.

As I see it, I'm just a guy who loves to be entertained. Games entertain me and I play them, be it on a console or on my computer. Although these days the lines have blurred as most "consoles" are just computers themselves, albeit locked-down and not upgradable other than firmware.
Console gaming vs. PC gaming? Doesn't make a difference.

There are a lot of console gamers out there who believe, in a naive selfish way, that games should only be played on a console, and a PC should only be used for surfing.
These closed-minded individuals, deserve to be ignored, and tend to be the first into my user block list, if one such feature exists.
I think a preference to either platform is a better choice, that, or the lack of funds to afford a gaming PC, is often why most prefer console gaming.
To me, I game on all platforms, including a lot of retro platforms, Amiga, ST, Spectrum, C64, NES, SNES, etc.. I also have a Wii for the current generation, and possibly a PS3 a bit later on when Wipeout HD, and GT5 are out.
While I prefer my PC, I do enjoy a bit of Wii Sports Golf & Bowling.

Oh, good old Times, i myself was a SNES Kid, with Mode-7 and Mario on "my" Side against that blue Hedgehog thing and BLAST PROCESSING on the Genesis...good Times, but it was not only the gamers, Wrestling fans were exactly the same, there were two big Promotions, WWF and WCW, and it was always who was better and why one wrestler was better on WWF than he was on WCW and vice versa : )

MAC vs PC
COMPUTER vs CONSOLE
SNES vs GENESIS
Do I need to explain this? Or does the irony speak for itself?

hahaha. mode-7.
i picked the wrong side, obviously. an RPG fan who bought a genesis eventually felt like a schmuck talking about how great phantasy star and y's were.
(i've managed to buy the "losing" console every time since the NES)

the irony is better when you go down the list and realize they're all the same thing nowadays. or had you already gotten there and i just pulled up behind?
except the SNES did have mode-7. hehe.
AND a handful of really awesome cRPGs...