Bit harsh - Magictime is new to the Phd/Academia scene , and it can be quite daunting , I for one found it daunting and was thinking quite a few different things, and I can tell you I certainly didn't have 'too much time' on my hands going into the first year - I was working since i had missed all the funding deadlines and had to save up!
Anyway, my take on it is this: I was self-funded for my first year, which is seen by the insecure morons that seem to frequent academia as a 'lesser' Ph.D, these morons were silenced on finding out that I secured ESRC funding for the rest of my Ph.D. So yes, RC funding looks better, but generally to idiots that are not quality academics in the true sense themselves, thats how i see it anyway.
In my first year, I did much better in terms of conferences and opportunities than my fellow peers, funded or not, which consequently led in a roundabout way to being funded, and that was down to sheer hard work and passion for my subject, but most importantly, raised my profile. Ultimately, in the sometimes petty world of academia, funding and where it comes from etc will be compared, but generally the hard work and passion for subject , quality and desire to get involved in discussions and questions in seminars are worth much more to your overall reputation than any funding. There is kudos no doubt that comes from RC funding, but this Kudos is not reserved only for those who are funded, essentially, you get out of the phd what you put in.
