This is a gay marriage thread.

You only care if you are too stupid to realize it doesn't matter.

Originally posted by colddog

This is a gay marriage thread.

 

You only care if you are too stupid to realize it doesn't matter.

So you're saying you support gay marriage, because it doesn't matter?

I never thought guys playing female characters was a problem, The problem arises when said men try to pretend they are an actual female playing the character that is when it gets weird.

Originally posted by Ihmotepp

Originally posted by colddog

This is a gay marriage thread.

 

You only care if you are too stupid to realize it doesn't matter.

 

So you're saying you support gay marriage, because it doesn't matter?

I see your point. I suppose I should have said...

You only care to stop them from doing it because you are too stupid to see it doesn't matter.

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Originally posted by nAAtimus

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Originally posted by Ihmotepp
 
The answer is yes, some games do have character choices that look very young, like 12 or under. Most of them have the Anime style of art.
 

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How many? I don't want an exact figure, a rough estimate will do.  From my experience, the closest thing most games offer for age manipulation is gray/white hair.

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You want an exact number? Some do, maybe not most, but some. Not that you can enter an exact age, but in AoC and Aion, you can make a pretty good representation of elderly, or at least, kinda wrinkly middle-aged premature grey. Aion, among a few other Asian MMOs I'm less familiar with, also allow you to look like a small child. Not many people take advantage of those options, but even in DAOC, I attempted to make my norse healer look like an old woman.

More and more, these sorts of options are being added to games, and while they may be in a minority, some players do go for something other than the hot young model look. Even then though, its usually players who DON'T look that way IRL. I'm not much of a roleplayer, but why would I want to play anything like what I already am? How boring is that?

Originally posted by Ihmotepp

Or, lets' go the other way. You are flirting with waht looks like  a hot 21 year old woman, but the girl behind the keyboard turns out to be 12, making you a pedophile.

Ok, but here's where the issue is, why are you flirting with a video game character?

I'm not going to say that a certain level of sexualization isn't going on with the avatars. I know some people have said "they are just pixels, how can one get turned on by that" but those people probably don't realize that erotica has been around loooooong before the camera was invented. Paintings and drawings depicting erotic or sexualized scenes with the purpose of being suggestive and titilating have been around far longer than photography.

But taking that to a game seems to be another issue as people who are doing this are ascribing attributes to the person who is playing the character.

I think it's partly a desire to be addressing a person who really is represented by the avatar. Heck, this is partly why the "do you want to date my avatar" video is so spot on.

the idea of flirting with someone behind a moniker or avatar in game or chatroom probably goes to something far deeper. and more than likely part of that is the need to have some sort of fantasy fulfilled.

There is a country song that also touches upoin this issue where the singer states that he is a real ladies man but it's all because of the internet as with every woman he flirts with he gets taller and has more muscles and more achievements. Might even speak to people's feelings of inadequacy and the need to portray themselves as being something better and sexier than they really are in life.

It might server people better if they just assume that the person behind the avatar is asexual until such time as they A, learn the sex of the person and B, learn that the person is receptive to online flirting.

And C, be prepared that the person they are flirting with lied and is entirely something different.

Originally posted by Ihmotepp

What's the difference in playing a skinny girl if you are actually fat, and playing a girl if you are a guy?

There's a certain segment of the MMORPG players, I tend to think they are really young, that get somehow offended if players do not pick a character that is the same as their real life gender.

I think it's because those younger players want to flirt in the game with the opposite gender, and it embarasses them to find out they are flirting with someone that is their same gender.

But does that mean you have to play a character that actually looks like you, or just the same gender?

What if you play a hot skinny female, but you are really a very fat and not very attractive female? Does that NOT offend these same players to flirt with a fat girl, and I'm talking like 300 lbs plus, that has a cute skinny avatar?

Or, what about if you are say, over 60? Does it not offend these players to flirt with what looks like a 16 year old girl avatar, but really the woman behind the keyboard is old enough to be your Grandma and has no teeth?

Or, lets' go the other way. You are flirting with waht looks like  a hot 21 year old woman, but the girl behind the keyboard turns out to be 12, making you a pedophile. That's ok, you don't mind being a pedophile, but god forbid you flirt with the same sex because that would be so wrong? I'd rather you flirted with the same sex than that you were a pedophile, That seems MUCH MUCH worse to me, but you don't see threads where people go, YOU MUST PLAY A CHARACTER YOUR REAL AGE! only that you must play your real sex.

I mean, if you insist that guys have to play guys, and girls have to play girls, then why do these other scenarios not bother you? You really don't mind flirting with 12 year olds as long as they are the opposite sex? That is truly disgusting.

 And if you say, YES I MIND THAT! then to be the same, we'd need 12 year old looking characters for the 12 year olds to play, just like you want the men to play male characters and the women to play female characters.

From long time ago I really dont care about what people think about me when I play female characters. I like playing a female character because they look hot. It's nice to look at their back side while playing. When people ask I say Im a guy and I really dont care what people think, I like what I do, it's enought.

In my opinion people telling you that this is wrong is really the people that have a problem in their own minds. But Im noone to tell them this, its their own choice to feel that way too.

Not only should prove your age, gender but what about race? How many real Orcs/Elve etc. are out there? And what about the different classes? If your gonna play a thief you better know how to pick pocket, a warrior you better damn well know how to swing a sword. And all those liars out there playing mages? sorry folks, there just aint no thing like magic missle so you better stop playing them same goes for the clerics, never known a priest to be able to rez anyone. I could go on but I will not.

Hopefully everyone will see how STUPID this whole gender/age issue is.

What the F*#% happened to Freedom and Liberty ? I mean as long as your not causing harm or loss who cares. As for those "scammers" if fall for it, you have only yourself to blame. Grow up people, take some responsibility for yourself ! Do you really need Big Brother to do all your thinking for you?

A gay player wouldn't want to be seen as a female. Like you they are male and happy to be so.

The problem with males playing female characters is that it makes it uncomfortable for females who play. What if you were called she all the time even though your a male? Or better yet assumed you were gay. Since I'm sure that would hurt you more. But it's the same concept. Would you really not feel hurt a little? What if people made you prove your gender or sexuality to them, just so you could play a game? "Oh you say your male? Your not gay? I don't believe you, why not show me your private areas, or use services you may be uncomfortable with or unwilling to use." "Or go engage in some sexual act and tape it." "Oh you can't? "Guess your gay" That sounds like a joy, right?

People with gender issues are also extremely hurt by this behavior. They just want to be seen and accepted the way they feel, and if a MMO let's them represent themselves this way, then what is the problem? The real problem would be them playing male characters.

So when you see a character, assume it's the gender it chose, your not playing MMO's to date right? I really hope not. Even so, it's not like it's hard to tell if someone is really male or female. Female and Male personalities are different. If they are just a male playing a female character for perverted reasons they will usually tell you so.

When you call a girl a he your being extremely rude and inconsiderate. Think how you'd feel if that was you.

Really, the answer to this is vent. I've used vent a lot going through raids in various games. Get over it. Males play female characters for the hell of it. It's normal, not abnormal. 

What is abnormal is hitting on someone because their character is a female. I had a female mage in WoW a while back and I remember this other mage hit on me not once in tells, but twice. The frist time I told him I was a dude. The second time I told him, he told me that he forgot. That guy was obviously playing the numbers for whatever reason. That is the person that needs to be watched.

Originally posted by colddog

Really, the answer to this is vent. I've used vent a lot going through raids in various games. Get over it. Males play female characters for the hell of it. It's normal, not abnormal. 

 

What is abnormal is hitting on someone because their character is a female. I had a female mage in WoW a while back and I remember this other mage hit on me not once in tells, but twice. The frist time I told him I was a dude. The second time I told him, he told me that he forgot. That guy was obviously playing the numbers for whatever reason. That is the person that needs to be watched.

No the answer is to not date in MMO's. Nothing wrong with making friends. Shouldn't matter to you whether they are male or female unless your looking for sexual gratification.

Not everyone is comfortable with voice chat, or sharing pictures. My one friend showed some of her pictures online once and people used them to harass her with. Voice chat is just ew. I've never liked it. I was on it times before and it's usually a bunch of nerdy boys cussing, discussing stupid things, fighting, or hitting on anyone with a high pitced voice. No place for a girl ever want to be in. Unless you like getting hit on by boys like that.

I've never understood the anti-genderbending crusade.

My character isn't me. It's not supposed to be me.

It's not a veiled admission that I would like to be someone or something else IRL.

It's just the character I play in a game.

Sometimes it will be a fat 4ft bearded dwarf, or a 7ft skinny elf. Sometimes it'll be an all-american roughneck in power armour, a white-haired misogynist with a vicious scar, a yellow haired anime weirdo with an improbably large sword, or a skinny cell-shaded chick with a Submachinegun.

Reading too much into a choice of character is pointless, imo.

Originally posted by Posting

Originally posted by colddog

Really, the answer to this is vent. I've used vent a lot going through raids in various games. Get over it. Males play female characters for the hell of it. It's normal, not abnormal. 

 

What is abnormal is hitting on someone because their character is a female. I had a female mage in WoW a while back and I remember this other mage hit on me not once in tells, but twice. The frist time I told him I was a dude. The second time I told him, he told me that he forgot. That guy was obviously playing the numbers for whatever reason. That is the person that needs to be watched.

No the answer is to not date in MMO's. Nothing wrong with making friends. Shouldn't matter to you whether they are male or female unless your looking for sexual gratification.

Not everyone is comfortable with voice chat, or sharing pictures. My one friend showed some of her pictures online once and people used them to harass her with. Voice chat is just ew. I've never liked it. I was on it times before and it's usually a bunch of nerdy boys cussing, discussing stupid things, fighting, or hitting on anyone with a high pitced voice. No place for a girl ever want to be in. Unless you like getting hit on by boys like that.

Voice chat is an absolute must in Raiding and PvP. I enjoy PvP the most. So voice chat is absolutely important.

There have been tons of girls in my guilds on voice chat. People say they are rare, but they really aren't. Even in WoW, I think at least 30% of our guild was female. Because you get to choose who is in vent, you are able to weed out the "bunch of nerdy boys cussing, discussing stupid things, fighting, or hitting on anyone with a high pitced voice." If you have never been in a solid guild, I suppose that your experience has been different. In any MMO I've played, it has always been about playing with people that share your goals and interests. 

To me, in game character model/name really has nothing to do with the social aspect of MMOs. Getting close with people, playing the game together and doing really well is the best part. If someone gets freaked about about a guy playing a chick, it's because they are too immature not only from an MMO perspective, but in real life as well.

Originally posted by colddog

Originally posted by Posting

Originally posted by colddog

Really, the answer to this is vent. I've used vent a lot going through raids in various games. Get over it. Males play female characters for the hell of it. It's normal, not abnormal. 

 

What is abnormal is hitting on someone because their character is a female. I had a female mage in WoW a while back and I remember this other mage hit on me not once in tells, but twice. The frist time I told him I was a dude. The second time I told him, he told me that he forgot. That guy was obviously playing the numbers for whatever reason. That is the person that needs to be watched.

No the answer is to not date in MMO's. Nothing wrong with making friends. Shouldn't matter to you whether they are male or female unless your looking for sexual gratification.

Not everyone is comfortable with voice chat, or sharing pictures. My one friend showed some of her pictures online once and people used them to harass her with. Voice chat is just ew. I've never liked it. I was on it times before and it's usually a bunch of nerdy boys cussing, discussing stupid things, fighting, or hitting on anyone with a high pitced voice. No place for a girl ever want to be in. Unless you like getting hit on by boys like that.

 

Voice chat is an absolute must in Raiding and PvP. I enjoy PvP the most. So voice chat is absolutely important.

 

There have been tons of girls in my guilds on voice chat. People say they are rare, but they really aren't. Even in WoW, I think at least 30% of our guild was female. Because you get to choose who is in vent, you are able to weed out the "bunch of nerdy boys cussing, discussing stupid things, fighting, or hitting on anyone with a high pitced voice." If you have never been in a solid guild, I suppose that your experience has been different. In any MMO I've played, it has always been about playing with people that share your goals and interests. 

 

To me, in game character model/name really has nothing to do with the social aspect of MMOs. Getting close with people, playing the game together and doing really well is the best part. If someone gets freaked about about a guy playing a chick, it's because they are too immature not only from an MMO perspective, but in real life as well.

 

So what your saying is if a male playing a male character doesn't want to use voice chat, that's fine. But if a female playing a female character is uncomfortable with it  that's reason to call them a male?  Double standards never cease to amaze me.

Originally posted by Aemi

Originally posted by colddog

Originally posted by Posting

Originally posted by colddog

Really, the answer to this is vent. I've used vent a lot going through raids in various games. Get over it. Males play female characters for the hell of it. It's normal, not abnormal. 

 

What is abnormal is hitting on someone because their character is a female. I had a female mage in WoW a while back and I remember this other mage hit on me not once in tells, but twice. The frist time I told him I was a dude. The second time I told him, he told me that he forgot. That guy was obviously playing the numbers for whatever reason. That is the person that needs to be watched.

No the answer is to not date in MMO's. Nothing wrong with making friends. Shouldn't matter to you whether they are male or female unless your looking for sexual gratification.

Not everyone is comfortable with voice chat, or sharing pictures. My one friend showed some of her pictures online once and people used them to harass her with. Voice chat is just ew. I've never liked it. I was on it times before and it's usually a bunch of nerdy boys cussing, discussing stupid things, fighting, or hitting on anyone with a high pitced voice. No place for a girl ever want to be in. Unless you like getting hit on by boys like that.

 

Voice chat is an absolute must in Raiding and PvP. I enjoy PvP the most. So voice chat is absolutely important.

 

There have been tons of girls in my guilds on voice chat. People say they are rare, but they really aren't. Even in WoW, I think at least 30% of our guild was female. Because you get to choose who is in vent, you are able to weed out the "bunch of nerdy boys cussing, discussing stupid things, fighting, or hitting on anyone with a high pitced voice." If you have never been in a solid guild, I suppose that your experience has been different. In any MMO I've played, it has always been about playing with people that share your goals and interests. 

 

To me, in game character model/name really has nothing to do with the social aspect of MMOs. Getting close with people, playing the game together and doing really well is the best part. If someone gets freaked about about a guy playing a chick, it's because they are too immature not only from an MMO perspective, but in real life as well.

 

 

So what your saying is if a male playing a male character doesn't want to use voice chat, that's fine. But if a female playing a female character is uncomfortable with it  that's reason to call them a male?  Double standards never cease to amaze me.

Noo, I'm saying that your character gender does not matter at all. If someone tells me they are female, I generally believe them. Especially since such a large percentage of characters are actually female. In the end, it's silly to think that it's some sort of disguise made up by gay males meant to lure straight males into cybering with them. While .00001% of the time this might be true, it just isn't a danger if you are responsible and mature.

Originally posted by colddog

Originally posted by Aemi

Originally posted by colddog

Originally posted by Posting

Originally posted by colddog

Really, the answer to this is vent. I've used vent a lot going through raids in various games. Get over it. Males play female characters for the hell of it. It's normal, not abnormal. 

 

What is abnormal is hitting on someone because their character is a female. I had a female mage in WoW a while back and I remember this other mage hit on me not once in tells, but twice. The frist time I told him I was a dude. The second time I told him, he told me that he forgot. That guy was obviously playing the numbers for whatever reason. That is the person that needs to be watched.

No the answer is to not date in MMO's. Nothing wrong with making friends. Shouldn't matter to you whether they are male or female unless your looking for sexual gratification.

Not everyone is comfortable with voice chat, or sharing pictures. My one friend showed some of her pictures online once and people used them to harass her with. Voice chat is just ew. I've never liked it. I was on it times before and it's usually a bunch of nerdy boys cussing, discussing stupid things, fighting, or hitting on anyone with a high pitced voice. No place for a girl ever want to be in. Unless you like getting hit on by boys like that.

 

Voice chat is an absolute must in Raiding and PvP. I enjoy PvP the most. So voice chat is absolutely important.

 

There have been tons of girls in my guilds on voice chat. People say they are rare, but they really aren't. Even in WoW, I think at least 30% of our guild was female. Because you get to choose who is in vent, you are able to weed out the "bunch of nerdy boys cussing, discussing stupid things, fighting, or hitting on anyone with a high pitced voice." If you have never been in a solid guild, I suppose that your experience has been different. In any MMO I've played, it has always been about playing with people that share your goals and interests. 

 

To me, in game character model/name really has nothing to do with the social aspect of MMOs. Getting close with people, playing the game together and doing really well is the best part. If someone gets freaked about about a guy playing a chick, it's because they are too immature not only from an MMO perspective, but in real life as well.

 

 

So what your saying is if a male playing a male character doesn't want to use voice chat, that's fine. But if a female playing a female character is uncomfortable with it  that's reason to call them a male?  Double standards never cease to amaze me.

 

Noo, I'm saying that your character gender does not matter at all. If someone tells me they are female, I generally believe them. Especially since such a large percentage of characters are actually female. In the end, it's silly to think that it's some sort of disguise made up by gay males meant to lure straight males into cybering with them. While .00001% of the time this might be true, it just isn't a danger if you are responsible and mature.

I agree with you completely then.

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Originally posted by Delvie

Was absolutely shocked when one of the first questions I got from another player is are you really a girl?  This was my first MMO, and I was even more shocked when saying yes I was asked to prove it.  I was like why in the world do you care?  This is just a game. 

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Exactly. Which is why the answer to the first question should have been: "None of your damn business."

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Originally posted by GoldenDog
Genders' are a generalization and weight is a specific.
There's a difference between me picking to be blonde (having black hair) because it's a feature moreso than gender.

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Um, wha? You lost me here.

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See, you pick Male / Female...  THEN you choose hair color, style, weight...

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Generally you pick race (human, elf, dwarf, whatever) before you pick any of those. What's your point?

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They aren't in the same category.  It's the volume of nurological associations that are attached with the general vs the specific warrenting a completely different emotional response.

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It's "neurological." Just so you know. (also, "warranting")
 

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There's this science called psychology.  Its been around for awhile.  Odds are their conclusions are a lot more accurate than the ones you'll get on an MMO forum.   

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Very true. So where did you get your degree in it?

Ban this!

It is after all a ROLE playing game.  You're supposed to play a role, whether it is similar to you IRL, or a 12-year-old or an 80-year old.  It doesn't matter at all.  People who act like it matters have mental issues.

Originally posted by Vhaln

 

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Originally posted by nAAtimus

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Originally posted by Ihmotepp
 
The answer is yes, some games do have character choices that look very young, like 12 or under. Most of them have the Anime style of art.
 

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How many? I don't want an exact figure, a rough estimate will do.  From my experience, the closest thing most games offer for age manipulation is gray/white hair.

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You want an exact number? Some do, maybe not most, but some. Not that you can enter an exact age, but in AoC and Aion, you can make a pretty good representation of elderly, or at least, kinda wrinkly middle-aged premature grey. Aion, among a few other Asian MMOs I'm less familiar with, also allow you to look like a small child. Not many people take advantage of those options, but even in DAOC, I attempted to make my norse healer look like an old woman.

More and more, these sorts of options are being added to games, and while they may be in a minority, some players do go for something other than the hot young model look. Even then though, its usually players who DON'T look that way IRL. I'm not much of a roleplayer, but why would I want to play anything like what I already am? How boring is that?

 

So what, half a dozen games?

In response to OP

Just play the game how you want to play it, and don't worry about people you don't even know.

There will always be griefers in games, but hey who cares.

A better question would be something like.......

Why the hell do guys think a mmorpg is a freaking dating service?

Originally posted by ferndip

A better question would be something like.......

 

Why the hell do guys think a mmorpg is a freaking dating service?

 

 

Some people do find people they like in MMO's. Usually leads to nowhere good. A "former" friend of mine married another friend of mine and they don't even live in the same country. Then broke up shortly after and my former friend tried to get and money from him >_>

She wasn't that good of a person to begin with but sometimes you can be friends with immoral people.

Anyway dating in a MMO never leads to anything good. If you do find someone you like that's great, but it shouldn't be where you look for love.

Originally posted by ferndip

A better question would be something like.......

 

Why the hell do guys think a mmorpg is a freaking dating service?

 

Some people do find people they like in MMO's. Usually leads to nowhere good. A "former" friend of mine married another friend of mine and they don't even live in the same country. Then broke up shortly after and my former friend tried to get and money from him >_>

She wasn't that good of a person to begin with but sometimes you can be friends with immoral people.

Anyway dating in a MMO never leads to anything good. If you do find someone you like that's great, but it shouldn't be where you look for love.