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Originally posted by Rimoku
I pretend to play a female toon and use a voice morpher for skype/ventrilo. It is funny how easy it is to find a picture online and put it in a "IRL photo guild thread". The amount of free shit and free pass i get to pretty much all raid spots/gear is hilarious.

 

And you may think that I am a low life, but I am giving you nerds a perceived fantasy and benefitting from it at the same time; win-win situation.

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No you're not giving us a perceived fantasy, rather; you are giving yourself a fantasy you are to cowardly to do in real life, fact.

Originally posted by Rimoku

I pretend to play a female toon and use a voice morpher for skype/ventrilo. It is funny how easy it is to find a picture online and put it in a "IRL photo guild thread". The amount of free shit and free pass i get to pretty much all raid spots/gear is hilarious.

 

And you may think that I am a low life, but I am giving you nerds a perceived fantasy and benefitting from it at the same time; win-win situation.

Dude, you need help. Psychiatric help. From a professional. 

OT: I can completely understand why female gamers feel they need to hide their gender online. The amount of idiotic A/S/L messages I have seen in general chat whenever anyone with a female name dares talk in general chat is sickening. I have known female guild members that have been actively stalked(in game) by people after revealing their gender. I imagine most of the problem is oversexed 12 year old boys that dont know how to talk to girls, but that still doesnt excuse it. 

Originally posted by bezado

 

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Originally posted by Rimoku
I pretend to play a female toon and use a voice morpher for skype/ventrilo. It is funny how easy it is to find a picture online and put it in a "IRL photo guild thread". The amount of free shit and free pass i get to pretty much all raid spots/gear is hilarious.

 

 

And you may think that I am a low life, but I am giving you nerds a perceived fantasy and benefitting from it at the same time; win-win situation.

---

 

No you're not giving us a perceived fantasy, rather; you are giving yourself a fantasy you are to cowardly to do in real life, fact.

Say what you want good sir, but the fact that I get favourable treatment pretending to be girl that I otherwise would not have infers certain things.

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Originally posted by Acornia
I can not give you all the details about what happened in the RL stalking because it happened way back in time of The Realm and SWG during the start of Desert Storm and I was working for the DoD.  It happen part in game and RL when game info, such as real name and address, was posted to the internet by accident or hacking of the game.

I can not tell you how he showed up and got on base, but ended up having to call the APs to kick him off base and turn him over to local cops.

Since then an advice of the base JAG, I have taken great pains when using the internet to do my work or play games.

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You do not need to defend your situation here. Resourceful people can find ways to get information through strange methods in some cases but certainly not all cases. I find it funny that people around here talk all the time about the importance of gaming security, authenticators, up to date security software, and other safety measures and yet dismiss the possibility of a game and real life stalker as improbable.

There are plenty of game sites that require users to fill out user information fields that give players a chance to see those details. I filled out some information a few years ago thinking that the details would be kept hidden and found out later that I could log in and look up every subscribed account member. The whole site allows their users to view whatever those people placed in their information including name, location, Country, age, along with instant message contact information if the user so desired.

I learned to be far more cautious while signing up for games due to this instance, however I do not fear stalkers all that much. I also can't control the gaming sites security, if they get hacked my information will be out there. Sony was the biggest one that comes to mind. My account was one of the known hacked accounts, no matter how careful I was about not giving out my details, they were still compromised.

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Originally posted by Hurvart

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Originally posted by Fadedbomb

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Originally posted by ButeoRegalis

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Originally posted by Fadedbomb Isn't there a way to change this mentality?

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For this to change, everyone of us would have to take responsibility, not only for our actions, but also for our inactions. Of course that can be hard work. When you see someone throwing out harassing statements, slurs, you would have to challenge them. When they claim it was all in good fun, you'd have to explain to them that this isn't really funny for the affected person. When they claim you are just too sensitive, you would have to explain that in fact they are too insensitive. You may or may not get backup from your guild mates, which is also dependent on who's on at that time. You may even find yourself in the minority if you are arguing against someone and their friends are on and providing backup against you. You could even make it - right at that time - worse for the target of the slur by prolonging the debate and bringing more attention to it. Maybe the target of the remark has developed a thick skin and isn't bothered by it, and might even take offense at you butting in. Maybe you have been the target of slurs and attacks yourself and just are glad it isn't you this time. It gets even more complicated if the behavior isn't overtly hostile or intended that way, like the case the OP brings up. (Assuming he wasn't using "mentally handicapped" just as an attack himself) Would you make the effort of trying to explain to a mentally handicapped person that their behavior is inappropriate? I have let sexist and homophobic slurs slide, telling myself, it's all in good fun, everybody knows it's just a friendly tease, it's just a one-off remark, it wasn't directed at me, no one is speaking up, so no one is taking offense, I'm not gonna make any waves over one off-color remark, I don't want to argue against that guy and all his buddies, it's their guild after all. I guess I'm not always a good person when I could be.

---

I legitimately meant a "HandiCapped" individual whos physical age is 19 but has a mental maturity of about 9. Again, not his fault, but it is the fault of those surrounding him to allow his behavior to go unchecked. Just because someone is mentally handicapped doesn't mean they're completely inept and learning from their actions, and if they are completely incapable of learning from their actions they shouldn't be in said guild to begin with.   Just my 2cents :)

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I think it is typical for a 13-16 year old boy that just discovered he is interested in women and falls in love with every girl or woman that talks to him for more than 10 seconds. And believes they must be intersted in him.

A 19 YO behaving like that is a bit childish for his age. But perhaps because he is very unlucky trying to find a gf in real life. And, in that case, he might think about that every day. Perhaps most women ignore him. And if someone actually is nice to him he believes she is the love of his life...But often they will grow up and start to behave like adults eventually. Calling someone like that "handicapped" could be a bit to much, IMO.

In a game with a lot of players that are 12-19 YO boys it is not easy to avoid them. Perhaps it is normal?

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Age is not the best factor to consider here. I know plenty of people 30+ that still act very immature while on the internet, in vent, or in game. Without any serious repercussions relating to their behaviors, age does automatically exclude anyone.

Originally posted by chefdiablo

 

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Originally posted by Hurvart

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Originally posted by Fadedbomb

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Originally posted by ButeoRegalis

---

Originally posted by Fadedbomb Isn't there a way to change this mentality?

---

For this to change, everyone of us would have to take responsibility, not only for our actions, but also for our inactions. Of course that can be hard work. When you see someone throwing out harassing statements, slurs, you would have to challenge them. When they claim it was all in good fun, you'd have to explain to them that this isn't really funny for the affected person. When they claim you are just too sensitive, you would have to explain that in fact they are too insensitive. You may or may not get backup from your guild mates, which is also dependent on who's on at that time. You may even find yourself in the minority if you are arguing against someone and their friends are on and providing backup against you. You could even make it - right at that time - worse for the target of the slur by prolonging the debate and bringing more attention to it. Maybe the target of the remark has developed a thick skin and isn't bothered by it, and might even take offense at you butting in. Maybe you have been the target of slurs and attacks yourself and just are glad it isn't you this time. It gets even more complicated if the behavior isn't overtly hostile or intended that way, like the case the OP brings up. (Assuming he wasn't using "mentally handicapped" just as an attack himself) Would you make the effort of trying to explain to a mentally handicapped person that their behavior is inappropriate? I have let sexist and homophobic slurs slide, telling myself, it's all in good fun, everybody knows it's just a friendly tease, it's just a one-off remark, it wasn't directed at me, no one is speaking up, so no one is taking offense, I'm not gonna make any waves over one off-color remark, I don't want to argue against that guy and all his buddies, it's their guild after all. I guess I'm not always a good person when I could be.

---

I legitimately meant a "HandiCapped" individual whos physical age is 19 but has a mental maturity of about 9. Again, not his fault, but it is the fault of those surrounding him to allow his behavior to go unchecked. Just because someone is mentally handicapped doesn't mean they're completely inept and learning from their actions, and if they are completely incapable of learning from their actions they shouldn't be in said guild to begin with.   Just my 2cents :)

---

I think it is typical for a 13-16 year old boy that just discovered he is interested in women and falls in love with every girl or woman that talks to him for more than 10 seconds. And believes they must be intersted in him.

 

A 19 YO behaving like that is a bit childish for his age. But perhaps because he is very unlucky trying to find a gf in real life. And, in that case, he might think about that every day. Perhaps most women ignore him. And if someone actually is nice to him he believes she is the love of his life...But often they will grow up and start to behave like adults eventually. Calling someone like that "handicapped" could be a bit to much, IMO.

In a game with a lot of players that are 12-19 YO boys it is not easy to avoid them. Perhaps it is normal?

---

 

Age is not the best factor to consider here. I know plenty of people 30+ that still act very immature while on the internet, in vent, or in game. Without any serious repercussions relating to their behaviors, age does automatically exclude anyone.

Ttere can be exeptions. But if someone behaves like a 13 YO boy he probably is. If it really is a 13 YO he only needs to grow up. If he is 30 he needs professional help.

If the game is intended for 12 YO and up I think it makes sense to belive it is a young boy. Unless there is a specific reason to believe it could be a 30 YO with personality problems. Because they are not the norm...

Originally posted by Rimoku

I pretend to play a female toon and use a voice morpher for skype/ventrilo. It is funny how easy it is to find a picture online and put it in a "IRL photo guild thread". The amount of free shit and free pass i get to pretty much all raid spots/gear is hilarious.

 

And you may think that I am a low life, but I am giving you nerds a perceived fantasy and benefitting from it at the same time; win-win situation.

lol. Kudos to you man.  You should document your shenanigans and let us have a laugh every now and then.

http://penny-arcade.com/patv/episode/harassment

Expose that touches on your issue.

Part of the problem is, men can be as degrading to you as they want, but women cannot really degrade men, on the internet at least.  Maybe I'm wrong, but ive never seen it.  Anything you could say to a man could easily be turned around as some sort of sexual sugestive remark.

One of the only ways to fight this is developers giving the greater player community tools to silence trolls, dont really see that happening since they pay their monies too.

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Originally posted by Hurvart

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Originally posted by chefdiablo  

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Originally posted by Hurvart

---

Originally posted by Fadedbomb

---

Originally posted by ButeoRegalis

---

Originally posted by Fadedbomb Isn't there a way to change this mentality?

---

For this to change, everyone of us would have to take responsibility, not only for our actions, but also for our inactions. Of course that can be hard work. When you see someone throwing out harassing statements, slurs, you would have to challenge them. When they claim it was all in good fun, you'd have to explain to them that this isn't really funny for the affected person. When they claim you are just too sensitive, you would have to explain that in fact they are too insensitive. You may or may not get backup from your guild mates, which is also dependent on who's on at that time. You may even find yourself in the minority if you are arguing against someone and their friends are on and providing backup against you. You could even make it - right at that time - worse for the target of the slur by prolonging the debate and bringing more attention to it. Maybe the target of the remark has developed a thick skin and isn't bothered by it, and might even take offense at you butting in. Maybe you have been the target of slurs and attacks yourself and just are glad it isn't you this time. It gets even more complicated if the behavior isn't overtly hostile or intended that way, like the case the OP brings up. (Assuming he wasn't using "mentally handicapped" just as an attack himself) Would you make the effort of trying to explain to a mentally handicapped person that their behavior is inappropriate? I have let sexist and homophobic slurs slide, telling myself, it's all in good fun, everybody knows it's just a friendly tease, it's just a one-off remark, it wasn't directed at me, no one is speaking up, so no one is taking offense, I'm not gonna make any waves over one off-color remark, I don't want to argue against that guy and all his buddies, it's their guild after all. I guess I'm not always a good person when I could be.

---

I legitimately meant a "HandiCapped" individual whos physical age is 19 but has a mental maturity of about 9. Again, not his fault, but it is the fault of those surrounding him to allow his behavior to go unchecked. Just because someone is mentally handicapped doesn't mean they're completely inept and learning from their actions, and if they are completely incapable of learning from their actions they shouldn't be in said guild to begin with.   Just my 2cents :)

---

I think it is typical for a 13-16 year old boy that just discovered he is interested in women and falls in love with every girl or woman that talks to him for more than 10 seconds. And believes they must be intersted in him.   A 19 YO behaving like that is a bit childish for his age. But perhaps because he is very unlucky trying to find a gf in real life. And, in that case, he might think about that every day. Perhaps most women ignore him. And if someone actually is nice to him he believes she is the love of his life...But often they will grow up and start to behave like adults eventually. Calling someone like that "handicapped" could be a bit to much, IMO. In a game with a lot of players that are 12-19 YO boys it is not easy to avoid them. Perhaps it is normal?

---

  Age is not the best factor to consider here. I know plenty of people 30+ that still act very immature while on the internet, in vent, or in game. Without any serious repercussions relating to their behaviors, age does automatically exclude anyone.

---

Ttere can be exeptions. But if someone behaves like a 13 YO boy he probably is. If it really is a 13 YO he only needs to grow up. If he is 30 he needs professional help.

If the game is intended for 12 YO and up I think it makes sense to belive it is a young boy. Unless there is a specific reason to believe it could be a 30 YO with personality problems. Because they are not the norm...

---

All I can say it that you should not assume that the behavior indicates the age. This kind of assumption that is at the root of the discussion here; that a character gender does not prove the person on the other end is the same and in some cases might be pretending otherwise for security purposes and or nefarious reasons.

Most gamers are older rather than younger. There are plenty of studies to prove that. Fewer 25 to 35 year old players would play Pokemon, or Hello Kitty I imagine, but then we are not discussing specific games. When you log into your average adult oriented MMO, meaning one that is geared for 18 years old or more, I wager we can assume most of the population are that age. In the subscription genre alone, some form of payment is required and I gather that at least some parents are paying attention to what their kids a playing online.

Interesting topic OP.  I'll admit when I was younger and new to the online gaming scene, I tended to treat female characters differently.  The first time I created a character in an online game, I immediately created a male character.  I thought I was supposed to.  My best friend at the time also felt that way.  If you're a dude IRL, then you play a male character.

As a result, I viewed any female character as a woman IRL.  Eventually, I learned that most of those female characters were controlled by dudes.  This ultimately caused me to distrust the gender of any character in an online game.  It also helped me recognize my good and bad behavior toward other players, regardless of their gender.  Since it's impossible to know 100% who is controlling the avatar, it's better to just treat everyone the same.

I think the illusion of anonymity encourages immature behavior for those who are new to online gaming.  Eventually, we all learn the correct way to act toward others.

Most people treat me no different then anybody else, but I like my small guild, so I don't meet a ton of people either. I don't think I'm hiding though, I just don't advertise.

Originally posted by chefdiablo

 

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Originally posted by Hurvart

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Originally posted by chefdiablo  

---

Originally posted by Hurvart

---

Originally posted by Fadedbomb

---

Originally posted by ButeoRegalis

---

Originally posted by Fadedbomb Isn't there a way to change this mentality?

---

For this to change, everyone of us would have to take responsibility, not only for our actions, but also for our inactions. Of course that can be hard work. When you see someone throwing out harassing statements, slurs, you would have to challenge them. When they claim it was all in good fun, you'd have to explain to them that this isn't really funny for the affected person. When they claim you are just too sensitive, you would have to explain that in fact they are too insensitive. You may or may not get backup from your guild mates, which is also dependent on who's on at that time. You may even find yourself in the minority if you are arguing against someone and their friends are on and providing backup against you. You could even make it - right at that time - worse for the target of the slur by prolonging the debate and bringing more attention to it. Maybe the target of the remark has developed a thick skin and isn't bothered by it, and might even take offense at you butting in. Maybe you have been the target of slurs and attacks yourself and just are glad it isn't you this time. It gets even more complicated if the behavior isn't overtly hostile or intended that way, like the case the OP brings up. (Assuming he wasn't using "mentally handicapped" just as an attack himself) Would you make the effort of trying to explain to a mentally handicapped person that their behavior is inappropriate? I have let sexist and homophobic slurs slide, telling myself, it's all in good fun, everybody knows it's just a friendly tease, it's just a one-off remark, it wasn't directed at me, no one is speaking up, so no one is taking offense, I'm not gonna make any waves over one off-color remark, I don't want to argue against that guy and all his buddies, it's their guild after all. I guess I'm not always a good person when I could be.

---

I legitimately meant a "HandiCapped" individual whos physical age is 19 but has a mental maturity of about 9. Again, not his fault, but it is the fault of those surrounding him to allow his behavior to go unchecked. Just because someone is mentally handicapped doesn't mean they're completely inept and learning from their actions, and if they are completely incapable of learning from their actions they shouldn't be in said guild to begin with.   Just my 2cents :)

---

I think it is typical for a 13-16 year old boy that just discovered he is interested in women and falls in love with every girl or woman that talks to him for more than 10 seconds. And believes they must be intersted in him.   A 19 YO behaving like that is a bit childish for his age. But perhaps because he is very unlucky trying to find a gf in real life. And, in that case, he might think about that every day. Perhaps most women ignore him. And if someone actually is nice to him he believes she is the love of his life...But often they will grow up and start to behave like adults eventually. Calling someone like that "handicapped" could be a bit to much, IMO. In a game with a lot of players that are 12-19 YO boys it is not easy to avoid them. Perhaps it is normal?

---

  Age is not the best factor to consider here. I know plenty of people 30+ that still act very immature while on the internet, in vent, or in game. Without any serious repercussions relating to their behaviors, age does automatically exclude anyone.

---

Ttere can be exeptions. But if someone behaves like a 13 YO boy he probably is. If it really is a 13 YO he only needs to grow up. If he is 30 he needs professional help.

 

If the game is intended for 12 YO and up I think it makes sense to belive it is a young boy. Unless there is a specific reason to believe it could be a 30 YO with personality problems. Because they are not the norm...

---

 

All I can say it that you should not assume that the behavior indicates the age. This kind of assumption that is at the root of the discussion here; that a character gender does not prove the person on the other end is the same and in some cases might be pretending otherwise for security purposes and or nefarious reasons.

Most gamers are older rather than younger. There are plenty of studies to prove that. Fewer 25 to 35 year old players would play Pokemon, or Hello Kitty I imagine, but then we are not discussing specific games. When you log into your average adult oriented MMO, meaning one that is geared for 18 years old or more, I wager we can assume most of the population are that age. In the subscription genre alone, some form of payment is required and I gather that at least some parents are paying attention to what their kids a playing online.

Few games are geared for 18 YO or more. Perhaps AoC...but I think a lot of people playing it are younger anyway. The truth is..a 13 YO behaving like a 30 YO is not normal and a 30 YO behaving like a 13 YO is also not normal.

When people grow up there are certain stages and behaviours that are typical for each stage. If someone behaves in a way that is very typical for a 13-15 YO it would not make sense to think that person is 30.

Someone falling in love with every woman and believing every woman/girl that talks to him is interested is normally a young person that just discovered he is interested in women. And if most women ignore him he will certainly fall in love with girls that talk to him and are nice to him. He might stick like glue to a girl like that and refuse to give up. Even if she tells him she already have a boy friend and that she is not interested he will refuse to believe it. For a 13-15 YO that is not uncommon. You will expect him to get over it and that he will behave normally and like an adult when he gets older. But a 30 YO behaving like that is far from normal and needs help. The 30 YO could be dangerous...but the 13-15 YO probably is not.

And in a MMORPG it is OK for men to play a female character and for women to play a male character. It is a roleplaying game.  There can be several totally harmless reasons why someone would think that is cool. Sometimes it is not at all related to any evil intentions or to a strange personality.

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Originally posted by Hurvart

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Originally posted by chefdiablo  

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Originally posted by Hurvart

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Originally posted by chefdiablo  

---

Originally posted by Hurvart

---

Originally posted by Fadedbomb

---

Originally posted by ButeoRegalis

---

Originally posted by Fadedbomb Isn't there a way to change this mentality?

---

For this to change, everyone of us would have to take responsibility, not only for our actions, but also for our inactions. Of course that can be hard work. When you see someone throwing out harassing statements, slurs, you would have to challenge them. When they claim it was all in good fun, you'd have to explain to them that this isn't really funny for the affected person. When they claim you are just too sensitive, you would have to explain that in fact they are too insensitive. You may or may not get backup from your guild mates, which is also dependent on who's on at that time. You may even find yourself in the minority if you are arguing against someone and their friends are on and providing backup against you. You could even make it - right at that time - worse for the target of the slur by prolonging the debate and bringing more attention to it. Maybe the target of the remark has developed a thick skin and isn't bothered by it, and might even take offense at you butting in. Maybe you have been the target of slurs and attacks yourself and just are glad it isn't you this time. It gets even more complicated if the behavior isn't overtly hostile or intended that way, like the case the OP brings up. (Assuming he wasn't using "mentally handicapped" just as an attack himself) Would you make the effort of trying to explain to a mentally handicapped person that their behavior is inappropriate? I have let sexist and homophobic slurs slide, telling myself, it's all in good fun, everybody knows it's just a friendly tease, it's just a one-off remark, it wasn't directed at me, no one is speaking up, so no one is taking offense, I'm not gonna make any waves over one off-color remark, I don't want to argue against that guy and all his buddies, it's their guild after all. I guess I'm not always a good person when I could be.

---

I legitimately meant a "HandiCapped" individual whos physical age is 19 but has a mental maturity of about 9. Again, not his fault, but it is the fault of those surrounding him to allow his behavior to go unchecked. Just because someone is mentally handicapped doesn't mean they're completely inept and learning from their actions, and if they are completely incapable of learning from their actions they shouldn't be in said guild to begin with.   Just my 2cents :)

---

I think it is typical for a 13-16 year old boy that just discovered he is interested in women and falls in love with every girl or woman that talks to him for more than 10 seconds. And believes they must be intersted in him.   A 19 YO behaving like that is a bit childish for his age. But perhaps because he is very unlucky trying to find a gf in real life. And, in that case, he might think about that every day. Perhaps most women ignore him. And if someone actually is nice to him he believes she is the love of his life...But often they will grow up and start to behave like adults eventually. Calling someone like that "handicapped" could be a bit to much, IMO. In a game with a lot of players that are 12-19 YO boys it is not easy to avoid them. Perhaps it is normal?

---

  Age is not the best factor to consider here. I know plenty of people 30+ that still act very immature while on the internet, in vent, or in game. Without any serious repercussions relating to their behaviors, age does automatically exclude anyone.

---

Ttere can be exeptions. But if someone behaves like a 13 YO boy he probably is. If it really is a 13 YO he only needs to grow up. If he is 30 he needs professional help.   If the game is intended for 12 YO and up I think it makes sense to belive it is a young boy. Unless there is a specific reason to believe it could be a 30 YO with personality problems. Because they are not the norm...

---

  All I can say it that you should not assume that the behavior indicates the age. This kind of assumption that is at the root of the discussion here; that a character gender does not prove the person on the other end is the same and in some cases might be pretending otherwise for security purposes and or nefarious reasons. Most gamers are older rather than younger. There are plenty of studies to prove that. Fewer 25 to 35 year old players would play Pokemon, or Hello Kitty I imagine, but then we are not discussing specific games. When you log into your average adult oriented MMO, meaning one that is geared for 18 years old or more, I wager we can assume most of the population are that age. In the subscription genre alone, some form of payment is required and I gather that at least some parents are paying attention to what their kids a playing online.

---

Few games are geared for 18 YO or more. Perhaps AoC...but I think a lot of people playing it are younger anyway. The truth is..a 13 YO behaving like a 30 YO is not normal and a 30 YO behaving like a 13 YO is also not normal.

When people grow up there are certain stages and behaviours that are typical for each stage. If someone behaves in a way that is very typical for a 13-15 YO it would not make sense to think that person is 30.

Someone falling in love with every woman and believing every woman/girl that talks to him is interested is normally a young person that just discovered he is interested in women. And if most women ignore him he will certainly fall in love with girls that talk to him and are nice to him. He might stick like glue to a girl like that and refuse to give up. Even if she tells him she already have a boy friend and that she is not interested he will refuse to believe it. For a 13-15 YO that is not uncommon. You will expect him to get over it and that he will behave normally and like an adult when he gets older. But a 30 YO behaving like that is far from normal and needs help. The 30 YO could be dangerous...but the 13-15 YO probably is not.

And in a MMORPG it is OK for men to play a female character and for women to play a male character. It is a roleplaying game.  There can be several totally harmless reasons why someone would think that is cool. Sometimes it is not at all related to any evil intentions or to a strange personality.

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I think we are talking about two slightly different things here. Falling in love with a woman online as an adolescent is a tragic maturity flaw if this happens much at all. On that we can agree. What I am mostly referring to is that men in general talk about women and to women in games with little to no respect. This is not the case for everyone of course, but if you read enough chat or were to witness the whispers that some characters get your view would broaden from discussing 13 year old kids to a larger range of ages.

During my experiment while playing a female character I had some condescending remarks made about how to play the game as well as some very negative remarks scripted as jokes but in some cases they could be considered to be insults. Along with some of this I also had a couple of innocent flirts. Whether you want to believe or not, adult men can be just as rude and insulting as any 13 year old. Being called names even while role playing a female character was still surprising painful.

I can't force a judgement on what you determine to be adult content of a game. I believe any game that has violence, blood, alcohol, and tobacco references to be adult themed content. If parents allow their children to play these games without paying any attention whatsoever that is their business. My children would however be reasonably supervised while playing online games adult themed or not.

Originally posted by Sovrath

 

Can we assume that any woman can make the decision to obsscure their identity even though they might, in the moment, feel comfortable dressnig in very short "shorts"?

 

 

No. I think that is quite an assumption.

Most girls who dress in very short "shorts" do so seeking attention. So to think they would avoid it online is odd.

I think you are dealing with two different personality types.

Try being stalked by some guy trying to find out who you are and where you live. Try getting threats of bodily harm because you don't want to scew them. Yeah try being a woman today. It is actually worse now that it was 10-15 years ago. Most of the younger generation have utterly no respect for women

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Originally posted by Atlan99

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Originally posted by Sovrath   Can we assume that any woman can make the decision to obsscure their identity even though they might, in the moment, feel comfortable dressnig in very short "shorts"?    

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No. I think that is quite an assumption.

Most girls who dress in very short "shorts" do so seeking attention. So to think they would avoid it online is odd.

I think you are dealing with two different personality types.

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This is an interesting point. Running around with an avatar does not immediately change how the real life person feels.

If I am playing a male character and suddenly found my wardrobe choices were to be spandex with some sort of bulge in the front and bouncing buttocks I would quickly ditch that character and choose a female or another class that I am more comfortable playing. I am not surprised at all that women might feel the same way.

Originally posted by Jabas

1st i dont think gender is relevant in mmorpg envoirement. Why should i care if the ppl i play online is a man, woman or whatever?

For me each one are a person with a personality, it can be nice, moron, polite, rude, friendly, agressive, etc. And this as nothing to do with gender.

When i meet someone in a mmo i never, ever ask his gender, i really dont care. Its a gamer like me, we play a game together, nothing more, so gender is really not important.

And ppl can allways lie, so why bother?

This.  Gender is not important.

Its because the internet is anonymous, and the companies running these games take no real responsibility for the actions of the people playin the games.

These games need to be moderated. It is the only way to stop it. We used to police each other, but now that everything is a single player game with a chat box, there are very few reasons to care if you are kicked out of your guild.

Its far worse from what I can see than it ever has been, and it's only going to continue to get worse. No one is punished for anything anymore. IRL or In game. There are no consequences.

Online communities are communities nonetheless and you are bound to run into discrimination. It might even be more prominent in gaming communities because of the anonymity of players. I think that's the biggest factor behind females with male avatars. Still, it's not uncommon for females to enjoy playing male characters for much simpler reasons. I don't think girls playing guys or guys playing girls warrants any real concern. The discrimination of course will most likely always be an issue because that's just people's personality and short of banning every douchebag, I don't see a way to 'cure' that mmo disease.

Originally posted by SkullyWoods

Online communities are communities nonetheless and you are bound to run into discrimination. It might even be more prominent in gaming communities because of the anonymity of players. I think that's the biggest factor behind females with male avatars. Still, it's not uncommon for females to enjoy playing male characters for much simpler reasons. I don't think girls playing guys or guys playing girls warrants any real concern. The discrimination of course will most likely always be an issue because that's just people's personality and short of banning every douchebag, I don't see a way to 'cure' that mmo disease.

I read all your posts in David Duchovny's voice.... >.>