Just didn't feel right to me, I'm a guy(YA RYLY!), and I choose to stay true to that so I go with the big burly dudes I suppose.

 

I've been a male gamer for about 6 years (while Planetside appears to be the last of such games I may be committing to), and I've personally come to despise the interaction between female and male gamers.  Albeit I am not certain exactly what is the root cause of this dislike, but it probably has to do with how I perceive online gamers to be - a standard deviation below the average in terms of communicating with females, the subsequent removal of inhibition to behave (usually in a negative manner) in an online medium.  If these preconceved notions are false, even then you have a situation in which there is that one attractive girl in that sports bar syndrome, in which I have to bear witness to acts that I can easily avoid outside of a game. 

 

In short, female gamers are prone to causing drama in the games I have been involved.  Perhaps the idea is much more offensive to me, since I log on to play a game undisturbed from all of the worldly cares, a sort of escape from the routine aspects of life: having to make a living, studying for classes, dealing with immutable problems between family members, friends, colleagues, people of power and resigned individuals, and accepting the fact that some of these problems will never go away.  I treat gaming the same way I approach music, sports, and literature.  A departure from the norm.  By that logic, I've also come to despise having to earn money in a game, or do any character-building required by a MMORPG, in which it is possible to construct a 'fantasy world' mirroring the real world. I don't want to work in a game, I want objectives, competition, and swift interaction (in planetisde, a weapon) I suppose.  So how does all of this relate to what I was talking about earlier?  In my experience, females have made my gaming experience equivalent to going to a sports bar with only one attractive female, except worse, since there is very little in the way of inhibiting what is said. 

 

I've thought this is more true to the MMORPGs then planetside (since there really is too little time to converse, other than via TS/ventrillo), but it appears Isabel is still subject to the same sort of abuse from male gamers.  I can definetely think of one exception in which playing with a female gamer was quite enjoyable, and that was when I played in an outfit with a female who was married to a respected individual in the outfit.  Since she was happily married, the flirting (or rather pathetic flirting attempts) was kept at a minima over teamspeakl, and because she was content with her marriage, she never took advantage of the scarcity of supply (in this case, female) to demand (generated by males).  The result was: a drama free time, while logging on to planetside with this individual. 

 

My personal thoughts are that women like yourselves, Isabel, will have to wait at least one more generation to be subject to normal treatment by your gaming peers.  Already, the face of male gamers is becoming mainstream because of the popularity of games like WoW, as the portrayal of the stereotypical gamer as a social misfit living in his parent's basement, is beginning to change.  As more and more females brave the gaming barrier as it is still against the social norms, it's only inevitable.

 

 

 

 

Drama caused by females online are inevitable, I suppose by everyone male and female alike. StarRaven for example, but then again, she never would get on TS when asked and I like to think someone like that really isn't female, but I can't be sure.

 

Here's a tell I got today by someone I thought to be a friend.

 

 

There's a saying that goes "You never know someone until you fight them." I suppose it holds true here. I've been on his TS, we've talked, laughed, he even wants me to go VS and join his A-S-L? outfit. But suddenly I kill him in a 1v1, agile vs agile, jackhammer vs jackhammer, and this is what happens? Had I been male would he have even sent a tell?

 

The topic of my sexual activity is not up for discussion in such an environment. Did I wrong him in some way that he would react to me, his "friend" like this? And who the heck is Chris? Needless to say they both found their way on my ignore list but am I really to blame for this? Is it because I'm not supposed to be able to kill him or anyone else? Should I somehow not be as skilled or capable because I have long brunette hair that constantly gets in my face and has caused several deaths, or because when I type you can hear the clicking sounds of nails clashing into the alphanumeric keyboard?

 

But let me not be one-sided, I've gotten the oh so famous "You're pretty good for a girl" comment. Is this supposed to be a compliment?

 

I like to think I can hold my own and to be honest there's only a handful of players that will make me sit up right, turn off the TV / Radio, and actually focus 100% on the game when I know they are in the vicinity.

 

But what used to be "Isabel has that door, you take the other one" is now "Hey Isabel, why don't you come to the CC with us and let someone else guard the door." As though suddenly it's impossible to conceive the notation that maybe this player (not male or female - but player) can be just as capable. Perhaps I'm being a bit too emtional and causing drama right here? I don't know but have you ever been pissed off because you died or died too much? We share the same feelings, just in a different context for a different reason.

It looks like you're being treated as a 'minority', Isabel. And there's no denying that you are precisely that in planetside.  You're just going to have to find the individuals who do not equate you to the negative stereotypes that usually accompany that minority group and ignore the rest.  I also applaud your desire to be treated as an equal, not as a good "female gamer."  It annoys me to hell, when a girl desiring equal treatment also demands to be given 'special treatment' as a lady.  It's either one or the other.

 

There's one thing I've noticed from MMO games, and that is, we are virtually observing a world in which, difference in appearance has been dented.  Being different is both a blessing and a curse to humanity.  We identify ourselves through them.  We strive on our recognition of differences.  Take the avatars in Planetside for example.  Other than faction-based weaponry and a relatively minor variation in character faces and voices, there are no significant differences to be observed.  However, we immediately segregate by being sensitive about our differences.  When you interact in Planetside, there's very little about our culture and history that we bring into the gunning down our enemies or collectively holding a hack on Dagda, but still there is a tremendous degree of animosity between players. 

 

That dislike is fueled by difference of opinion in styles, intelligence levels, and most notably, we bring our worldly constructs into the game.  The funny thing is: very few of them actually have any relavance to the game.  (except for the core themes like, loyalty, honesty, etc).  One of the most common insults in an MMO game is, I am better than you in real life.  This is usually out of frustration of not being aware of more differences to fan the hatred you are developing for the individual in the game.  There's just so much more in life that we can use as ammo that isn't there in planetside.  We don't want to be just another player in our so called online game -- some people, much more so than others.  I think the sooner you realize this, the less you will be offended by such ignorant comments.  Also, in case you haven't noticed, the guy world is so very different from a girl world. We are more crude, direct, and unmethodical on average than women.  If the players knew some other information about you that makes you a minority, they will abuse that too.

 

The Smacktards of VS.