Female gamers having a hard time in gaming communites

[Malcador]

Well, first we need to see if this is anything notable.  How many women would post here more often and how many that do.  Latter is easy, former is not. 

[Amentep]

We need to know our known unknowns and our unknown unknowns.

[BruceVC]

 

 

 

I divide the world into two groups:

 

1. ****

 

2. Not an ****

 

I don't much give a toss about anything else, TBH. 

am feeling the same... although we probable fall into the **** category. the thing is, Gromnir treats everybody equal bad. oddly enough, this endeared us to many o' the female posters at old interplay boards. we don't like lack o' fairness, so maybe that strikes some kinda resonating chord. dunno. regardless, am thinking most women ain't as frail as they is frequent portrayed. treat with same respect/disrespect as male counterparts, and female gamers/posters respond positively... for the most part.

 

HA! Good Fun!

 

 

Gromnir have you not noticed there are very few females members active on these forums? Am I the only one who is concerned by this and wonders why?

 

 

Can you determine why they aren't active though?

 

Is the forum (or its posters) uninviting or are women uninterested in posting?

 

 

Those are  the most relevant questions to the topic and I am not sure of  the answers, it could be either but is probably a combination. Either way I don't think its a fantastic indictment. What do you think?

But I'm also not sure what you could do to change it, these forums are open to all and have an active policy of not allowing discrimination so what could we realistically do differently to get female members more active?

[kirottu]

My first WoW character was a female orc and during a year or two I got hit on once. I didn't respond and he left me alone. So no, I really don't understand how hard women have it in gaming.

[GhostofAnakin]

 

Gromnir have you not noticed there are very few females members active on these forums? Am I the only one who is concerned by this and wonders why?

 

 

Have Obsidian's games really been geared toward what female gamers tend to like in games?  I don't really know that they are.

 

You have to keep in mind that a developer's forum will usually be filled with gamers who play that developer's games.  As a general point, you're not going to find Halo fans or Grand Theft Auto fans posting on here about those games.  Other than the rarest of exceptions, the people you'll find posting regularly on here are those who are fans of Obsidian games.

 

Which goes back to my original question.  Of the games Obsidian has made, which appeals to a wide audience of females?

[JadedWolf]

Which goes back to my original question.  Of the games Obsidian has made, which appeals to a wide audience of females?

 

 

NWN2 is definitely a contender in my book - especially the roleplaying servers. But honestly, I think a lot of the Obsidian games because of their focus on story are just as appealing to women as to men. Sadly, I couldn't get my girlfriend (who is an avid player of computer games) into the BG games. I did try but she felt the gameplay was boring and the character abilities for rogues (her favourite class in RPG games) were too limited.

 

I don't think these boards are really representative of the Obsidian fanbase anyway. I know a lot of people who have played Obsidian games and who have never even so much as glanced at these boards.

Edited May 7, 2014 by JadedWolf

[IndiraLightfoot]

The NWN2 forums had a slightly higher percentage of female players than what we see here (at least in the open, as it were), and those forums were rather more civil, quite frankly. The trend is degeneration in that department, just like in our societies overall, world-wide even. There were also a few female moderators and also a few female modders (which, among other things - dare I say it - tried their hands at pretty impressive romance mods of NWN2 vanilla and MotB). And when Storm of Zehir came out, we had one of Obsidian's female writers frequent our boards at times. In the '80s and early '90s, I participated in a few PnP-gamecons over weekends, and there female participants constituted about 5-10% of all the players. However, male players tend to be more bogged down with mechanics and rules and world lore. Why I don't know, but it could explain why these forums have so few female players. They prefer not to squabble over game minutiae. Instead, they just want to get on with the role-playing. 

Edited May 7, 2014 by IndiraLightfoot

[Drowsy Emperor]

We need to know our known unknowns and our unknown unknowns.

 

So whose skirt are we gonna peer under first?

[Bester]

I want to request a group for normal males that don't talk about "feelings", "sensitivities", "gay rights", "special treatment for women or gays in video gaming" and all that post-modern ridiculous meaningless tiresome bull ****. I just want to play with people that aren't compelled to repeat this **** all the time like a mantra. Can that StarCitizen or whatever it is make a group for people like me or are they just another bunch of aggressive gays and feminists that place gays and women above hetero men?

 

I just want a place to relax and chat without being constantly ambushed and harassed by feminists and gay rights activists. Can they do that? I bet they can't.

 

The West is so decaying...

Edited May 7, 2014 by Bester

[Drowsy Emperor]

I don't think Star Citizen is going to be about that but you really should drop by Bioware forums and tell them how you feel 

[Volourn]

Another thread bashing women and calling them weak babies who need their hand held and need to be taken care of. DISGUSTING women hating.

 

I'm of the belief that a woman can take care of herself and doesn't need a hero to defend her 'honour'.

 

That's sick, twisted caveman crap.

[Hurlshort]

I want to request a group for normal males that don't talk about "feelings", "sensitivities", "gay rights", "special treatment for women or gays in video gaming" and all that post-modern ridiculous meaningless tiresome bull ****. I just want to play with people that aren't compelled to repeat this **** all the time like a mantra. Can that StarCitizen or whatever it is make a group for people like me or are they just another bunch of aggressive gays and feminists that place gays and women above hetero men?

 

I just want a place to relax and chat without being constantly ambushed and harassed by feminists and gay rights activists. Can they do that? I bet they can't.

 

The West is so decaying...

 

Heh, ambushed by feminists and gay rights activists.  

 

You really are my favorite troll Bester.  I've missed you.

[Hiro Protagonist II]

 

 

Gromnir have you not noticed there are very few females members active on these forums? Am I the only one who is concerned by this and wonders why?

 

 

Can you determine why they aren't active though?

 

Is the forum (or its posters) uninviting or are women uninterested in posting?

 

 

The recent boob armour discussion is a good example. Mihura posted she didn't like boob armour. (I'm assuming she's a girl). Also, I noticed that it was the guys who wanted boob scale armour or didn't have a problem with it. Yet, when a female posts her dislike for it, there's immediate disagreement from the guys. Even so far as someone pointing out Mihura's forum avatar. So it went from disagreement of boob armour to pointing out forums avatars? Then science and animals was introduced and Mihura pointed out 'Let's not go there'. Eventually, it appears Mihura has decided not to waste any more time and leave. I can see why some females may not be interested in posting on these forums. It's just not worth it. I'm not defending or white knighting. It's just an observation I noticed in that thread.

Edited May 7, 2014 by Hiro Protagonist II

[Gromnir]

We need to know our known unknowns and our unknown unknowns.

do we?  

 

*shrug*

 

if obsidian makes more popular games, you will see more posters... and some percentage will be female. if the obsidian developers does more to cater to women players and posters, then we suspect we will see some increase in the aforementioned percentage. gaider and the biowarians clear made efforts to cater to female audience. he and other biowarians spent time at the ladies o' neverwinter site, for example. dave went to the women and asked for feedback from them. is effort. can't see chrisA doing that. regardless, this is an obsidian board. obsidian has made some crap games recently. they also made south park, which don't have a strong female demographic. is an obsidian problem to fix... if they see as a problem.

 

HA! Good Fun!

[rjshae]

 The recent boob armour discussion is a good example. Mihura posted she didn't like boob armour. (I'm assuming she's a girl). Also, I noticed that it was the guys who wanted boob scale armour or didn't have a problem with it. Yet, when a female posts her dislike for it, there's immediate disagreement from the guys. Even so far as someone pointing out Mihura's forum avatar. So it went from disagreement of boob armour to pointing out forums avatars? Then science and animals was introduced and Mihura pointed out 'Let's not go there'. Eventually, it appears Mihura has decided not to waste any more time and leave. I can see why some females may not be interested in posting on these forums. It's just not worth it. I'm not defending or white knighting. It's just an observation I noticed in that thread.

 

Many of the extended discussions here are not of high value and result in contentious behavior. It may have less to do with sexism per se and more about just general priggish human nature.

[Volourn]

"The recent boob armour discussion is a good example. Mihura posted she didn't like boob armour. (I'm assuming she's a girl). Also, I noticed that it was the guys who wanted boob scale armour or didn't have a problem with it. Yet, when a female posts her dislike for it, there's immediate disagreement from the guys."
 

Wait a sec.

 

Someone posts an OPINION.

 

People who disagree with said OPINION post their opinion.

 

WTH is wrong with that?

 

\Isn't that what internet forums are/should be about?

 

OMFG

[Malcador]

Disagreement on a forum is micro-aggression, Volo.

[GhostofAnakin]

 

Which goes back to my original question.  Of the games Obsidian has made, which appeals to a wide audience of females?

 

 

NWN2 is definitely a contender in my book - especially the roleplaying servers. But honestly, I think a lot of the Obsidian games because of their focus on story are just as appealing to women as to men. Sadly, I couldn't get my girlfriend (who is an avid player of computer games) into the BG games. I did try but she felt the gameplay was boring and the character abilities for rogues (her favourite class in RPG games) were too limited.

 

I don't think these boards are really representative of the Obsidian fanbase anyway. I know a lot of people who have played Obsidian games and who have never even so much as glanced at these boards.

 

 

Speaking of NWN2, could a reason those female gamers who play that never post here be as a result of those forums being linked off-site?  Similarly, the FO:NV forums aren't on this site, either.  So if a female gamer is interested in chatting about those games, chances are they just go to those specific forums and won't venture into, for example, this general discussion forum.

 

I don't know.  I'm just speculating as to why there might not be many female gamers posting on here.

[Chilloutman]

"The recent boob armour discussion is a good example. Mihura posted she didn't like boob armour. (I'm assuming she's a girl). Also, I noticed that it was the guys who wanted boob scale armour or didn't have a problem with it. Yet, when a female posts her dislike for it, there's immediate disagreement from the guys."

 

Wait a sec.

 

Someone posts an OPINION.

 

People who disagree with said OPINION post their opinion.

 

WTH is wrong with that?

 

\Isn't that what internet forums are/should be about?

 

OMFG

not anymore, you have to run it through political correction checker before posting so you dont hurt feelings of anyone

[Orogun01]

Disagreement on a forum is micro-aggression, Volo.

But we all disagree all the time, heck sometimes we disagree just cause we are bored and no one takes to opposing argument.

 

On OP, I don't think that a female safe zone is the solution. Creating a girls only area is painting a target on your back, you're just making it easier for the arseholes to find you.

[Hiro Protagonist II]

 

Wait a sec.

 

Someone posts an OPINION.

 

People who disagree with said OPINION post their opinion.

 

WTH is wrong with that?

 

\Isn't that what internet forums are/should be about?

 

OMFG

 

I was posting an opinion on why females may not feel welcome, uninvited or uninterested. There's plenty of forums where I look and think, not worth it. And don't post on those forums.

 

It has nothing to do with disagreeing with posters. If you're going to ridicule and take the discussion off topic and attack them, then I can understand why they might not feel welcome. You'll also note that it wasn't just a disagreement which I linked. It was also:

 

because some flatchested girls are having a hissy fit about big boobs showing

 

Where did this come from?

 

Oh that's right. It's okay to give your opinion regardless of personal attacks. Because it's an opinion and this is a discussion forum and we can all agree to disagree.

Edited May 7, 2014 by Hiro Protagonist II

[Gromnir]

just to state the obvious, but a females-only section for the women who is Not posting here is kinda a waste.

 

HA! Good Fun!

[Nonek]

 

 

 

Gromnir have you not noticed there are very few females members active on these forums? Am I the only one who is concerned by this and wonders why?

 

 

Can you determine why they aren't active though?

 

Is the forum (or its posters) uninviting or are women uninterested in posting?

 

 

The recent boob armour discussion is a good example. Mihura posted she didn't like boob armour. (I'm assuming she's a girl). Also, I noticed that it was the guys who wanted boob scale armour or didn't have a problem with it. Yet, when a female posts her dislike for it, there's immediate disagreement from the guys. Even so far as someone pointing out Mihura's forum avatar. So it went from disagreement of boob armour to pointing out forums avatars? Then science and animals was introduced and Mihura pointed out 'Let's not go there'. Eventually, it appears Mihura has decided not to waste any more time and leave. I can see why some females may not be interested in posting on these forums. It's just not worth it. I'm not defending or white knighting. It's just an observation I noticed in that thread.

 

 

Am I the only individual who thought it was Ms Mihura whom was being a touch confrontational and impolite, I was in general supporting her position on de-emphasising the bust and yet got called stupid for my troubles, and the tone of her posts to other respondents was similarly rather abrupt. Then again I am old fashioned and courteous to a fault so may be more easily shocked.

[Hiro Protagonist II]

Am I the only individual who thought it was Ms Mihura whom was being a touch confrontational and impolite, I was in general supporting her position on de-emphasising the bust and yet got called stupid for my troubles, and the tone of her posts to other respondents was similarly rather abrupt. Then again I am old fashioned and courteous to a fault so may be more easily shocked.

 

I only saw her being a touch confrontational and impolite at the end. But lets forget about the others who were also being a touch confrontational and impolite from the start.

[Nonek]

I agree there was a lack of exemplary conduct on both sides Mr Protagonist, but it seems the young lady was equally willing to roll in the mire so to speak. If she had remained calm, polite and jovial then her point might have been conveyed more clearly, to my mind at least. Lashing out at those whom are supporting her position seems a little counter productive.