How To Deal With A Girl Playing Ns.

DustBunny · September 2003

<div class="IPBDescription">Yes, we do play this game!</div> I'd just like to say right off the bat that for the most part, the NS community seems to be very welcoming to players of all ages and types. Noob-bashing aside (as that's a totally seperate topic), most everyone I've met and played with has been very cool.

However ...

I would like to give the men a few tips about dealing with girls invading your game. When I have encountered someone less-than-accepting, it's been enough to drive me to log off the game. Losing new or semi-new players to obnoxious behavior isn't good for any gaming community, so here are my tips. All of these incidents come from actual annoyances I've endured on various servers.

<b>1. Yes, girls do play this game.</b>
Please, my manly friends, do not act all shocked that a girl enjoys blowing up aliens or devouring little marines just as much as you do. Certainly online gaming tends to be a good old boys club, unless the game is The Sims, but it's not the second coming of Christ that someone of the feminine persuasion has taken an interest in your sacred cow.

<b>2. Not all girls sound like porn stars.</b>
Okay, I admit it. I have a man voice. Or at least a deep voice. It may sound a little odd to you. Yes, maybe even a little g4y. But I'd seriously suggest that you keep your comments to yourself about anyone's voice if you'd like to continue getting updates on what is going on, and what is coming in your direction.

<b>3. I happen to enjoy cooking, but I certainly do not "belong in the kitchen."</b>
This is the incident that inspired me to post this, so other men can avoid getting every girl in the game, undercover or not, quite angry with you. I don't mind some comments on someone figuring out that I'm a girl. In fact, I expect it. I like to think I have a pretty thick skin. But repeatedly telling me, over voice and text to the entire game, to "get back in the kitchen where I belong" is pushing it. Once, in a joking manner, may have been tolerable, if a bit beyond the normal ribbing I expect. But more than five times goes beyond a little joke between gamers.

I'm probably not reaching my intended audience by posting this in one of the more rational online game forums I've frequented, but if I can make one budding obnoxious person sit back and think before he decides to say something that may end up costing the game an eventual good player, I've fulfilled my purpose.
Keep it friendly between everyone, and you may just learn that girls and guys aren't so different after all. At least when it comes to playing NS!

DustBunny
Middle School Teacher, Gamer, Crazy Person

DramaKing · September 2003

Jammer · September 2003

What are you doing posting on a game forum? You should be bare-foot and pregnant!
/1950s <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif'>

Its always nice to have a more diverse community. Women gamers are great. They help alleviate the nerd boy stereo type that most guys have to deal with. Plus, most of them are pretty good. Rarely do you find sucky girl gamers. The voice issue seems pretty dumb. Why would you insult someone based on how they sound? unless you were getting awped by some elf in CS :-P

I'd actually think guys would LOVE to have girls in NS. Especially commanding. <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif'>

Ezekiel · September 2003

girls are of course welcome. the only ppl who i reckon should get **** for their voices (even tho like everyone else they cant help it) are those people whose voices are on par with something very high (what a good explanation) who just dont shut the **** up.

i think 90% of the people here are as open minded and accepting as befitting of an online community.

Trojan2 · September 2003

Me thinks most of the crap comes from young teens with too much testosterone and nothing to do with it. Unfortently there Moms arent watching over them to wash there mouths out with soap.

My wife got so much crap she doesnt even use voice comms anymore. (hmm that was back durning my CS phases I think....)

c4t · September 2003

i think there was a girl in one of my games yesterday, but nobody spoke a word of it. i was only juding from voice anyway. but anyway i really dont care if they are a girl or not. as long as they can play it really shouldnt matter right? and about the rarely seeing a bad female player, this one was good too ( again, if it was a girl, didnt ask, no way to tell)

DustBunny · September 2003

I agree, and I think NS is one of the most accepting communities around. But having annoying gender-related things happening three times in two days is a bit weird to me. At least call me a n00b or something! At least that's something that everyone can agree on. But back to the kitchen because I leaped right past that marine like a total dumba$$ when I was playing skulk? Nope, that's me being a noob. Blocked up that little skinny hallway with OC's so the onos couldn't get through? That's noob, not a girl thing. And even worse, getting that when I'm actually helping the team instead of getting killed like an idiot? Eh.
(Of course, now I expect to go on a server and immediately get called a noob for this post, LOL)
And you think I'm an attention-seeking whiner? Maybe. But considering I'm not the only one who's had annoying things like this happen to them, and am currently attempting to talk someone back into playing after a similar incident ... it's not all the different from the noob-bashing problem, is it? If it makes you lose players, it's not a good thing.

Oh, and yeah, some of the um... really high voices I've heard have been interesting, to say the least. But considering I work with kids that have that problem all day long, I think I've developed an immunity to it. <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif'>

DustBunny

SemperFi1 · September 2003

</span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (DramaKing @ Sep 7 2003, 11:21 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <insert attention **** macro here>  </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> 
Gahaha

RyoOhki · September 2003

C'mon Jammer I expected that first comment of yours to be serious <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif'>

Ah chicks are cool in games. To my eternal damnation I introduced my fiancee to Morrowind and I lost my computer for months. She's still playing it a year later, having found out the alchemical properties of every single item in the game, translating the entire alphabet in the game, translating every scroll she can find and raising every single skill bar security and armorer to 100. She's currently either casting lock spells on chests and lockpicking them or standing in daedric ruins getting hit so she can repair her armor.

Women are entering into gaming more and more lately. Considering it a "men's domain" is fast becoming an outdated thought. A lot of women though cop flack in game from immature idiots. Sometimes when Kyliegirl joins the Gamearena servers here in Oz she gets bombarded with A/S/L? comments. Wish there were admins around so those arseholes could be kickbanned. Girls are just as good at games as guys are. If not better <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif'>

Fantasmo · September 2003

<a href='http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/fun.games/08/27/games.women.reut/' target='_blank'>http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/fun.games/08/...mes.women.reut/</a>

<img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif'>

Speed_2_Dave · September 2003

</span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (DustBunny @ Sep 7 2003, 11:20 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <b>1. Yes, girls do play this game.</b>
<b>2. Not all girls sound like porn stars.</b>
<b>3. I happen to enjoy cooking, but I certainly do not "belong in the kitchen."</b>  </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> 
...wow. I attend a Tech School with very few women, and most of the guys who attend are smart enough to realize that both 2 and 3 are true, and usually they understand that girls game, too (mostly Warcraft 3 and CS, here)

On one of my servers we have a regular player who I believe is a chick, but we treat her no differently than anyone else. Try finding servers that not only are newb-friendly but also tolerant. Should be easier than one would think...

Sorry to hear that people are still as ignorant as they used to be.

/me agrees with the barefoot deal. The best way to keep a woman in the house is to leave her barefoot. Doesn't work on true country bumpkins, they have callouses(sp?)

2of12B0RG · September 2003

The ones that tell you to "get back in the kitchen" and other assorted crap like that are the 13 year old boys that don't see any girls save for the ones at middle school that call them icky.

Advice: Find a good server that is mostly noob-less and frequent it. More of the older (mature) members of the community are apt to be there.

And women belong in the kitchen? They perform much better in the bedroom.

SuperBOB · September 2003

Im so tempted to post something sexist and hilarious, to me at least, but ill resist the urge <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif'>

Dopple · September 2003

</span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (SuperBOB @ Sep 7 2003, 10:04 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> Im so tempted to post something sexist and hilarious, to me at least, but ill resist the urge <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif'>  </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> 
For some reason, so am I.

<b>NEWSFLASH: GIRLS PLAYING GAMES UNEVENTFUL</b>

Tomper · September 2003

My girlfriend plays NS. What I've noticed is that women-players often seem more team-oriented and interested in doing things that benefit the team, instead of just ramboing in search of a kill. My girlfriend likes playing Lerk or Gorge the most, since these are more teamwork backup aliens. She's really good too. <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif'>

Big_Chief_Brown_Bottom · September 2003

how do we know you're not just some middle-aged guy pretending to be a woman, wearing women's clothing and making a woman suit out of fat women's skins?

kltower4 · September 2003

Yo dustBunny. Calm down man. <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif'>

I'm in a NS clan with a female in it too. She rocks. <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/wink.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='wink.gif'> We call her Mommy of the clan and she handles the forums for us.

IMO, female are highly encouraged to play "male" games. Afterall, male and female OR female and male do live on this same planet named as EARTH. <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif'>

Happy Fragging. <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/asrifle.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='asrifle.gif'> <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/skulk.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='skulk.gif'> <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/pudgy.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='pudgy.gif'> <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/siege.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='siege.gif'> <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tiny.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tiny.gif'> <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/turret.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='turret.gif'> <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/marine.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='marine.gif'> <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/fade.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='fade.gif'> <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/lerk.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='lerk.gif'>

wRaven · September 2003

The idea of girls playing videogames is a government lie, used to keep males playing games and not hurting eachother in real life.

Paranoia2MB · September 2003

Big deal, a girl plays a game I do.
It doesn't bother me in any way. The rules for a female is the same as a male player. Don't get in my way if i'm trying to escape, back me up, and be a good shot and of course, OBEY ORDERS.

Testament · September 2003

I don't see the big deal about women playing games. It's not like it never happened. Hell, I know girls who love gore as much as me. And to me, any scene with exploding heads is good in my book. :P

superoperater · September 2003

</span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Tomper @ Sep 8 2003, 01:48 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> My girlfriend plays NS. What I've noticed is that women-players often seem more team-oriented and interested in doing things that benefit the team, instead of just ramboing in search of a kill. My girlfriend likes playing Lerk or Gorge the most, since these are more teamwork backup aliens. She's really good too. <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif'>  </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> 
Lucky bat*rd <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif'>

My friend just screams for HA/HMG and goes Ramboing towards aliens or goes for Fade/cloak ambushes. But **** she shoots like a mofo <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif'>
Besides, there aint nothing better than people finding out that they are playing against a girl, and then watching her mow down 4 guys on stairs in Dust2 <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif'>

Her nick is KLO, so when u see her RUN FOR DA HILLZ !!! <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif'>

On a sidenote, most chicks suck at gaming, but unlike 99% of men they dont try to justify it (i would've killed ya, but my monitor is laggy/my mouseware is 9.70 instead of 9.72/you are a cheater/etcetc)

Testament · September 2003

People **** in Jedi Academy too much. I'm like "ARARAWRAWRAWRWARARWAWRWARAW" and slice them in half, then they scream "BS!" or smt. Of course, people **** in all games. :/

Catpoker · September 2003

in game, we did have a female regualer on CoFR

usually i will joke around saying "OMG A GIRL!!!!" and "oh no!!! i better act cool! hey baby, whats happening.."

but i do it in like a sarcastic voice, and its really just a big joke, that nobody seems to get.....

anyway, i really dont care if you are male, female, in between.. just follow my orders and waypoints and we get along just fine....

Rue · September 2003

Only know mof 1 girl that plays on the BY servers, and i must add has the best voice on the servers , Akom!!!! we lov u <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif'>

Hunty · September 2003

As a female gamer myself,i would have to say we get special treatment.Both good and bad.

The bad - people repeatedly insisting that we are transexuals,80 year old men pretending to be female,or repeatedly commenting about "PMS" or something stupid like that.

The good - People tend to be nicer to us ingame.Certain people at any rate.

Ah_forget_it · September 2003

Sad to find that you are still getting s*** of this kind in the 22nd Century. All I can say is play on a server where you don't come across such 13 yr olds and any ignorance in relation to sex, religion, race or sexuality is not tolerated. You are more than welcome on ours (check sig) where we have other female gamers.

Interesting point regards team play as I do find female players more willing to play for the team in taking support roles and listening and briefing team members. Mind you we then have Killme a regular on our server who I think is just one of the best skulks I have ever seen <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif'>

Tomper, what nick does your GF play under mate? Welcome on our server anyday.

Birdy · September 2003

</span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'>3. I happen to enjoy cooking, but I certainly do not "belong in the kitchen."</td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'>

I got the same thing over at the ^nut^ server. And they just wouldn't stop so now i'm playing on nice servers such as thehaven <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif'>

Olmy · September 2003

i notice some people couldn't resist the urge to add in their own sexist comments on this forum <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/mad.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='mad.gif'> . Sad, really. People should just treat woman indifferently to everyone else on ns servers, but, like thats ever gonna happen.

Snidely · September 2003

</span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (DustBunny @ Sep 7 2003, 11:20 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> DustBunny
Middle School Teacher...Crazy Person  </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> 
The former implies the latter.

(;

Roobubba · September 2003

The one thing that annoys me when a lady joins the server is how many of the guys suddenly think "Oooh a woman, try to pull her!"

I'd be interested on the female player's take on this, because you must pick up on it surely?

FWIW I've played many online games with various different women (two in the best KP clan who were awesome players) and their dedication to the game and teamwork seems far better than the vast majority of guys (probably something to do with the way girls share toys and boys don't).

You're most welcome at Roob's NTFM server (see sig). Many of the admins and regulars are attached/married, though it is still a public server and there will inevitably be some of that "Oooh a woman, let's act all over-friendly-cos-we-think-we-have-a-chance-of-getting-some"...

Roo

Olmy · September 2003

i don't even find that funny. that's just scary <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/wow.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='wow.gif'>

[edit] i was referring to that good wife guide

How To Deal With A Girl Playing Ns.

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