A Better Community

Bell's post today over at 4 Haelz got me thinking about who I'm playing with. Over the past three years in Annarchy, I've met and become friends with some really great people, both men and women in a pretty wide age range. It's pretty cool when I think about it, these aren't necessarily people that I would have even come into contact with in a real life setting, simply because of that age/gender gap (never mind the actual physical space, since we're scattered all over the world).

It still doesn't just happen naturally though. Given the anonymous nature of the internet and WoW itself, it's still widely accepted that if you reveal to anyone that you are a woman, you can expect to be targeted with immature, and often rude behavior. This can range from the only mildly irritating, "girlz don't play video games!" (yes genius, we've heard it before, you didn't think it up) to the outright offensive "show me your..." The best way to fight this, I think, is if we (I mean everyone, men and women alike) simply stop allowing it. Just don't put up with it.

I chose not to, I created Annarchy with the purpose of being a safe place to play, where that sort of behavior just isn't acceptable. Our rules state that derogatory comments aimed at age/gender/race and religion are just not going to be tolerated. Everyone who joins knows it, and they are expected to conduct themselves in a mature fashion.

As far as age is concerned, it's an issue I deal with as a guild leader, but mostly in terms of trying to make sure that our younger members aren't exposed to language or discussions that they shouldn't be. We're a family friendly guild, and we're serious about keeping it that way. I think a lot of the reason that age (in the way Bell discusses it) isn't an issue with us, is because of the maturity expectation. It truly doesn't matter to me what the age difference is between me and another member, we can connect and play together without it being weird, because we all expect to be treated respectfully, and try to be respectful in return.

I've heard the "It's only a game, I don't let it bother me" argument, rest assured. But I don't buy it. It may not bother you to have someone be rude to you, or someone else, but if you don't speak up...aren't you condoning it? How about the person who wants to play and be accepted as a person, not treated like she's just a great target for jokes and immature comments? Wouldn't it be better if you didn't have to "let it go" and just not be exposed to the behavior at all? It sure makes my gaming experience better.