Ambiguously Gendered Revenge of "What is the Hivemind?"

[Darth K'Trava]

Or at least provide pictures!

And here we thought this was a no-Pr0n zone....

 

[Darth K'Trava]

Anyone could be ambiguous, but I was specifically trying to roleplay "female" in this case. And it apparently worked.

I guess so.... Since you fooled a few guys with the character....

 

[Rystil Arden]

I guess so.... Since you fooled a few guys with the character....

Not only that, I fooled at least two females (the irl wife and gf of two of the people). And it was something like 50-100 people; I was pretty active in the game at the time. I'm always pretty active when I decide to do something

 

[Darkness]

Not only that, I fooled at least two females (the irl wife and gf of two of the people). And it was something like 50-100 people; I was pretty active in the game at the time. I'm always pretty active when I decide to do something

Reminds me of something. If you don't value your sanity and have an rpg.net account (or at least aren't too lazy to register one ), go here.

 

[Rystil Arden]

Reminds me of something. If you don't value your sanity and have an rpg.net account (or at least aren't too lazy to register one ), go here.

<------Is lazy



What was it about?

 

[Darkness]

Brief summary:

Originally posted by Theron:

... OK, so the short version of this is that someone made up some alternate identities and used them as sock-puppets on a mailing list for a very long time.

But here's the thing. Those IDs were very regular posters on a gaming board I used to frequent. KB and RB presented as a bit of an oddity, a happy, well-adjusted, committed, successful lesbian couple with a couple of kids. Their userpics seemed to indicate they were a bit better looking than one might hope, but when they posted pictures, they seemed to be consistent, as were their posting styles.

Of course, there was the seemingly inevitable bit of covert and overt droolage over "hawt lesbian gamer chicks", but it wasn't a common thing. On the boards, there was a group consensus that these people were who they presented themselves to be. And given that I've known people on line who are the children and grandchildren of fairly significant public figures, a couple of actors with screen credits, and a host of writerly types, these two weren't really any more improbable. They didn't attention-whore, particularly (one had a schtick of being perky and blonde, but her userpics seemed to bear this out). They participated in gaming discussions and off-topic conversations. Hell, one of them even apparently posted around these parts for a bit, though rarely.

"They" also befriended a good many of the regulars there. Over on that board right now, there's a tremendous sense of shell-shock. Some of the folks had "known" them for years. One mentioned how he'd gone through a rough patch about a year ago and spent many hours on IM talking to both of them about problems he was having in his life and marriage. All the while, talking to some guy from St. Louis who, for some reason, liked hiding behind two fictional women. And liked it so much he apparently went to great lengths to play out the deception. The guy who admin'ed the PBEM thought he'd actually talked on the phone with one of the women. Another person happened to be in St. Louis on business and was going to meet up with them for dinner, but one was sick and the other had to work late. But their cousin managed to come meet him. ...

 

[Rystil Arden]

Brief summary:

Yikes. That's a step beyond what I was doing. I created a character who was female and roleplayed her female. She was clearly a character, however. For instance, there were multiple countries in the game, and my character's country had been at war with another during the previous generation. Her mother was killed in the war, and so she hated people from that country, and she showed it any time she met some. I also played her as female. Some people in the MMO didn't roleplay though. They thought that I was actually female because my portrayal seemed realistic to them, I guess. But its not like I told them that I was female IRL, like this guy did.

 

[Darkness]

Yikes. That's a step beyond what I was doing.

I know. It's a couple steps beyond just about anything I've seen first-hand, effort-wise if nothing else. And I've seen a lot.

 

[Rystil Arden]

I know. It's a couple steps beyond just about anything I've seen first-hand, effort-wise if nothing else. And I've seen a lot.

Yeah, that does seem like a big effort. Still is good proof to all those people in that thread who claimed that men can't roleplay women realistically though.

 

[Darkness]

Heh. I think part of the problem is that many role-players technically don't, well, role-play very much (and/or very well, depending).
Not to say they necessarily should, mind - to each his own, after all.

If too many people you know are dedicated munchkins, rules lawyers, hack-and-slashers, "funny" kenders/malkavians/whatevers, extreme perverts, etc., your bad experiences might make you underestimate someone who's actually good at role-playing.