A Journey, A Revelation, And Some Nudity

[Zac_Dai]

I don't get it

Basically some bored guy decided to pretend to be a girl on the internet to discover such mysterious facts of life like guys will on hit on you and that there's no such thing as sisterhood.

He then made a personal blog about it and a lot of people got trolled, a lot of people were like /care & tl;dr.

Oh and one guy got really emo because he felt betrayed lol.

 

[jamesworkshop]

I don't get it

Basically some bored guy decided to pretend to be a girl on the internet to discover such mysterious facts of life like guys will on hit on you and that there's no such thing as sisterhood.

He then made a personal blog about it and a lot of people got trolled, a lot of people were like /care & tl;dr.

Oh and one guy got really emo because he felt betrayed lol.

Never understood the internet flirting esp on MMO's since they probably live an ocean away anyway why not just go on a dating site it would be a lot more productive

 

[Zac_Dai]

I don't get it

Basically some bored guy decided to pretend to be a girl on the internet to discover such mysterious facts of life like guys will on hit on you and that there's no such thing as sisterhood.

He then made a personal blog about it and a lot of people got trolled, a lot of people were like /care & tl;dr.

Oh and one guy got really emo because he felt betrayed lol.

Never understood the internet flirting esp on MMO's since they probably live an ocean away anyway why not just go on a dating site it would be a lot more productive

You know I've always reckoned its something to do with the roleplay element of them.

Maybe you feel more confident being a lvl100 ultrawarrior when you trying to pick up that sassy nightelf.

 

[UsefulPlayer 1]

Wait, so Ultrajoe isn't a 16-bit hulking armored figure?

I must say I was tricked as well, but its not like I'm really familiar or talk to anyone here besides just posting my thoughts on this site alot.


This reminds me of a prank my friends played on someone, pretending to be a girl on facebook and flirting with him. It was really funny to them, but I think it slowly dawn on us that this guy is a sexual predator. I mean the things he said to a girl he never saw except in a picture.....shivers*

Anyway, that has taught be a lot about trusting the internet and also why I punch myself in the balls whenever I think I'm talking to someone just because they are female. Which is why I suggest girls not post their pictures or try to be as dude like as possible just so people like me not be swayed.

 

[Theophenes]

Okay, I've got a few thoughts here.

1. Flame has a point. You could've taken this among another sample group instead of running the locals around here like lab rats in a maze.I not saying what you did was morally wrong, but in psychology, it's usually bad form to experiment on your mates (buddies, not shagging partners. pardon my anglicized antiquated terms.).

2. This sort of experimentation is a vital part of the internet, and one of its greatest strengths. Everyone has a large amount of conceptual existence. My actual self and my theoretical self are two entirely different personae. For all you know, I'm an old half-sober Irishman with a bad haircut, or a Kenyan relay runner who as too busy taking care of his mom to the Olympic trials.

3. To argue one of your points, "Gender" is in essence a culture, albeit not necessarily innate. It's also a cultural value. Why? Because humans make it that way.

4. As for the flirting thing, some of s don't really "flirt," we just joke. I'd need specific examples to take this further, but some of what you interpreted as "bad flirting" may have just been "random prattle."

5. Although I'm glad this was a learning experience for you, it's a little odd to claim it as more than that. Personally, I've played on both sides of the gender line, and neutral, and honestly, I don't remember any real different treatment. But I'm also a guy who tends towards more gender neutral/even areas and games on the internet, so that changes the overall attitude. I mean, when the gender ratio isn't 3:the rest of the room, we tend to act like adults or kids.

 

[Merteg]

I'm new here, so I didn't really understand what was going on. I understood what you were talking about, but it meant less to me as I'm not sure who you are.

Hopefully such things will continue, and in a few months/years I can be telling all these inside jokes to my Escapist friends.

Or maybe not, I've not been here long enough to tell.

 

[S.H.A.R.P.]

Firstly, I would like to congratulate you on the successful ploy you and the people at Escapism carried out. As Hannibal used to say: "I love it when a plan comes together."

To comment on your initial post, I have to say that I had a bit of trouble interpreting all the nuances interwoven in the writing. I am not a native English speaker, and because of this I was floating fuzzily throughout the story, only slowly getting the intended point with any certainty. I'm not saying it was badly written, probably on the contrary, but it was just hard for me to get it all. (not much of a point I know, sorry)

I do not know you personally much, I witnessed the controversy of the Escapism gender revelation with a degree of detachment. I am not personally offended by you revealing that you are in fact a guy. If I would have known you better though, and considered you as a friend, I would have certainly been offended.

To you, and the people who were at Escapism, it's all fun, games, and perhaps a bit of sorrow at your side in retrospect. But for others to be a part of an involuntary experiment like this is close to betrayal. Even though this is just the internet, and you hardly ever count people as real friends here, people do have feelings which can be hurt.

I can well imagine and sort off agree with Fire Daemon's sentiment here. If you have considered a piece on the internet to be full with well intended people who you almost considered friends and even trusted, then to be let down like this...

Perhaps this was not the right place. I'm pretty sure you were knowledgeable on the reactions it could provoke. Plenty of other similar experiments have been conducted in the past.

 

[Khedive Rex]

I respond to this in much the same way I responded to your revelation in the 'Escapism' thread.

"Oh. That's interesting."

What sex the various posters here are really doesn't factor into my communications with them (Correct me if I'm wrong of course. Did you notice any difference in my posting habits with you once you turned female?) As such, I can't really muster much surprise when I hear what sex they actually are. It's like someone telling me they're lactosintolerant; an unnecessary qualifier on an identity, that I may or may not remember.

As for the experiment itself, kind of clever. I don't think you learned anything truely ground-breaking but experiencing the issues you already knew were there was probably valuable. Out of curiosity, what was the final straw that convinced you to end the experiment? Or had you merely decided before hand that it would only run for a certain number of days?

On the subject of female posters; Yes, everyone. There are girls on the internet. And they tend to put up with a lot of shit. I like to think this is one of the better communities but, well, Ultrajoe would be in a better position than me to know.

As for the people getting upset: Really? Come on. It's Ultrajoe and Labyrinth. What were you expecting? The first gets his kicks from evading attempts to discover his actual identity (his name, Dean, is the first substantial personal identifier we've gotten out of him in a year and three months, other than the fact that he owns a dog and lives somewhere in the vicinity of Sydeny) and creating mystery and suspense around everything he does. He's also agressive as fuck.

Labyrinth? She gets her kicks posting in-depth essays on human behavior, social habits and philosophy twice a week in off-topic and she's at the beating heart of nearly all Escapist Community activities (Escapist Meet-ups, Escapist Radio). Coincedentally, she's also agressive as fuck.

Put them together and this experiment is almost the logical conclusion. Really, the fact that they were comfortable enough to do it here is a good sign. It means they consider the people here friends and didn't think their experiment would upset anyone too much. They figured people would be laughing along with them at the end of it. I'm gonna go out on a limb and say they wouldn't have run an experiment like this on Warcry or another strange distant forum (Labyrinth might have, Ultrajoe wouldn't have seen the point), because half the game was seeing how their friends would react.

It's a sign of familiarity and casualness more than anything. Take it as a compliment.

 

[-Orgasmatron-]

I'm here for the nudity, if someone could direct me to it?

 

[Caimekaze]

All I did was change genders, Fire.

And please, don't feel like my thoughts are only directed at you. They are directed at all of the people that took part in 'April Escapism' and hence took part in this lie as they are equally responsible I suppose.

What really guts me is the fact that at 'Escapism' most of those people are the folks that would call themselves veterans or oldies or whatever. Is this how veterans treat their community, manipulating them? That doesn't sound right too me. Maybe if you did this by yourself Joe I could walk restrain from posting and go to bed but the fact that so many users that are held in high esteem did this just... well cuts me up inside. A community that I would usually say something positive about has become something that I would warn people to stay away and wonder why I aren't following them. That just, doesn't sound right.

Oi. Most of us didn't know.

If this revelation is in fact true, then only Ultrajoe and Labyrinth knew. The rest of us didn't, so why are you so angry about us for it?
I mean, I could understand if we were all told the truth at the Escapism and then decided to play along, but we didn't.

Personally, I think you're making far too big a deal about it. Especially since Ultrajoe has expressed regret about doing this and missing out on a chance for meeting us properly.

 

[Fingerprint]

This is like a bad acid trip. Too much confusion (with an emphasis on the 'con' part).
One quick question, how difficult was it shaping your armour? I can (well no, actually I can't) imagine it was hard enough to do first time but twice?

Sorry if its in your post (I'm half asleep and was skim-reading), but how on earth did you get someone to pose as you in/at Escapism?

 

[ThaBenMan]

I. Fuckin'. Told. You. So.

I was never fooled. I can show you the post [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/18.108007?page=3#1813611] to prove it as well, if you care to see it.

Anyway, I'm glad that you had fun with it.

 

[Bulletinmybrain]

Okay. Anybody else want to pop out the closet so we can scream surprise and stammer around slightly-slackjawed?

 

[Gruthar]

I guess as a web denizen for well over a decade, I question the value of the 'experiment.' I'm sure it was amusing, but I'm wondering if there really was anything of value to be learned -- the reactions of people to your assumed genders were predictable. I could sit at a bar for a few hours, completely oblivious to gender cultures/stereotypes, and arrive at the same conclusions. Kudos on the execution, but I don't think I can say anything much more positive about it than that.

As far as the difference in reception to the announcements of your gender, I suspect that has to do with the traditional reasons as to why people are deceptive about their gender. On the 'net, it's acceptable for woman to assume the identity of a guy. As far as I know, everyone is aware that men can be pests when it comes to women (sometimes rather depraved ones) so it's understandable for a woman to lie about her gender in order to avoid this. For someone formerly perceived as a guy to reveal that they are in fact a woman is taken as a sign that the person is comfortable enough in a (usually male-dominated) community to be open about themselves. Hence, it elicits a positive response.

Conversely, a man pretending to be a woman never seems to do so with good intentions towards the deceived. Yes, it should be obvious that many men are easily manipulated by the allure of a woman. Knowing this, many men falsely assume the female gender to exploit the fact. I had a friend do this in WoW, and he got all sorts of free items from lonely male gamers by doing so. The point is there often isn't a justifiable basis for pretending to be a woman; the end result is nearly always personal gain (whether it be emotional -- like torment and amusement -- or tangible gain) through the deception of and at the expense of others. This 'experiment', at least superficially, seems to be such a case, and as such I find little that is commendable about it.

Being a relatively new member, I'm otherwise indifferent.

I guess time will tell, but what it boils down to is this: Do you think it was worth it, Ultrajoe? Was this really the best way to further your own understanding?

 

[Fingerprint]

Edit.

- snip -

Sorry, wrong thread.

 

[Kazturkey]

I was promised nudity. Still, nice post, if a bit long. You were a little heavy on the metaphor though