Is ganking girl gamers a bad thing?

[Nomanslander]

Back when I played WoW, this was a long ago, we use to like heading into PvP zones like Strangalthorn Vale and have a blast murdering each left and right and getting murdered back. But it seems like - at least from this video and an article from Kotaku, that it is just about as similar as harassment.

0.o

Now if a person does it for the sole purpose because the opposing player is a female. Then that dude has issues. But to call ganking similar to rape... well. I think you're starting to miss the point of video games in general, especially competitive ones.

Now ShrineNI, the guy that made video on how to go around finding gamer girls is an asshole. I got that idea after watching his videos. But then again what he's doing in the end - killing female players - isn't exactly what I call as harassment because EVERYONE does that in WoW to each other all the time. At least they did before the game was turned carebear but I'm not going to talk about that.

Hell, I remember being singled out by certain players in WoW many times when I'd quested in certain areas over a course of a few days. So was I being stalked too? I mean, if you don't like being ganked, games like these have PvE servers where you can't be "harassed" if you feel ganking is harassment.

I don't know, I guess what I'm getting at is is this a case of white knighting where gamers are taking a matter like this way too seriously just because some douchbag likes to single out female players. Or not?

If the guy was singling out female players and sending inappropriate messages to them. That there is definitely harassment by all its definition. But in a game where players stalk and murder each other all the time, is it wrong to do it then?


http://kotaku.com/5972869/faith-in-humanity-slowly-depleting-this-jerk-and-his-supporters-find-joy-in-harassing-women-gamers

Also I want to note I found the link to that article on Moviebob's blog The Overthinker. His opinion was less than favorable. Pretty much going so far as to make the man out to be the scum of the earth. I say the guy has issues, he isn't "evil!" lol:
http://gameoverthinker.blogspot.com/2013/01/i-dont-want-to-game-on-this-planet.html

 

[Fidchell Attano]

Back when I played WoW, this was a long ago, we use to like heading into PvP zones like Strangalthorn Vale and have a blast murdering each left and right and getting murdered back. But it seems like - at least from this video and an article from Kotaku, that it is just about as similar as harassment.

0.o

Now if a person does it for the sole purpose because the opposing player is a female. Then that dude has issues. But to call ganking similar to rape... well. I think you're starting to miss the point of video games in general, especially competitive ones.

Now ShrineNI, the guy that made video on how to go around finding gamer girls is an asshole. I got that idea after watching his videos. But then again what he's doing in the end - killing female players - isn't exactly what I call as harassment because EVERYONE does that in WoW to each other all the time. At least they did before the game was turned carebear but I'm not going to talk about that.

Hell, I remember being singled out by certain players in WoW many times when I'd quested in certain areas over a course of a few days. So was I being stalked too? I mean, if you don't like being ganked, games like these have PvE zones where you can't be "harassed" if you feel ganking is harassment.

I don't know, I guess what I'm getting at is is this a case of white knighting where gamers are taking a matter like this way too seriously just because some douchbag likes to single out female players. Or not?

If the guy was singling out female players and sending inappropriate messages to them. That there is definitely harassment by all it's definition. But in a game where players stalk and murder each other all the time, is it wrong to do it then?


http://kotaku.com/5972869/faith-in-humanity-slowly-depleting-this-jerk-and-his-supporters-find-joy-in-harassing-women-gamers

Yes, it is a sickening thing actually. It pretty much flips the bird at diversity and puts up the proverbial "no girls allowed" sign up in WoW, and frankly its just going to perpetuate this image of male gamers that does not need to be animated, yet lives with so much zeal in the minds of Americans.

 

[Able Seacat]

I couldn't watch too much of the video, he was speaking too close to the mic. Nothing wrong with killing other players in a video game but it does seem a bit creepy to try and single out female gamers.

 

[shrekfan246]

But it seems like - at least from this video and an article from Kotaku, that it is just about as similar as harassment.

0.o

article from Kotaku

Well there's your problem.

Even better is that it's Patricia Hernandez.

C'mon, they're the gaming industry equivalent of The Sun, or The Daily Mail. Or Fox News.

Anyway, yeah, if somebody is ganking another player specifically because they're a girl, that person probably has some issues. Doesn't mean they shouldn't be allowed to do it if it's an open PvP zone. Gank back, leave the zone, get some friends to fly in and return the favor to them until they log out or something. Should've seen what I did during the Halloween holiday in WoW one time.

I was leveling an alt character and had just reached Hellfire Peninsula back when I was still on a PvP realm, and a pair of mid-60 Horde decided they wanted to camp my little level 59. So I swapped over to my max level warlock, who conveniently had instant-cast flying broomsticks, and proceeded to spend the next two hours picking them out of the sky off their flying mounts and re-mounting on my broomstick before I hit the ground.

 

[JazzJack2]

He wasn't singling out female gamers though, he singled out a particularly annoying gamer who just happened to be female.

 

[Sixcess]

Being ganked is business as usual in any MMO with global PVP, which is the main reason I don't play on PVP servers. I'm not interested in being one-shotted by some lvl 85 idiot lurking in a lvl 20 questing zone. But I'm not forced to play on PVP servers, and if other people get their jollies that way, good for them. No harm done.

That said...

I don't know, I guess what I'm getting at is is this a case of white knighting where gamers are taking a matter like this way too seriously just because some douchbag likes to single out female players. Or not?

In this case I'd say the guy who made that video is a typical frustrated virgin neckbeard with no social skills, and if he hates women it's only because they won't cyber with him on webcam. It doesn't surprise me in the slightest that he'd enjoy ganking, since good PVPers look down on the practice and really it's only third raters desperate for some rush of 'power' that habitually do it. God help any woman in the real world who's unfortunate enough to attract his unwelcome attention.

In short - that vid (if it's not a joke - I hope it's satire, but I doubt that it is) summarises a lot of what's wrong with online gaming communities, and it makes me think much more kindly of Anita Sarkeesian. If this is the sort of fucking retard she annoys then she's obviously doing something right.

 

[Zenn3k]

Only if you're trying to get laid I guess. Otherwise, who cares about their gender?

 

[Kirov Reporting]

It depends on the reasoning. If you're going to attack me because I'm a girl, then that's pretty fucked up, and not to sensationalise, but I'd have to wonder about what the motivation is, or what it's a substitute for.

If I've pissed you off in game or through cocky voice chat? Bring it on.

 

[Smooth Operator]

Well it still is harassment and is still is stalking but since these things are limited to a specific virtual place you can hardly call it more then trolling...

Is it a bad thing? Depends on how low your moral standards go, if you are part of a social group that accepts these sort of actions then you probably don't consider it bad at all, but any sort of civilized community wouldn't have anything to do with you.

 

[BeeGeenie]

Ganking girls in particular because they are girls is a bad thing.

Having an arch-nemesis who happens to be female is not.

 

[Tazzman]

Oh my this guy is the new David Attenborough, he deserves to be paid for his good work and clever insight into the girl gamer haahaa nah I'm kidding he needs to get a life or start making better videos

 

[Verzin]

I play almost exclusively Shaco in league of legends.

There is no discrimination in gank targets. Anyone I can find is fair game. Gender is irrelevant.

I have only one goal: attempt to make them ragequit after I kill them over and over again and spam emotes while I do it.

 

[Gatx]

Can't watch the video but judging from the comments here so far it doesn't seem that bad. I mean once in an online shooter, (room based team deathmatch game) I solely went after one guy because he had the same handle as me (just replaced an l with 1). In DC Universe whenever I pass any villain in the open world within 2-3 levels of me you can bet that guy's not going to get where he's going, at least not without a significant detour to a respawn point.

On the receiving end I doubt even if you were targeted for being female that that was the reason you were getting killed. If you're in an open PVP area you should expect that kind of stuff.

 

[Angelblaze]

Nothing wrong with ganking a female, as long as you aren't singling them out.

If you are then it's creepy and disgusting - but one thing that really annoys me is the entire 'attention whore' argument. You can argue that women who show their breasts during the stream are attention whores (Who have 1k+ viewers) all you want, but if your going to argue that you could at least go and watch the girls who DON'T do that who have 300 or less regular viewers and counter this claim if you so fervently believe women gamers should stop doing that.


Also I only hear 'attention whore' claimed when it's in an argument specifically against a woman. Why? I could name a couple male attention whores right off the top of my head right now - one of which I actually got perma banned from the League Forums from naming after he publicly cheated the system, claimed to be donating money gained from his views to charity and generally ruined games for at least 50 people, PUBLICLY, WITH MODERATORS CAPABLE OF REMOVING HIM WATCHING HIS STREAM (Athene).

Why can only females be attention whores? Why not assholes like that guy?

 

[Gearhead mk2]

Yes, because ganking is an asshole thing to do no matter who it's done to. But if someone is ganking specifically because their victim is a girl, I'm fairly sure they could get banned for sexism.

 

[Phrozenflame500]

Sexism? On the internet? What a shocking revelation! Who would have ever thought that the internet could hide such vile things.

In all honesty, It's probably just trolling that happened to involve a girl. Me being the ass that I am, I've done similar things before. They likely weren't directly targeting girls, they just stumbled upon one and harassed her like they'd do with any other gamer.

 

[Legion]

Why can only females be attention whores? Why not assholes like that guy?

Sexism, when it comes down to it. Just like you very rarely hear a guy called a slut if he sleeps around, as apparently it's only wrong if a girl does it.

Then again, on the other hand if a guy does absolutely anything wrong to a girl (calls her names, picks on her in a game), the assumption tends to get made that it was because she was a girl, when the chances are the guy is just an asshole who'd do it to anybody.

When it comes to gender, people on the whole are very immature.

 

[BlindTom]

Nothing wrong with ganking a female, as long as you aren't singling them out.

If you are then it's creepy and disgusting - but one thing that really annoys me is the entire 'attention whore' argument. You can argue that women who show their breasts during the stream are attention whores (Who have 1k+ viewers) all you want, but if your going to argue that you could at least go and watch the girls who DON'T do that who have 300 or less regular viewers and counter this claim if you so fervently believe women gamers should stop doing that.


Also I only hear 'attention whore' claimed when it's in an argument specifically against a woman. Why? I could name a couple male attention whores right off the top of my head right now - one of which I actually got perma banned from the League Forums from naming after he publicly cheated the system, claimed to be donating money gained from his views to charity and generally ruined games for at least 50 people, PUBLICLY, WITH MODERATORS CAPABLE OF REMOVING HIM WATCHING HIS STREAM (Athene).

Why can only females be attention whores? Why not assholes like that guy?

Nobody respects the attention whore women in the same way as nobody respects the blokes who punch themselves in the balls etc for the same attention.

Some people are doing cool stuff, and that is getting them attention and respect.

Some people are doing dumb stuff and that garners attention devoid of respect. In the case of women this is showing boobs; showing boobs is the path of least resistance thanks to lolevolution. If you're a bloke then you have to do one of the thousand other less effective things to express your desperate need for attention. (Screaming, shouting "******" over and over again, generally acting like a twat etc) Not to mention whine about how women with no value or self respect will always "beat" men with no value or self respect.

So basically all female attention whores tend to take a similar- and highly effective- route in their attention whoring, whilst male attention whores have to be more diverse.


The more valuable people get, the less their sex defines them. My advice to a girl with less views than a girl whosing tits is the same as my advice to anybody trying to actually produce valuable content. Don't sweat it. You are represented by yourself and what you produce, not what anybody else is doing.

 

[Daft Time]

Now ShrineNI, the guy that made video on how to go around finding gamer girls is an asshole. I got that idea after watching his videos. But then again what he's doing in the end - killing female players - isn't exactly what I call as harassment because EVERYONE does that in WoW to each other all the time. At least they did before the game was turned carebear but I'm not going to talk about that.

You're missing the point entirely; this guy is singling out players based on their gender. This isn't just a case of singling out a player, or group of players, for laughs but overtly sexist behaviour. It's not only harassment - fuck it, I play Eve, I like a bit of harassment - but discrimination. This guy isn't just a dick, but a disgusting tool.

It's worth noting that it wouldn't be any better if he was doing it to men either. Neither the sex of the perpetrator or the victims is relevant here, only the gender discrimination. I find it disturbing that you can even think to write this off as "white knighting" to be perfectly honest.

Also, World of Warcraft was always a soft-core game for carebears. That has never changed.

EDIT:

He wasn't singling out female gamers though, he singled out a particularly annoying gamer who just happened to be female.

If this is true, I probably should have done my reading. This situation changes entirely if it's just someone being targeted who happens to be a woman, not because it's a woman. That said, everything above still applies under the assumption that this is not the case as in the OP's post.