I'd agree with you on that oneGeneric Gamer said:
For good or for ill, this is the most liberal forum I've ever seen on the internet.
At least people can disagree with content creators though *Cough*TGWTG*Cough*
Is The Escapist the most civilized gaming website?
- Thread starter Popadoo
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For good or for ill, this is the most liberal forum I've ever seen on the internet.
At least people can disagree with content creators though *Cough*TGWTG*Cough*
A website? Mature and civilized? Excuse me while I go laugh over there.
tbh, no forum is ever going to be rid of its trolls, idiots, or bigots. Dig around enough here in the Escapist, and I'm pretty sure you'll find someone. What matters is that the Escapist has shown to give intellect and thoughtful discussions about not only all genres and mediums of video games, but also some bits of life in general and other electronics. This website treats the stuff it discusses fully and with respect, and thus promotes people like us to post. You know, people that use the organ inside our skull.
But yeah, I feel your pain after reading those posts. The Internet is truly a scary place, where people can voice their opinions, no matter how stupid they are.
tbh, no forum is ever going to be rid of its trolls, idiots, or bigots. Dig around enough here in the Escapist, and I'm pretty sure you'll find someone. What matters is that the Escapist has shown to give intellect and thoughtful discussions about not only all genres and mediums of video games, but also some bits of life in general and other electronics. This website treats the stuff it discusses fully and with respect, and thus promotes people like us to post. You know, people that use the organ inside our skull.
But yeah, I feel your pain after reading those posts. The Internet is truly a scary place, where people can voice their opinions, no matter how stupid they are.
I admit: I had to stifle open laughter (I'm posting this from a Library) when I put the words "Civilized" and "Gaming website" together.
Though in all seriousness: Yeah. The Escapist is better than the other offerings I've dealt with over the years.
But all these gaming websites go in a cycle; they either start niche, expand and then the forums get buried in spam, 4chan fads/memes, and trolls, or they start niche and then die when everyone moves on.
Alternatively, they start mainstream/general and slowly become more and more troll-infested until all genuine discussion is quashed because the moderation staff is overrun by the sheer volume of traffic.
The Escapist has some of the very best moderation I've seen on gaming forums (yeah, it sounds like I'm kissing ass here, but I have nothing to gain from it and it is an obnoxious job having to sort through thousands of posts by anonymous assholes every day) and that is a boon when we exist in an era where most forums are overrun by Youtube-comment-quality trolls and Meme-sheep who still think they're funny and/or provocative.
Though in all seriousness: Yeah. The Escapist is better than the other offerings I've dealt with over the years.
But all these gaming websites go in a cycle; they either start niche, expand and then the forums get buried in spam, 4chan fads/memes, and trolls, or they start niche and then die when everyone moves on.
Alternatively, they start mainstream/general and slowly become more and more troll-infested until all genuine discussion is quashed because the moderation staff is overrun by the sheer volume of traffic.
The Escapist has some of the very best moderation I've seen on gaming forums (yeah, it sounds like I'm kissing ass here, but I have nothing to gain from it and it is an obnoxious job having to sort through thousands of posts by anonymous assholes every day) and that is a boon when we exist in an era where most forums are overrun by Youtube-comment-quality trolls and Meme-sheep who still think they're funny and/or provocative.
Maybe, but not because of the actual people in it, but rather because the moderators are quite harsh (not an insult, PLEASE DON'T BANNE ME!!!), and people act more civilized to avoid warnings and getting banned. But yeah, it´s probably the most "civilized", and that´s the reason I prefer to hang out in here instead of IGN, for example.
The G4 guy was probably trolling (hope so), and it was kinda hillarious.
The G4 guy was probably trolling (hope so), and it was kinda hillarious.
theres a balance. they have homophobes/trolls/idiots running rampant while a moderator fires nonchalantly with a bb gun into the air.
we have moderators running rampant with miniguns as our trolls/spammers/innocents get struck with many millions of banhammers.
i'm obviously exaggerating, but would you rather have to wade through dozens of 'fuck skyrim, but i guess fags would' comments or take a small forum-health hit for low-content posts of 'yay'
and anyway they're just being people. today on the school bus i had about 5 people saying 'this guys gay. look, he's not even denying it. he's a fag' to pretty much everyone.
if it makes you feel better about humanity, the most common response was 'yeah sure' so basically nobody gives a fuck except the twats. unfortunately, they get in such an uproar about this that they do make up 80% of posts.
we have moderators running rampant with miniguns as our trolls/spammers/innocents get struck with many millions of banhammers.
i'm obviously exaggerating, but would you rather have to wade through dozens of 'fuck skyrim, but i guess fags would' comments or take a small forum-health hit for low-content posts of 'yay'
and anyway they're just being people. today on the school bus i had about 5 people saying 'this guys gay. look, he's not even denying it. he's a fag' to pretty much everyone.
if it makes you feel better about humanity, the most common response was 'yeah sure' so basically nobody gives a fuck except the twats. unfortunately, they get in such an uproar about this that they do make up 80% of posts.
"You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villiany..."
Not really, actually. It's mostly civilized, I never really saw any of that kind of stuff in the OP.
Not really, actually. It's mostly civilized, I never really saw any of that kind of stuff in the OP.
No he FUCKING does not. This attitude pisses me off.jawakiller said:
What Bethesda have included is an OPTIONAL choice. As in one that does not force you to do anything which you might consider uncomfortable at any point. If they forced you to flirt with male characters as part of the plot then it would be a different story but they aren't. They are offering people the option of pursuing a romantic path with male characters in a sidequest.
It's not "propaganda", it's an option. Propaganda is a feature of totalitarian states because it basically involves a point being shoved down your throat so you believe it. Not the case here I'm afraid.
Just because something is a minority doesn't merit its exclusion from a game. Conversely, just because something is politically correct doesn't merit its INclusion, but at least it's a step away from "het or GTFO". In this case, it's a role-playing game with romantic options, which makes homosexual male/female a legitimate role. It wouldn't suit certain other games (ie the examples you suggest) because they would be inferior for it. Diversity is not a bad thing though, and if we want video games to be treated as art, then we need it.
It's not "propaganda", it's an option. Propaganda is a feature of totalitarian states because it basically involves a point being shoved down your throat so you believe it. Not the case here I'm afraid.
Just because something is a minority doesn't merit its exclusion from a game. Conversely, just because something is politically correct doesn't merit its INclusion, but at least it's a step away from "het or GTFO". In this case, it's a role-playing game with romantic options, which makes homosexual male/female a legitimate role. It wouldn't suit certain other games (ie the examples you suggest) because they would be inferior for it. Diversity is not a bad thing though, and if we want video games to be treated as art, then we need it.
(For the record, I'm straight, but I am a massive homophobephobe.)
OT: I think it's the moderation on here that tends to discourage a certain type of people. Go look at the people who come here just for ZP and you'll see why they don't tend to last long on here.
Never really looked round other websites for comparison though...
I guess there's a possibility we're more calm and collected here, we seem to accept the fact that there are girls on the internet without asking for "pics nao" as many other gaming sites. More civilized? Probably not. Our trolls and flamers are just smarter and have more intellectual insults and act smug about it. I'd say there are more hipsters and passive people here. I also believe there are more people here open to equal rights for everyone, sometimes even to the extreme.
I really wish you guys would stop saying this. The rest of the Internet laughs at you everytime you do.
The reason Escapist is so civilised is because the gamers that come here are intelligent (well, most of them are). We take things seriously and think about situations like this rationally. I think Bethesda are doing well to try something new like this, and don't worry, they're bound to get some hate about this because people are scared of it.
Yes, The Escapist is the smartest site on earth and we should all get nobel prizes just for being members.
Anyone who is saying absolutely obviously never goes on other forums.
That whole 'lighthouse of alexandria' shit is not only wrong, it's painfully pretentious.
That whole 'lighthouse of alexandria' shit is not only wrong, it's painfully pretentious.
There were no comments about being against gay marriage on here, from what I have seen, but The Escapist is not the most civilised gaming website. There are still many people who do stupid things, insult people for not agreeing to their opinion, make unnecessary threads about controversial topics intending to start a flame war etc.