Online Harassment

Citing Online Harassment inside Quake deathmatches, certain female gamers are seeking to acquire the benefits usually gained through hard work and achievement, without having to exert any of the effort.

As a result, all that these female Quake gamers have accomplished is the segregation of the Quake Community.

Can't We All Just Get Along?

The harassment of female Quake players in online deathmatches has been in the news recently. One case in particular involving the Quaker HellKitten, has gone so far as to inspire a Green Ribbon Campaign.

This Campaign is based upon a set of rules, for lack of a better word, that basically try to build respect for others, even though they may have different views, etc. If you agree, you get to decorate your site with a green ribbon. This is the Quake equivalent to the Internet Free Speech Blue Ribbon.

What happened to HellKitten to help inspire this campaign?

According to HellKitten, like nearly every other female, she too claims to be one kick-ass Quake player. Her constant fragging of male players caused these guys to have to turn to calling her names. This eventually led up to the second most heinous of all online sins, threatening e-mail. ooooh the bane of all lamers!

But these males didn't stop there. How could they, there male. Anyway, these heathens continued with their wicked ways until they committed the worst of all the seven deadly online sins, they desecrated her web site.

Some of her lovely photos (of herself) were sullied in such an extreme way as to be deemed pornographic.

Due to this attack, HellKitten is reconsidering whether she will continue with her grand designs for her web page. It looks like the world may be deprived of the sure pleasure that would have come in viewing her planned page "The Pets of Quake."

And the Quake community wailed!

Is this a Deathmatch or a Social Tea?

For those people who seem to have forgotten the environment in which this harassment occurs, let me remind you.

Instead all we hear is sob stories from these supposedly bad-ass broads, who just can't help but bitch at everything that bothers them. I have even heard these idiots cry because guys won't shoot at them.

Women are destined to be treated as second class citizens by every male (not looking to score), until they accept the differences between the genders.

Ladies, the guys that tell you they disagree with this point of view are the ones that are going to take $20 out of your purse, climb out your bedroom window and never call you again!

Vain Campaign

The attack on HellKitten provided a golden opportunity to educate those who are new to the ways of the 'net.

Instead, we get the useless ribbons. Hey, they might have worked for Tony Orlando and Dawn, but they serve no purpose in this case.

You are not going to change the way people behave while going through the conflicts of growing up. To even try is ignorant arrogance. We need to focus on those who have already matured and help them acquire more knowledge.

Hopefully this new found insight will inspire those who benefit, to pass on to others what they have learned.

Unfortunately, HellKitten will probably remain lame, the Quake community will have no web site to celebrate fido, and those tormented by puberty will have received the attention they so desperately desire.

Game Girlz and Crack Whores

Female Quake gamers have responded to "alleged" acts of harrassment by declaring their "independence" from the rest of the Quake community.

For some reason existing only in the female mind, certain individuals have created "safe havens" for female gamers, free from abusive, inconsiderate males.

Two ways in which they have gone about this is by the forming of all-female clans and female oriented web sites.

With names like PMS (Psyco Men Slayers) and Crack Whores, these clan titles attract other like minded female gamers and would seemingly "forbid" male membership.

Web sites such as Game Girlz have also emerged. These sites supposedly are focused on gaming from a female perspective and showcase any contributions to the gaming world made by women.

This is, I would guess, an attempt to show the gaming community that women serve a vital and benefitial role in the gaming world.

Instead, it broadcasts loud and clear, that women are unwilling or unable to let their accomplishments speak for themselves and gain gamers respect the old fashioned way, by earning it!!!

Level Playing Field

Now some people will say that not everyone is treated equally and therefore the disadvantaged need "special treatment". In the gaming world, Quake C would seem to change this.

Take the author of the Reaper Bot, Steve Polge. He was able to gain employment in the gaming industry by using Quake C to produce a valuable addition to the game of Quake. If he had been a women, would his bot been any less fun to play or any less popular.

If you answered yes because the author's name would have been female, your ignoring a rather large fact. That being that a lot of authors involved in programming games, are known by names they have made up. For example, Zoid and Paradox, just to name two.

Any female afraid of discrimination based on their name could easily adopt an alter ego. What better way to improve the reputation of female gamers than to release a kickass MOD under an assumed name and later reveal your true identity.

On the subject of web sites, take the names of some of the most popular ones: Blue's and Redwood's. Any assumption that these two sites are run by males, taking into account only the title, would be just that, an assumption.

These two sites, as well as others just like them, got to be popular based on the merit of their site alone, which was to post news about the game of Quake as it applies to everyone, not just a certain percentage of the gaming community.

It is this difficult task of acquiring recognition based on merit, that sites like Game Girlz, attempt to bypass all together by pointing an accusing finger at male gamers.