Interesting Article
#1
I came across this article today and thought you guys might like a read;

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Etsuko - Monk
Razzlixx Blingwell - Warlock
Cloudjumper Wildmane - Druid (Inactive)
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#2
It's always the little things in these types of articles that irk me... the reference to a raid of 50, for example. That aside, while I can see where he is coming from, I completely disagree. Falling into both the shy and female categories myself... I think most people I've grouped with can attest that I do not shut down in Vent. :X And it's part of what makes WoW so enjoyable to me, not to mention a million times easier. Granted, this has a lot to do with the quality of people we have in the guild... I've been very annoyed and put off by the Vent behavior of a few out-of-guild groups I've been with, but generally the experiences have been good. To each their own preference, I suppose!
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#3
I agree, Naruth. IST has quality people that I know I can trust on vent; dozens of you have heard my high pitched squeaks and whatever the heck else I do. I am indeed a girl gamer and quite shy in real life, but get me on Vent with the right group of people and it's literally hard to get me to shut up. When you're with a group of players whom you trust (which I hope after playing for as long as we all have some of us are able to find that), then Ventrilo easily makes the questing, grouping (and the random/awesome socializing we do at night on it) about twenty times easier and without a doubt, funnier. It gives you a piece of a person that's most definitely real and something to bond and connect with. I don't see that as a bad thing?

He did make a rather valid point, however, when he said that "When Krista-Lee Malone, a student at the University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, did a study of the impact of voice chat on online worlds, women all told her they were treated differently once other players -- particularly younger men -- could hear their voices." Any woman in our guild can attest to this. With the wrong group of people it can be absolutely obnoxious in this regard, but it again matters on whom you choose to surround yourself with. Whenever I do a pug on Vythika, I generally avoid Vent to not get into such hassles. However when I raid in Karazhan or do a Heroic within IST limits, I do not falter. I'm surrounded by people I respect and admire in IST whom I get nothing but respect from in return, something which can admittedly turn you into the vent'alcholic as I and others have become. : x

By generally avoiding the dolts out there, it curtails much of the issues he mentioned. I understand doing that sometimes is easier said than done however..
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#4
I agree... interesting article. Falling into the female category but not the shy category, I find Vent off-putting at times, but not usually when the group is comprised of Ironsingers. The raids when I choose to be quiet over Vent are the same raids in which I'm not really present in raid-chat. Speaking or not speaking is a sign of group chemistry, or lack thereof.

I've been in groups where I felt awkward being the only female voice over Vent and it's certainly attracted some unsolicited attention, but for the most part, I feel just as comfortable speaking as I do typing. Unless you're strictly roleplaying (and even then) you're letting other people know at least some part of your personality, whether they can hear you or not.

I think horde guilds have the advantage here: no one playing game is actually an orc or a tauren so you're not expecting them to sound like that over vent. I've learned not to expect players to be anything like their characters: personality, gender, appearance, etc. And yes, I've been in a group with that 11-year-old cursing to make himself seem more mature and powerful, but my experiences with Vent overall have been positive. For Ironsong, I think Vent is a way to promote witty (or not) banter and expedite the raiding process.

Sorry for rambling... Big Grin

Added after reading Sound's comment:

Sound and I have talked several times about the awkward comments we get in PuGs from creepy guys. As such, I do my very best not to participate in PuGs, but if I have to, I just ignore the comments or keep my comments strictly business.
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#5
Maybe I'm generally anti-social, I don't know, but I find Vent off-putting in general. I don't have anything against Vent per se, it is an oustanding game and social tool, but I've always felt most comfortable communication in writting (even with the many, many typos.) Maybe that's just the old MUD player in me speaking out. As soon as I hear what people really sound like the dynamic is changed forever.

Not that I mind hearing people talk. I'm just not very good at speaking myself. I studder, my brain gets ahead of my words, and combined with my deep voice, I end up sounding more like an ogre then a person. Pity they aren't a playable race. I would have been all over that! Which is why those few times I've ever joined a Vent sever, I've never said much. Hopefully I don't come across as stand-offish.

It's a good article, I think, and it makes me appreciate the maturity of the IST members all the more.

-M
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#6
The locker-room culture that the author describes in this article is precisely what motivated the inception of Ironsong and its code of conduct. I had played on EQ with Shillatae and Rawne for a while, back in our college days, and I absolutely hated the way my game experience was consistently ruined by jarring, boorish meatheads.

I definitely know where this dude is coming from, having been on other guilds' vent servers, but Ironsong seems happily free of this obnoxious trend.

Talk away, ladies!
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#7
Yeah, that style of "communication" (and I use the term loosely) is just the norm in most online gaming interaction. It's why the joke in Transformers about Jazz learning to talk from the internet was so funny to me. And much like Sreng, my experiences came from EQ, and we specifically made a guild with the goal of avoiding all of that.

I still play Halo 2 to occasionally get my pvp fix, but I've taken to turning off all voice chat unless I'm playing with friends. The constant stream of trash talk is a brutal assault on the brain, and it's infectious. I yell at a couple of friends regularly who have started to pick it up.

As a wonderful example, I give you the Penny Arcade illustration of the phenomenon;
Warning: Vulgar to illustrate a point
http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2004/03/19

If you skim over any of the threads in the WoW forums, you'll generally notice the standard raid guilds saying things like "yeah we have one or two" when it comes to girl gamers. You see guildleaders giving special treatment, drama involving who likes whom, etc. It's pretty sad and immature.

Ventrilo does add another social level to that. For our vent, we've actually never asked that people talk in it, just that they be able to listen. And keeping it clean and friendly makes everyone more comfortable, not just the ladies. With that in mind, I think it speaks pretty highly of the fairness and maturity level of the guild that roughly 1/4 of Ironsong are women, as well as 1/3 of our officers. Really everyone should feel comfortable in the environment we try to create.
Kosath Whitehorn
"The Tribe is my weapon.  I am their shield."
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#8
I have mixed feelings about Vent. On the one hand, I would never trade the awesome experience of raiding with a group of people I like (Smash & Grab and other IST groups!) over Vent. It really helps build a sense of camaraderie and group cohesion, and it gets damn funny sometimes. But I also find that it completely destroys my motivation for roleplaying. I get in "Raider" mode.

The whole socializing-over-the-Internet thing is an interesting phenomenon. I have no doubt that it will become a major field of research at some point in the not too distant future. It is easy to develop very real feelings for someone through text communication. (I met my wife on an email discussion list.) You get a feel for the person, stripped of a lot of the normal BS people go through when they meet in person. I imagine Vent could be much the same.

My very first character in WoW was a Night Elf Rogue. I actually stopped playing him at level 40 because of all the social drama, flirting and other silliness he was embroiled in. Funny, that doesn't happen so much when you play a corpse....
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#9
Sounds one of the few people I hear swear over Vent.. Hmm.
What is the best thing in life?
Crush enemy, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentation of the women.
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#10
>.>

<.<

... *this is me hiding*
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#11
I have to be careful because I tend to cuss like a sailor if I'm comfortable and joking around. 8-)
Apparently, I'm such a good rogue that I should become a tank.
[Image: 216215SneNF.png]

I be huntin' rabbits!
[Image: 216222NVlZD.png]
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#12
Takeena is really Sound? Fascinating....
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