157 replies to this topic

[Roybe]

Junktown01233210, on 16 August 2012 - 09:46 PM, said:

I was wondering if someone could explain the appeal of LBGT guilds in gaming. I understand the potential sensitivity of the topic and absolutely am asking only out of curiosity.

Other than LGBT guilds, I can't think of any other type of gathering focus not directly applying to communication ability (languages spoken), direct play style (pvp, pve, hardcore, raiders, etc) legal considerations (restricting membership of minors) or geographical clustering (combining players of the same timezone).
Personally, I've never considered something like gender identification or sexual orientation when determining my peers for an online game. And honestly, neither topic has ever came up in 10+ years of playing mmos with all sorts of different people from all different walks of life from all over the world. Either people are cool with who you are, or they are probably crappy people.

Is it that these guilds are more respectful to you as a person than guilds who don't identify this way? Or does the topic of orientation or partner preference factor more heavily in to your playstyle or day-to-day play sessions?

As I said before, as someone not in this particular position, I am simply curious and hoping to have a better understanding.

Thanks!

I would say it's because of a few reasons.  In the US, LGBT people are being discriminated against, beat down, and otherwise abused by a vocal group of people that feel they have moral superiority over them.

Tie to this the fact that in gaming communities it's very common to use terms like 'gay', 'queer', 'faggot' as pejoratives.  If I was gay, I would find these communities offensive, rude, and not worthy of my time.

By carving a server out for themselves, they can try to enforce some level of civility, and protect themselves from this type of asshattery.

Another possible reason, would be for those interesting in meeting people that share their own social background.  Whether for friendship or more, it's nice to know that you can ask if the other player is gay or straight without offending or otherwise making someone feel uncomfortable.

[7thCylon]

idk about going Crystal i might stay stormbluff but they seemed a little immature so i might go jade since i wanted to be on a server named after a place in cantha after all factions was my first campaign.. but Jade Quarry is an unknown also i like the idea of being in a safe lgbt guild i might start one there jade doesn't seem to populated.

[Melanie]

Fizzypop, on 16 August 2012 - 08:37 PM, said:

I loved the community on Proudmoore. I seriously want to have the same experience in GW2. the problem is Crystal Desert is really full looking

Ya i am VERY concerned about that... and i hear there's going to be a reddit guild or something going there as well... now i have never used reddit, or even know much about it, but a friend said it's troll land big time..so hopefully it works out.

Roybe, on 16 August 2012 - 10:10 PM, said:

I would say it's because of a few reasons.  In the US, LGBT people are being discriminated against, beat down, and otherwise abused by a vocal group of people that feel they have moral superiority over them.

Tie to this the fact that in gaming communities it's very common to use terms like 'gay', 'queer', 'faggot' as pejoratives.  If I was gay, I would find these communities offensive, rude, and not worthy of my time.

By carving a server out for themselves, they can try to enforce some level of civility, and protect themselves from this type of asshattery.

Another possible reason, would be for those interesting in meeting people that share their own social background.  Whether for friendship or more, it's nice to know that you can ask if the other player is gay or straight without offending or otherwise making someone feel uncomfortable.

This is all very true.  In wow i played on numerous servers over the years, but was never content until i read an article about the guild Taint, and found out about Proudmoore.  I rolled there, and fell in love with the bulk of the community.  I had to hide who and what i was for years, but once on Proudmoore I felt at east and could be who and what I am.  It was a wonderful feeling, PLUS i met some awesome people that i ended up guilding with in Wolf Parade, AND a life long friend.

[Mightylink]

devicus, on 16 August 2012 - 09:11 PM, said:

If their priority is playing together they should probably pick another server. A lot of guilds will have to use the free transfer to move elsewhere or lose a lot of members when it reaches full in minutes, before all their dudes are there.

I talked to them about it, they won't budge, there saying all their names are reserved and its too late to move, also they feel they can get around login ques by always being logged in, of course I don't want my game running 24/7 along with my pc v_v

I really don't want to be associated with this server, I'm feeling incredibly screwed!

Edited by Mightylink, 17 August 2012 - 12:02 AM.

[Saul Spotter]

Whatever happened to that thread that listed all the guilds, groups, websites that were planing on occupying a specific server?

[Roybe]

Saul Spotter, on 17 August 2012 - 12:02 AM, said:

Whatever happened to that thread that listed all the guilds, groups, websites that were planing on occupying a specific server?

http://www.gw2guilds.org/
Here's what appears to be a well run protected guild listing by server, continent, and guild.

[Saul Spotter]

okay, thanks.

[StSick]

Junktown01233210, on 16 August 2012 - 09:46 PM, said:

I was wondering if someone could explain the appeal of LBGT guilds in gaming. I understand the potential sensitivity of the topic and absolutely am asking only out of curiosity.

Other than LGBT guilds, I can't think of any other type of gathering focus not directly applying to communication ability (languages spoken), direct play style (pvp, pve, hardcore, raiders, etc) legal considerations (restricting membership of minors) or geographical clustering (combining players of the same timezone).
Personally, I've never considered something like gender identification or sexual orientation when determining my peers for an online game. And honestly, neither topic has ever came up in 10+ years of playing mmos with all sorts of different people from all different walks of life from all over the world. Either people are cool with who you are, or they are probably crappy people.

Is it that these guilds are more respectful to you as a person than guilds who don't identify this way? Or does the topic of orientation or partner preference factor more heavily in to your playstyle or day-to-day play sessions?

As I said before, as someone not in this particular position, I am simply curious and hoping to have a better understanding.

Thanks!

I have to agree with this entirely. Do LGBT guilds recruit based upon sexual orientation? Or like JMaggot said, is it to avoid discrimination. Because if you ask me, being gay seems more accepted than it is looked down upon, not to mention it's only visible when you make it so. There'll always be someone that doesn't agree with something about you. Personally I'm overweight, and I can't walk down my street without someone screaming FAT ASS!!! at me out their window when they drive by. Not to mention the extreme discomfort that comes with simply walking down said street. Can I hide this fact? no. Will I form a guild for overweight people? no. Theres much more to a person than that.

[Nox_Aeterna]

Deyadissa, on 16 August 2012 - 02:54 AM, said:

Since Crystal Desert is the "gay" server, it will very much be like Proudmoore. Stonewall and Taint will be the largest guilds on the server. So if you had a good experience with Proudmoore, I'd suggest going to crystal desert.

My god since when?

Will have to pick another server dammit... and AA was finally leaving giving the server more space...

Damm im going to have a look at the server list.

[7thCylon]

Nox_Aeterna, on 17 August 2012 - 12:34 AM, said:

My god since when?

Will have to pick another server dammit... and AA was finally leaving giving the server more space...

Damm im going to have a look at the server list.

why does that matter

[auxili]

Nox_Aeterna, on 17 August 2012 - 12:34 AM, said:

My god since when?

Will have to pick another server dammit... and AA was finally leaving giving the server more space...

Damm im going to have a look at the server list.

What's the problem exactly? I don't understand why people are talking about Crystal Desert - is it really the most popular server?

7thCylon, on 17 August 2012 - 12:45 AM, said:

why does that matter

I think he was just expressing his distress over the server becoming more full, not because it's going to apparently be homosexual-heavy.
All I'm curious about is whether or not the server will be full on headstart, preventing me and guildies from making our characters there together.

Edited by auxili, 17 August 2012 - 12:50 AM.

[Nox_Aeterna]

7thCylon, on 17 August 2012 - 12:45 AM, said:

why does that matter

Well like most people seek a RP server or a PvE server or i dont know a WvW server i wanted a server WITHOUT any label.

I prefer to play with many kinds of people , not just join one kind.

auxili, on 17 August 2012 - 12:49 AM, said:

I think he was just expressing his distress over the server becoming more full, not because it's going to apparently be homosexual-heavy.
All I'm curious about is whether or not the server will be full on headstart, preventing me and guildies from making our characters there together.

Crystal Desert will most likely be full at the start.

Everyone is going to follow Team legacy , which i still believe will change server anyway.

When people see that they are going to another server they will try to follow, which made me not worry about the situation.

PS: on a side note i dont mind homosexuals if that is what he was worried about , i guess by now all of us got homosexual friends in RL and know they dont bite.

Edited by Nox_Aeterna, 17 August 2012 - 12:56 AM.

[ClimacticGaming]

Just wanted to throw out that my guild Climactic Gaming is rolling there as well (figured I'd post since I saw this server thread). We debated between Darkhaven, Sea or Sorrows and this server. We finally decided with Crystal Desert due to 1) Cool name 2) Seems VERY PvP oriented 3) I believe Darkhaven or Sea or Sorrows not an NA server and the other was deemed a Spanish speaking server.

So...there ya go!

Can't wait til Headstart! If you roll on Crystal Desert look us up! Climactic Gaming!

[Aitchkay]

StSick, on 17 August 2012 - 12:32 AM, said:

I have to agree with this entirely. Do LGBT guilds recruit based upon sexual orientation? Or like JMaggot said, is it to avoid discrimination. Because if you ask me, being gay seems more accepted than it is looked down upon, not to mention it's only visible when you make it so. There'll always be someone that doesn't agree with something about you. Personally I'm overweight, and I can't walk down my street without someone screaming FAT ASS!!! at me out their window when they drive by. Not to mention the extreme discomfort that comes with simply walking down said street. Can I hide this fact? no. Will I form a guild for overweight people? no. Theres much more to a person than that.

I agree with this as well.  When the the defining characteristic of a gaming organization is a sexual orientation, then there is something seriously wrong.  While there is nothing wrong with being LGBT, I don't think it's something that people should be proud of.  It's a part of who you are, not some kind of special achievement.  Just as your sexual orientation shouldn't be the most important thing someone should know about you, it also shouldn't be the most important thing about an organization.

One of the defining characteristics of prejudice is a us vs. them mentality.  When we define someone based solely on race, religion, age, or sexual orientation, we run the risk of assigning unfavorable stereotypes to them.  When we don't know someone, it becomes very easy to lump them into a particular group, and then assign them imaginary characteristics.  That LGBT players would willingly segregate themselves and label their own organization is pretty disheartening.  Rather than retreating into your own communities, wouldn't it be better for LGBT players to interact with the community and not let their sexual orientation define who they are?

I think the focus should be that we are all gamers, rather than gay or straight, protestant or catholic, hairy or shaved.  As Malcolm Reynolds once said, "We're all just folk now."

[7thCylon]

Nox_Aeterna, on 17 August 2012 - 12:54 AM, said:

Well like most people seek a RP server or a PvE server or i dont know a WvW server i wanted a server WITHOUT any label.

I prefer to play with many kinds of people , not just join one kind.



Crystal Desert will most likely be full at the start.

Everyone is going to follow Team legacy , which i still believe will change server anyway.

When people see that they are going to another server they will try to follow, which made me not worry about the situation.

PS: on a side note i dont mind homosexuals if that is what he was worried about , i guess by now all of us got homosexual friends in RL and know they dont bite.

You have to understand that not all people are very welcoming so those guilds are just providing a very friendly zero tolerance towards bulling space eventually they will no longer need to be labeled lgbt guilds. it has nothing to with being exclusionary just some people can be very volatile about certain issues they aren't going to exclude people... unless they are mean

Edited by 7thCylon, 17 August 2012 - 01:19 AM.

[ClimacticGaming]

Quote

Everyone is going to follow Team legacy , which i still believe will change server anyway.

Call me a noob to the scene or whatever I guess, but I don't know who Team Legacy is nor will I care or follow them if they leave.

I will never agree with anyone saying a guild or person makes or breaks a server. Crystal Desert will still be a great place/community regardless.

[SirZac]

I can confirm that my guild Gayme 0n and also Rough Trade will be on Crystal Desert. g0 is a large WvW-focused gaymer guild and Rough Trade is another large gaymer guild that has deep roots in WoW's Proudmore. The other communities are still discussing but looks like the critical mass of LGBT gamers will be on Crystal Desert

Edited by SirZac, 17 August 2012 - 01:22 AM.

[Ironfungus]

Aitchkay, on 17 August 2012 - 01:04 AM, said:

As Malcolm Reynolds once said, "We're all just folk now."

Oh sizznaps, breaking out the Firefly references.

[Nox_Aeterna]

7thCylon, on 17 August 2012 - 01:05 AM, said:

You have to understand that not all people are very welcoming so those guilds are just providing a very friendly zero tolerance space eventually they will no longer need to be labeled lgbt guilds. it has nothing to with being exclusionary just some people can be very volatile about certain issues they aren't going to exclude people... unless they are mean

Ah i understand completely , the RPers also got a server for themselves and so go for a lot of other "kinds" of community , i understand that it is because other people( to me kids around 10 years ) are mean to them.

Still that is not what i meant hehe , i guess i could say i wanted my server to have homosexuals RPers from latin america and at the same time heterosexuals SPvPers from europe , i want a server without a label where i can find all kind of players.

ClimacticGaming, on 17 August 2012 - 01:09 AM, said:

Call me a noob to the scene or whatever I guess, but I don't know who Team Legacy is nor will I care or follow them if they leave.

I will never agree with anyone saying a guild or person makes or breaks a server. Crystal Desert will still be a great place/community regardless.

Well , you are new to this forum , soon you will hear about them one way or the other.

Hehe i agree with you lol, why would i want to join Crysal Desert if i thought it is going to be a bad server?

[samd227]

Guys, the gay alliance isn't moving to crystal desert, we have been there since beta. The whole server isn't going to be full with "gay people" not only because it is just a small alliance, but because just because it is a lgbt guild doesn't mean that we are all gay, we have many straight members! Stonewall vanguard is a lgbt guild, but we don't flaunt it, we just like to be around people with the same mindset so we don't have to hide who we really are. That is never fun. It has nothing to do with sexual preference, we don't have cyber sex all day or anything...we are open to all ages. Don't stray away from the server, because even if you do run into one of us, it's not like we're going to shove our opinions down your throat, we are going to help you with the dynamic event that popped up a couple of yards away! It makes no difference!!

Just to make it more clear...go to that gw2guilds website...50+ guilds hav registered on crystal desert, obviously with more guilds not knowing about the site. Only 3 are gay guilds...that is such a small portion it will not matter.

Also, if you are changing servers after hearing this news, and you enjoyed CD in BWE1-3 then you are silly We've been there all along, if anything it will be even better now with Team Legacy taking their massive crowd to far shiverpeaks

Edited by samd227, 17 August 2012 - 02:20 AM.

[Melanie]

The reason I like to stick with LGBT guilds as being trans AND gay, one is VERY difficult to "hide" if I had to.  Acceptance among the straight community may be "good" for gay people, but trans people are still looked at with disgust, and derision.  I love my guildies and a lot of peeps on the CD Facebook page... they make me feel like i can be who i am without judgement.  That's my reason..it's than just "oh hey all the other gay people are there, so i should be to".

[ClimacticGaming]

Nox_Aeterna, on 17 August 2012 - 01:21 AM, said:

Ah i understand completely , the RPers also got a server for themselves and so go for a lot of other "kinds" of community , i understand that it is because other people( to me kids around 10 years ) are mean to them.

Still that is not what i meant hehe , i guess i could say i wanted my server to have homosexuals RPers from latin america and at the same time heterosexuals SPvPers from europe , i want a server without a label where i can find all kind of players.



Well , you are new to this forum , soon you will hear about them one way or the other.

Hehe i agree with you lol, why would i want to join Crysal Desert if i thought it is going to be a bad server?

Exactly! =D

[shadow293]

Nox_Aeterna, on 17 August 2012 - 12:34 AM, said:

My god since when?

Will have to pick another server dammit... and AA was finally leaving giving the server more space...

Damm im going to have a look at the server list.

Yeah me to.

[devicus]

Mightylink, on 17 August 2012 - 12:01 AM, said:

I talked to them about it, they won't budge, there saying all their names are reserved and its too late to move, also they feel they can get around login ques by always being logged in, of course I don't want my game running 24/7 along with my pc v_v

I really don't want to be associated with this server, I'm feeling incredibly screwed!

Good news: No log in queues, you will be able to play but on an overflow server if it's super busy and that will die down in time.

Bad news: Well you're going to have to get on at launch and be super fast.

[JemL]

the main reason people picked crystal desert is just a cause the name, nothing else, dont fool yoursleves or try to make false propaganda

iam not playing in CD thought

[KodakMoment]

I chose it because it was a memorable place from prophecies. Server is rampacked with guilds and WvW fills within seconds. Also what does LGBT stand for?

Edited by KodakMoment, 17 August 2012 - 02:58 AM.

[Alaroxr]

Incendia, on 16 August 2012 - 08:59 PM, said:

http://www.asuralabs.../serverPoll.php

This poll suggests it isn't as full as you say it is.

http://www.gw2guilds...bers&order=desc

The poll you're talking about is small sample, new, and mostly from a few select places.

[Jokerx7]

KodakMoment, on 17 August 2012 - 02:54 AM, said:

I chose it because it was a memorable place from prophecies. Server is rampacked with guilds and WvW fills within seconds. Also what does LGBT stand for?

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transexual.

[Treble]

Junktown01233210, on 16 August 2012 - 09:46 PM, said:

Personally, I've never considered something like gender identification or sexual orientation when determining my peers for an online game. And honestly, neither topic has ever came up in 10+ years of playing mmos with all sorts of different people from all different walks of life from all over the world. Either people are cool with who you are, or they are probably crappy people.

Nox_Aeterna, on 17 August 2012 - 12:54 AM, said:

Well like most people seek a RP server or a PvE server or i dont know a WvW server i wanted a server WITHOUT any label.

I prefer to play with many kinds of people , not just join one kind.

I honestly wondered this too. In over a decade of gaming, I didn't even know LBGT guilds existed. Hell, I didn't even know about any LBGT movements until a couple years ago (and especially now with the whole Chick-fil-A thing). I mean, I live in SoCal and gay people are pretty openly gay around here, and no one really cares. So maybe I'm just a little jaded by that fact.

Honestly, I have plenty of gay friends and everyone treats them the same as anyone else. Hell, I enjoy going to the WeHo gay parade during Halloween sometimes because it's all kinds of awesome fun. But I think for me, it's those people who are overly vocal about being gay that I personally find annoying. It's like an African-American person reminding everyone that he's black, or an Asian person reminding everyone he's asian every chance he gets. It's like, "Ok we get it. Not a big deal, so let's talk like normal people."

So yeah. Don't really see the point. I never understood why people who want to be treated equally go out of their way to stand out. But whatever, to each their own. I personally would rather be in a broader community than sticking to a small group, but at the same time I know how shitty the internet and anonymity can be so I can understand.

[Melanie]

Treble, on 17 August 2012 - 03:06 AM, said:

So yeah. Don't really see the point. I never understood why people who want to be treated equally go out of their way to stand out. But whatever, to each their own. I personally would rather be in a broader community than sticking to a small group, but at the same time I know how shitty the internet and anonymity can be so I can understand.

Some of us don't have much of choice... i WISH it was easier to not act "trans" but the fact that is a physical thing, and not something as hidden as orientation, makes NOT standing out difficult.