I get that this is a contentious issue and it can also have a tendency to bring out the worst in some trolls, but I think it is a pretty serious issue.

However I find the fact that the thread was deleted somehow more troubling.

I was reading through it, I had a long way to go, and then it was just gone. I can image 1 of three things happening. 1- FFG didn't like that we were talking about it. Maybe they were thinking about it leading so some legal issues or something. 2- The thread deteriorated into so much trolling, anti-trolling and overall inappropriate levels of conversation that FFG had no choice but to delete it. Or 3- It is gone due to some technical glitch.

I would like to hope that it is 3, but I find explanation 2 more likely. If that is the case then shame on us. One of the many things I like about this game is the maturity and over all sportsmanship of the people I have met who play X-Wing. But if we can't have an intelligent, adult conversation about a difficult topic then shame on us.

PS If you are a troll you are being bad. (I don't hold with those that say that disrespecting others is okay if it is for fun, or because you seriously disagree with them.)

[ADMIN]

[/ADMIN]

Remember the thread on 'Echo could be female', and how that turned ugly fast? I imagine that it turned into something like that, sadly.

This may be deleted/locked.

But for the most part I thought it was pretty level headed and reasonable discussion. However the thread was started by our old "friend" Riban using another sockpuppet account to troll these boards. That if anything is likely why they deleted it.

I am sorry, but I consider this untrue.

While the OP was clearly a troll, and the thread was uncalled for, it was a decent conversation, with nothing inappropriate as far as I can remember.

edit: accidentally a word

Yeah, it was a troll thread. Very few good things can come out of a thread like that, especially when there is a lot of instigation going on. That a certain issue in video gaming was brought up only meant that the thread was doa.

And dear lord, I'm having deja vu. Didn't this same type of thread happen when another of the troll's thread was deleted?

How exactly do you get gender discrimination in a game about genderless plastic spaceships? If you mean the pilots, they're literally just names on cards and are all sourced from the EU anyway. Most of the pilots are male because most of the EU fighter pilot characters are in the source material. That's all there is to it.

Posting a thread like that isn't "addressing a serious issue" because there isn't one to address. It's just fanning a flame war.

Yeah, it was a troll thread. Very few good things can come out of a thread like that, especially when there is a lot of instigation going on. That a certain issue in video gaming was brought only meant that the thread was doa.

Actually that might have been it.

Yeah, it was a troll thread. Very few good things can come out of a thread like that, especially when there is a lot of instigation going on. That a certain issue in video gaming was brought up only meant that the thread was doa.

And dear lord, I'm having deja vu. Didn't this same type of thread happen when another of the troll's thread was deleted?

GASP! Maybe this one will be deleted as well!

From what I read of it, it was quite civil, however I only got through the first 3 pages before it just disappeared.

I can see why FFG might have wanted to delete a thread simply because it was started by a person that they had to suspend from the forums. But that begs the question Riban trying to stir up trouble and he just failed?

From what I read of it, it was quite civil, however I only got through the first 3 pages before it just disappeared.

I can see why FFG might have wanted to delete a thread simply because it was started by a person that they had to suspend from the forums. But that begs the question Riban trying to stir up trouble and he just failed?

He failed in two ways: 1) Nobody took the bait and the responses were civilized, even if his responses weren't; 2) Somebody (I forgot who) found the connection between Ribann and "Arista".

How exactly do you get gender discrimination in a game about genderless plastic spaceships? If you mean the pilots, they're literally just names on cards and are all sourced from the EU anyway. Most of the pilots are male because most of the EU fighter pilot characters are in the source material. That's all there is to it.

Posting a thread like that isn't "addressing a serious issue" because there isn't one to address. It's just fanning a flame war.

Where as the thread might have be created to stir up trouble, the fact that few women play this game shouldn't be off limits to discussion, should it. In all the organized play that I have ever been to, I have only ever seen one female playing. I'm not saying that this is because of discrimination, but it does at least prompt us to ask the question.

Haha yeah it's gone. The OP reported me for a reasonable comment and that was the last comment they made on page 2.... thread got to page 6 with no more trolling, so there was some good conversation happening.

From what I read of it, it was quite civil, however I only got through the first 3 pages before it just disappeared.

I can see why FFG might have wanted to delete a thread simply because it was started by a person that they had to suspend from the forums. But that begs the question Riban trying to stir up trouble and he just failed?

He failed in two ways: 1) Nobody took the bait and the responses were civilized, even if his responses weren't; 2) Somebody (I forgot who) found the connection between Ribann and "Arista".

Well if that is the case then I retract the "shame on us" and would like to offer ourselves congratulation for defeating the TROLL.

While it being civily discussed at least for a bit is a testament to the relative maturity of the X-wing forums, given that A: it's quite obviously a non-issue for X-wing and B: there's a certain rather unpleasant thing going on in the cesspits of the internet right now that's causing tensions to run high on the subject, obvious troll attempt.

One thing I've learned from what I've noticed on this forum, I wouldn't have bet money on it staying calm and peaceful.

Interesting tidbit in the Webmaster's post history ("More female friendly" topic from the Warhammer section) http://community.fantasyflightgames.com/index.php?/topic/124311-more-female-friendly/?p=1295461

"

I wouldn't have bet money on it staying calm and peaceful.

That's completely possible, but generally that is something you deal with after the fact not preemptively.

But that said, there's some topics that are just better off getting nuked as soon as they're posted, and maybe FFG felt that topic was too Off Topic and had no place here, and was unlikely to go anywhere really positive.

I mean the general consensus was "We should do what we can to make people feel welcome, but there isn't a whole lot more we can do."

I was about to add that my wife tried playing X-wing but does not like it. She told her female teacher co-workers and they thought it was all silly and utter nonsense. The lone guy in the staff room said "that sounds like fun" ...

The thread was about as civil as one could expect on a message board of this nature. I am sad to see it go.

Face is Sergovan, most women think men are silly.. especially our toys.. lol

That is a shame. Like others, I think that despite trolling and legitimacy of OP being brought into question, the conversation itself was fairly civil and going well. Good points were being made and brought up.

For my money, I think FFG decided to delete it (rather than lock it) once "Gamergate" started being pulled in and justified.

One thing I've learned from what I've noticed on this forum, I wouldn't have bet money on it staying calm and peaceful.

Ha, definitely. I remember a thread about the Dash Rendar crew card being OP somehow turning into a debate on whether or not Catholics ruined the world.

No, seriously. Someone actually thought that card was going to break the game.

Joking aside, I did wonder why Arista was so needlessly hostile. My first thought was just that "she" was a really defensive person.

Might want to start with regarding them as women/girls which are pronouns that indicate they are people rather than by something that could just as easily be used when referring to animals.

Might want to start with regarding them as women/girls...

It was pointed out in that thread that the OP used the term Female more than anyone else posting in the thread.

I gained some perspective on person-first language for gender issues in that thread. I had always used person-first language for people with cognitive disabilities, but had not considered it for gender issues. I thought the thread was educational for gamers.