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Has racism always been a part of MMOs?
MST3K84
Member Posts: 69
I don't mean real life races of course, but hatred directed towards races within the game.
Every time I go to the Warcraft general forum there always seems to be at least 4 or 5 new posts on the front page flaming people who play Elf characters. I played WoW for a little over a year before BC came out as a human warlock, and I was excited to play the new Blood Elf race when they were announced, but now I regret ever having rolled one.
Every day I'm reminded that I picked a race that people deem gay, and ruined the Horde. It was bad enough just seeing it on the forums, but now I'm experiencing it everywhere. Just a few days ago there was a GUcomic about an orc relishing all the dead belfs on Sunwell Plateau, and it got me wondering if this kind of hatred was experienced in other games as well? Regardless, I've learned my lesson, and will never again roll an elf in an online rpg. 
Comments
Well the whole blood elf thing started way befor BC. Specifically with the night elves and all. So naturally the horde players that didn't like Night elves in the first place they were peeved to find another "Pretty race" in a side where "pretty" means the avatar that is not rolled over in bones and blood completely.
Plus lets face it, male elves in WoW look totally effeminate:P
A friend is not him who provides support during your failures.A friend is the one that cheers you during your successes.
It's not racism, it's role playing.
Besides, choosing your race is a choice - it's not like you are born an elf.
Are people a part of mmos? Do different races play them? Then yes. As long as bigotry and racism exists in RL it will proliferate throughout literature and media alike. It is a sad truth really.
Edit: Sorry if what I said above was a little off topic. But I decided to add my experience in general with racism. I agree with the op that elves don't always have to be pretty, etc etc. I agree we need more diversity in our fantasy worlds, not just Lord of the rings with some slight diffs, or another grinder based on some oriental myth. ( DISCLAIMER:Nothing against oriental myth, it is a deep culture i respect as a martial artist and i have many oriental friends, and they agree its been done to death also.)
I am an Arab-American, so you can probably imagine the things people ( mostly other Americans) have said to me upon finding out about my heritage. I have first hand knowledge of racism in online games. But I do not let it get to me, and I do not participate in the game of "reverse racism". If everyone were not concerned with history or the color of ones skin, the world would be a better place.
If some folks think that particular races in a game are more feminine or masculine than others and then choose to use derogatory labels for them, to hell with those fools. One could argue that a female 'cow' character (Taurin) is a much more 'butch' version of the female form than the 'standard' so they all must be lesbians.
Don't let the idiots in the world guide based on thier own weak opionions (in RL or in a game). If you do, you empower them. You become a follower instead of a leader. You want to be out in front steering, not mindlessly conforming 'in the rear' (pun intended, if you get it).
The words 'Sheep' and 'Lemmings' help decribe where I'm going with this.
To the OP. Stay the course! Play the elves!
Yes by all means, If you enjoy something, don't let anyone tell you anything different. If it makes you happy, then damn the Haters!
That's no roleplaying, nor is it racism, it's a childish way to attract attention and a petty competition in who has the biggest 'epeen'. I've made my fair share of silly ooc jokes on a player's choice of race as well, all in good mutual fun, but having to start flame threads is just retarded.
Personally I'm a big supporter of ingame IC racism (and by that I mean real character interation, cultural clashes and IC motivations, not just PvPing someone else because they have a different colour of pixelated skin); conflict still is the best soil for storytelling and roleplaying in general.
However, I'm not demagoguing these days' more commonly found RL racism over the internet and gaming communities in general.
Elves are gay.
Always have been, always will be. Online or off.
Warcraft elves? I can't tell if one is male by looking at it.
Gay probably isn't the most politically correct way to describe it, if I was in the room with a gay guy, I might be inclined to amend my choice of words.
"Poncey". "Overly effeminate".
It might have helped if WoW had made the blood elves a little less girlish looking...
Still and all, if you check the stats (WoW server statistics) you will find that elves are second in popularity only to humans on the Alliance side and are (by far) the most popular race on the Horde side, so apparently the "racism" of which the OP spoke isn't bothering most players or keeping them from rolling elves.
If you want to experience some racism, try rolling and playing a male gnome. Heh. Then, you'll see some real abuse. But still, I never gave a damn what other players thought of my gnome warrior -- and I rather enjoyed playing one of the least popular race/class combinations. (It was also quite satisfying watching the little guy stomp much bigger folk).
One of my friends who plays a lot more games than I do, always calls female elfs "Tree sluts" because he says that's the way most of the MMOs portray them visually. 'fraid I have to agree with him, but then - most women in MMOs are pretty much dressed that way in my opinion. And have you ever tried to ride a horse wearing an outfit like that?? Talk about chaffing!!
I never considered the Dark Elves in Everquest
to be anything like Wood Elves, beyond pointy ears
EQ2 fan sites
Lol at all the ingame Hitlers!
Honestly why do you care what some other person thinks about the toon you choose to role. Do what what you want and dont let the idiots, who have to compensate for their RL miserable existance by being bullies in WoW, dictate your enjoyment of the game. I agree that the elfs could look a bit rougher, but me playing an elf on WoW doesnt cause me to become like one in RL, nor does it reflect who I am in RL. This mindset in WoW that you have to play your toon like the forums tell you to kills the game. To the OP I say roll a belf and have fun with it, if some (insert age here)old, zit face, pot belly, no outside social life kid, wants to make fun of you for your choice, /ignore and move on.
With the exception of Trolls, Undead, and perhaps Gnomes, the males in WoW are disgusting hulks of steroid-reminiscent "muscle," with ill-defined paws for hands. The male Blood Elves are just less so.
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In memory of Laura "Taera" Genender. Passed away on August 13, 2008.
Lets see, I play a blood elf priest and the Horde looking us down is just normal, we were part of the alliance recently.
It is also normal for an orc or a tauren to see the blood elf males as femenine.
Try a undead+blood elfe guild, both fighting the scourge, it's lots of fun.
On my website (The MMORPG Character Monuments) I have a growing list of MMORPG characters, many (obviously) from WoW. I wondered that same question!!! I then tabulated the result in the Monument Statistics page that shows what races players seem to play more. Take a look HERE for the top 5 results (its the last one at the bottom of the page).
Now, these results are from all MMORPGS, but its obvious that WoW is overly represented. Fact is most prefer the HUMAN race.
You can also search to see how many other races there are HERE
Hope this helps
Torrential
Torrential: DAOC (Pendragon)
Awned: World of Warcraft (Lothar)
Torren: Warhammer Online (Praag)
As it is in real life, so it is in video games.
As long as there is more than one race, there will be racism. If there was only one race, we'd find another reason to hate each other.
Personally I hate gnomes, hobbits, and have a strong dislike of dwarves.
And I'd never roll an elf in any phantasy game. There's just too damn many of them already, and I have no desire to have huge pointy ears.
Maybe it's more prevalent in fantasy games, who knows.. I'm playing a dark-furred bothan in SWG right now, I've never seen or heard anyone denigrate anyone's char regardless of what race they play here..now what PROFESSION they chose..that's a different story..
"Stunties! Stunties everywheres! I likes nuffin' more than stompin' on 'em 'til their little edz go POP!"
If you're going to roleplay in an MMO that contains long-time warring factions, you pretty much HAVE to be racist towards them in order to maintain the lore. LOTRO even has "emnity deeds" that gives certain races bonus traits if they kill a bunch of their "hated" race.
As for racism between allied/neutral factions, I feel it adds to the immersion. I played a dwarf in WoW for a while and was frequently abused (in character of course) for being short and having a long beard. Likewise, I'd frequently abuse my elven guild members just because they were elves.
I am wondering where you've seen an elf off-line?
Oh, that's right, they live in New Zealand.
Edit: always forgetting to stay on topic. Some of my favorite experiences in gaming were when I was part of the Shadowclan over in DAOC's FFA PVP server and we could only be one race (Kobolds) and our roleplaying lore had us hating all other races besides kobolds. We even would leave kobolds alone if they were neutral to our guild, but all other races, especially "pinkis" (elves/humans/dwarves) just had to be killed w/o question. (We'd cut trolls and some other non-humans some slack)
"True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde
"I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
Hmmm racism..... in MMO's
Dwarves vs Elves.....
Dark elves vs other elves.....
Trolls always ugly........except for the hottie female trolls in WOW.
Tauren and hamburger comments.....
Evil Orcs.......except in WOW
NAH no racism Marines!!!!! We are all equally worthless!!!! LOL
Played : WOW, LOTRO, COH/COV, EQ2, SWG, and WAR.
Playing EVE Online and AOC.
Wtg for SW:TOR and WOD
Clearly the only man is the one without a neck, with arms the size of a tree, a voice to shatter rock with and with a brain of a marshmallow.
People are idiots, it's a general rule of mmos.
Every game has it's over powered race/class. As with most MMOs, the people doing the testing are not saying, I feel over powered because when the game/update goes live, they know to roll that toon and powerlevel it up to have some fun before the devs figure out they were duped and start smashing the nerf bat around. Also, just because something is deemed as ghey or FOTM, doesn't mean you should not enjoy it. If that is what you like, then by all means, do so. After all, you are the one paying to play, so why should someone else's ghey opinion factor into your playstyle/fun?
See, what I personally love though, is being a 70 blood elf, and being able to kick the ass of the person who calls you gay. Haha... it's wicked fun.
But yeah, it is extremely annoying after a while... but oh so gratifying one-shotting a guy who runs up to you, calls you gay, and then thinks he can stealth and I won't be able to find him... lol
Good times... goooooood times...
In WoW, many think there are 'racist' undertones.
Worgen. Say that word backwards, then think about how that type of NPC is situated in the game. They are shackled slaves that drop watermelons when you kill them. They are animals with human traits. They are ruled by a white leader.
...
Outside of thinking that:
Dwarf females look more masculine than Blood Elf males.
All gnomes must perish.
Some taurens wear leather armor. Weren't they born with that? And why would they want to wear the flesh of another cow? (silence of the lambs?)
Foresaken perpetuate the 'thin is in' movement. Other races may get a complex about their weight. What's their relationship like with tauren... for the sake of needing calcium? And do the tauren males mind?
Do fem taurens have udders?
Dren's... klingons with hooves.
NIght elf... big ears, big hands, big feet... big xxxxx?
...
SWG... races other than Human used to get penalties to faction gains, if they rolled Imperial (if I remember that correctly).