Male or Female? Oh, but your username....

[freyr's mother]

Firstly, I'd like to say that this thread is targeted for newcomers to the forum.

Now, I doubt I'm the only one on this forum to experience this but let me have a go at it. In several posts by numerous members, I have been reffered to as 'she' because of an assumption in the username. And I'm sure that some other people on this forum experience the same thing or vice-versa.. Well, let me tell you, sometimes things are misleading. While some Usernames like Daryl Froggy, or Xxmynameismikexx may be easy to identify as male or female, other usernames like freyr's mother may not be as clear.

For the newcomers, the way to tell if someone is male or female is....
1.) Click on the persons avatar.
2.) Select view profile.
3.) Go down to additional information.

It is down there under Gender. So before you make any posts that would reply or reference anything that someone with an unclear username has said, check to see that their gender is agreeing (he, she) with what you wrote so you don't offend them. I can understand the dilemma for those that don't have a gender down in their profile. But please, try not to make the mistake of offending someone. Oh, BTW, I'm male for anyone who doesn't know already.

[Pharaoh Atem]

good idea but the only down side is there a small percentage of people on GW who do list male which there are actually female or there don't have it listed at all

[freyr's mother]

good idea but the only down side is there a small percentage of people on GW who do list male which there are actually female or there don't have it listed at all

That's their own fault.

[Albion]

Actually, as someone who uses a gender non-specific nick here and elsewhere on other forums, I've always seen this from the opposite pov. I never get offended if someone refers to me as he when I'm not male because that's just a natural hazard of using a gender non-specific nick. People aren't telepathic. If it really bothered me imo the onus would be on me to switch to a nick that makes any ambiguity impossible. I would never expect other posters to take time to check my stats out before posting because it's my problem, not theirs and not something they really should be obliged to do.

And I really do think that you're pushing it complaining if others refer to you as she when you use a female nick. Come on! It's going to happen. You're surely not trying to have us believe it never occurred to you that it would when you chose the nick?

If it bothers you to this extent, put something in your sig to note you're male or switch to a male nick. But don't castigate others for seeing your nick is female and jumping to the obvious conclusion! If you use a female nick and aren't female you're pretty much asking for the mistake to be made.

And, yes, I know that the Asgard are gender non-specific, but the plain fact is that when someone from this part of the galaxy sees the word mother they tend to think female.

And quite apart from all that, if you get offended about something like this, you really need to get a life. It's a forum nick. Someone referred to you as she when you're a he or vice versa - so what? No one went to war, no one died, the end of the world didn't happen. Lighten up, for pity's sake.

Albion

[Tiret]

I've been mistaken for a male a couple of times. It's understandable because my name isn't clearly female and sometimes I act a little competitive. When it happens twice in a row I just make myself a new signature that's more "feminine," and use that for a little while to give people a clue. I think the mix-ups are rather funny though. I'm really not offended, I'll just slip in a good-humored, "Oh, by the way...I'm a girl!" into my reply to the other person to clear things up.

[Cam_Mitchell]

That's their own fault.

You know what!? I totaly agree, if you dont want people getting your gender mixed up regester it, there is know way peoples gender unless it is regestred.

--Gaz--

[ShadowMaat]

If you choose a nickname contrary to your gender, you do so at your own risk. You leave yourself open to the he/she confusion and it isn't really fair to blame users for making a mistake.

Can someone click on a person's profile? Of course. But that's time consuming, especially for a flippant, off-hand comment and most of the time people don't have gender filled in anyway. Besides, how many people will look at a username containing the word "mother" and think, golly gee! I'd better go see if this person is really a girl! Ditto mascunine names for female users. If I see someone called "Big Pappa" I'm gonna think it's a guy. If I make a mistake and it winds up being a girl, oh well, but I'm not gonna lose any sleep over it and I would hope Big Pappa wouldn't be overly annoyed, either.

I do appreciate when folks have the gender field filled in and I usually make the effort to check before I say something, but there are times when I simply can't be bothered.

And yeah, I get some of the gender confusion, too, especially from folks who misread my name as Matt. But I usually find it amusing. The only time I remember getting irritated is when someone refused to believe I was a girl even after I explained it to him (and I know it was a him). I think he insisted that my name was Matt and that I was simply embarrassed for having typoed my name on registration.

Anyway, with all the stressors, hatred, badness and general aggression out there, the he/she thing doesn't rate very high on my list. But hey, to each his- or her- own.

[penguininablender]

If you choose a nickname contrary to your gender, you do so at your own risk. You leave yourself open to the he/she confusion and it isn't really fair to blame users for making a mistake.

Can someone click on a person's profile? Of course. But that's time consuming, especially for a flippant, off-hand comment and most of the time people don't have gender filled in anyway. Besides, how many people will look at a username containing the word "mother" and think, golly gee! I'd better go see if this person is really a girl! Ditto mascunine names for female users. If I see someone called "Big Pappa" I'm gonna think it's a guy. If I make a mistake and it winds up being a girl, oh well, but I'm not gonna lose any sleep over it and I would hope Big Pappa wouldn't be overly annoyed, either.

I do appreciate when folks have the gender field filled in and I usually make the effort to check before I say something, but there are times when I simply can't be bothered.

And yeah, I get some of the gender confusion, too, especially from folks who misread my name as Matt. But I usually find it amusing. The only time I remember getting irritated is when someone refused to believe I was a girl even after I explained it to him (and I know it was a him). I think he insisted that my name was Matt and that I was simply embarrassed for having typoed my name on registration.

Anyway, with all the stressors, hatred, badness and general aggression out there, the he/she thing doesn't rate very high on my list. But hey, to each his- or her- own.

Yeah, the only time it has annoyed me is when I made a post that Mentioned that I was a girl and this person felt the need to say "huh...I thought you were a guy?". Such comments should be left to themselves because people ended up laughing at the person who posted that. My Name is pretty ambiguous, but I make a habit of seeing whether or not a person is male or female before posting omething gender specific.

[freyr's mother]

Yeah, the only time it has annoyed me is when I made a post that Mentioned that I was a girl and this person felt the need to say "huh...I thought you were a guy?". Such comments should be left to themselves because people ended up laughing at the person who posted that. My Name is pretty ambiguous, but I make a habit of seeing whether or not a person is male or female before posting omething gender specific.

I do that too.

[Black Panther]

If you choose a nickname contrary to your gender, you do so at your own risk. You leave yourself open to the he/she confusion and it isn't really fair to blame users for making a mistake.

Can someone click on a person's profile? Of course. But that's time consuming, especially for a flippant, off-hand comment and most of the time people don't have gender filled in anyway. Besides, how many people will look at a username containing the word "mother" and think, golly gee! I'd better go see if this person is really a girl! Ditto mascunine names for female users. If I see someone called "Big Pappa" I'm gonna think it's a guy. If I make a mistake and it winds up being a girl, oh well, but I'm not gonna lose any sleep over it and I would hope Big Pappa wouldn't be overly annoyed, either.

I do appreciate when folks have the gender field filled in and I usually make the effort to check before I say something, but there are times when I simply can't be bothered.

And yeah, I get some of the gender confusion, too, especially from folks who misread my name as Matt. But I usually find it amusing. The only time I remember getting irritated is when someone refused to believe I was a girl even after I explained it to him (and I know it was a him). I think he insisted that my name was Matt and that I was simply embarrassed for having typoed my name on registration.

Anyway, with all the stressors, hatred, badness and general aggression out there, the he/she thing doesn't rate very high on my list. But hey, to each his- or her- own.

Same for me. Though I am one of those who don't have my gender filled in. Maybe I should. I am female by the way.

When I see your name I think of the egyptian goddess of justice Ma'at.

[twiggy]

Same for me. Though I am one of those who don't have my gender filled in. Maybe I should. I am female by the way.

When I see your name I think of the egyptian goddess of justice Ma'at.

before reading this thread, i didn't think anything of it, now i have mine filled out...

[RedGuard]

before reading this thread, i didn't think anything of it, now i have mine filled out...

So did I! Now I will be somewhat nervous using he or she in a reply...

[Rosehawk]

good idea but the only down side is there a small percentage of people on GW who do list male which there are actually female or there don't have it listed at all

Just in defense of some people who may put male down when they are indeed female, it could be a safety concern. Many times women are told to use the masculine especially if they are single or living alone.

And yes I do agree, it is their own fault if they do that and they have no right to complain though I don't think many would since it defeats the purpose of any perceived safety concerns.

I think my user name is pretty obvious of my gender, however more than once I have been referred to as a male, I suppose they look at the hawk and not the rose and think hawk is masculine. I get a good laugh at it.

[penguininablender]

Just in defense of some people who may put male down when they are indeed female, it could be a safety concern. Many times women are told to use the masculine especially if they are living alone.

And yes I do agree, it is their own fault if they do that and they have no right to complain though I don't think many would since it defeats the purpose of any perceived safety concerns.

I think my user name is pretty obvious of my gender, however more than once I have been referred to as a male, I suppose they look at the hawk and not the rose and think hawk is masculine. I get a good laugh at it.

Yeah, i understand for safety concerns.

[Willow'sCat]

good idea but the only down side is there a small percentage of people on GW who do list male which there are actually female or there don't have it listed at all

Well does it matter? If you can say it to a female then you can say it to a male and vise versa, if not then maybe you shouldn't be saying what you are saying at all.

I have mine turned off, but yes both my user names had/has a female reference. Even if I didn't it is my choice not yours. I am more interested in what the person is saying not their gender.

I think it shouldn't matter and if you do think it matters then that is your problem. And if someone gets upset at being called male when they are female but have no reference to it then that is also their problem.

Again why does it matter? Guys post in the Thunks sometimes but I don't feel like they need to say they are male because it is a Thunk.

Sorry I am just not getting why it is important, and correct me if I am wrong but this is a new feature anyway, it certainly wasn't available when I joined and jeez the world didn't end because someone called someone else by the wrong gender back then.

Also what if you are not male or female?