The "male/female" question
ana...@netvision.net.il
Jon Mitchell
>While in IRC, people want to know the sex of each other. Therefore
>frequently we see the question : " Are you m/f?" in its many versions.
Some of us think this question is tacky and shows that you aren't
interested in a conversation, but more of a pickup.
>e.g. VICTOR>
>Brenda< etc..
>Anyway I suggest to start using this in IRC to better identify
>ourselves and stop asking this question. In real life we have the advantage to
Hmm.. so I guess what we should really do is have our nicks really
identify ourselves, so I would be something like
SWM20Redhair-student-hobbies-include-aviation-and-computers (thank god
for dalnet I guess). It's interesting that you think the only thing that
identifies someone is their sex. One of thing that make IRC popular is
that people can express their thoughts and ideas and aren't being biased
against because of their identity. What they say is the only thing that
defines them. Unfortunately, another reason IRC is popular is for HNG's
to engage in netsex. I'd rather not further that trend.
flybynite
Ron Ritzman
: I would like to see an agreed upon sign in order to identify our sex
: together with our nicknames. This would indicate the males and females on a
: channel as we enter it.
Warungb0t 1z 0n the f0n 4 ewe.
--
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ron Ritzman | MAKE MONEY FAST by sending postcards
crim...@cdc.net | to dying boy in support of his crusade
rrit...@nyx.net | against the modem tax
Doctor Johassen
> [headers deleted]
> While in IRC, people want to know the sex of each other. Therefore
> frequently we see the question : " Are you m/f?" in its many versions.
>
> I would like to see an agreed upon sign in order to identify our sex
> together with our nicknames. This would indicate the males and females on a
> channel as we enter it. If someone wants to disguise himself he could still do
How exactly do you propose we get the thousands of IRC users to agree on
anything? Who are "we" exactly?
> it. If someone think that this violates privacy, then let him not use it.
What it it simply limits the nine letter nick rule? That would be my
biggest problem with it.
> I would suggest the ">" sign to designate a male, and the "<" to >
> designate a female. This should follow the nickname. > e.g. VICTOR> >
> Brenda< etc.. > > Anyway I suggest to start using this in IRC to better
> identify > ourselves and stop asking this question. In real life we have
> the advantage to > > > see and NEVER ask if the person in front of us is a
> male or a female. > > Comments are WELCOME!
[strange control characters deleted]
The comparasson you make to real life is questionable. It might be more
accurate if you used different nicks for your example of if you walk
around naked in real life. The nicks Victor and Brenda sure look like
particular genders to me. As for ambiguous nicks, I see people on the
subway all the time who's genders I wouldn't care to guess at or even
consider. If someone wants their gender known there are ways to get the
message across without having to deface your name. If someone would
rather keep their gender to themselves that's easily enough done too. In
the case of women especially I really wouldn't blame them for wanting to
do this. Going on certain channels as a blatantly labled femail is just
begging for harassment (and no, I'm not trying to say that the woman is
responsible for the harassment, I'm just saying I can understand why one
might try to avoid it where possible).
* * * * * * Doctor Johassen
* * * * *
* * * * * * go...@yucc.yorku.ca
* * * * *
* * * * * * http://yucc.yorku.ca/~gonzo/me.gif
* * * * *
* * * * * * Look for me as HappyPant on IRC, channel #Cheers
* * * * *
* * * * * * ================================================
Doctor Johassen
> But on the same token, if your not ashamed of the person you are, why
> use handles? To hide your true identity? Most people like to hide
> behind walls. I'm no different.
>
> Just some words to think about...
>
> --== Gelred ==--
The Founding Fathers thought a great deal about words like that when they
wrote the declaration of indepenence. As well, the Supreme Court has
given them great consideration in deciding civil rights and liberties
cases. Be very careful about accusing those who feel they have a right
to privacy of cowardice. There are a lot of good reasons that most of us
don't want the details of our lives published and it's not because we
have "something to hide". The suggestion that people who enjoy their
annonymity on IRC are hiding something inappropriate or are unreasonably
afraid is quite frankly insulting in a free society. If I want you to
know something about me I'll damn well tell you. If I don't feel like
telling you then why do you want to know? You know, someone could join
an IRC channel and just announce "Hey, I'm female." Have you noticed
they never do? Why do you suppose that is?
Doctor Johassen
female as "femail". Dumb, dumb, dumb. Sorry to anyone who spend a few
minutes pondering what kind of political statement I was making :)
Warlock
>ana...@netvision.net.il wrote:
>
>: I would like to see an agreed upon sign in order to identify our sex
>: channel as we enter it.
>
>
1z that th3 cl00f0n3?
Warlock2
Fons de Kort AKA Warlock
f.de...@student.utwente.nl
********************************
---- I'm not bad, just evil ----
********************************
Vincent Lofft
I suggest that if someone is interested in discovering the sex of another,
a private msg such as "Are you a male or a female?" would do the trick and
show the other person that the questioner is interested in moving the
"relationship" beyond "purely intellectual".
Of course, Nicknames such as "ĄStud!" or "Red Hot Mama" would pretty much
advertise what one's inclinations were -- if said person wanted to
advertise.
VL
Panther
>ana...@netvision.net.il wrote:
>
>: I would like to see an agreed upon sign in order to identify our sex
>: together with our nicknames. This would indicate the males and females on a
>: channel as we enter it.
>
>Warungb0t 1z 0n the f0n 4 ewe.
>
perhapse you would also like everybody to wear name tags in real life, along
with phone number, occupation, and anual income??
Get Real, personel privacy is one of the the most importaint rights any person
can have.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Panther Real rebels use GOTO's
pan...@midland.co.nz
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Michael McCormick
> frequently we see the question : " Are you m/f?" in its many versions.
>
> designate a female.
Actually, I find I don't really care about the gender of whom I'm talking to. I'd
much rather know thier 'handedness' as in right-handed or left-handed. Therefore I
suggest we use the '>' to signify right-handed people and the '<' to signify
left-handed people. Ambidextrous peoples could use '='.
Since I know the subject will eventually come up, here are some more rules:
.) If you were originally right handed, but lost the use of the right hand to an
accident, you would use the ']' symbol. If it was a motorcycle accident, you could
use '}'. Lefties use '[' and '{'.
.) If you type with your feet (for whatever reason) you would use the '_' symbol.
.) If you type with your nose (again, for whatever reason. Perhaps you lost a bet)
you would employ the '*' symbol.
.) If you are a male and use an alternate appendage to type, you could employ either
'\', '/', or '|', depending on your mood.
.) If you are a female and use an alternate appendage to type, you could use ')' or
'('. Maddonna would use '<','>' ( I realise these are the same symbols used for
simple left/right handedness, but in a way that lends a certain exotic mystery to it
all.)
If this catches on, I'll let you in on my codes for hair color.
--
Mike McCormick
/* If at first you don't succeed, switch to power tools */
Sascha Regh
>
>While in IRC, people want to know the sex of each other. Therefore
>frequently we see the question : " Are you m/f?" in its many versions.
>
>I would like to see an agreed upon sign in order to identify our sex
>together with our nicknames. This would indicate the males and females on a
>channel as we enter it. If someone wants to disguise himself he could still do
>
>
>it. If someone think that this violates privacy, then let him not use it.
>
>I would suggest the ">" sign to designate a male, and the "<" to
>designate a female. This should follow the nickname.
>e.g. VICTOR>
>Brenda< etc..
>
>Anyway I suggest to start using this in IRC to better identify
>ourselves and stop asking this question. In real life we have the advantage to
>
>
>see and NEVER ask if the person in front of us is a male or a female.
You have never met a transgendered person in real life, have you? A lot of
us are asked that question rather often (unfortunately, I have to add).
I do agree though that a standard for indicating that would be rather nice,
especially with more and more people coming on from non-english speaking
countries. Their names often lead to misunderstandings, if they use them,
or are at least not clear to many people (Sascha, for example, is a *boys*
name, not a girls).
However, to make that mandatory would be a lousy idea, specially since
women then would come in IRC even less frequently, simply because each and
everybody solicits them the moment the use female (instead of neutral)
names. If you don't belive that, try going in IRC with a girls name at
least once!
And there is still the right of choice and privacy. And the e-communication
often is the only means of communication for transgendered people
especially in transition.
Alex
If you don't belive that, try going in IRC with a girls name at least once!
Mikko Rautalahti - Warner Music Finland Oy
>While in IRC, people want to know the sex of each other. Therefore
>frequently we see the question : " Are you m/f?" in its many versions.
>I would like to see an agreed upon sign in order to identify our sex
>together with our nicknames. This would indicate the males and females on a
Uhh. Are you actually serious? Or is this just so that HNG's can
go around and find the women to hit on more easily? (Which pretty much is
what this would amount to, supposing that people would actually want to
use this...)
- Mikki
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
- Mikko Rautalahti --- "I judge a woman solely by the size and shape of -
- watc...@xgw.fi --- her nostrils." -- "Weird Al" Yankovic -
- WatchMan @ IRC ----------------------- http://www.xgw.fi/~watchman/ -
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Doctor Johassen
> > While in IRC, people want to know the sex of each other. Therefore
> > frequently we see the question : " Are you m/f?" in its many versions.
> >
> > I would suggest the ">" sign to designate a male, and the "<" to
> > designate a female.
>
> Actually, I find I don't really care about the gender of whom I'm talking to. I'd
> much rather know thier 'handedness' as in right-handed or left-handed. Therefore I
> suggest we use the '>' to signify right-handed people and the '<' to signify
> left-handed people. Ambidextrous peoples could use '='.
>
> Since I know the subject will eventually come up, here are some more rules:
> .) If you were originally right handed, but lost the use of the right hand to an
> accident, you would use the ']' symbol. If it was a motorcycle accident, you could
> use '}'. Lefties use '[' and '{'.
> .) If you type with your feet (for whatever reason) you would use the '_' symbol.
> .) If you type with your nose (again, for whatever reason. Perhaps you lost a bet)
> you would employ the '*' symbol.
> .) If you are a male and use an alternate appendage to type, you could employ either
> '\', '/', or '|', depending on your mood.
> .) If you are a female and use an alternate appendage to type, you could use ')' or
> '('. Maddonna would use '<','>' ( I realise these are the same symbols used for
> simple left/right handedness, but in a way that lends a certain exotic mystery to it
> all.)
>
> If this catches on, I'll let you in on my codes for hair color.
> --
> Mike McCormick
> /* If at first you don't succeed, switch to power tools */
>
>
So right now for example my nick would be >|HappyPant, is that right? I
see. This is a great idea! It really helps me imagine what's going on
on the other side of the screen . . . ok, what if my hair were brown?
* * * * * * Doctor Johassen
* * * * *
* * * * * * go...@yucc.yorku.ca
* * * * *
* * * * * * http://yucc.yorku.ca/~gonzo/me.gif
* * * * *
* * * * * * Look for me as >|HappyPant on IRC, channel #Cheers
* * * * *
* * * * * * ==================================================
maurine
>
> In article <4jkqab$a...@cdc2.cdc.net>, crim...@cdc.net (Ron Ritzman) wrote:
> >ana...@netvision.net.il wrote:
> >
> >: together with our nicknames. This would indicate the males and females on a
> >
> >Warungb0t 1z 0n the f0n 4 ewe.
> >
>
> perhapse you would also like everybody to wear name tags in real life, along
> with phone number, occupation, and anual income??
>
> Get Real, personel privacy is one of the the most importaint rights any person
> can have.
>
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> The Panther Real rebels use GOTO's
> pan...@midland.co.nz
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You may have missed an angle here. Those who WISH to identify
themselves as male or female could do so if there was a way to enter it
as the first letter of their nickname. Those who prefer to remain
"neuter" could just leave it out.
Granted, this can be handled somewhat by the nickname you choose. But
someone who enters this special code is saying, in effect, "Hey, I don't
mind a little flirting."
As a woman, it bothers me to go into a channel and be hit on, even
though I realize most of the guys have no bad intentions. I simply get
tired of being hit on in regular life and am dismayed that it even
happens when I'm sittin' home alone with my computer. I don't think men
realize who tired some women are of this behavior, both on the computer
and off. If this could be a simple way of handling it, then maybe it's
worth a try.
Steve Chaney
>ana...@netvision.net.il writes:
>
>>While in IRC, people want to know the sex of each other. Therefore
>>frequently we see the question : " Are you m/f?" in its many versions.
>
>interested in a conversation, but more of a pickup.
Whatever floats their boat; I often sit on #talk - a TALK channel, not a
netsex channel, and whenever we get lamers who come in asking for netsex
(an obvious sign is when someone reports a lamer /msg'ing them "are you m
or f?"), they get the boot. The concept of #talk is to TALK, not try to
pick up wemmen.
If I were running a netsex channel I'd let it slide. You walked into a
netsex channel, you know what to expect. Don't whine cuz some lamah is
trying to pick you up. Put him on /IGNORE if you are only there to talk.
(Weird, isn't it? We get all the netsexers on #talk...God help them if the
netsex channels get all the talksters!! The HNG's must be going CRAZY :)
Besides, netsex isn't all that evil. If both parties are willing, let 'em
at it. It's better than spreading AIDS. If the women don't want netsex,
that's the guys' tough luck.
-- Steve
Steve Chaney
>This is what ana...@netvision.net.il wrote:
>
>>frequently we see the question : " Are you m/f?" in its many versions.
>>together with our nicknames. This would indicate the males and females on a
>
>go around and find the women to hit on more easily? (Which pretty much is
>what this would amount to, supposing that people would actually want to
>use this...)
Sadly this would be the net effect :-(
Fortunately anaton has no control over the issue :)
-- Steve
BS
>> While in IRC, people want to know the sex of each other. Therefore
>> frequently we see the question : " Are you m/f?" in its many versions.
>>
>> I would suggest the ">" sign to designate a male, and the "<" to
>> designate a female.
> Actually, I find I don't really care about the gender of whom I'm talking to. I'd
>much rather know thier 'handedness' as in right-handed or left-handed. Therefore I
>suggest we use the '>' to signify right-handed people and the '<' to signify
>left-handed people. Ambidextrous peoples could use '='.
> Since I know the subject will eventually come up, here are some more rules:
> .) If you were originally right handed, but lost the use of the right hand to an
>accident, you would use the ']' symbol. If it was a motorcycle accident, you could
>use '}'. Lefties use '[' and '{'.
> .) If you type with your feet (for whatever reason) you would use the '_' symbol.
> .) If you type with your nose (again, for whatever reason. Perhaps you lost a bet)
>you would employ the '*' symbol.
> .) If you are a male and use an alternate appendage to type, you could employ either
>'\', '/', or '|', depending on your mood.
> .) If you are a female and use an alternate appendage to type, you could use ')' or
>'('. Maddonna would use '<','>' ( I realise these are the same symbols used for
>simple left/right handedness, but in a way that lends a certain exotic mystery to it
>all.)
> If this catches on, I'll let you in on my codes for hair color.
>--
>Mike McCormick
> /* If at first you don't succeed, switch to power tools */
Mike.. I enjoyed that very much.
BS
>ana...@netvision.net.il wrote:
>>While in IRC, people want to know the sex of each other.
>>I would like to see an agreed upon sign in order to identify our sex
>>the person in front of us is a male or a female.
>>Comments are WELCOME!
>anaton.. are you kidding? as a female I would never chose to identify
>my gender, as the minute women do they are harrassed.
>Is gender really relevent in a non-physical sphere? any more so than
>age? I much prefer the lack of pressure and sexual harrassment in
>having a non-gender nick. Particularly in a arena where the females
>are swamped by males in sheer weight of numbers.
>sorry... I couldn't think of anything worse than inflicting that kind
>of requisite on women.. that they idientify their gender.. take a
>look at what is out there and you will understand why.
If there is one constant in on line chat... it's that men and
anonymity don't mix. We so often end up acting like pigs. We just
can't help it!
Even as a man, I still prefer the genderless nicks... the women think
your less likely to be one of those guys who's "just trying to get
laid". heh heh heh...
hea...@fiber.net
Brian
>
> > .) If you type with your nose (again, for whatever reason. Perhaps you lost a bet)
> >you would employ the '*' symbol.
Er, that's hard - how do you hold down shift and press eight if your
keyboard has no * on the numeric keypad (or even no keypad at all)?
I'll leave it to your imaginations what I type with, looking at my .sig!
_____ -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- _____
~/ ^..^ Jesus is Lord <>< <>< <>< Brian Ronald ^..^ \~
\_____(00) http://www.ncl.ac.uk/~n4150781/ (00)_____/
WW WW -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- WW WW
Tony Sidaway
writes
>
>Besides, netsex isn't all that evil. If both parties are willing, let 'em
>at it.
>
I don't bother with hngs who ask m or f. I always IRC as Sherilyn and
sometimes netsex as male, sometimes as female. What the hell, it's just
roleplay, and I have always played female in MUGs.
What really pisses me off is when some guy asks m or f or decides to
check out my IRCNAME (Tony Sidaway) _halfway thru_. If real gender
means that much to him he shouldn't be doing "virtual" sex in the first
place. There are hundreds of real women walking around outside, looking
for real sex.
--
Sheri
Adam Noel Harris
: place. There are hundreds of real women walking around outside, looking
: for real sex.
Stop it. You're making me nostalgic for England.
-Adam
PGP Fingerprint = C0 65 A2 BD 8A 67 B3 19 F9 8B C1 4C 8E F2 EA 0E
Hoyos
: Tony Sidaway (to...@sidaway.demon.co.uk) said this stuff:
: : place. There are hundreds of real women walking around outside, looking
: : for real sex.
: Stop it. You're making me nostalgic for England.
: -Adam
:
Now, Adam aren't you a happily married man?
Damon
Adam Noel Harris
: : -Adam
: :
That I am, Nietz. That doesn't preclude me, however, from the occassional
nostalgia :)
-Adam
Well-behaved in RL.
Andy
>In article <4jkqab$a...@cdc2.cdc.net>, crim...@cdc.net (Ron Ritzman) wrote:
>>ana...@netvision.net.il wrote:
>>
>>: I would like to see an agreed upon sign in order to identify our sex
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>perhapse you would also like everybody to wear name tags in real life, along
>with phone number, occupation, and anual income??
>Get Real, personel privacy is one of the the most importaint rights any person
>can have.
>The Panther
>pan...@midland.co.nz
Panther.. <raisin' glass> Here's to you bud. *clap* *clap* Well
said..
Just my 2¢,
Andy <an...@mm.com>