[MUD-Dev] Gender and Mud Development

[Marian Griffith]

In <URL:/archives/meow?group+local.muddev> on Mon 07 Jun, Nathan F Yospe wrote:
> On Mon, 7 Jun 1999, Marian Griffith wrote:

> :*grin*

> :Should I be flattered?

> What, you and Holly and Katrina and Kristen and... um... uh, oh. Is this
> really that male-dominated a pursuit?

Actually, I was kind of flattered. And while this is a male-dominated pur-
suit,  it is not annoyingly so.  I never felt unwelcome here,  incompetent
perhaps, but that has more to do with me than with this list.

> You know, coming from physics, one
> of the worst fields for male-domination, and seeing female students with
> a series of confrontations with chauvenistic professors and the like, it
> always gave me a feeling of "oh, I can't stand this, I hope the younger,
> less entrenched generation manages to change things..."

My math teacher (at what you would call highschool) was like that. He said
that women could not learn math and proceeded not to bother teaching them.
The school knew about it but did not care enough to stop him from doing it
At least he was right about me. I have no talent for math at all, but I do
not think he did me a favour,  giving me the minimum grade  for passing to
the next year without ever requiring me to work for it.

> ... is mudding a
> good indicator that this is an unrealist hope? Are there reasons that an
> overwhelming majority of the admins and developers here are male? And is
> this something we can change?

Well,  no and yes and no.  But I fear this discussion would be wildly off-
topic for this mailing list.  I remember once mentioning my impressions of
the computergames,  and why I would not consider going into a shop  buying
one.  I am not very confident about computers  and only happened into muds
because a friend played them at the university. I think not many girls are
using computers and looking for games to play on them.  Those who do maybe
are, in general,  not that attracted to muds.  My personal interest is not
for intricate combat or levels, but rather for meeting friends and talking
to people.  Yes, 'living' through danger with a group of friends  features
somewhere in the things that I enjoy(ed)  but it is not the thing that did
draw me to the game in the first place.

Marian
--
Yes - at last - You. I Choose you. Out of all the world,
out of all the seeking, I have found you, young sister of
my heart! You are mine and I am yours - and never again
will there be loneliness ...

Rolan Choosing Talia,
Arrows of the Queen, by Mercedes Lackey



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