[MUD-Dev] Girl appeal (was: Boys and Girls)

[Caliban Tiresias Darklock]

From: "Matt Mihaly" <the_logos at achaea.com>
> On Wed, 6 Feb 2002, John Buehler wrote:

>> My anecdote can whip your anecdote.

> But John, that's all this argument is. Everytime I see this tired
> Boys vs. Girls argument brought up here, all I see is everybody
> saying "I know some girl gamers, and they play like this." It's
> all anecdotal.

An anecdote about an occurrence is worthless. An anecdote about a
PATTERN, however, has some value. Why? Because a pattern can be
tested. A pattern can assert truth. A single occurrence, however,
cannot display a tendency -- it is just some aberrant observation
that may or may not mean anything. There is a line that must be
crossed; on one side of the line is something that has been observed
infrequently, by few people, or in rare special circumstances. These
things are of little value. On the other side of the line are things
observed frequently, by many people, in a large variety of
circumstances. These things are of definite value.

In other words, when fifty different people see fifty different
groups of gamers do the same thing, that's significant. When you see
your girlfriend do something else, that's not.

> I personally think everyone is talking out of his or her
> respective ass when he or she says "Girls like X type of games."

And that situation will continue until we can have a rational and
productive discussion about it without the constant whinging that
it's a sexist question and we shouldn't ask it and it's not easy to
answer and none of the data are scientific anyway.

We may still not be at that point just yet, but we have to try now
and then to see whether people have grown up.

> I have no problem with sweeping generalizations, but in this case
> I feel like the jury is just not in yet.

Which would be a great way to pass the buck, if the jury wasn't
US...


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