I've seen more drama from grown men than women in my guild in TBC. Then again we're about 80-90% males so it makes sense from that perspective.

Really even the post asking if its the women! Come on people. First of all you don't know if someone is a women or just playing a women on WoW. Even if they tell you they are a women that could all be bunk. I have seen multiple men play women and play the sex/drama card and act like idiots just because of this very statement and they think they might get something out of it. Lets not proliferate lies with even such a question.

Hardly! I left my old mostly male guild BECAUSE of the drama the men were creating. I started a new guild, mostly for girl gamers. We have a few very cool guys in it, but they are hand picked and not just recruited randomly...and guess what? NO MORE DRAMA! Just a lot of friendly banter. And for those nay-sayers who think girls can't kick butt in raiding groups or pvp...they need to have a chat with our lvl 70 mage!

My guild leader is female, and she's awesome. Her husband and three sons are also in the guild, as well as her daughter-in-law. There are several other female guildmembers and all of them contribute just as much as the men do. I consider myself a heavy contributer to the guild by helping out the lower levels, and have even helped out higher levels when they're working on there profession (Like the dreaded BS Weaponmaster quest that I had already done).

I also play on an RP server, and play two females and one male. It drives people nuts. They think you should only RP your sex. If it was that way, there would be hardly any females. Wether we like it or not, the majority of people that play the game are male.

Im a 31yr old fireman getting married in 2 weeks and I play whenever I get the chance. I am glad there are women out there that play. I am getting tired of all the manginas out there. False advertising I say. My sister turned me on to this game. She is just like you. Keep doin your thing!!!!!

Personally, as a 23 year old female gamer I find that my skill matches and exceeds many of my male counterparts in the guild. I think that women are less likely to wrap their entire lives up in a game because our need for "pleasure" in life (from whatever, sex or video games alike) is much smaller than a mans. It's science!
I am A co-leader with my husband in the guild and still though he is the official guild master, i am the one who does all the work. He shows up for the fun that I plan and organize. I find that the women in my guild are the ones who work hard to get their crafting skills up high so that they can be "needed" by other people. I have also found that women tend to ditch out quicker if there is a female of more power in charge and more popular with the men for whatever reason. Seems like they just want to be needed by someone.
But other than that, I find myself to be a more valuable member to my guild than most of the men. I am less self centered and more interested in the success of my guild (As we see success at least), than the epix lootz I pick up.

Personally, I think that all male, or all female guilds are lacking in many aspects of the game and it's really stupid to shut yourself off from the opposite sex. That is sexist in it's true form and the sad part is that the females doing it are trying to combat sexism somehow. Wow, that is really stupid.

I don't have any problems, and I've never had any problems centered around female guildmates. Oddly enough, I've been in two seperate guilds with female GM's. Never had a problem. I can see how female gamers may be more disposed to the social aspects of the game, like chatting it up and hanging out with the folks than some of the guys, but again it still applies to men. Strangely enough I never have drama problems in game, but my girlfriend thought some the girls I "play" with as competition. Ain't that a twist of fate.

I am a female who plays the game & see both men & women passed for things. Some women get more from male players but thats because they are easy. I also see men have more drama (atleast on my server) then the girls. Alot of guild leaders lack the gumption to kick out a trouble maker, most often if it's a woman starting the trouble.
I hate drama. I ignore it if I can or I just log off & find something better to do.
I like raiding & getting loot but I also like to be seen as a equal member in a guild. If I don't feel like it or am not treated as I am I will leave & find a new guild. It's only a game.
But so far the men have out weigh in the drama department with me. I have been kicked out of a guild because some guy had a hissy fit with his GF & took it out on me because I was the only girl on vent. He over reacted to something some one else said, what she said & went after me, pulling me from one channel into another to just go off on me. If that isn't drama I don't know what is.

From a male perspective, the article makes sense. However the fact that women should be left out all together from the "Best" guilds is just ridiculous. I believe that just like male members, female members of a guild should be screened before they are let in. there are all sorts of people, of both sex's for every male pervert there is a female drama queen. But i think that if we looked at actual percentages the reliable players, both male and female would be about the same. They can offer a completely different perspective on a potential problem the guild is facing and if you aren't too arrogant you be wise to at least take it into consideration when making decisions for your guild...

I don't have a problem with women playing. Half the time you don't know if it is a woman anyway. The women I play with online are as good if not better than I am. That may not sound like much but what does your anatomy have to do with playing games?

Don't play with idiots or losers, problem solved. Also, Mormons are obsessed with sex. ((I used to be Mormon. Don't tell anyone!! =p))

If you want to be the "best", tho, then yes, do as Nihilum did and don't let any females into your club. Many females tend to be more social, de-emphasizing the "achievement" aspect of the game, while males are the opposite. The article is very helpful for anyone who is serious about raiding. (Which I'm not.)

Now just imagine how unhappy a girl who did manage to get into a top raiding guild and succeed there would be (if she didn't really care about the loot)..

I skimmed the article because I've already made up my mind about what I think. Sure having females in a guild will make it different than if it was all men; that's to be expected. It doesn't mean there is anything negative about it. In my experience, woman are usually more social than men in online games, on average...but their ability in a raid or otherwise is the same. The only problems I've ever seen due to women being around are young boys constantly flirting with them. The younger girls flirt back and try to take advantage and get free items or money, and I say good for them. The older women (over 18) will become annoyed eventually and tell them off. They just want to enjoy the game like all the guys do.

There was only one thing I agreed with in his post, and that was that female gamers get ignored because they are female. I get very little respect for my opinion because of my being a woman. I'll get ignored over and over again in guild chat, then a man will say something and get an immediate response. It's annoying, but given that many people mistakenly believe men to be superior gamers, not that surprising.

Besides, it amuses me. Most of them are kids with fast food or retail jobs, yet they've all assumed they know more than I do. I find it hilarious.

I wouldn't say that women bring more drama to the guild, but they do change the dynamics. For instance, last night me and few other guildies were questing and low and behold a new member mentions that she's a female in guild chat. This peaked my interest since I'm a female and having just read this article wanted to see how the conversation would go, how the attitudes would change, and how the girl would handle it. I couldn't have been more disappointed.

After going through the whole, "guys say I'm hot, but I don't think so" talk the conversation quickly moved on to sex, sex, sex, and did I say sex? It ranged from having sex in classrooms, drugs, shemales, and then "will kiss another girl on a webcam for mount money." I'm not an uptight person, but don't think these sorts of things should be in the guilds general chat for all to see. You don't know who is on the other side of the screen and who you could be offending. The way she handled herself not only pissed me off but reinforced the comments in this article which pissed me off even more.

Unfortunately, this has been my experience over and over in this game. I keep hoping to meet more girls like me, who are serious about playing the game and have enough self-respect to not allow this to happen. The MSM's give all of us girl gamers a bad name and should be annihilated!

So women do change the dynamics of the guild but not without the help of men, and these men go on to write ignorant articles about women in games.

/sigh

Let's be honest. Sure some people can fit any stereotype, but frankly unnecessary to keep singling female gamers out. First, I bet there is more than one person your guild that is a woman, you just don't know it. Why, because they don't want to have to put up with ridiculous stuff like this. I've been in several, adult guilds that had no issues with female gamers. Because everyone was mature, focused, friendly, like-minded, and not adolescent enough to constantly be trying to get laid like a 16 year old. Women don't create drama, PEOPLE create drama. There are some really immature teenagers you wouldn't want in your guild, just like there are some teenagers that are very mature and are a pleasure to game with. There are some women gamers I couldn't stand because they were all about exploiting men or creating drama, but I met many more women gamers that could tear it up just as much as the boys, and many more than only revealed to me they were women after months and months of friendship. Some were some of the best gamers I’ve ever met. Similarly I've run into plenty of excellent men, who I've become life long friends with, and run into plenty of others that just want to try and hit on me or try for some online action or just generally be a prick no one wants to be around.

Men often create more drama by trying to have the bigger e-peen than his fellow gamer than the occasional single girl ever created. Plus, maybe we should start writing articles about gay gamers and the drama they can cause in a guild when “trying to get laid.” Oh noes! No one thought of that?! Come one, let’s not over simplify things. It boils down to this. It doesn't matter if you're a woman or a man. What matters is the kind of person you are, the kind of gamer you are. Not everyone is going to get along with everyone. One PERSON can cause havoc in a guild, male or female.

Stereotyping is for the ignorant or lazy. Lets all try and avoid being either one of those.

i started to read through it, then i skimmed through the rest of it. eh, all it boils down to are stereotypes. if you have people who can over look those stereo types, then all is good.

What a load. I've seen some of the worst drama garbage I've ever seen started by males of a guild. And you know what? It's usually from a male who thinks that suggestive cyb0r comments are really cool to say to every female in the guild. If you're serious about playing the game, then play the game. Don't make it a pickup chat room. Characterizing females like this is just insulting to women. Saying "You will find that I clarify twice that there is no realistic difference between men and women in gaming. I do not want to reinforce any view or tone that suggests this" is rather inflammatory given the rest of the article.
Given voice chat software that can alter the voice and avatars on screen that may or may not reflect actual gender, suggesting that genders remain separated to retain focus is silly.

Mature females (aka women) tend to bring a level of maturity to gaming that's missing in the testosterone-soaked MMO world.
However, much like one 12 year old geek can cause havoc, all it takes is for one emo girl to cut loose and you'll either have havoc or a mass /addignore fest.
In the final analysis, it's not the individual maturity or behavior that's key, it's the Guild's response. IF that behavior is not tolerated, it's a non-issue.
On a macro scale this is not different than a social dynamic where every society get's justly what it deserves, based on what nonsense it will tolerate, encourage or stomp on.

As a male,growing up segregated from females, of course he's going to blame any change in group dynamics on females.
I, however, have seen the 3 types. I've seen a guild blow up over the guild leader wanting to bed every female he recruited. Unfortunately, it happens. It sucks. Mature players get over it and it shouldn't keep guilds from having a nice mix of players. Or perhaps females should only play male characters, so one can try to forget that she is a she in raids?

A weird load of whining, with nothing but his own experience and anecdotal pap to back it up. I love the pattern of huge generalization -> backing off the generalization -> reiterating huge generalization. He's not too nice to men, either.

I can ramble on sometimes, and now that I've read this article, I apologize for it. This slow-moving and somewhat preachy article is extremely skim-worthy. And I have to give benefit of the doubt on the sexist sterotypes, because it's not easy to be a recovering Mormon. With that in mind, it's not a bad blog po...er... "editorial".

I did like her breakdown of the "three types of female gamers" thing, but I think she's wrong to perceive it as a dialectic. The "real vs social" gamer thing is better represented using the Bartle scale (woot). But the "man seeking missile" types are definitely real enough, and IMO paralleled by the male "do u wnt 2 cyber?" equivalent. Maybe this should be a part of the Bartle test? I can see the questions now: "Would you prefer to (a) help plan a raid, or (b) try to hump the nearest female toon?" "When facing a difficult group of enemies, do you (a) try to pull them one at a time, or (b) simper on the guild chat channel?"

The analysis of how male-female coupling affects guild dynamics is also worth skimming. I believe this applies to cliques in general, not just couples.

OMG, it's a he. Fascinating. The tone of voice had me convinced otherwise. Interesting.

I find the article sexist actually, to even make the assumption that it is women who makes the drama, otherwise it would be titled "What Brings Drama to A Guild" .. not WHO or even lower it to even a specific sex. Anyone can bring drama, and any TOPIC can bring drama.

I found it so poorly written that I lost interest before he presented his case, whatever it was.

I don't even have to read it to say it isn't accurate. And this goes both ways. First, anyone can bring drama into a guild (even a chaotic chicken). Second, what guild doesn't want drama? It's part of having a guild, and makes your time with the guild, worth it.

Honestly anyone can create drama in a guild whether they are male or female. Someone joins a guild and either meets the standards, or they don't and they quit. Tough female gamers can hang in tough guilds. Any guild worth its salt will dump anyone, male or female, who expects some sort of free ride based on their age, sex, status, etc.