Non-binary option for characters, please?

[Iscah]

I realise people have strong opinions, but it still boggles me how spiteful some of these posts are.

Even if you disagree with the idea of it yourself, you can still respect that the other person truly thinks of themself as the gender they claim to be, and address them in the way they ask to be addressed.

I also find it very hard to believe that people would "choose" to identify in a way that opens them up to such abuse, if they didn't really believe it to be true.

There's a lot more I could write. Anecdotes. People I know. A history of how I've felt about the issue.

But the core is: I know some of these people, and they're just people. They're not something 'other' that's less deserving of respect.

I don't know what to say, but I don't want to say nothing.

It makes me feel awful to see people talk like they do in this thread.

[ElHeggunte]

I realise people have strong opinions, but it still boggles me how spiteful some of these posts are.

Even if you disagree with the idea of it yourself, you can still respect that the other person truly thinks of themself as the gender they claim to be, and address them in the way they ask to be addressed.

Well I mean, it's mostly the garbage way the OP decided to present their argument and responses. They're either trying to troll with some low-quality bait or they lack more self-awareness than Neil Breen.

I've seen people in this community make all sorts of inane "suggestions/requests" and people tend to rebuff them with general civility--so long as the OP doesn't come off like a complete berk.

[Iscah]

Well I mean, it's mostly the garbage way the OP decided to present their argument and responses. They're either trying to troll with some low-quality bait or they lack more self-awareness than Neil Breen.

I've seen people in this community make all sorts of inane "suggestions/requests" and people tend to rebuff them with general civility--so long as the OP doesn't come off like a complete berk.

The vitriol seems to be directed at the general concept, not the OP though.

(And I'll give the benefit of the doubt until someone is definitely trolling - answer them seriously and see if they are actually engaging in discussion or just keeping on their own path (like a certain poster elsewhere in the forum lately). I took them to be genuine but just overdefensive because discussions are likely to end up... well, like this. But yes, did not get the tone off to a great start either. Though I didn't fully absorb their tone the first time I read it either - just looked at what they were actually asking for, which wasn't even 'equal billing' with the male and female options.)

*** On a tangent about "singular they", I just realised I used it all through that last paragraph without even thinking about it. I think I use it a lot, especially when discussing things online - it's a lot easier than possibly referring to someone by the wrong gender. Though on the receiving end, some people default to using "he" to refer to anyone on a forum, and that always feels strange. Do I hold up the discussion to point out actually I'm a "she", or let it slide? (and I guess for someone who doesn't feel right with either set of pronouns, it must feel like that all the time.)

And I agree it's not worth the work to implement it into this game at this point - particularly relative to things that will benefit the majority of players. It's something that would need to be in there from the ground up.

I do have to wonder how people will handle it in future games with character-creator options though, because even the most idealistic "cater to everyone" aspiration needs to be balanced with how many extra options they can actually provide.

I guess it might depend on where society goes and what becomes the 'expected minimum', and whether people identify in more complex or less complex ways once (or "if", for those who don't see it as inevitable) things become more settled and accepted. Not having to 'make up their own answer' for how to handle pronouns, for example. Singular-they seems to be becoming standardised, in mainstream coverage at least, though I don't know if everyone thinks that's the case or not.

[Tint]

I do have to wonder how people will handle it in future games with character-creator options though, because even the most idealistic "cater to everyone" aspiration needs to be balanced with how many extra options they can actually provide.

I guess it might depend on where society goes and what becomes the 'expected minimum', and whether people identify in more complex or less complex ways once (or "if", for those who don't see it as inevitable) things become more settled and accepted. Not having to 'make up their own answer' for how to handle pronouns, for example. Singular-they seems to be becoming standardised, in mainstream coverage at least, though I don't know if everyone thinks that's the case or not.

We can't even create left handed characters here, despite the fact that left handed people are pretty much accepted as human beings, so I wouldn't expect too much o.ô;

(btw, why aren't left handed characters a thing)

[Iscah]

We can't even create left handed characters here, despite the fact that left handed people are pretty much accepted as human beings, so I wouldn't expect too much o.ô;

(btw, why aren't left handed characters a thing)

All summoners are lefties!

(But yeah, the option would have been nice. No doubt would have meant sacrificing something else though. I'd take the ability to flip hairstyles over body animations, given a choice of one extra thing.)

[Sieben79]

All summoners are lefties!

(But yeah, the option would have been nice. No doubt would have meant sacrificing something else though. I'd take the ability to flip hairstyles over body animations, given a choice of one extra thing.)

Wouldn't a left handed Summoner hold the book in the right hand? Because ingame, the Summoner write with the feather right handed and use also the right hand for the spells, I think. Mhh, should check it out next time I log in....

[Iscah]

Wouldn't a left handed Summoner hold the book in the right hand? Because ingame, the Summoner write with the feather right handed and use also the right hand for the spells, I think. Mhh, should check it out next time I log in....

Summoner keeps their spellbook in their right hand at all times, and writes in the book with their left hand when summoning.

[Magic-Mal]

We can't even create left handed characters here, despite the fact that left handed people are pretty much accepted as human beings, so I wouldn't expect too much o.ô;

(btw, why aren't left handed characters a thing)

Time to make a controversial thread. I've come up with a new recipeh!