What do you think of The Escapist community as a whole?

[omega 616]

1) The PC bias is almost palpable ... even made a thread about it not to long ago.

You mean pro-PC bias or anti-PC bias?

Try starting a thread titled "consoles are better" and see what happens ... the flames would be like hellfire in a furnace, in a volcano.

It is a definite pro-PC crowd here, feels a little like being second class gamer if you're a console gamer here.

I think some PC gamers are just boasting for jokes and attention, especially if they write "The Glorious PC Gaming Master Race" phrase in their posts.

Nah, the "glorious PC master race" thing is almost always used as an insult, then when you call them on it, they just say "it's just a joke" and of course the mods can't touch it 'cos Yahtzee is the one who coined it as a joke, intended to actually mock the people who thought that.

Speaking from my own experience, the common area of the Venn diagram between PC gamers that use "Glorious PC Master Race" and PC gamers with an over inflated sense of self is thin. "Glorious PC Master Race" itself is an ironic self-deprecating term because of the obvious implication of Nazism or any other blatantly racist nationalist movement.

In my experience, it's a lot different. I've only a seen a few PC gamers not being "glorious master race" this and "filthy console peasants" that.

As someone who does that, they may be doing it tongue-in-cheek, just sayin'. Seems kind of over the top to be serious. *shrug*

Thank you for proving me to be a psychic.

See, I think that's what happens ... "Glorious PC master race lolz, filthy console peasants lolz".
"why do you have to be so elitist?"
"I'm not, I'm just joking"

Are you really though or are you just using it as a loophole?

You are allowed to insult console gamers then say "but yahtzee said it as a joke to mock PC gamers, so we are actually just laughing at ourselves".

Some might be doing it tongue in cheek but I bet more just use it to insult.

 

[Harlemura]

I like it. Everyone being able to actually discuss opinions rather than everyone believing their own opinion is fact and EVERYTHING ELSE IS WRONG seems like a rarity on the internet these days. Not saying the Escapist is completely free of stuff like that, but it's certainly more people who actually think about what they're posting than on most other sites I see.
Back when the "are games art?" debates were going around a while back, I thought a lot of people here seemed a little pretentious. But no one seems way too high and mighty anymore as long as PC gaming isn't brought up, so I don't really have any complaints.

I'm not sure how much of this opinion is formed from never straying outside of Gaming and Off Topic discussion, apart from a single forum game I check every now and again. But hey, I'll keep it that way, ignorance is bliss and all.

 

[thesilentman]

Weeeellll, I'll just say this: we're an intelligent bunch that really doesn't let up with the passive aggressiveness sometimes, but we all are a pretty chill bunch at that. That's all I can really think of at the moment.

 

[Beffudled Sheep_v1legacy]

It is a wonderful site filled with wonderful people! Even with all the arguing, it just makes the site more interesting!

I mostly post in User Groups and the Forum Games but I often come to the forums to see the latest topics and contribute! This place is also where I get all my gaming (and odd) news.

I think I have friends here than I have in town!

Tizzy, go home you're drunk.

OT: Its one of the least hateful general internet communities I've been a part of. Still plenty of hate and trolling but I've seen much worse elsewhere.

It helps if you find a community of cool people like in a user group and mostly stick to them though.
The forums, especially forum games, are secret recruiting centers for Satan's evil army.

Lotta good people on here, just gotta wade through a few assholes to find 'em.

End result: I like it.

 

[LetalisK]

Thank you for proving me to be a psychic.

See, I think that's what happens ... "Glorious PC master race lolz, filthy console peasants lolz".
"why do you have to be so elitist?"
"I'm not, I'm just joking"

Are you really though or are you just using it as a loophole?

You are allowed to insult console gamers then say "but yahtzee said it as a joke to mock PC gamers, so we are actually just laughing at ourselves".

Some might be doing it tongue in cheek but I bet more just use it to insult.

I didn't use the "insult" against you, so I'm going to assume that was a general "You" and that psychic comment was misplaced. I've never even directed it at anybody except to make fun of other PC gamers or myself and I can say the same for other PC gamers I've seen. I guess we've just had completely opposite experiences and I'm sad to hear that yours was not pleasant.

 

[Insideout Ink Demon]

i come here daily. i like it. but i hate the 2 dozen almost identical threads we sometimes get on here. if you feel you have something new to add, add to one of the other ones. i feel a lot of people create new threads because they dont want their point being lost in a 10 page thread. well stop ruining things, you're not that important.

CAPCHA; reverse the polarity
yay science fantasy

 

[thethird0611]

Honestly? One of the best forums I go to. Honestly? One of the worst forums I go to.

I love the news here, the simple UI, and some of the good discussions here.

The bad things are just obvious. Constant bashing against anyone who is Republican or Religious (dont get me start on the 'progressive' people), constant group think, no critical thinking, to much 'im always right', etc.

Examples

They are also VERY over reactive. X1 changes it policies? "Nope, you killed our children, we can never forgive you."
Have any differing thoughts over homosexuality as the group think? YOUR A HOMOPHOBE. Think Anita is wrong? YOUR A MISOGYNIST.

Oh... and I actually have to put this because of this forum... Those sentences above this one? Exaggerations.... kinda

Also, because of the strict rules, people try soooooooooooooooo hard to insult you and not get banned. Pretty much as bad as 4chan, just in a different manner.

This is like... 70% of the stuff I read here..

Now the other 30% is pretty damn awesome, probably why I keep coming back.

 

[anthony87]

It has its good moments and its bad moments. I like it overall, in fact these are the only forums that I find interesting enough to post in but there's waaaaaaaaaaay too much passive aggressiveness around these parts, all done in an attempt to avoid mod wrath and you just need to look at the thread for last weeks Top 5 video for a good example of people needing a stick taken out of their ass.

 

[SageRuffin]

1) The PC bias is almost palpable ... even made a thread about it not to long ago.

3) People take things WAY too literally, I like to use a healthy dose of hyperbole (as you have already seen) but a lot of times people just completely miss it and take me seriously ... maybe I need to use more to make it super blatantly obvious, even to the oblivious.

These two points are my only gripes. Yes, I fully understand that PC gaming has many, many advantages over its console brethren, but so help me the next person who accuses me of being a "14-year-old console retard" (as one user on this very site so elegantly put it) simply because I prefer to play my games on such devices is getting their reproductive organs turned to shredded cheese by my lightsaber.

Also agreed that there are a ton of people take things too literal. Gods forbid you make any kind of generalizing statement especially...

If I may add one more, one thing I've definitely noticed when it comes to discussion of game genres: if you're a fan of action titles that are not Dark Souls (and this includes fighting games), you can kindly go fuck yourself. Leaves fine folks like myself and a few others with little to talk about. :/

 

[isaacapeltz]

"If I may add one more, one thing I've definitely noticed when it comes to discussion of game genres: if you're a fan of action titles that are not Dark Souls (and this includes fighting games), you can kindly go fuck yourself. Leaves fine folks like myself and a few others with little to talk about. "

Don't worry man, there's loads of us who love all types of games and you can still chat and jam with us!

But I really appreciate the community. Mostly I appreciate the fact that people put effort into spelling out the words that they actually want to use. I've always gotten slightly annoyed with text-speak on other forums. I really don't enjoy it. Call me a little bit pretentious, but I like reading sentences composed of words... which loads of people here do!

 

[neppakyo]

It's a pretty decent group, including the filthy console monkey's. Feed 'em a banana once in a while, then they go back to flinging poop at the TV screen or at xbone defenders whom when hit say, "Thank you microsoft, take my money!"

Hugs and kisses, from the Glorious PC Master Race!

 

[Hero of Lime]

I lurked here for awhile, and would've signed up earlier if I could decide on a username I really liked. I haven't been here long so I haven't picked any fights(nor do I want to), but from what I've seen in my lurksome days is the posters here are pretty cool, even if I disagree with the majority of the users on a whole range of topics. I genuinely like to interact with people who think differently than I do. I'm sure my jimmies will be rustled at some point, (some of the stuff I've read on here tells me that), but I'm happy I signed up.

 

[ninjaRiv]

Plenty of very angry people. Also, plenty of people who go off half cocked. I'm one of them lol. But there are people I avoid because they intentionally start fights (you'll see them mostly in any thread about feminism or sexism). But, for the most part, I enjoy it here.

 

[NJ]

All around a decent enough place but like any other forum, some discussions are repeated and discussed to the point of the bandwagon having collapsed. (Not this one, I guess. D

Though in the past four years I gotta admit, this place is a brooding ground for those vicious tug-of-war like debates on subjects like feminism/females in games, politics, etc. Gotta admit, judging by my post count I'm more a lurker than anything but what the hell D:

 

[Tactical Pause]

Nah, the "glorious PC master race" thing is almost always used as an insult, then when you call them on it, they just say "it's just a joke" and of course the mods can't touch it 'cos Yahtzee is the one who coined it as a joke, intended to actually mock the people who thought that.

For the record, as a PC gamer I routinely use and enjoy the term "glorious PC gaming master race", because I find it quite amusing. I very rarely see anyone using it in a serious capacity. Anyone who takes it seriously (whether they use it to define themselves or generalize nearly the entire PC population) needs to take a step back, think about it for a moment, and consider that maybe the world isn't as hostile a place as they first thought.

OT: I have to say I really enjoy the more in-depth knowledge of the gaming industry that pervades the community on this website, and quite often there are some good opportunities for discussion (whether or not these opportunities are taken advantage of is something else entirely).

With that said, my biggest complaint would be that the forums are quite a powerhouse for tilting at windmills. That is to say, people sure like inventing targets to strike out at.

 

[ninjaRiv]

I think it's a primarily male community that is overly sexist, racist and homophobic. Many of them have little clue as to how the world really is. Or how women really are for that matter. Or how anything really is for that matter.

It's a male dominated sphere. With male dominated opinions and bias on everything. A differing opinion in any way, shape or form on the site is typically attacked ruthlessly and for little reason other than it being a differing opinion.

As a female poster here and a survivor of sexual assault, I have been harassed, have had numerous rape jokes sent to me personally, been victim and slut shamed, told I am looking to be offended, called a Feminazi for simply being a woman and more.

I don't really enjoy this forum. I basically just come to remind myself how backwards some people really are.

You asked.

That seems a little harsh... I'm a nice guy... But I don't see much of that behaviour in the public forums. Are these the same people doing it or are there more than I think? Seems to me like you should speak to the mods.

 

[Euryalus]

The Escapist is home to some of the smuggest motherfuckers I've ever "met"... I love you guys so much XD

The escapist has people that make me think and work for my opinions. You can't just spout bullshit here without someone calling you out on it in a logical (although sometimes pushy) way. It's great and fun to read. Helps you learn and reevaluate.

I've also picked up several awesome game recommendations from here. Probably never would have picked up The Walking Dead, Limbo, or Bastion without the 'pists denizens.

Other than that I've made a bunch of friends here and love talking to them. Hopefully they know who they are XD

 

[Cpu46]

I like it here, it's like a favorite pub filled with familiar faces.

Though to be honest I do miss the days when I first joined. Had some really crazy people back then who pretty much ran the forums, but in a good way, with discussion about topics nobody could see coming and really good humor. We have some users who seem to fit the shoes they left behind but it is like comparing Mountain Dew to Diet Dew. It does taste similar and some people do prefer diet Dew but every sip you take just makes you realize how much you miss the original.
...
Sorry bit of my personal life getting in the way there. [sub]freaking diet[/sub]

In any case it's a good place. Trolls are minimal, discussion is good, and it has an extremely wide userbase with a ton of variety in interests and ideas.

 

[V8 Ninja]

The community here is mostly good, with the main attribute being that there's a good variety here. Granted, variety occasionally brings elitism and complainers, but those people don't infest the entirety of the forums.

 

[frizzlebyte]

In general?
Neutral. My first impression of this site was that everyone was sophisticated, mostly polite and all that jazz.
But then I realized that it's likely a facade brought about by the strict set of rules. If you want to get banned, you insult somebody directly. If you want to cheat the system, you argue with a person to the point where they post something that you can report them for. It's a typographic game of chicken, where the person who baits the other into saying something nasty and directed towards them wins.

Maybe that's me assuming the worst, but that's what I can observe from time to time in heated discussions.
There also appears to be a lot of elitist thinkers out there who will try to argue about anything. To say that "they are right" on issues where there aren't any rights or wrongs. Rather than saying "we disagree, but it was interesting to see someone else's view" they will continue to respond with the delusion that the subject is of black/white and they are correct. It's something that I haven't really seen anywhere else, because in those cases it devolves into direct insults and the "combatants" buggering off without any further interaction.

The coverage the site does is also kind of wonky. Borderline unprofessional at times, and chock-full of opinions rather than slapping the facts down. I'd say something about the features as well, but those are really subjective things more often than not so I'll with-hold my sentiments on that matter.

At this point you may be thinking that this bloke hates this place.
Nope, it's alright. Can definitely improve in a bunch of aspects but it's quite swell when put in comparison to a decent amount of different locations on the net. I'd imagine that the average regular here is smarter than those of elsewhere. It's often quite enjoyable to read and reply to the thoughts of others, but not all the time.

That's a really interesting perspective, actually. I agree that on a lot of topics (which shall remain nameless) there is a barely contained rage combined with emotional immaturity that bubbles over more than it should. Though I think that when one expects civil conversation over topics that are, more or less, emotional honey pots, that person may be asking too much.

Most of us are not trained debaters, and even those still need a moderator to keep the peace when in a physical setting. This is one of the few places that can actually have some interesting debates that *don't* just become a flame-war right off the bat, due to the community rules.

Overall, I like it. It's a hell of a lot better than most places.