Grounded for good.

[EsmeII]

Goodbye all.

I'm very sad to say that due to an outrageously boorish attack on me by a couple of people in the MA - members of the squad I was in - I am leaving AH.  My crime, apparently, is to have an odd voice and to be female and to simply ask that I be warned if certain subjects (one of the miscreants simply launched into a description of how he'd intervened to prevent a rape - a highly laudable thing to do, but I'm a sensitive soul, and really do NOT want to hear details, and so I tried to PM them saying I understood they couldnt know I'm that sensitive, but in future if they gave me warning, I'd leave channel for a bit and return when they're done. chaps in squads I've been in previously have been fine with doing so.) . I have never been so insulted or deeply upset in an online game as I was last night by that guy and his chum who apparently decided that the magic power of beer gave them the right to bully and harass me simply because I'm female and sound a little odd with it.  I KNOW what I sound like, that's why I was tentative using vox in the first place, and why I explained about my voice before getting it set up. Gums from WarBirds once rather charmingly said of me that anything else aside, I add a little colour to the community, which I realised meant that whilst there may have been those who had their doubts about my gender back in WB, they're polite enough to keep it to themselves, and what the heck, its' a game, and we're all here to have fun, who cares if someone is rather odd so long as they're amiable and good to fly with?  I could live with that.

All the folk in WB back then, and the vast majority of folk in AH both the first time I tried it several years ago, and this time around, have been fine with me.  I had a lot of fun back in the S3's in WB2.77, and was starting to have fun in the FSO's this time around here in AH.  But that's been called to a halt by a couple of ignorant boors who feel that they have the right to make personal attacks on someone who doesn;t quite fit their view of the world.  I can't stay - they could change accounts and handles, and attack me again.  I can't change my voice, and I refuse to pretend to be a bloke. And so, I'm grounded, this time for good.

Goodbye AH.

<S>

Esme

[The Fury]

If these 2 people are going out of there way to offend you then isn't that harassment? I would report them to HTC if I was you, its no reason to quit because of 2 idiots in a game they should be the ones to quit not you. Hope you get it sorted and the ones who are making your time on here hell are dealt with.

 

[RTHolmes]

Esme please check your messages, PM sent.

[Max]

Very sorry to hear of your unfortunate experience, Esme. While there's no fixing stupid when it comes to idiots such as you've described, leaving the game and the 99% of community members who DO conduct themselves in a reasonable sane manner, solves nothing.

Hopefully you used the two tools at your disposal...
1. .report (offender) voice
2. .squelch (offender)

In the case of #1, call HTC Monday and speak with ANYONE...though Skuzzy is the direct channel in situations such as this. They (HTC) will have no problem correllating the .report with the morons you speak of, and appropriate measures will be applied to them.

I hope you reconsider your decision.

 

[Wizer]

Report these jerks!!!  Do not reward them by leaving the game.

[The Fugitive]

I agree with everyone else here, you should not be the one to leave, the "bores" are the one who should be banned and made to leave.

Contact HTC and have them check the logs as everything is recorded. If they are found to be the idiots that you say they are they will be dealt with. If you really enjoy the game there is no reason YOU should leave.

I hope you reconsider.

[Latrobe]

There are far more nice people in this game than there are rude people. I wouldn't let the few jerks ruin the fun you could have with the hundreds of awesome people on this game. As others have suggested, report them, and then squelch them. No need to listen to stupid. 

[HawkerMKII]

I agree with everyone else here, you should not be the one to leave, the "bores" are the one who should be banned and made to leave.

Contact HTC and have them check the logs as everything is recorded. If they are found to be the idiots that you say they are they will be dealt with. If you really enjoy the game there is no reason YOU should leave.

I hope you reconsider.

100% agree, don't let them get to ya

[Mace2004]

I agree with everyone else here.  The relative anonymity of an on-line game encourages those with little class to become even worse.  You may have heard the old saying that "character is what you do when no one is looking" and it applies here if you simply substitute "when no one knows who you really are."  There are plenty of squads or groups you can associate with here that do have class.  The tools available to you like squelch and report are here to be used.  I encourage you to stay on.

[Karnak]

I am sad to hear this. Abusive behavior kills online communities and needs to be stopped hard and fast else it becomes the norm and the entire community becomes toxic.

[mechanic]

As one of the two people who formed the squad responsible, I wish to make it very clear that this incident is entirely unacceptable and we are going to be taking the matter very seriously.

My deepest apologies that you had this experience in our group and I hope that we can work things out so that you feel you have the option to remain in either the game and/or the squad as all our members are valued equally no matter what sex/religion/country of origin or, absurdly to even need saying, the sound of their voice.

[Mace2004]

As one of the two people who formed the squad responsible, I wish to make it very clear that this incident is entirely unacceptable and we are going to be taking the matter very seriously.

My deepest apologies that you had this experience in our group and I hope that we can work things out so that you feel you have the option to remain in either the game and/or the squad as all our members are valued equally no matter what sex/religion/country of origin or, absurdly to even need saying, the sound of their voice.

 

[ink]

screw that.....if you enjoy this game dont let those twits chase you away.....many great peeps here, some are the opposite but no matter what you do in life, there are always those scumbags that deserve a bat to the face....but hey at least in AH you can find them and put some rounds into them.....that would really get under their skin....being shot down by a woman....

[Zacherof]

Good friend of mind is looking to start an all female squad. Just a heads up, (although she refuses to get a bbs accounts )

[SIK1]

As one of the two people who formed the squad responsible, I wish to make it very clear that this incident is entirely unacceptable and we are going to be taking the matter very seriously.

My deepest apologies that you had this experience in our group and I hope that we can work things out so that you feel you have the option to remain in either the game and/or the squad as all our members are valued equally no matter what sex/religion/country of origin or, absurdly to even need saying, the sound of their voice.

 

I agree with everyone else that says it should be the offenders that leave, and not you. Definitely report the shmucks. HTC wont put up with harassment of players and you shouldn't have to either. I know bat(mechanic) to be a stand up guy and I'm sure that the issue will be dealt with on the squad level as well. Judging from the posts in this thread there are many here who stand behind you and given the opportunity would smack these little turds down. For the most part the members of the AH community are a great bunch, but as with any large group you will always find those that have no class.