Despite being a penis-wielder, I think I can share some limited insight regarding this.
It is my opinion that the (as OP so strikingly put it) showers with free gifts, never-ending streams of compliments, validation etc etc is a real thing.
I speak from years of experience, abusing this phenomenon by impersonating girls in a range of online games.
Quite successfully so since my time playing certainly was a never-ending stream of niceties. Generous "donations" of strong and rare game items, power-grinding, shared secrets, HUGE monetary gifts, guidance and so forth. On an unrelated side-note, in some games, items are worth actual money. Any items I got that were, I resold and put the money in an account called "The Coffee Fund", used to purchase hot beverages in my favorite cafe every Tuesday. Initially, reasons like this was why I started out, I was too lazy to progress on my own. However after a while I realized that It wasn't why I kept going (even though chai-lattes are damn good), because rather than the practical aspects of the games, the ones that had me hooked was the social ones. The barrage of care and compliments, true or false & ill-intended or not.
Like a coin, it has two sides. The gifts and compliments are followed by non-stop sexual harassment and so much drama you wouldn't believe.
Stalkers are another hazard, most are harmless and a nuisance at most but every now and then you come across one that is especially notorious.
I certainly understand that the very graphic & violent harassment can be incredibly disheartening and that the more impressionable girls might not only be offended but also hurt.
On the other hand, the massive amount of affection and approaches from males was overwhelming and touching, so much that I developed an strong addiction for it.
However, the female-female interaction was the most alluring, girl friendship is a fascinating concept and keep I experiencing a warmth that simply does not exist in male-male friendships, and in a sense its fun to talk hours upon hours about essentially nothing.
I made alot of lasting friendships this way with both girls and guys, this really put things into perspective about how the genders interact.
Also, its an understatement that since this concerns computer games, not all is translatable to everyday life but I do still believe the core concept applies.
I apologize for the blogpost. ;^)
>>66008
>People *used* to give out quite a bit of extra stuff to women in games or etc on the web, but that changed once men caught on to that fact.
You're wrong, the phenomenon is still more or less standard practice, I've only noticed a hint of decline the last two-three years or so. Men haven't "caught on" to anything & honestly I don't think they/we will, haha. Its interesting that you mention it though because I've actually given this some thought and I think it is because openly-female players are more common now and that games intended demographic have widened from kiss-less skelly NEET wizards to Average Joes/Juliets that presumably have a more healthy/functional social life.
>During that time, people did still give free stuff to women but it was usually if they had some evidence, like if they heard her over VOIP as a woman or she acted like a "token female".
About that, there are indeed some that would require loose/easily forged proof and even then they are only a fraction of the crowd. Personally I quickly disregard the ones that do, because generally they're not worth the hassle. On the topic of VOIP, there are voice-wranglers publicly available and I've tried with varying amount of success but again, not worth the hassle. I do admit that it has become increasingly challenging/fun the past years because of advancements in communication methods. The guys are very eager to extend their line of communication to outside of the game, what used to be Myspace and Msn is now a plethora of communication platforms spread across both computer and phone. They say that people who live under double-identities develop schizophrenic tendencies, hehe well they should try managing 11 identities at once.
>>66218
Seconded.
>>65736
Seconded.
>>65743
Blatte PLZ GO