What Gamers Have In Common With Top Athletes 201
nk497 writes "It's no surprise that professional gamers aren't quite as fit as elite athletes, but they do have something in common. According to a British academic, top-level players show similar psychological attributes as top athletes, such as the ability to manage anxiety, and have reaction times on par with fighter pilots. Dr. Micklewright said, 'When I first got asked to do [the study], my initial reaction was "don't be ridiculous, gaming is nothing like sport." But the more I thought about it, the more similarities [became clear], and I became more and more convinced that it was close in many ways to sport.' While sitting in front of a screen might not have the same physical demands as running a marathon, neither do playing snooker or darts. Still, while gamers show good reflexes, their health was worse than expected, with one 20-something professional player showing the same aerobic health as a 60-year-old smoker." This story is based on a BBC radio report which you can currently hear, although that link seems to say that it won't last.
Take that back! (Score:5, Funny)
I may be a gamer, but my right hand has the stamina of an 18 year old!
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Real life sports. (Score:5, Funny)
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Just define blackjack to be a sport, it's certainly no worse than poker. One down, two creative rewrites to go.
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I'd certainly watch that, considering i don't care much for normal sports.
Unpopular answer (Score:5, Insightful)
They both get overpaid to play a game.
Re:Unpopular answer (Score:5, Interesting)
I was going to go for something more along the lines of "both serve no purpose to society other than entertainment", but yours fits, too.
On the other hand, are they the 'top athletics' and 'top players' because they have the coordination and ability to handle stress, or did becoming the 'top X' cause them to gain these abilities? I suspect it's the former and they served only to train them a bit.
I'm a diehard gamer, but I'm not foolish enough to think it's anything other than pointless entertainment, just like almost all hobbies.
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I'm a diehard gamer, but I'm not foolish enough to think it's anything other than pointless entertainment, just like life.
TWGFTFY :P
Re:Unpopular answer (Score:5, Insightful)
define overpaid.
They get what they can get. They bring in a lot of money to the owners, why not charge that much?
Re:Unpopular answer (Score:5, Funny)
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In the case of major league sports, I'd say making more money than the President of the United states makes is way overpaid, considering the weight on that man's shoulders.
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They get what they can get. They bring in a lot of money to the owners, why not charge that much?
The promoter has always known that the star attraction is his best guarantee of success at the box office. Mark Twain's satirical playbill for the Roman Coliseum didn't stray too far from the truth. The Innocents Abroad [about.com]
[1869, Chapter 26]
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define overpaid.
makes as much as or more money than I do
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They're both whiny bitches with overinflated egos?
Re:Unpopular answer (Score:5, Informative)
Almost no one watches real athletes like mountain climbers, weight lifters, soldiers qualifications courses, or deep sea divers.
Well, no true Scotsman does.
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Nice reference.
By extension, I posit that the only true sports are the caber toss, the stone put, and golf.
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I don't know how old you are, or what kind of shape you believe to be in, but I would counter your argument with "Try to play any of these kids ball games". It actually does take skill. I am, of co
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and twitchy shooters
Look up some videos of Daigo Umehara playing Street Fighter. Many people underestimate the level of intellect that goes in to playing Street Fighter (playing it well, anyhow), and I guarantee he's smarter than you.
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Almost no one watches real athletes like mountain climbers, weight lifters, soldiers qualifications courses, or deep sea divers.
A few points:
Mountain climbers and soldiers, I'll give you ;)
I lift weights. Weights are easy, it just takes the right pattern of reps at a certain percentage of your maximum, and good nutrition, to see gains (especially when beginning, and by the time you hit plateus you're probably already a monster). They're pretty much equivalent to playing any RPG where all you need is time to gain XP.
SCUBA diving is another one I've done. There were loads of old guys in the club and they even described it as an "old m
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I lift weights.
The "sportyness" is in the endless practicing and learning how not to damage joints, tendons, ligaments, etc. Eating the right foods, supplements, etc. Balancing lifting with at least some cardio to get the fat percentage low enough. Also there is some real world utility to being strong, its more "serious" or "adult" than moving a ball around by kicking it or tossing it.
SCUBA diving
My mistake, I meant the guys whom are paid huge money to weld, repair ships, work on shallow water offshore oil facilities, etc. Those
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Also there is some real world utility to being strong, its more "serious" or "adult" than moving a ball around by kicking it or tossing it.
It's definitely beneficial to be strong, but professional football players are generally more fit than bodybuilders, and probably just as strong as many of them when it comes to their legs at least. There's a lot of overlap among the two, and IMO it's only your own opinion of what is important that decides that a weightlifter has more value than a footballer.
I happen to think football as a game is overrated, but I do respect the athletic ability of the players. Most bodybuilders, even if they also do a bit
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Oh. In that case, I probably would enjoy the "war games". I did buy some game that was meant to simulate some Napoleonic battles for my Amiga when I was a kid, but I had no idea how the hell it worked.
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Football players aren't real athletes? Let see you take a hit from a 280 pound person that moves like a gazelle.
So, a little old lady whom takes a hit by a 3K pound car must be approximately ten times more of a "real" athlete than a football player?
You might want o rethink criticizing other peoples intellect until you've sharpened your ability to have a discussion.
You sound like someone who insults mathematicians because you don't understand the subject
I'm referring to the intellectual level of the coverage on ESPN, and to some extent the culture of willful stupidity that surrounds it. Try watching it sometime. Note, I used to be highly interested in football, watch all the Packers games. Its a game of considerable tactical maneuvering, strategic insight, logistical long term planning. That's what I got out of it, an
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I'd watch hockey if it wasn't boxing. If I wanted to go see boxing, I'd go to a boxing match.
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So, a little old lady whom[sic] takes a hit by a 3K pound car must be approximately ten times more of a "real" athlete than a football player?
If she actually takes the hit, and stops the car in its tracks, instead of being critically injured by it, then yes, she's ten times Brian Urlacher in my eyes.
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If she actually takes the hit, and stops the car in its tracks, instead of being critically injured by it, then yes, she's ten times Brian Urlacher in my eyes.
Pro football players are occasionally critically injured while playing, and I think they should get credit for trying. So should granny in this scenario.
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So, a little old lady whom takes a hit by a 3K pound car must be approximately ten times more of a "real" athlete than a football player?
If she can take that hit thirty times in the course of three hours, each time jumping back to her feet and begging the coach for more opportunities, just so she could win a competition - hell yeah she'd be more of a real athlete in my book!
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so we should pay them multiple millions of dollars cause they are too stupid to do anything else with their lives but to make us laugh while they chase a ball like dogs
Should? Probably not. But people do pay to watch football (either through tickets of ad revenue), so I'd rather the players got their fair share of such a lucrative entertainment industry, rather than it all going towards promoters.
fuck football players, even if 99% of them were not juiced up thugs too pussy to do anything real or meaningful
Says the AC posting on Slashdot. How does that compute to let you judge others for being 'pussy' or not making meaningful contributions?
Gaming+exercise=??? (Score:5, Insightful)
Since it's been shown that aerobic exercise can improve reaction time [nih.gov], I can't help but wonder how much better of gamers they would be if they also exercised a bit as well. They wouldn't need to go to a gym. Just some running, or crunches, or something on a regular basis would help, I would bet.
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I don't think mild physical activity like that promoted in some Wii games helps all that much. It's better than nothing, especially if you're a pensioner, but I don't think it'll increase your reaction times.
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Since it's been shown that aerobic exercise can improve reaction time, I can't help but wonder how much better of gamers they would be if they also exercised a bit as well. They wouldn't need to go to a gym. Just some running, or crunches, or something on a regular basis would help, I would bet.
Or a copy of DDR ( Dance Dance Revolution ).
I used to read a weight loss success site where some sorry shut in like that got sucked into DDR and lost something like 100 lbs.
Sports injuries... (Score:4, Insightful)
Sports typically have one or two major common injuries associated with them, like knee damage for cross country skiing. I wonder if this will show on gamers in 20 or 30 years.
I'm specifically interested if mental problems occur later in life from over-use of the brain. Some gamers typically work a mental job, then come home and engage in 5-6 hours of very mentally intensive activity. Your brain gets hammered pretty heavily over the course of a day.
Another possibility is eye damage. During intense gaming sessions I notice that I dry my eyes out repeatedly focusing by not blinking during specific events. I wonder if this will effect me in 20 years. On another note, most gamers I've met have the same vision as me and we can wear each other's glasses without issue.
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Sports typically have one or two major common injuries associated with them, like knee damage for cross country skiing. I wonder if this will show on gamers in 20 or 30 years.
Wrist and tendon issues are fairly common amongst older gamers, although these can be prevented to a certain degree by stretching your hands properly and taking breaks.
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It's a bit too late now, but from a young age I've always kept a poster with some words on it at the opposite end of the room I game in. Every hour or so, I'll look away to the poster and read it three times over before going back to the screen. Focusing on a static image that is far away helps keep your eyes from "locking in" to near-focus mode.
Still, the number one thing that helps alleviate most gaming-related problems (other than weight) are frequent breaks. I try to walk away for five minutes every
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I try to walk away for five minutes every hour, two at the most. This makes a bigger difference than you might think.
This is also vital for deep vein thrombosis prevention, spinal posture related issues, keeping properly hydrated, the eyestrain issue you already mentioned... Also eliminates or reduces sleepiness and daydreaming.
Also if you're not just grinding, but actually thinking, a physical perspective change and a pause in the thinking for a couple minutes can often result in higher total overall productivity. If you're mind's blank, staring even harder at the whiteboard doesn't help nearly as much as a short walk.
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When I was younger, I had bad vision and they told me if I continued to stare at the computer screen which at the time was a CRT television, that I would end up requiring glasses. Despite the fact that I have gamed extensively for the last 27 years and now also sit for 8+ hours in front of multiple displays at work, I have 20/20 vision.
As for your comment about over-use of the brain, it was my understanding that we do not even fully utilize our brain. I think the human body is more resilient than most peo
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Please don't try to tell me that a first person shooter is in any way "overuse of the brain". Even with a game like Starcraft for experrienced gamers many of the details are now muscle memory and rote repetition of patterns.
Even the very idea of "brain overuse" causing mental problems makes me shudder... what has happened to our society!?
Besides, a baseball pitcher, football quarterback, hockey goalie, auto racer, etc, require just as much (or more) focus, attention, and often strategy as most video games.
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Please don't try to tell me that a first person shooter is in any way "overuse of the brain". Even with a game like Starcraft for experrienced gamers many of the details are now muscle memory and rote repetition of patterns.
Even the very idea of "brain overuse" causing mental problems makes me shudder... what has happened to our society!?
Besides, a baseball pitcher, football quarterback, hockey goalie, auto racer, etc, require just as much (or more) focus, attention, and often strategy as most video games...
I know that after work, playing Empire Total War for extended sessions was too much. I recently found playing FFXIII to be nice candy for the brain. It's not too thought-intensive, I'm still playing a game and I'm still having fun even if I'm not working all that hard at it.
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I've raced for about 20 years in cross country skiing (starting with high school, then at the NCAA level in college, and now in citizen races) and have probably entered well over 100 events. More importantly I've known a lot of racers over the years. I've never, ever heard of knee damage being a common problem for cross country skiers. In fact, cross country skiing is one of the more gentle sports on joints, especially compared to long distance running which has a lot of pounding. There are tons of old peop
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It was a bad example. I was going to use american football examples, but each position has different issues. I was drawing a mental blank.
My father used to cross-country ski and was going to the olympic trials for Finland. However, knee problems caused him to drop out. One of his good friends had the same problem, so I extrapolated. Cue the xkcd slide.
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Atheletes wear their bodies out, same as construction workers, but but you can't overuse your brain. Your brain has no moving parts to wear out, unlike your body. All the mentally sharp geriatrics I've known actively used their brains a lot, and IINM there have been studies proving this.
I'm not sure about the eye damage, but the only damage would be to the cornea, and I wouldn't worry about that. [slashdot.org][article] What you should worry about is if you're severely nearsighted you're at risk of retinal detachment [slashdot.org][jour
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The first time you strafe a hallway instead of just walking past it you prove to yourself that gaming has done something to your head.
But neurons are highly malleable and learn not to be affected by such situations as easily as they learned to react to them. Except for the flashbacks, that sort of behavior goes away.
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Might??? (Score:3, Funny)
Might not? Might not?? Hell, making a sandwich has more physical demands than playing the vijimagames.
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Okay, getting your heart rate up to 20% of your (MHR-RHR) and losing your cool because you're the n00b in the room is not aerobic exercise.
I rode my bike 20 miles at 22 mph yesterday and never got mine above 60%. That's known as a "recovery day".
Allay'all stop dawdling and excusing yourselves, get off your fat, pasty asses, and go play in the fucking sunshine.
Cause or Result (Score:3, Insightful)
Is the 20 year old "Professional gamer" with the "aerobic health as a 60-year-old smoker" in that condition due to gaming, or is he gaming because that's all he can do, because of some pre-existing limitation?
I ask, because it takes longer for a sedentary life style to put you in THAT bad shape than your typical 20 year old would have in the interval between highschool and their 20th birthday.
Where does one get a job being a "professional gamer" other than working for a game developer?
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North Korean gamers, on the other hand, are the portrait of good health! [slashdot.org]
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Where does one get a job being a "professional gamer" other than working for a game developer?
Korea, if you are awesome at Starcraft [wikipedia.org].
There is also the PGL [wikipedia.org] and a host of other "professional" leagues.
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Where does one get a job being a "professional gamer" other than working for a game developer?
It's easy in that you don't have to apply to become one, like most jobs, but also tough in that you won't make any money for a little while, like playing in a Band.
1) Find a popular multiplayer game /Profit
2) Get good at said game
3) Search for a league online for said game
4) Join league
5) Win tournaments
6) ???
7) Professional Gamer
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The attention given to the ones who get rich at a sport creates a disproportionate view of the probabilities of joining that class of competitors.
Those who gain little or no money, or even lose relative to another choice of profession, is by far the largest segment of any sport's population.
Delusional hope among the competing class is, of course, of enormous benefit to the organizer class. This goes for any industry, not just sports.
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I'm guessing it's all the pot he smokes.
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It doesn't take that long. I used to do judo but after a couple of broken relationships I just sat at home (and at work), read books and eat. I've gained almost 50 kg in just 5 years and could barely walk 200 meters. Once you are fat you can get sleep apnoea, and once you have that, it is almost impossible to lose weight without doing something against it.
Once you can sleep properly it is much easier to lose all that fat and start living again, though. Just walked 4 km and feeling good :-)
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I ask, because it takes longer for a sedentary life style to put you in THAT bad shape than your typical 20 year old would have in the interval between highschool and their 20th birthday.
I've seen some pretty fat kids. twenty years of doing nothing but sitting in a chair stuffing your face is a long time.
Not surprised (Score:2)
Online gaming actually helped me understand real-life sports. When I was a kid my dad took me to Hockey and Soccer and other organized sports, and I never really "got it". I didn't have any aggression in my personality and when the parents were saying "it's not important to win, it's important to have fun" I actually took them to heart and didn't care about the game, at all.
I finally figured out the pleasure of cooperative sport playing Counterstrike in my bedroom. I actually got pretty decent and had momen
Well DUH (Score:2)
Other studies show that the sky is black at night with little white speckles, gray when it's raining at noon and blue when it's not.
What's next, they're going to study where bears shit and what religion the Pope is?
Eye Hand Coordination (Score:2)
In most cases, Eye Hand Coordination is a big factor in sports, and a big factor in gaming .
Obviously there are exceptions like soccer and checkers, but yeah there is a lot of cross over.
I would have thought this was immediately obvious as someone who has both played video games and sports competitively.
The biggest difference from a competitive point of view? Video games put you completely at the mercy of developers, and it sucks.
Who wants to spend a year refining a particular talent for a video game, and t
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It's no different to the IOC dropping sports/disciplines from the Olympic lineup. It happens every time.
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Alpha Male Syndrome? (Score:2)
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That said, I think football and soccer would be funnier if the scoring team tea-bagged their rivals every time they made a point.
Turnabout is fair play, you really want the halo team to dance, hug each other, and rub each others butts after a kill and then take a shower together after the game, while the elderly newspaper writers watch, er, I mean interview them? I could do without that creepy stuff.
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Think about that again, only this time make it a women's league.
How has your attitude changed?
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Think about that again, only this time make it a women's league. How has your attitude changed?
Uh, I'm thinking a career change to "elderly newspaper writer" is in the cards?
With my luck, they'll assign the noob (that being me) to the womens sumo wrestling team instead of beach volleyball.
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I know that competitive sports are so popular because they, essentially, allow for the enactment of modern alpha-male style dominance displays.
You know that? That really doesn't explain why so many people root for the underdog. I think your trying to over analyze the fact that people like to compete and have fun, as well as watching said action.
Just wait for it (Score:2, Funny)
"Whoa man, there's ProGamer69"
"Yeh, he's uber leet, look at the size of him"
"He must put in some serious sessions to get a bod like that, just look as them rolls of flab"
"Yeah, I just wanna grab them and roll about in them"
"You're working on a pretty nice gut yourself, how do you manage it with this pro-fitness thing everyone is forcing on us?"
"Oh that" *scoffs* "CoD7 + Mountain Dew all the way bud"
not true for everyone (Score:2, Funny)
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...and you got a Funny mod for all that. I’m still trying to figure out whether you were really trying to be funny, or actually being serious.
Non-surprising result (Score:2)
So what they found is that video games select for those qualities that result in superior performance. Fast reflexes, increases in focus with pressure, etc.
Make a game that consists of holding a heavy rock motionless in your hand and you'll find a class of players with different qualities.
People without those qualities are not likely to progress, and eventually not likely to continue playing, certainly not to be promoted to more-skilled competitions.
Like, duh.
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Wow (Score:2)
Still, while gamers show good reflexes, their health was worse than expected, with one 20-something professional player showing the same aerobic health as a 60-year-old smoker."
Impressive. If I was into something like that I would make sure to cut my junk food, avoid overeating and substitute 30 min of gaming a day for a walk.
What Gamers Have In Common With Athletes (Score:2)
Chicks dig us, and so we get laid a lot.
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I've never heard of that game, is it new?
Re:nothing wrong here (Score:5, Funny)
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If you're going to plug yourself, at least set up a webcam.
*pause for laughter*
Seriously though, I think there are a lot of physical activities that gamers would enjoy if they just put forth the effort to go and try them. For example, I own just about every Star Wars game there is, and I'm pretty big on medieval settings.
There was a thing this past weekend at the local military museum, which had preformers of warriors from all era's, ancient Roman Gladiators, Vikings, Crusaders, Imperialistic, civil war, WW
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A few of my friends who have far less long-term injuries than I do (vertabrae fusion, wrist/knee/hip problems, and more) are active participants in the local LARP and/or Dagorhir communities. Every one of them is in awesome shape.
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This might sound crazy, but I've found that my gaming skills have improved over the years, thank in part to my study of tai chi chuan.
I used to notice that I'd get all cramped up with painful hands and feet after a half-hour of playing a game (or just sitting at my computer, for that matter). I'm older than the average gamer, and I found that no matter which online game I tried, I'd be one of the worst players in the g
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I don't find that to be crazy at all. My fiancee experienced a similar bump in her gaming ability (and general well being) when she started to really get into yoga. Learning how to focus her breathing and tightening certain muscles while simultaneously relaxing others has provided her with an increase in general concentration, mentally and physically. She's said it has helped her in many aspects of her life, but the most obvious one I've noticed (other than her increased flexibility, rawr) is that she ha
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there are physical activities gamers might enjoy but they... well... don't...
For a certain subset of gamers, they are playing games as an escape from reality. For a subset of that subset, they are supplanting their inability to achieve in real life with their ability to achieve in the game. Where as one person might find the idea of putting on a full suit of armor and swinging around a heavy weapon to be fun, there are others who would just consider it a burden and find that the experience reenforced thei
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Yeah, I know, you could be a member posting AC so your mod points stick.
Nope, they don’t stick. I’ve tried it.
It doesn’t even warn you that your moderation will be invalidated if you post anonymously. Verify it by opening the CID link afterward... the moderation is gone.
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To keep your mod points while posting anonymously, use your other browser/internet connection ;-).
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BURN!!! Oh wait...
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Athletes meet cheerleaders and gamers meet avatars, and those avatars are probably better looking than the cheerleaders. And don't tell me I'm sexist because there is almost no chance that you are 1) female, 2) heterosexual, 3) a gamer, and 4) reading this post.
This may come as a shock to you, but there have been real women on the Internet for a while now.
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there have been real women on the Internet for a while now.
Not the parts of it that you visit...
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Wait a minute... the Governor of Illiinois is a woman? And what are you doing posting at slashdot, you're supposed to be fixing Illinois' economy or something, aren't you?
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That's impossible, unless you live on a boat.
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What activity can't you drink beer while performing, discounting the nagging legal issues?