GIRLS IN CANADA - Please Read

Day 1,252, 11:31 • Published in Canada Ireland • by einberliner

As you may or may not have noticed I am, today, running for congress in Northern Ireland and the fact I've not posted a manifesto (beyond making my feelings known on IRC and when I've been PM'd) probably means you think this is going to be election fodder.

It's not. Sorry, but everyone tl:drs manifestos anyway and most candidates don't see theirs through. On the political front I'm for action, not chatting, so here's a 'please vote for me, I mean business in congress' and let's call that side of things done.



It's no secret the players of this game are largely male and I've been around long enough to know that, sometimes, the girls on here get a little bit of hassle from some of them (actually a very small number of them, and it's usually the younger lads who aren't used to dealing with girls in RL - not intended as an insult, fact based on my experience). For that reason I've noticed that some of my fellow females are hesitant to participate in some aspects of the game, particularly the off-site forums, IRC and the organisations focused on the military module (armies and militas). In fact I know two girls in the game who won't even admit that they are girls and outright lie that they're lads. This is something that's been re-iterated to me lately as I go about my happy recruiting duties on behalf of TCO.

I'm writing this article because I'm concerned there are girls out there in eCan who are missing out on, frankly, the most fun I've ever had on here because of this type of thing. The fight aspect, and the comraderie in a fighting group, is just about the lulziest thing there is in eLife. And don't let not being able to spend real money on gold stop you either btw. If you hit train each day and you fight all you can each day with what you make in-game you'll soon start to strengthen up and rank up and sometimes even the littlest bit of damage can make a big difference in a close-matched fight.

In a fighting group, and eCan has three fantastic ones, you get support to strengthen up this way. You get supplies (food, weapons, moving tickets) and usually some form of dedicated communication (forums for two of eCan's groups, and a military unit on-site for the other) with your comrades. Quite often those who are good at business, or who buy gold, or who just happen to have extra supplies stored away will put their hands in their own pockets to help the newer, younger or still-learning members to advance that bit more quickly.

And as for the sexism thing. Not going to lie, I've seen it go on but what I haven't seen is it happening here in Canada, and all three of eCans groups are administrated/moderated by great teams of people that, while allowing joking around, aren't going to stand for any BS. Taking them one by one:

The Crimson Order (TCO): Founded in eCanada the TCO is a private militia with another division based in eAustralia, funded largely through members work but also in part by the government. The Canadian division are the Crimson Canucks, the Aussies are the Crimson Devils. Currently the Canuck division alone consists of over a hundred active soldiers and there are even two Canada-based legions just for formerly Irish soldiers that are looking for a change of scene. TCO can be found on IRC @ #Crimson as well as on their own forum @ http://bruckscanucks.forumotion.ca/. Well-known and well-respected around the eGlobe.

I've been TCO almost three months now (time flies) and am one of at least seven or eight women there just that I know of off the top of my head, including at least five in officer positions (two captains and three lieutenants). Not a statistic I'd be able to quote at you if we were having to put up with sexist BS. All officers have ops in the IRC channel and there's always at least one op in there (I'm generally lurking around myself, if you check the member list) . There's occasional mock-flirting but no nonsense, and the one time someone attempted anything like it while I was there they were, firstly, not a TCO member but an obvious troll. Secondly they were booted out by one of (male, as it happens) execs so fast I hadn't even had time to start booting them out myself. And I can type the kick command at ninja speeds 😉 I've never seen that stuff go on anyplace on our forums.

We also kick the most booty in eCan right now - all those cogs you see on all those battle heroes' avatars? Those are us. 😃



Canadian Armed Forces (CAF): eCanada's official army, state-funded. There's plenty banter between TCO and CAF but ultimately we're all pointing our guns the same way and there's a good relationship between many of the members of the two groups (one of my own best friends in eCan is CAF). They're another sizable and active army and their forum is part of the official forum of eCanada, so is subject not just to the mods of the CAF itself but also to those of the country. You'll find that here: http://ecanada.cc/forums/viewtopic.php?f=398&t=9919 (they also have an IRC channel but that's invite only).

I haven't ever been a member of the CAF myself but Mary Chan, that buddy I mentioned before, is and when I went to her to ask if she'd ever found sexist rubbish going on she said no, and she's done two years service with them so I take her word for it. I also spoke to their current overall chief, PDP, who told me himself he wouldn't stand for anything like that going on in CAF on his watch. Their channel being invite-only means trolls are easily contained and the CAF's high command has three women doing duty there - Coda, Artemis and Mary herself, which should be proof enough it's a fine place for girl soldiers to hang out.



HOPE: The newest of the three and run entirely on-site by Lavis Knight, who's a legend. Because it's on-site it's subject to the game mods and therefore easily censored. Supplies come largely from Lavis' own hard work and donations from private individuals. The Military Unit for HOPE is here: http://www.erepublik.com/en/main/group-show/153

HOPE is growing all the time and, though I'm personally TCO, it's a project I am very much in favor of. I donate to Lavis' cit account for distribution among its members whenever I can and heartily encourage anyone who's got a little to spare to consider doing the same.



So, in summation, this place may have it's macho side but if you are one of eCan's lady subjects you aren't going to get leered at just for it and you're not going to get a bunch of nonsense about 'girls can't fight', particularly not when some of the women in these armies can beat the tar out of many of the guys in them 😃

PM me with any questions and I'll gladly answer them (though for CAF I may end up referring you as my knowledge of them is p basic compared to my knowledge of the legendary Crimson Order)

See you on the battlefield,
~Cpt. Ein 'Donut' Berliner, 10th Legion TCO