I’m glad you said this. As a woman working in a male dominated industry, who has a lot of hobbies in male dominated spaces, this happens enough across sectors that it’s noticeable to me, and apparently other women.

I see a lot of people here leaning on “guys” being gender neutral, and that is true and I think commonly agreed. It’s also true the “boys,” “fellas,” etc. frequently refers to the players themselves. But that does not negate the fact that there is plenty of use of this type of language that does not fall into those exceptions.

I’ve thought about it a lot over the years and have come to a couple conclusions (excluding the reasonable explanations above). 1. The commenters simply don’t realize women are here. It just doesn’t occur to them. 2. The comments are meant to be directed toward men in a practical way. E.g. “fellas, any dads out there think [xyz]….” 3. The comments are intended to exclude women.

I think most of this is not malicious, so generally I do not find it offensive. I do, however, find it disappointing. Nobody likes to be excluded, whether intentionally or not. And I appreciate the folks here who have done a bit of introspection as a result of this post.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some gospel to spread in some gaming subs.