WoW and people with disabilities?

Browsing through the forums, talking to people, overhearing conversations - all that got me pondering:

Why the heck are there so many "Disabled" (to some degree) people among WoW players (Especially roleplayers)? Now, I see the obvious answer: They can't be "full" people IRL so they go into World of Warcraft where they can be whatever the hell they want to be.

Aye, I am not saying those people are below "normal" (Although, no one can be called normal these days) human beings nor do I treat them in a "special" way. Problem at hand is, I wonder why they keep playing despite sometimes being treated WORSE than in RL?

I'd like to hear some more thoughts on the subject as it's been on my mind for quite a while. And, if you're one of those people, how do you feel in the WoW enviroment? Worse? Better? All the same?

This is for a personal research.

This thread is blue and has tusks.

Go away you broken troll detector. One thing I am serious about on this forum and it's proclaimed trolling before it even begun.

Maybe it's a psychological thing, they are more likely to "man up" in the face of adversity instead of nerdraging and rage/emo-quitting.

WoW is a relatively easily accesable support group.

They probably play for the same reasons anyone else do: To enjoy a game and get to know new people. I also think that if you have a disability it can be hard to get close to people IRL. On WoW they only see your avatar and read what you write and will not judge you for being in a wheelchair or similar.

I believe in many ways friendship is more pure over WoW than IRL as it only judges personalities and not looks.

More pure, maybe. More real? Doubt it. I guess I need to meet people in real life to really mark them as friends.

I believe in many ways friendship is more pure over WoW than IRL as it only judges personalities and not looks.

If you have friends who judge your looks before your personality...

Those are not friends. Those are butt lickers.

And, sadly, as far as friendship in WoW may go, it rarely and I mean RARELY goes beyond that. Because, let's face it, most people have a straight line between "WoW" and "A geek with no life" leading to them denying the very fact they play it. Personally? Yeah, I tell friends I play WoW, they're ok with that, I'm ok with that and, more importantly, I dont care so much about WoW to talk about it 24/7 with people who are not interested.

Marrenus wrote:

I believe in many ways friendship is more pure over WoW than IRL as it only judges personalities and not looks.

If you have friends who judge your looks before your personality...

Those are not friends. Those are butt lickers.

Or anime fans

Archal/Hazrah/Vaneyk wrote:

Marrenus wrote:

I believe in many ways friendship is more pure over WoW than IRL as it only judges personalities and not looks.

If you have friends who judge your looks before your personality...

Those are not friends. Those are butt lickers.

Or anime fans

*PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT*


*PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT OVER, CARRY ON WITH WHATEVER YOU WERE DOING*

\o/ so true

I'm a sweet, caring, lovable and pretty person in real life, actually. The monitor is hypnotizing me to type mean things.

Archal/Hazrah/Vaneyk wrote:\o/ so true

I'm a sweet, caring, lovable and pretty person in real life, actually. The monitor is hypnotizing me to type mean things.

That doesn't sound very normal to me.

Threads like this...draw my attention.

I'm normal, you're the weird one. You play WoW.

I find the replies offensive.

I also find people faking it offensive.

I don't understand why people fake it when they obviously don't know what it's like, especially when they seem like they have it grand but then act like they have some sort of disability online. For instance, I'm sick to death of people who fake depression, self-harm, suicide, a dead relative, Aspergers etc when they obviously don't have it and are out to grab attention.

Now, to answer the thread; people with disabilities play WoW to get away from the social fear that comes with having a disability. It's incredibly hard to make friends IRL because the disability is a lack of maturity and social skills, which tends to make them extremely quiet, nervous people who fear interaction incase they're judged; on WoW, you can't be judged except through actions.

I don't understand why they keep playing when treated worse on here than they do online, but it could be the addiction aspect of it. The game is an anti-social game, no doubt about it, in a sense that it limits your social life because you have to spend several hours in a raid instead of being out with friends; when you have a disability that limits social interaction, you feel better about being with others behind a computer screen without needing to worry about agoraphobia or anything.

The reason I know how to answer is because my brother is autistic and I have Social Anxiety Disorder while I'm borderline (also known as Aspergers, even though I cheated on the test because I knew all the questions they were going to ask...heh, I was only 15 or something at the time and didn't want to disappoint), so all in all, you have a few sources.

However, I want to lay off WoW a bit and get money and the only way to get that is by getting a job...although, I'm having the worst time finding the nerve to ask for applications. *shrug*

Many may view me as a "Disabled" player, so to speak, due to the mere fact I have Aspergers - a form of Autism. Ofcourse, I do this for two reasons. Firstly, and foremost, Fun! Although I have major Aspergers traits, it doesn't seem to affect my life that much (well, mentally and physically it doesn't). On the otherhand, I am confined to my house and no-one ever invites me to go outside or do anything with them. I spend all day, every day, at home and/or at school - so what am I to do? Simple! Play Games to amuse myself!

Secondly, at school, I am a terrible socialiser, as you may already know. Look at me online, however, and you will see a cocky, almost arrogant side of me. I get to express views on here that I cannot in real life. If you want to know what it feels like, imagine that making eye contact seems like something only people who trust eachother should do. Therefore, imagine that, for whatever reason, whenever you try to make eye contact it feels almost as if you are doing something intimate. Like giving someone, whom you've just met, a hug. It feels awkward, generally. You can't speak because of the awkward situation of not knowing what to do, when you speak rubbish comes out of your mouth due to not know what people will think, and you feel the need to approach others - even if awkwardly. I've had many a time where I've approached others or timid people have approached me - waiting for me to say "Hi" to them - and ended in a paradox of awkwardness where no-one is speaking. Online, there are none of those complications.

I know the feeling.

Etular wrote:Many may view me as a "Disabled" player, so to speak, due to the mere fact I have Aspergers - a form of Autism. Ofcourse, I do this for two reasons. Firstly, and foremost, Fun! Although I have major Aspergers traits, it doesn't seem to affect my life that much (well, mentally and physically it doesn't). On the otherhand, I am confined to my house and no-one ever invites me to go outside or do anything with them. I spend all day, every day, at home and/or at school - so what am I to do? Simple! Play Games to amuse myself!

Secondly, at school, I am a terrible socialiser, as you may already know. Look at me online, however, and you will see a cocky, almost arrogant side of me. I get to express views on here that I cannot in real life. If you want to know what it feels like, imagine that making eye contact seems like something only people who trust eachother should do. Therefore, imagine that, for whatever reason, whenever you try to make eye contact it feels almost as if you are doing something intimate. Like giving someone, whom you've just met, a hug. It feels awkward, generally. You can't speak because of the awkward situation of not knowing what to do, when you speak rubbish comes out of your mouth due to not know what people will think, and you feel the need to approach others - even if awkwardly. I've had many a time where I've approached others or timid people have approached me - waiting for me to say "Hi" to them - and ended in a paradox of awkwardness where no-one is speaking. Online, there are none of those complications.

You're exactly the same as I am.

I used to get quite upset that I didn't get to go to parties when I was younger, eventually came to think of myself as a freak but after figuring out the truth I just ended up using games to amuse myself.

When you get to my age with it, you feel horribly alone all the time. I still kinda wish I had local friends instead of WoW, but friends that you can hang out with in your bedroom and play games and stuff with them.

However, I am also glad I got on the internet when I could as I met my best friend on there. Sure, she lives in England but I have visited her a few times and they were the best weeks of my life, honestly; however, I'm still feeling quite down because I've not been able to visit her ever since she got cancer and had to get her leg removed but there's always the internet! It's great, the internet.

Etular, you're awesome. Period. So is Halya.

I love the sociality of WoW, and the internet in general. Seeing as my school is a cess-pit of chavs, it's hard to make friends IRL. I met my bf on steam, my best friend ever (Mithy :3) in TSE, and everyone I've met (with several exceptions) is awesome sauce.
However, I would love to meet some of the people I am friendly with. Especially Mith. Hint hint.

...I'm as social irl as on game. Deppending on mood and view of the person.

But I rarely do stuff since I live isolated in a darn village with bad connections to the city and so forth. Kinda kills my interest in even trying to do something.

But I do not see online any differ to irl. You can be as good friend with someone online as irl.

P.S Hugging isn't awkward, its awesome. Provided you want the hug.

I second what Archal said. I do completly understand Etular's point. And now I suddenly have a great urge to give Etular a tacklehug and give him loads of cookies.

And Linea, I share the pain of going to a school full of chavs >.>

I think most of us have different reasons to play. Those of us who have disabilities may use that as their excuse while those who doesn't make up something else. It doesn't really matter, though. The only thing that matters is what you do and how you treat others online and that you feel good when you play.

Personally I am on sick-leave since the beginning of march due to some mental problems that sucks the energy out of me and WoW is the only thing I can really handle. I feel at home in WoW, I know I am pretty good at it and I can do it my own way and have some really good friends here that I enjoy talking to and that offer me laughs.
I also feel liberated when I don't have to explain over and over again how I feel, why I can't take care of my kids, politely explaining that I rather do not want to talk about it. Or fend off comments on how I look perfectly healthy and seem as vibrant and happy as ever (after struggeling for 4-5 hours just to fight the anxiety and get into the shower before I manage to get out without calling my friends and make up an excuse not to come as I end up doing 3/4 times) and supress the urges to punch people in the face when they judge me without trying my shoes on first.
Or enduring that "awee...... poor you"-face they make that sickens me.

Having a disability IRL isn't easy. Sure, mine may not show at the first glance as it is all in the head, just like the previous posters with Aspergers and similar syndroms certainly know, but it makes people treat you differently from how they used to before they knew. Like you suddenly got a new personality, they don't look at you and think "Oh, there's Bob." anymore, they now look at you and think "Oh, there's Bob with the disability.". It makes huge difference, and it is quite hurtful. At least to me, so I rather stay out of it.

So yeah, forgetting about real life is my excuse to play as much as I do, living in my little bubble with no bigger worries than getting my guild working and finding the gold for enchants without having to do dailies.

Well i suffer from ME/CFS (Myalgisk Encephalomyelitis/ Chronic Fatigue Syndrome). Which means i have less energy to draw from and is likelier to get tired fast. This is ofcourse very limiting and combining that with the fact that i'm shy, makes it kinda hard to make friends and shizzle irl. So yeah, i play wow mostly for the social part of it. Heck.. I ONLY play wow for the social part of it.
And when i do end up meeting new people and befriending them, they always have something themselves, be it ADHD, Aspergers or depression. I guess it's easier for someone with a disability to relate to other disabled people :S..

I never knew so many people here had problems/disabilities!

I'll just throw it into the bucket of knowledge, I have ADHD, OCD, Touretts and Schizophrenia, though luckily that one isnt very bad. Im also suprised people are open about what they've got here, whenever I tell someone I just met about them, they'll say im weird / attention whoring etc because I told them, but that isnt the case, I just like people knowing what I have, and im glad I have them, because they made me into who I am.