# Videogame Combos = Thread Deletion? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 6, 2005, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/videogame-combos-thread-deletion/307204 "2005-06-06T20:28:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2005, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/videogame-combos-thread-deletion/307204/21 "2005-06-07T01:32:54Z")
> [@Reeder](#): > > While they might not be right…many parents care little for violence in video games, but draw the line at sex. In all seriousness, the reason behind this distinction has always escaped me. I suppose there might be some leftover puritanical mindset in the U.S. but how it manages to persist mystifies me. ---
**Author:** ![Reeder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Reeder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeder)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2005, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/videogame-combos-thread-deletion/307204/22 "2005-06-07T01:43:29Z")
> [@Bryan Ekers](#): > > In all seriousness, the reason behind this distinction has always escaped me. I suppose there might be some leftover puritanical mindset in the U.S. but how it manages to persist mystifies me. It baffles me too. And I’m an Amurican. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2005, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/videogame-combos-thread-deletion/307204/23 "2005-06-07T01:46:08Z")
I suppose it goes well with the attitude: “Those sickos are talking about sex! Kill them!” Heh. ---
**Author:** ![saoirse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@saoirse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saoirse)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2005, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/videogame-combos-thread-deletion/307204/24 "2005-06-07T02:12:19Z")
Okay this is a real hijack, but this just reminded me of a movie I was watching on AMC. It was during October and they were showing slasher flicks every night. During one scene, a girl gets hacked up getting out of the shower. As she’s being knifed to death, screaming, her breasts are scrambled, so we don’t have anything inappropriate on basic cable. Anyway, I thought Samclem was right. Ick. As a factual question, it’s different, but saying “How can I simulate rape?” Reading about it is not really the same as performing it by proxy. ---
**Author:** ![righto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a183cd/32.png) [@righto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/righto)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2005, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/videogame-combos-thread-deletion/307204/25 "2005-06-07T03:03:53Z")
> [@saoirse](#): > > Anyway, I thought Samclem was right. Ick. As a factual question, it’s different, but saying “How can I simulate rape?” Reading about it is not really the same as performing it by proxy. Except that there’s no rape involved… ---
**Author:** ![saoirse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@saoirse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saoirse)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2005, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/videogame-combos-thread-deletion/307204/26 "2005-06-07T03:13:41Z")
> [@righto](#): > > Except that there’s no rape involved… Obviously not. That would make it an actual crime, of course. Everything that is legal is not necessarily allowed on any given message board. ---
**Author:** ![Weirddave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/919ad9/32.png) [@Weirddave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weirddave)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2005, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/videogame-combos-thread-deletion/307204/27 "2005-06-07T05:55:50Z")
> [@rjung](#): > > And I don’t recall you getting huffy whenever folks attending Bush events get tossed out for wearing anti-Bush shirts; I think _that_ would be closer to the idea of a “thought crime,” _n’est pas?_😉 I don’t recall you every parsing the fact that I am not a big Bush supporter, nor did I ever vote for the man. Nor do I ever recall defending the practice that you are talking about (although I believe I did defend the idea of designated protest areas at one point-Free Speech does not mean you have the right to say anything you want anywhere you damn well please at any time you care to. In addition, if the event in question is a private function, than the organizers have every right to remove people who do not meet their dress code-just like this _private_ message board has the absolute _right_ to limit what is discussed here. That does not mean that I think doing so is a good idea or the correct policy.). So…what does this have to do with this thread again? Or are you just behind on your gratuitous Bush bashing quota for the week? ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2005, 10:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/videogame-combos-thread-deletion/307204/28 "2005-06-07T10:09:55Z")
As a minor observation hardly worth mentioning, the novel that introduced most of us to the concept of thought-crime also included one character’s angry fantasy of raping and killing another. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2005, 11:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/videogame-combos-thread-deletion/307204/29 "2005-06-07T11:02:49Z")
> [@Bryan Ekers](#): > > In all seriousness, the reason behind this distinction has always escaped me. I suppose there might be some leftover puritanical mindset in the U.S. but how it manages to persist mystifies me. I don’t agree with it either, but I suspect that many/most parents believe that their children are more likely to enjoy and seek to imitate sex scenes than scenes of violence. ---
**Author:** ![FinnAgain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finnagain/32/12500_2.png) [@FinnAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinnAgain)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2005, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/videogame-combos-thread-deletion/307204/30 "2005-06-07T11:22:22Z")
Just have to lob a pair of off topic pennies at y’all… but it’s always struck me as bass ackwards that if you show a naked woman’s breasts, it’s horrible, but if you show a naked woman’s breasts getting hacked off with an axe? Good popcorn movie! ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2005, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/videogame-combos-thread-deletion/307204/31 "2005-06-07T12:11:47Z")
I agree with SamClem 100%. To me it’s like asking, “How do I behead the hostage in _Terrorist Training Camp I_?” The point is not that it’s _just_ a videogame and no harm is actually done to a human. The point is that the videogame dehumanizes people. Fantasizing about violence is almost always a precursor to committing violence. Let’s not give posters an outlet to feed those fantasies. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2005, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/videogame-combos-thread-deletion/307204/32 "2005-06-07T12:44:20Z")
> [@PunditLisa](#): > > Fantasizing about violence is almost always a precursor to committing violence. Cite? 'cos that’s certainly not my experience, and I fantasize about violence a lot… ---
**Author:** ![FinnAgain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finnagain/32/12500_2.png) [@FinnAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinnAgain)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2005, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/videogame-combos-thread-deletion/307204/33 "2005-06-07T12:50:57Z")
> [@PunditLisa](#): > > The point is not that it’s _just_ a videogame and no harm is actually done to a human. The point is that the videogame dehumanizes people. Fantasizing about violence is almost always a precursor to committing violence. Ban grand theft auto? ---
**Author:** ![robertliguori](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/46a35a/32.png) [@robertliguori](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robertliguori)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2005, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/videogame-combos-thread-deletion/307204/34 "2005-06-07T12:58:06Z")
> [@PunditLisa](#): > > I agree with SamClem 100%. To me it’s like asking, “How do I behead the hostage in _Terrorist Training Camp I_?” > > The point is not that it’s _just_ a videogame and no harm is actually done to a human. The point is that the videogame dehumanizes people. Fantasizing about violence is almost always a precursor to committing violence. Let’s not give posters an outlet to feed those fantasies. Fact: the number of violent video games is increasing. Fact: crime among youth is decreasing. Theory A: an un-accounted-for factor greater than video games is decreasing teen violence faster than video games can increase it. Theory B: violent video games do not cause people to perform violent acts. Seriously. When I was in Books-A-Million the other day, I saw a teenage girl purchase the entire _Kushiel_ series. If people were really worried about what children were being exposed to, they’d be in the bookstores and libraries. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2005, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/videogame-combos-thread-deletion/307204/35 "2005-06-07T13:01:07Z")
Nearly ALL video games fantasize violence, so all we’d have left is a sanitized version of Simcity where all the disasters have been removed. ---
**Author:** ![Dinaroozie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Dinaroozie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinaroozie)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2005, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/videogame-combos-thread-deletion/307204/36 "2005-06-07T13:02:32Z")
Is it possible that there’s a misunderstanding in that thread? To me, asking about which button combinations are used to do something in a game is a question about the game mechanics, and is a completely legitimate discussion. To people without much familiarity with games, though, it could sound a lot like ‘give me intructions on how to carry out rape fantasies in videogames’, which is not necessarily what the OP was after. ~ Isaac ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2005, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/videogame-combos-thread-deletion/307204/37 "2005-06-07T13:10:18Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > Cite? > 'cos that’s certainly not my experience, and I fantasize about violence a lot… Not everyone who fantasizes about raping a woman will actually do the deed. But I daresay that every man who has raped a woman has fantasized about it first. If you’d like a cite, then try reading any of the profiles of a serial rapist or serial killer. Fantasy always precludes the act. IMO, that’s why videogames and websites that glorify violence are dangerous. > [@](#): > > Ban grand theft auto? I don’t have it in my power to ban Grand Auto Theft as I have not been elected to office. (A great lamentation, to be sure.) As a paying member, I do have it in my power to voice my opinion about what happens here. And I think that SamClem was spot on when he carefully controlled a query as to how to go about committing a virtual rape. ---
**Author:** ![catsix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e19b73/32.png) [@catsix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/catsix)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2005, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/videogame-combos-thread-deletion/307204/38 "2005-06-07T14:05:17Z")
> [@](#): > > **PunditLisa** said: > Let’s not give posters an outlet to feed those fantasies. Won’t somebody please think of the children? > [@](#): > > **Revtim** said: > Nearly ALL video games fantasize violence, so all we’d have left is a sanitized version of Simcity where all the disasters have been removed. It reminds me of [this Parking Lot is Full](http://plif.andkon.com/archive/wc161.gif) comic. > [@](#): > > **PunditLisa** said: > I don’t have it in my power to ban Grand Auto Theft as I have not been elected to office. (A great lamentation, to be sure.) Then let me hope that you never, ever hold a public office where you can censor those things you don’t like. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2005, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/videogame-combos-thread-deletion/307204/39 "2005-06-07T14:35:01Z")
No, **PunditLisa** is right. It’s only three months since I bought and started playing _Medieval: Total War_ and already I’m assembling a crack force of spearmen, swordsmen and arbalesters and planning to invade Flanders. I am a helpless tool of my computer games. Next up: 99% of rapists put on a pair of pants that morning, so ban pants. ---
**Author:** ![lno](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a8b319/32.png) [@lno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lno)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2005, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/videogame-combos-thread-deletion/307204/40 "2005-06-07T14:42:41Z")
Stupid sexy Flanders. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/videogame-combos-thread-deletion/307204.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/videogame-combos-thread-deletion/307204.md?page=3)