[ 
Mood: Distorted ]
So Thursday night saw me join my City of Heroes Supergroup, the Strippers of Paragon City for a little smashing of bad guys. But there was a problem. I didn’t recognize many of the other characters’ names. Something had happened.
NC Soft had cracked down on the Srippers as being innappropriate.
But why? We have been around for two years and are a little infamous on the Justice server. Heck, our photo was on the front page of this website.
Near as anyone can figure out it stems from the last SG night. The Strippers sponsored a costume contest in honour of our second anniversary as an SG. We think a disgruntled loser complained. Or maybe the broadcast of the contest offend someone.
Whatever happened, justice was swift. The group’s name was gone. Any of the supergroup characters that were present during the costume contest had their names taken away. They also lost all their costumes. There was no warnng. There was no appeal. The message was labled "final notice".
And here I was upset that I missed the costume contest.
Strippers was started as a parody of the physical representation of women in the comic genre (and in the game). Our tongues are firmly planted in our cheeks. The SG has at least two, if not more, women with strong feminist leanings. Yet NCSoft did not ask about this. They did not even want to talk.
Now I know this is NCSoft’s world and they set the rules, but their reaction was a little harsh for me. The costumes are made from pieces that the developpers make available. (There is a mini-skirt with holes cut out of the back and front.) The body types are also at the developpers command. Why freak out if you make this stuff possible?
The message I got is clear.
You can look like a skank, but don’t draw attention to yourself.
Paragon City got a little darker that night.