Is Science Fiction Gay or is it Homophobic?

[Swamp]

P.S., how does one do that black-on-black spoiler text?

Like this.
Er,

Code: [Select]

[glow=black,2,300]]Like this.[/glow]

Maybe it is due to IE, my resolution, or my computer's super powers, but I can still read the text everybody seems to hiding.  I used to see the black out effect, but for the last several weeks, I have been able to read the "blacked out" text.  I just assumed people were doing it wrong, but this code looks right.

[Heradel]

P.S., how does one do that black-on-black spoiler text?

Like this.
Er,

Code: [Select]

[glow=black,2,300]]Like this.[/glow]

Maybe it is due to IE, my resolution, or my computer's super powers, but I can still read the text everybody seems to hiding.  I used to see the black out effect, but for the last several weeks, I have been able to read the "blacked out" text.  I just assumed people were doing it wrong, but this code looks right.

I would think it was IE incorrectly rendering the "black" as more of a 80-90% grey.

[Bdoomed]

Firefox FTW.

[Swamp]

Yeah, I looked at it in Safari and it blacked out just fine.

Here is what it looks like in IE:


Okay, I have derailed this thread enough.

[Heradel]

Yeah, I looked at it in Safari and it blacked out just fine.

Here is what it looks like in IE:


Okay, I have derailed this thread enough.

Oh, actually, I think that might be the right, er, intended rendering. The other browsers are adhering to web "standards" which don't let you render text in quite that way, so it comes up as a black box.

[eytanz]

For what it's worth, IE 8 (running on Vista) shows the black boxes, not the fuzzy letters.

[Scattercat]

At least it's not Zalgo-fied.

[deflective]

for explorer use 100 instead of 2

[Bdoomed]

thats funny that explorer actually renders "glow" as an actual glow, and no other browser.  fail other browsers, fail.

[deflective]

other browsers don't support it for a reason, glow is just annoying as blink or marquee.  the only reason why it's marginally useful here is that smf forums blocks you from changing the background colour directly so this is a hack to access it.

it has become the accepted standard that these kind of graphical text tweaks should be done by a webpage instead of supported by the browser.

glow was introduced back in ie4, when microsoft was still playing silly buggers and trying to drive other browsers out of business the same way that they'd been doing with office competitors.  they introduced small changes to the interface & code and tried to convince people to comply with their changing standards instead of what sticking with everyone else was doing.

talk to any web guy and he'll probably have an opinion on this, even the simplest of tasks can be a mess of code in the background as you check what browser the user is using so you know which of four different commands (that all do the same thing) to use.

[Planish]

Topic: Is Science Fiction Gay or is it Homophobic?

I'm sorry, but could there be a dumber question? 

[stePH]

I'm sorry, but could there be a dumber question? 

I suspect you missed the point of the thread.    Stupid question was the intent.

[Planish]

I hope so. 

[Audita Sum]

I know this thread's been dead for a while, but I just want to say...

Just because there are some gay characters in science fiction, it doesn't mean that there isn't a problem with homophobia. I've found it extremely difficult to find science fiction with LGBT characters, and even harder to find science fiction with LGBT characters portrayed well and realistically.

I actually prefer stories and books about straight people, because I have trouble identifying with lesbians as they're presented in most literature. A gay character can't just be a person who happens to be gay. In literature, there always has to be a reason that a girl "turned" gay, like she was raped or abused or some other tired old cliche. Lesbians are often oversexualized and undercharacterized in the media, portrayed as predatory and, almost always, as feminine. I'm a socially awkward genderqueer geek gay. I can't relate to that.

I can't relate to the omnisexual/pansexual trend either, and I suspect it's because most omnisexual/pansexual characters are written by women whose sexuality is leaning towards the straight side of the spectrum. Women who think, "Hey, it might be fun to have sex with another woman," but who have never truly had feelings for a girl and for some reason are incapable of imagining it.

People forget that "homosexuality" isn't just about sex. I don't care how "progressive" sex scenes become in science fiction. I don't much care for erotica or romance, be it straight or gay. What I think is lacking in every genre of fiction is believable, strong, interesting characters who happen to be LGBT.

I know such fiction exists, but I haven't been able to find much of it.

[stePH]

I can't relate to the omnisexual/pansexual trend either, and I suspect it's because most omnisexual/pansexual characters are written by women whose sexuality is leaning towards the straight side of the spectrum. Women who think, "Hey, it might be fun to have sex with another woman," but who have never truly had feelings for a girl and for some reason are incapable of imagining it.

Not Captain Jack Harkness.  He's a creation of Russel T. Davies (gay), and his first appearance in Doctor Who was written by straight, married Steven Moffatt.

[Audita Sum]

Of course there are exceptions. And I'm not saying that straight women can't write queer characters well, just commenting on what I've seen.