Why is gender a required question for Proboards registration

[mvea]

Hi there, 

I'm wondering why gender is a required question for registration on your boards. In this ever-changing world, this question can be a challenge for gender non-binary people, trans people, or people simply not interested in sharing this information. 

Please let me know why ProBoards requires this information, and if it is not necessary for the functioning of the site, please consider removing it from the registration process. 

Thank you. 

[Michael]

Hi,

This has come up many times! You are required to pick a gender for advertising purposes. Despite the fact that gendered advertising is a little silly, it is information that the ad providers require. We ask anyone signing up to simply pick whichever one they like, it in no way impacts your account, but can affect the ads you may see.

Once you're on the forum you can use a custom profile field to present any gender you like! Or none at all.

[BunBuJin]

As a straight ally to the LGBTTQ community, I can tell you that the issue here is that non-cisgendered people will find this offensive. It is insensitive. Perhaps that's something to let the marketing people know?

[Michael]

Hi,

As an actual member of the LGBT* community myself I understand your concerns. However at this time with the nature of how advertisements and advertisers work we still require users to select one of the two options. We do plan on further improvements in this area moving forward in the future.