So I've read through the entire thread, (yes, since the first post), and I have a few things I could add.
Firstly, there's no way that this poll could accurately take the statistics of the M:F ratio. (look at how many members are registered, and compare with how many have at least 1 post or so). So don't feel bad :) Simply put, there can be females registered, but not active. In my experience, females prefer to talk with people they know or otherwise enjoy themselves. (reading, music, texts, movies, there's too much to name). According to some Google searches, most people are finding an average of both genders online. If you'd like to see specifics, look up a popular website. However, I'd say that men are more likely to be a part of a forum like this. Take the background for example, the anime woman has a caring expression. Last time I've checked, the majority of males are attracted to such women and may get a different feeling from the image than a girl would. Girls could be attracted to the same thing, but for different reasons.
Second, the audience for a given anime type varies. I've heard of men being interested in my-little-pony vs girls liking horror anime. Then again, there's plenty of males that mostly watch action anime, while girls watch romantic types. Though our culture can be like "omg!" it comes to no surprise if you think about it. I know that girls would be more interested in a reverse-harem or wtv than guys would. However, same-gender love is a bit mixed, and these people may find groups that focus on that interest just to be safe. If you're wanting to broaden your audience, you have to broaden your statements about what the website stands for. Currently, the main attraction is music downloads. I can't say what the M:F ratio might be for guests browsing for music, but it's an understatement to say that it's equal or anything more or less. If anything, it would be wise to ask for the opinions of any willing girls about why they joined this website, and try to use that idea to draw in new members.
Third, there are considerable reasons why someone would not want to be here, but can be fixed. (ex: how the rules are presented, how easy it is to see places on the main index, the expectations of a new user, attitudes of the staff toward users, unique introverts looking for friends, usefulness/inviting appearance of the website.) Improving any of these can be promising.
Last, I'd like to agree with some basic gender ideas. I think it's completely alright to behave like the opposite gender as far as one is comfortable with it. In fact, there are theories in psychology about why people tend to do that. There's an idea that girls want to be strong and courageous, while guys want to become gentle and tender. I don't think it's an absolute, but it can explain why being in a relationship gives a feeling on completeness.
A-S is a place where I've felt comfortable to show the feminine side of myself and be silly, whereas most of the time I have to hold things together in the real world and bottle up my emotions. My child-like behavior tends to make other people tease me in the real world. If not that, I've been hurt more than enough to close myself up against the rejection. It's not that the way I act is not acceptable for my gender, it's much deeper than that. It's similar to telling a secret to a best friend and they tell everyone you know. In that situation, what part of you life will they still have? I like to sing and dance, but I get bothered when my family watches or makes a comment. It's completely different with a friend. I'm willing to sing and play songs for them.
Regardless of our ages, we actually share something more valuable than anime with each other. Making another person laugh or be happy is the best thing that A-S can offer as some kind of friend. It can be uncomfortable to not know one another's age or gender sometimes, but it's even more uncomfortable when it actually bothers or hurts someone. A-S is like a world where everyone can get along being happy without any boundaries telling them who they are to others. If some of the people on A-S actually met each other, they would treat each other differently than they would here. If someone lives in a dream world where half of the members here are actually girls, let them dream and find something of value in their life. Doing so will help them learn to communicate more freely and have better confidence in themselves. Even if someone corrects a person saying which gender they are, it shouldn't make a major difference of how fond of each other they've become.
On another note, let me add to the example that Kimmy gave. Even though she has some "guy" characteristics, it doesn't make her any less female. Gender does not determine one's interests. For my example, I take alot after my mother's side and have plenty of odd characteristics.
some things I dislike:
sports, intense violence, perverseness, yelling, anger, not being useful, guns, knives, big muscles, the slight excess fat I have, naming cars, watching tv, heavy labor, being alone for a long time, uncaring guys, lazy people, people that tease me, dogs, big parties, smoking, alcohol, trucks, getting dirty, men's cologne, strong smells, people that ignore me, western/band music with vocals, curse words, blamers, provokers, "logical" people, sauerkraut, most fish.
some things I like:
pink, purple, blue, green, rainbows, flowers, unicorns, kittens, gardening, cooking, cleaning, watching/playing with children, listening and talking, sincerity, compliments, helping, serving others, helping more than I am helped, intimate relationships, peace, purity, love, finding good cloths, saving money while shopping, playing the flute and violin, electronics, games, love stories, some action flicks, hot chocolate and marshmallows~
--added:
You might see that there's some things I do like that don't add up with other things. This is completely normal for any given person. According to psychology, there are no major differences between boys and girls as far as interests and abilities. They are 98% the same. The only major difference is biological factors, which take about 1%. The other difference is stereotyped thinking, which is a bit more complicated. Basically, people have an idea of what kind of traits girls/boys have. Once I get more into my psy class this semester, I'll correct this and add more~
I'm pretty sure that most people believe that the differences between boys and girls is like night and day. However, if you look for some research, you'll find that the differences are so minimum, that you can consider them as part of unique personalities. While there are some common elements that girls/boys tend to have, when you get to the raw traits to understand them, everything makes sense. In other words, people know what they know, and people don't know what they don't know. With that in mind: girls know what they know, guys know what they know. Based on what they know, they will act on it.
Think of what it would be like to be the opposite gender. Imagine how you would want to look like, what family you would have, who your friends are. Make it a completely new life. Now imagine what kind of pressure you would have as that person. How does your culture expect you to act? What do you want to become? How would your role change if you were a parent? What new things would you need to learn? What do you have to do that you didn't have to before? What can you not do that you could before? How would you handle being in a relationship as the opposite gender? What new fears would you have? New desires?
Do know, that despite saying all of this, I am not disclosing my gender~ ^^
Feel free to ask me more~
Yes [MENTION=28568]Exaelia[/MENTION], smiling on the inside~