Originally Posted by Hattersin
Very tiny answer to a tiny part of what you said above here
Pretty much everybody uses language to communicate what 'group' they're part of in some way.
Groups/subcultures/communities whatever you want to call it, have different words used frequently, such as your Tumblr users spewing 'literally' all over the place.
I'm not arguing for either position here, but I guess the benefit could be seen as a way of expressing where or to what you identify yourself.. loosely.
Hmm... I can see your point, but it kind of feels like you're grasping at straws here. No subculture is defined by it's usage of one word in particular.
If the rule was in some way suppressing a group of people and their ability to identify in a certain way, sure, maybe the rule should be reconsidered. Is this the case? No, not at all.
It feels more to me like people are being pedantic - what's the harm etc etc? Well, it may be minimal? But what's the benefit?
I like your point and I somewhat agree. I just don't think it's relevant in this situation.
Originally Posted by Fee
Can I just ask one simple and direct question? What is your urgent need to use the word? What is the benefit it brings to your linguistic arsenal?
that's a really loaded question.
it's not about this particular word - if we're going to censor words and ignore context my question would be where is that line drawn? okay, we can't say 'nigger' that's fine. i'm not going to lobby to keep it around because other than the occasional humorous situation i don't use it. can we say faggot? when does that get outlawed? i do have a problem with it because it's limiting speech and most of the people being affected by that rule are not using it in a derogatory manner anyway. the people that use it in a derogatory manner are going to do so either way, and they'll be punished accordingly. personally i don't ban people simply for using the word or any offensive word until i've seen the context.
In my experience, whenever I've seen people use the word "nigger" or "nigga" in game, a person or multiple people will jump on them with "that's racist, reporting" -- in an immature, childlike way. From what I can tell, most people aren't actually offended, but will jump at the chance to piss someone off just because the word is banned and be used against them. I've hardly ever seen the word be used in the "correct racist context", but it gets called racist every time because it's a banable word.
I personally think the word "nigga" being banned for racism is wholly ridiculous. Not only do blacks call each other nigga, but I've seen many instances of whites using it with blacks with no problem. I don't think this word has ever been used in an actual racist, offensive context. If someone fully intends to be a racist, hateful fuck, they're not gonna call a black person a nigga. It'll be nigger.
So yes. Context is everything and at the very least, nigga shouldn't be banned.
I personally think the word "nigga" being banned for racism is wholly ridiculous. Not only do blacks call each other nigga, but I've seen many instances of whites using it with blacks with no problem. I don't think this word has ever been used in an actual racist, offensive context. If someone fully intends to be a racist, hateful fuck, they're not gonna call a black person a nigga. It'll be nigger.
So yes. Context is everything and at the very least, nigga shouldn't be banned.
Hold On A Second
But think about it, there are Young kids on here and even if (Some how) the majority of the toribash community agree to clear Nigger, no single person can EVER make the sweeping assumption that the parents of an average kid will agree with that also. Face it, we don't want to be teaching kids words like that anyway and worse, if they see usage of Nigger and establish the user ISN'T punished for it - Never mind the fact that that kid might already know Nigger as a derogatory term - that might even make them question themselves as to why it's actually a bad word. Because kids are easily manipulated into thinking in a certain way especially if their role model claims to be older than them (One can not say that plenty of +18's play Toribash)"So what better way to do that than to allow the usage of it in a game that has plenty of younger developing kids to pick it up!!??"You see what I mean. As far as I'm concerned, no one above me has raised this other aspect either and it must be said that; it is rather a fair point.
*Pulls more tail then a special needs child at the petting zoo*
Originally Posted by KiTFoX
that's a really loaded question.
It wasn't intended to be. I'm genuinely curious about a viable situation wherein it's necessary to use it?
it's not about this particular word - if we're going to censor words and ignore context my question would be where is that line drawn?
In fairness this isn't something I really considered. Let me explain my point of view, so where I'm coming from is more apparent. I'm trying to imagine viewing the forums/ingame/ etc from an external perspective. Where a potential user is going to view the content and decide if it's the kind of community they would feel comfortable being a part of. It's similar to you yourself making changes to certain staff members sigs to keep-up-appearances essentially.
Like I said, I didn't consider the idea of where is the line then drawn with offensive language. This is where as I think everyone agrees context is crucial. However I still think that having a small amount of black-listed words is in no way detrimental. And then dealing with other questionable words/phrases on a case-by-case basis.
Edit: Also just so I'm clear, I'm not suggesting a ban on sight to anyone using the word. Again, context would be important in replying with a measured reaction. Whether that ranges from a deleted post, to a warning or a ban depends on the situation. I'm just of the opinion that certain words should be censored in terms of general decency and image.
Last edited by Fee; Nov 26, 2015 at 05:26 PM.
