PSA: Hate Speech

[brewer]

Talk about subjective. 

My take, making a rule of "no slurs" is over the top, an attempt at making a safe place. How's that worked previously?

It literally changes nothing, this shit was already against the rules anyway. I think it will work out just fine. And if we lose the people who just can’t bear to refrain from using the n word, my heart won’t be broken.

For the most part I agree. This is just the next drama of the day/week/month at AF.

The thing is, this is more than, has not been limited to, the N word, or the C word, or the ............ word. 

Apologies for being the B word. (I'll untuck now)

[Silver]

(I'll untuck now)

And have a cocktail.

[Tiberius]

If the rule already existed, I don’t see why there is a problem now that we’ve made a PSA. We added this to be explicit.

We’re not banning colorful language, we’re banning specific subsets of slurs. “Cunt” is not a slur, IMO, it’s just a vulgar word. It’s the same level as fuck, shit, twat, asshole, etc. These are all fine.

[Aegon]

If the rule already existed, I don’t see why there is a problem now that we’ve made a PSA. We added this to be explicit.

We’re not banning colorful language, we’re banning specific subsets of slurs. “Cunt” is not a slur, IMO, it’s just a vulgar word. It’s the same level as fuck, shit, twat, asshole, etc. These are all fine.

Yet I know a few women who consider "cunt" and "bitch" to be slurs, as they have been used to demean women specifically for generations.

This is going to be more complex than some staff thought it would be, but that shouldn't be shocking.

[Losty]

As a woman, I feel like cunt and bitch are definitely not slurs. They’re swear words for sure but slurs? Nerp.

[pocaracas]

If the rule already existed, I don’t see why there is a problem now that we’ve made a PSA. We added this to be explicit.

We’re not banning colorful language, we’re banning specific subsets of slurs. “Cunt” is not a slur, IMO, it’s just a vulgar word. It’s the same level as fuck, shit, twat, asshole, etc. These are all fine.

My bold.
That's not what a literal reading of the rule specifies. Gender slurs are banned. Cunt can be used as a gender slur, hence cunt should be banned.

[Homeless Nutter]

But how is that a real problem? We don’t charge forum bot with going around whacking of the heads of anyone who uses a slur. We have real people behind the scenes and our first course of action is always to let someone know how they’ve violated a rule and what’s expected of them in the future to avoid problems. So maybe someone speaking English as a second language uses a slur and we tell them “hey, we don’t allow the use of that word here” and they say “oh sorry i didn’t realize” ....so....where’s the big problem that arises?

I didn't say it was a problem. Not a problem for me, personally, anyway. But since there is no list of "forbidden" words, enforcement of this rule and the process of judgement what is meant as a slur and what isn't, may come across as arbitrary. Unless this is meant to only be applied in obvious cases, which I thought was being done already, anyway.

[LadyForCamus]

If the rule already existed, I don’t see why there is a problem now that we’ve made a PSA. We added this to be explicit.

We’re not banning colorful language, we’re banning specific subsets of slurs. “Cunt” is not a slur, IMO, it’s just a vulgar word. It’s the same level as fuck, shit, twat, asshole, etc. These are all fine.

Yet I know a few women who consider "cunt" and "bitch" to be slurs, as they have been used to demean women specifically for generations.

This is going to be more complex than some staff thought it would be, but that shouldn't be shocking.

It’s worth the effort, IMO. I think it’s going to be more difficult for the people who feel like they’ve had some privilege taken away from them. I don’t know what to say if that’s he case. *shrugs*

[Tiberius]

If the rule already existed, I don’t see why there is a problem now that we’ve made a PSA. We added this to be explicit.

We’re not banning colorful language, we’re banning specific subsets of slurs. “Cunt” is not a slur, IMO, it’s just a vulgar word. It’s the same level as fuck, shit, twat, asshole, etc. These are all fine.

My bold.
That's not what a literal reading of the rule specifies. Gender slurs are banned. Cunt can be used as a gender slur, hence cunt should be banned.

Cunt can also be used in a variety of non-slur ways. It can be used equally against every gender without anyone batting an eye. In Australia it has a neutral and sometimes even positive connotation. It’s not explicitly a gender slur. Can you say the same with the n word? No.

[Shell B]

You understand that, to a non native speaker, the boundary between a slur and a merely offensive word is very fuzzy, right?

According to the rule, "retard" would not be covered as a slur... Does not target race, gender, sex nor sexual orientation... but it has triggered Joods in the past.

And what are gender or sex related slurs?
I really can't think of a word for these, but maybe it's because it still early and I'm sleep waking.

The asterisks are stupid, imo.

Nobody cares what triggers that bitch. Well, at least I don’t.