[Serious] Proposing A Rule Change

[onlinebiker]

One man's troll is another man's hero.

Sure - there are people who inhabit the internet for the sole purpose of being a pain in the ass.

But - frequently they just hold an opinion that is contrary to the majority of the group.

The trick is figuring out which is what.

It's a tough bit.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

A troll who walk the fine line would be interesting to spar with. A ham-handed pig farmer, not so much.

[Silver]

A troll who walk the fine line would be interesting to spar with.

Sounds gay.

[arewethereyet]

Decades ago in my youth I volunteered in the care of what was then termed Down's syndrome, nowadays Trisomy 21.

The thing that I learned from that, was that they are people just like the rest of us. No different.

So yes, the term "retard" is offensive.

That said, there is a problem with regulating it. I know of one chap who was censured for using the term. He was merely talking abut reducing the rotational speed of a device in an entirely friendly benign discussion about, IIRC, a proposed perpetual motion device. That then devolved into a strange bun fight with moderation. Needless to say, I did not participate, but I sure as hell ate a lot of popcorn. It was an afternoon cheap soap opera.

My point here is a pragmatic one. "retard the throttle" is normal speech in aviation circles. "throttle the retard" is composed of the same words, but means something very different. Are the mods willing to police every instance of that word, parse it for meaning and intent, pass judgment and deal with the inevitable rules lawyering? I doubt it. I know I wouldn't.

I think the staff here would be able to make this distinction with ease.  

And as with a recent poster here, the use of the word *retard* was one instance of hateful speech that was becoming more and more blatant and appearing more often in their posts.  It would be difficult to not see that particular choice of word as one in a long list that was growing ever longer.

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

Moderator Notice
If you’ve commented but not voted, please do so (whatever your position on this). The results of the poll will go a long way in determining whether the change is made. Thanks.

Boru

[Gawdzilla Sama]

A troll who walk the  fine line would be interesting to spar with.

Sounds gay.

I defer to you.

[ignoramus]

Sadly, I voted no. I do find the word demeaning and offensive and personally don't use it irl, but we have to accept that the term has colloquialized to mean something else now.
10 year olds use it and have never seen a real retarded person. I blame society. But I do use its offshoots on occasion... Trumptards, religitards, etc Dr who's Tardis!

[brewer]

There's been some discussion among Staff about the 'hate speech' rule. This rule specifically disallows the use of slurs related to race, gender, sex and sexual orientation.

What would you all think about slightly expanding the rule to cover intellectual disability?  This has come up because the word 'retard' seems to be getting used more and more on the forum, along with variations such as 'libtard'.

A lot of people consider this word highly offensive and hurtful, particularly those people who have a family member or work with the mentally disabled.

Please vote and post your thoughts.  And PLEASE be mindful that this is a 'Serious' thread.  Thanks.

Boru

Nope, the slope here has become slippery enough. This rule should be about speech, not trigger words.

In another post it's been indicated that staff has the ability to determine the distinction.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Instead of banning words, why not filter them?

[Ranjr]

When a poster resorts to insults, outside the context of humor, it usually means it has failed to make a valid point.  The poster is angry that it's special insight and knowledge has gone unacknowledged.  Instead of accepting the failure, it projects the failure onto the reader.  I vote to allow such posters to reveal themselves through this behavior.