Forums » Off-Topic

hypocrisy of the censorship in this game

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Dec 03, 2004 ananzi link
if i criticize linux, i am a horrible troll. people seem to get incerdibly offended when i point out its flaws.

then i got another thread CENSORED because i was trash talking two PIRATES. people who GANKED ME FOR NO REASON in the middle of space, making me lose 100,000 credits.

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but lets look at what is allowed, without criticism.

other people can talk endlessly about how they got 'raped' by other players. 'rape' is not even **** out as a curse word in the chat line. how do you think someone who has really been raped feels about a bunch of gamers saying that they raped each other?

'gay' is a common epithet heard on 100. an epithet that is insulting to gay people.

then there is all the sexism. people will continually joke about getting 'female slaves' when they kill another player, and so forth and so on. there is a line between good natured fun and demeaning bigotry and many people on here dont seem to understand that.

and on top of that, this game is basically a game where we murder each other for money.

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hey two wrongs dont make a right, but dont you think its odd how some types of wrong are considered more important than the others?
Dec 03, 2004 Imek link
> there is a line between good natured fun and demeaning bigotry

And you think you have the right to say where this line is? What makes you the absolute moral authority on these matters?

I don't see any practical way for things like these to be censored anyway, even if it was a good idea. If you look around, you'll find that this kind of talk is commonplace in online games, MMORPG or no.

Honestly, sometimes I think you TRY to make me angry...

EDIT: removed questionable wording
Dec 03, 2004 thurisaz link
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Dec 03, 2004 Urza link
"other people can talk endlessly about how they got 'raped' by other players. 'rape' is not even **** out as a curse word in the chat line. how do you think someone who has really been raped feels about a bunch of gamers saying that they raped each other?"

Rape is no laughing matter... Unless it's done to a clown.

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"'gay' is a common epithet heard on 100. an epithet that is insulting to gay people. "

If queers can call each other gay, i can call people gay. It's called equality. If it offends you, put tape over your moniter.

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"then there is all the sexism. people will continually joke about getting 'female slaves' when they kill another player,"

If you're refering to making someone someone's bitch.. How do you know they are not just refering to them that they own them and kicked their ass much like someone would kick a dog's ass?
Dec 03, 2004 Tyrdium link
Calling someone gay because you're describing their homosexuality is one thing. Calling someone gay as an insult is another. Oh, and AFAIK, gay people don't like being called "queers".
Dec 03, 2004 Urza link
they call each other queers, therefor it is ok for me to call them queers.
Dec 03, 2004 Suicidal Lemming link
Verbally insulting players is NOT allowed here, it can , and often will, grow into a bigger battle. "Jokes" aren't always jokes to everyone, people can be offended by them, so think twice before making a racial/sexual joke.
Using the word "gay" when used as an insult (ex: "lame", "stupid") is also frowned upon.

If you are going to talk about pirates in the forums, you can avoid censorship by not mentioning their names. Also, the forums are not for yelling at people.
Dec 03, 2004 Katarn link
ananzi, there is a difference between saying 'gay' and saying someone is 'gay'. You may not direct verbal abuse at an individual, while using derrogatory words is allowed. The chat filter is merely meant to censor some of the language, but it is not perfect.
Dec 03, 2004 ctishman link
There is no other meaning for 'gay' in an insulting context (99.99999% of its usage in the online gaming community) other than to mean that the targeted person is homosexual, and keeping with the stereotype, thus (inferior, weak, womanly, etc). That some of the younger members of the community do not understand where the true meaning lies does not mean that their words carry less weight. The one exception to this lies in Urza's example.

Where a word such as this is used within a community to build unity and decrease the negative connotation of such words (e.g. "Black" among the Black Power movement of the late sixties and early seventies), that word is allowable, because it is used in a respectful context. Because this may seem an overly fine distinction, let me provide examples.

"We're here, and we're queer! Get used to it!" is allowable, where
"STFU U GAY QuEER!!!!11one" and its like are not. One is a statement of unity, and used in a positive context to build community. The other is flung in hate or simple ignorance for the purpose of degrading another member of the community.

Until a context-sensitive analysis engine is built into Vendetta Online (and pigs fly), we guides must use our own judgement as to what is acceptable and what is not. We realize that our choices will not always make everyone happy, but we will continue to try our best.
Dec 04, 2004 Forum Moderator link
As I pointed out carefully when I censored your post, this is not a forum for flames and trash talk. You are welcome to go to one of the many Community Sites and talk trash there, if they allow that sort of thing.

Although this is entirely beside the point:

I don't care for the use of "gay" in the way it is used on line. I believe it is a clear sign of ignorance and a poor vocabulary, and generally ridicule people I observe using it. If I'm on and I note the word being used to deliberately abuse somebody, I step in. Same goes for rape, b****, and other sexual comments if they are being used to abuse somebody. Let me also point out that there are a few words that particular segments of society have adopted for use among themselves to describe themselves (the "n" word, queer, etc.) that are definitely offensive if used by an outsider and/or in a negative way.
Dec 04, 2004 Spider link
[Censorship courtesy of Forum Moderator]
[For shame, with the price of gasoline so high these days!]
Dec 04, 2004 Icarus link
Spider, rofl..

I wonder who it was that "ganked" him?
Dec 04, 2004 Spellcast link
wow!

Spider, I definitely think that violates board rules. its funny, but its not, erm, well. :)

now, maybe delete that post, play nice and do like FM said. take it to another message board.
Dec 04, 2004 ananzi link
Spider,

That was nothing like my story. All i said was that these two pirates were 'scumbags'. And then i made fun of them for not being able to catch me and running into my mines.

If there were more specific rules tacked to the top of the 'role playing' thread then it would be alot easier to write for it. IE 'dont mention any specific names'.

If I had just changed the names in the story to 'pirate 1' and 'pirate 2', it would have been a minor change in the story and there would be nothing controversial. But the entire story is deleted and i am not sure I feel like rewriting it.

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Now i will admit I called linux users 'morons' a time or two. I should probably cut that out. I will, as soon as they stop spamming the channel 15 times a day with arguments about how debian is better than gentoo. Just kidding, I will just stop. And when they spam I will just /leave 100 instead of tearing their heads off.

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As for the sexism, homophobia, etc, I could talk about that here, but i have a better idea. And it was probably a bit of a stretch to link these problems to my story problem in the first place.
Dec 04, 2004 Forum Moderator link
ananzi

I think you're on the right track, though I would caution you that merely changing the names might not be enough. Your "scumbags" probably also read the boards, would recognize themselves being portrayed as scumbags, and would reply in kind. The story itself is fun, but it could have used a more neutral tone when discussing your opponents.
Dec 04, 2004 roguelazer link
Actually, any time I see anybody doing anything insulting (swearing too much, calling people "gay" as an insult, calling people "Jews" as an insult, etc), I tend to use the /vote mute feature. It's a good feature. :D
Dec 04, 2004 Spider link
Aww FM, you censored me! Such an oppressive regime we have!
*Laughs* (and i didn't even have a backup copy.. woo hoo:)
Dec 04, 2004 Tyrdium link
"calling people "Jews" as an insult"

Oh, wow. WTF? Especially since most of my family (immediate and non) is Jewish... I hereby reserve the right to hunt down and kill those who use such an insult.
Dec 04, 2004 ctishman link
Agreed. Let's open a can of chutzpah on 'em! Oy!
Dec 04, 2004 Tyrdium link
Aye! We will crush the meshuggenah!