Ok, that’s the straightforward literal way I read it, and that’s what I responded to - that this is functionally equivalent to banning the word. So now I’m not sure what you meant by saying it was being witty…?
I’ll have to let them explain it.
But it was funny
Agreed, and in fact my comment was principally a response to the first thing I quoted, what @JKellyMap said.
Okay, I think that is good enough. A list of “banned” words would not be productive
Yes, sadly, and that says a lot about the board back then, with misogyny widespread and obvious.
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Yes. I’m a bit exasperated with the “but it’s a tool for outing creeps” argument, with its implication that once they’re outed as creeps, we just shrug our shoulders and don’t do anything about that. If its use is enough to out someone as a creep, unless there’s some significant reason to think it’s not the same thing as outing them as a jerk, I don’t see why it shouldn’t be sanctioned. We don’t need to keep creeps around here.
I might be a little more lenient with this than I’d be with racist epithets, because I think there’s legit a group of folks–mostly young dudes from the gamer world–who aren’t completely aware how offensive it is. Use of the n-word as an insult ought to be an instaban, because there’s no claiming ignorance of that. Use of “retard” as an insult might allow for a single sharp warning (or even, on St. Crispin’s Day, a mod-note) to make sure the miscreant knows what’s up.
Back then . . . in the dark ages of . . . 2018,
A lot of young dudes from the gamer world are pretty crappy human beings.
I mean, sure–but ignorant crappy human beings can sometimes fix themselves. If they’re ignorant or thoughtless, a sharp correction may suffice. I don’t think that’s the case with n-word-as-insult users.
Yes, this board has progressed in 4 years.
Not really for me to say . . . but I’d bet there’s a lot of folks that would be happy to tell you that that word used in the Pit was the least of the misogyny problems this board had has.
Least? No. A lesser problem? Of course. But it is and was a symptom.
We are not talking about being mean. We’re talking about slurs being made against a disadvantage minority. You know, like the n-word and f-word (for gay people). And we already ban those on the entire board.
There’s no reason why gay people and black people are special minorities. Using slurs against a minority clearly crosses a line that merely being mean to someone does not. It turns that minority into an insult, and thus insults everyone of that minority. You can’t equate that with just being mean to one person.
You’re acting like we’re creating something new. We’re not. We’re just asking the mods to be consistent with this particular aspect of hate speech. If slurs against minorities are banned, then it should be all slurs—or at least all slurs most people know about.
The general public has known that “retard” was a slur that attacks all mentally challenged people since the 1990s. That’s about the same time we learned “tranny” was a slur. Yet “tranny” is enough to get you a warning or even banning*, but “retard” is not.
*I remember reporting a poster who used that term in the Pit after having racked up a ton of Warnings. They were banned. And this was years ago.
Can we get rid of “retard” next?
I’m just hoping we can accelerate the banning of words on the SDMB until there are only 3 or 4 left. That’ll make post-writing a lot easier.
Then we can move onto banning entire songs, poems, books and ideas from society as a whole.
I was born in 1951; and I got that particular memo quite a few years ago – long enough that I no longer remember when.
I’d agree with a warning first instead of an instaban; but not because I think this is a brand new issue.
I wish we had a better one than “stupid”, though. Because while that’s a word that gets applied to all sorts of people often enough to not carry the charge of “retard”, it nevertheless carries some implication that the problem isn’t only that the person did something “stupid”, but that they’re essentially “stupid”.
And, of course, if they are – then they can’t help it. And if they can help it – then we want them to, surely?
But I haven’t been able to think of a really good substitute. “Willfully ignorant” is a lot more accurate, but it’s too many syllables.
What’s that got to do with using “retard” or “cunt” as an insult – other than possibly to confirm that they shouldn’t be used, even in the Pit? The only word specifically given as permissible is “fuck” and permutations thereof. Some people object to that word also, but I’ve never heard anybody object to it on the grounds that it’s denigrating any particular group of people.
Exactly.
You get botch, format, and kazoo.
Who’re you calling a k-----?
Mods!!! Greyson called me the k-word!!! 
But that would make it much easier for you to figure out acronyms.
I don’t have any problem figuring out acronyms. Given enough time I also don’t have any problem figuring out Hungarian.
Naturally, like all conscientious writers and considerate Dopers, when I post here I don’t use any acronyms, initialisms, or Hungarian which I don’t expect the average Doper to know.
It’s not willful ignorance that causes someone to put a gun to their testicles and pull the trigger. If it’s not stupid, I really don’t know what other word can be used there.
I’m not entirely convinced of George Orwell’s “Newspeak can inherently suppress dissent” linguistic determinism, but I’m willing to give it a try. Max_S is doubleplus ungood!