I just read the whole thread. I’ve been here 21 years. So not quite the very very beginning, but near to it.
For sure the tenor of the place has changed. And largely for the better.
Something nobody else has mentioned: Not only has the world changed, and become more conscious of casual slurs aimed at [whoever], but we’re all 20 years older than we were.
The kinds of things I’d say and do in my 20s, 40s, and now 60s are different. Just due to changes in me, completely ignoring insofar as possible, the changes in the society I’m embedded in.
If indeed MAGA succeeds in reintroducing 1960s-1990s era casual racism and misogyny into normal daily public discourse, it’s real likely that 60-something me won’t take to that in the same way 20-something me did 40 years ago.
We all grew up. The Dope grew up with us. We now have a lot more threads about 401ks than we do about going clubbing. It’s a different kind of fun for a different era of our own lives.
I for one would not mind us having a lot more conversation about sex and sex-adjacent topics. At 66 I’m very far from done with that stuff. Of course it’d have to be properly labeled and not be mean-spirited.
Although I frankly wonder if those sorts of convos could be had among the current userbase. The male and female approach to e.g. cooking is not so different that we can’t submerge the differing POVs while jointly talking about it.
The male and female POVs to sex, and especially recreational sex, however are extremely different. A lot of people seem to be made very uncomfortable learning what the other side is thinking. And if “causing discomfort” is unacceptable behavior by community standards, then we’re done before we begin.
Or if, in general, we’re too squeamish to have frank, open, and factual discussions of sexual topics then we’re contributing to Ignorance.
While there are many factors that feed into Ignorance, in at least some parts, it is created and enforced by a layer of shyness and discomfort around certain topics, like sex.
If we’re to shy away from the subject then we can’t share the Diva Cup; share tips on how to most reliably achieve sexual satisfaction for both parties, offer a plain and realistic view of the trade-offs and ramifications of sexual activities to younger posters, etc.
Sexual discussions can be adult, fair, reasoned, and educational. As a place that fights against ignorance, it would be nonsensical to say that the topic is off-limits.
We have a rule to not be a jerk.
You can be a jerk while talking about sex, and you can be a jerk talking about sports, cooking, politics, or any subject. There’s no reason to ban any of those as viable topics of discussion because of that potential.
But it merits stating clearly, not having mods ambiguously endorse a post saying that we’re trying to enforce the community experience desired by the elder masses.
It is. And particularly loud parody. Doubly awkward that the standard substitute symbol for “S” is a currency symbol which drags in the baggage of commercial sex to boot. But that much at least isn’t directly his fault.
But what about the rather ubiquitous use of pron or pr0n around here? Ostensibly to help it get past filters at people’s workplaces, but is that really a useful thing in 2025? Or is it an anachronistic habit? Or someone demonstrating their own acquired discomfort with the idea of confronting pornography straight on with a straight face?
Hey, if I say that three times quickly will that summon some?
I am sick to death of ignorant people saying this. You “can’t” make Blazing Saddles again because it wouldn’t make sense now. It was a parody of something that no longer exists, largely because of Blazing Saddles.
You mean shit like this? Nah. I prefer to keep things as they are now.
But also I recently responded to this in the mini-rants Pit thread. I watch a lot of comedy, especially stand-up. It’s busy being offensive in its own way, I promise.
This is a really good point, and I have to think about it. And also about like, being the change we need to see in the world. So maybe I’ll start a sex thread sometime, because human sexuality is a subject I find endlessly fascinating.
There have been several discussions on here which made a strong case that all comedy has an element of meanness. Not the same thing as offensiveness, but close.
One of my favorite jokes is the true story of a photographer taking the faculty photo of the University of Cincinnati aerospace engineering department: “Mr. Armstrong, could you take one small step forward?”
