# So "ammosexual" is a sexually offensive word now? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [April 3, 2022, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-ammosexual-is-a-sexually-offensive-word-now/962176 "2022-04-03T04:24:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![mordecaiB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mordecaib/32/7725_2.png) [@mordecaiB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mordecaiB)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2022, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-ammosexual-is-a-sexually-offensive-word-now/962176/84 "2022-04-05T18:59:51Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > Yes, this appears to be it: Thanks! Seems to be a lot less interest than I thought there would be. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2022, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-ammosexual-is-a-sexually-offensive-word-now/962176/85 "2022-04-05T19:04:16Z")
> [@mordecaiB](#): > > Thanks! Seems to be a lot less interest than I thought there would be. Or maybe too many Dopers are now just too scared of walking on eggshells around toxic topics, as I think @Whack-a-Mole remarked earlier in this thread. ---
**Author:** ![mordecaiB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mordecaib/32/7725_2.png) [@mordecaiB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mordecaiB)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2022, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-ammosexual-is-a-sexually-offensive-word-now/962176/86 "2022-04-05T19:12:23Z")
I’ve pointed out before that a lot of times even just a mild general mod note seems to slow down or stop threads. Maybe @Whack-a-Mole is right. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2022, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-ammosexual-is-a-sexually-offensive-word-now/962176/87 "2022-04-05T19:21:23Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > I don’t think _anyone_ has suggested that gun nuts, or even gun owners more generally, are or should be a “protected class”. The “Positive Gun News Of The Day” thread and its… unique… moderation would prove you wrong about that. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2022, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-ammosexual-is-a-sexually-offensive-word-now/962176/88 "2022-04-05T19:26:48Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > The “Positive Gun News Of The Day” thread and its… unique… moderation would prove you wrong about that.   You, or someone, mentioned that earlier I think. It’s a long thread, and when I took a cursory look, I didn’t immediately spot any mod posts. Can you link us some examples? So… Someone in the Positive Gun News thread suggested that gun owners should be a protected class around here? And got modded for it? I do vaguely recall that some critics in that thread were advised to take it to the contra Pit thread, leaving the Positive thread to be sanctuary for the pro-gun party. Is that what you refer to? ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2022, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-ammosexual-is-a-sexually-offensive-word-now/962176/89 "2022-04-05T19:33:35Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > It will be used to insult all gun owners, thus other posters. Are you claiming that all gun owners fetishize their guns? ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2022, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-ammosexual-is-a-sexually-offensive-word-now/962176/90 "2022-04-05T19:33:39Z")
Gun owners are not a protected class. Anyone on the board is allowed to start a thread on any topic (well, almost). If you want to discuss only the positive things that Adolph Hitler did, you’re allowed to do that. If you want to discuss only positive things about Trump’s presidency, you are allowed to do that. If you want to discuss only positive news about guns from a pro-gun point of view, you are allowed to do that. In fact, there exists an exact counter to the positive gun news of the day thread. I don’t remember the exact title, but it is in the exact same forum, and is only for positive gun news from an anti-gun point of view, and has the exact same protections as the positive gun news of the day thread in that only positive things from an anti-gun point of view are allowed. Any pro-gun post would be off-topic. Very few people post in the second thread. Most anti-gun folks would rather post in the Pit thread, I suppose. But, despite being told over and over and over and over that the pro-gun thread does not get special moderation, some of you will continue to say that it does. I don’t expect that to change. You’re wrong, but I expect a few months from now when it comes up in some other topic that someone will again say that the pro-gun thread is moderated differently than other threads on the board. Pro-gun folks are not a protected class. If you are anti-gun, you have a thread with the exact same protections. Feel free to use it. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2022, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-ammosexual-is-a-sexually-offensive-word-now/962176/91 "2022-04-05T19:41:32Z")
> [@engineer\_comp\_geek](#): > > Gun owners are not a protected class. So we can call them ammosexuals? Or not? ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2022, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-ammosexual-is-a-sexually-offensive-word-now/962176/92 "2022-04-05T19:46:28Z")
If I wanted to start a thread on the best way to implement gun control, and only about how to implement gun control, with no one being allowed to question whether or not we _should_ have gun control, would that be as protected? I seem to recall asking that specific question before, and being told “no”, but I can’t find that thread. > [@engineer\_comp\_geek](#): > > is only for positive gun news from an anti-gun point of view, and has the exact same protections as the positive gun news of the day thread in that only positive things from an anti-gun point of view are allowed. Any pro-gun post would be off-topic. And the point of that has always been that it’s not okay to question the positiveness of a post. 27 dead and 40 wounded, but a gun owner got to shoot a bad guy? Positive news. > [@engineer\_comp\_geek](#): > > Very few people post in the second thread. Most anti-gun folks would rather post in the Pit thread, I suppose. That’s because there is very little positive news coming out on that front. Nearly every day, gun advocated get more things to be permitted, there is very little, if any positive gun news from the reduction of harm of guns side of things. However, there are plenty of gun owners who use their guns irresponsibly, resulting in injury or death of others. That doesn’t belong in a positive gun news thread. Hence, why the one talking about gun owners getting people hurt and killed gets far more traction than the one about progress in keeping gun owners from getting people hurt and killed. > [@engineer\_comp\_geek](#): > > But, despite being told over and over and over and over that the pro-gun thread does not get special moderation, some of you will continue to say that it does. I don’t expect that to change. You’re wrong, No, we have differing opinions. I think that you are wrong, you think that I am wrong. You are the mod, so we do it your way. Doesn’t mean your right, just means that you get to call the shots, right or wrong. > [@engineer\_comp\_geek](#): > > Pro-gun folks are not a protected class. If you are anti-gun, you have a thread with the exact same protections. Feel free to use it. Well, sure, when there are laws passed that restrict the ability for the criminal or irresponsible to acquire a gun, we will use if for that. Don’t hold your breath though, this messageboard’s not the only place that gun owners are a protected class. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2022, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-ammosexual-is-a-sexually-offensive-word-now/962176/93 "2022-04-05T19:47:58Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > If I wanted to start a thread on the best way to implement gun control, and only about how to implement gun control, with no one being allowed to question whether or not we _should_ have gun control, would that be as protected? Sure, but given the topic you would need to make it very clear that the topic of the thread is restricted to just that. There are plenty of other threads where folks who are pro and anti gun control can discuss or debate the broader topic. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2022, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-ammosexual-is-a-sexually-offensive-word-now/962176/94 "2022-04-05T19:52:17Z")
> [@engineer\_comp\_geek](#): > > Sure, but given the topic you would need to make it very clear that the topic of the thread is restricted to just that. Note, though, that we have it well-established on this Board that the OP is not the owner of a thread and has no junior-moderator prerogatives over his own thread. (TBH, I partially disagree with that philosophy. I think the OP of a thread should have junior-moderation privileges over one’s own thread, to the extent of being allowed to make suggestions to steer the thread, but not to the extent of having any enforcement power.) ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2022, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-ammosexual-is-a-sexually-offensive-word-now/962176/95 "2022-04-05T19:54:08Z")
> [@engineer\_comp\_geek](#): > > But, despite being told over and over and over and over that the pro-gun thread does not get special moderation, some of you will continue to say that it does. I don’t expect that to change. You’re wrong, but I expect a few months from now when it comes up in some other topic that someone will again say that the pro-gun thread is moderated differently than other threads on the board. There’s what happens in theory, and there’s what happens in practice. There is a reason why that thread is nothing but one or two guys posting news stories with zero discussion - that’s basically all that the way the thread is moderated would allow. > [@engineer\_comp\_geek](#): > > If you are anti-gun, you have a thread with the exact same protections. Feel free to use it. If that thread was moderated that way in practice (and it may well have been, I don’t know that I’ve ever seen this anti-gun news thread in MPSIMS) it sounds just as useless as the current positive gun news safe space. I can see why no one would post there. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2022, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-ammosexual-is-a-sexually-offensive-word-now/962176/96 "2022-04-05T19:54:19Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > Note, though, that we have it well-established on this Board that the OP is not the owner of a thread and has no junior-moderator prerogatives over his own thread. For a contentious topic like gun control, it would probably be best to contact the moderators of the forum you wish to post in and let them know that you want a restricted topic, so that we can add a note to the OP specifying it as such. The OP can’t control the thread, but you can report posts that are off-topic. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2022, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-ammosexual-is-a-sexually-offensive-word-now/962176/97 "2022-04-05T20:01:02Z")
No, actually almost none do. But that insulting term will be used to call out all gun owners as gun fetishist. Note the initial usage. > [@Senegoid](#): > > I did note that “free speech” is limited where insults to protected classes is involved. So, someone comes by and posts that all “Demonrats are pedophiles”. We are not a protected class. Still, that insults many posters here. I was mod noted for suggesting that the owners of big pick up trucks used them as a penis substitute. The Mod correctly noted I was insulting many posters. It’s not that gun owners or truck owners are a protected class, it is suggesting that they are sexual deviants. As said in the rules for GD and Elections: **Sexualizing posters and their arguments.** _Do not say or imply that your fellow posters achieve sexual gratification or soil themselves in glee/distress due to recent news reports, political iconography, contemplation of ideological positions, etc._ > [@Senegoid](#): > > Note, though, that we have it well-established on this Board that the OP is not the owner of a thread and has no junior-moderator prerogatives over his own thread. Well, I know at least one ex-mod was pretty much allowed to get people modded for “hijacking” and in general, the Op is allowed to ask that people get back on track. Afaik, no one, not even the rather extreme examples posted here, as gun owners that actual sexualize their weapons. No more than a muscle car enthusiast does. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2022, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-ammosexual-is-a-sexually-offensive-word-now/962176/98 "2022-04-05T20:05:06Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > {…} I was mod noted for suggesting that the owners of big pick up trucks used them as a penis substitute. {…} Where? Without the actual context this is meaningless. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2022, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-ammosexual-is-a-sexually-offensive-word-now/962176/99 "2022-04-05T20:08:00Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > As said in the rules for GD and Elections: **Sexualizing posters and their arguments.** Does that rule forbid sexualizing truckers or gunners or furries or whatever _as a group_? Or does it only forbid making a sexualized response to a particular post or poster here? @engineer_comp_geek , can we get some clarity on this? ETA: Oh, and I just noticed, that rule appears to be specific to GD and P&E. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2022, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-ammosexual-is-a-sexually-offensive-word-now/962176/100 "2022-04-05T20:10:06Z")
The word “ **posters** ” might just be a clue . . . but what do I know! ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2022, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-ammosexual-is-a-sexually-offensive-word-now/962176/101 "2022-04-05T20:10:50Z")
> [@crowmanyclouds](#): > > The word “ **posters** ” might just be a clue . . . but what do I know!   Well, yeah, I thought so too. But Dr. D seems to read it differently. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2022, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-ammosexual-is-a-sexually-offensive-word-now/962176/102 "2022-04-05T20:18:20Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > Note, though, that we have it well-established on this Board that the OP is not the owner of a thread and has no junior-moderator prerogatives over his own thread. > [@engineer\_comp\_geek](#): > > I expect a few months from now when it comes up in some other topic that someone will again say that the pro-gun thread is moderated differently than other threads on the board. How about now. I think we all agree there’s a distinction between > Thread 1: “Declawing cats is an appropriate practice - only people who agree with this can post.” and > Thread 2: “If someone wanted to declaw a cat, what is the most humane way to do it (NOT a debate on the merits of declawing cats)” Thread 1 raises a controversial issue, asserts that one side of the issue is correct, and seeks to prohibit anyone who disagees from expressing their dissent. An OP is not allowed to do this. Thread 2 assumes a _premise_ on one side of a controversial issue, and seeks to discuss some _consequent_ issue witout getting bogged down in debate of the controversial premise itself. This kind of restriction is allowed. The problem with the “Positive Gun News” thread is that it is being moderated as though it were type 2, when it is really type 1. The thread allows people to post stories, implicitly advocating the view that these stories do constitute positive news, while barring people from expressing any dissenting view that the stories do _not_ constitute positive news. Nothing _consequent_ to an assumption that these stories are good news is being debated. The moderation simply allows the controversial view that these stories ARE all good news to be asserted without challenge. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2022, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-ammosexual-is-a-sexually-offensive-word-now/962176/103 "2022-04-05T20:25:21Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > The moderation simply allows the controversial view that these stories ARE all good news to be asserted without challenge. Well, yeah, the idea seems to be, let’s just give them their own private little thread to be their echo-chamber so they don’t go contaminating the rest of the Board. Seems almost fair enough. Although reddit might have been the better place for it. Speaking of steering a thread back to the OP – What about the word “ammosexuals”? Is there a rule about it now, or is there ain’t? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-ammosexual-is-a-sexually-offensive-word-now/962176.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-ammosexual-is-a-sexually-offensive-word-now/962176.md?page=6)