It's probably time

We probably need to clearly codify in the board rules we aren't going to tolerate overt racist/dehumanizing content, even in the RR, going forward. Also, remove the VR section in the Rules/FAQ.

We should also edit rule 3 slightly, as it does seem to imply new accounts.

Beat me to it. This shit is ridiculous.

Just to clarify, overt is the bullshit Ramen and Volpone have been pulling? That won't affect people like Dinner? Hes disgusting enough on his own, but he keeps his....unique views outta thread titles and doesn't bring the board to a screeching halt with his animals schtick.

Anna, can you clarify? Do you mean to say that because overt won't impact somebody like Dinner, we should opt for different language that does? Or do you mean to say the term is good, because Dinner, despite his despicable nature, doesn't cause the type of problem we need to address?

Okay, what I have so far:

Change bolded section of Rule 3 to read:

3. Don't Login to Wordforge with the Intention of Flaming and Spamming Members.

Drop Rule 8 (VR)

Embolden the first sentence, as it really is an actual rule, one that people try to ignore when lawyer balling:

Here at Wordforge, rather than having a long list of rules to go by, we rely on the members to show common sense.

New rule (the Christopher rule):

Overt Racist or Dehumanizing Content Will not be Tolerated. At Wordforge, we value free expression, but there are limits. Do not mistake our general support of free speech as a position that tolerates all speech. Free speech is part of a triad of what we value, also including individual members and overall community. If your use of free speech interferes with either of the other legs, there will be consequences.

I will say that if this is the kind of environment that has developed since I've been gone, I won't be sticking around.

You want to insult someone? That's totally fine, and is a part of Wordforge's heritage, there's no need to bring race into it. I don't tolerate that shit from people I know in real life, and I'll be damned if I spend my time working to create a haven for the Alt-Right. Go to Stormfront or wherever if that's your game.

We aren't going to tolerate it. I think we could easily enough just ban all the racist fucks right now, though there would be a stink. However, I think we can make it a bit easier for the next time such as group comes along by tweaking the rules now.

I'm good with this.

Wordforge has always had posters who pushed the line with racial stuff, but it was almost always done with humor in mind. Tasteless humor, but humor nonetheless.

What people post now isn't funny at all. At best they're doing it for the shock value (which is pretty meaningless considering the board's past tolerance of it). At worst, they're doing it because they really are racist.

This right here.

I'm fine with just getting rid of overt racism because that shit is a dead end for conversation here. Nothing of value is gained by throwing the N word around in thread titles; however there *is* value in dinner and his more subtle ilk and can lead into discussion of other tangents.

Or laughing at his bitter ass. Mostly that.

It really kicked up in gear over the past few months. Not surprising, given this election season. But Dinner, who was once to the far left of Liet has become the new Sokar, complete with rep whining .

Besides that, same old, same old.

As soon as we agree to implement this I'll make an announcement.

I have questions over the language, specifically the bold.

Legs?

I can see a pedant lawyerballing this.

If we can get the language of the underlined to match up we should be good, imo.

Thus dies freedom of speech. "Overt Racist or Dehumanizing Content" is a very nebulous standard indeed, and a SJW would quickly take it to an absurd extreme. Blatant racism was always one of my triggers for the ban hammer, but I relied on my own judgement and kept my standard as tolerant as I could.

But this is the world we live in now, where people go thru life looking for things to be outraged about. You know all those n-word posts were a direct reaction to the stupidity of the shit that went on around Thanksgiving week, right? It was protest, not dedicated racism.

But hey, knock yourselves out.

When somebody jumps immediately to a flurry of n-words as their default form of protest, it tells you a lot about that person.

And the fact that it was couched as a protest does not make its racism any less blatant.

As you said, blatant racism has been cause for banning here in the past. How do we decide what's too far and what's somebody looking for things to be outraged about? By exercising judgment, the same way you did.

While I agree the language is nebulous, the bolded is not anything new. There have always been those who played the victim, both here and in meat space. The difference is, perhaps ironically, that those who are acting as the victims because they are no longer able to bully others are getting called out on their bullshit.

A metaphor. I was picturing a tripod or three legged stool -- only stands if all three legs are stable.

Well, since it was protest, the gratuitous N word usage and lynching photo are cool.

And yes, a metaphor probably has no place in a written rule. I'm not sure exactly how to literally state the concept just yet, though.

Do you consider me to jump on swinging the banhammer willy nilly? Really?

What SJWs have we got here? Those lot are taking to Twitter and Facebook where they have a huge audience.

Ramen and Volpone's shit is the message board equivalent to blocking the freeway for a cause. It serves no purpose but being a twat and removes the attention from whatever the cause was. And given that it's Volpone we're talking about, if it wasn't gturner he was "protesting," it would've been something else.

As pointed out, people will lawyerball anything here to death. We've tried common sense, and that isn't working. So here we are. If and when he finally gets of his ass to make his own board, he can toss racial slurs to his heart's content.

http://wordforge.net/index.php?posts/2914272/

That post was supposed to be in this thread.

So, any other thoughts on this?

Libertarian white man lectures others on when racism should be tolerated, news at 11.

Have fun skiing that slippery slope.

There was a desire to further word smith the bit about legs of a triad. Does anybody want to give that a shot?

I'm not very good at that sort of thing.