Toribash
Personally I think the words "nigger" and "nigga" should not cause a kneejerk reaction. Although of course it can be used extremely offensively and is associated strongly to a terrible period of history - this does not mean that everyone using the word is a bad user or is trying to be aggresive/offensive. In my opinion as staff we should use some common sense and context to deem whether or not the user was using the word in a deliberately offensive or abusive manner. The simple fact is anyone on the internet will come across the word and censoring it would be a futile act, the same is true of the word "faggot" which is certainly a controversial word, comparably so to the word "nigger".


- The word should not be blacklisted, context should be used to deem deliberate offense/ aggression


Of course the word should be avoided, but there is no need for it to be blacklisted
Don't dm me pictures of bowls that you find attractive.
By trying to ban it you're just bringing more attention to it, possibly offending more people. While it might not be polite to say sometimes, how many fucks and shits are thrown around in these forums, and you're worrying about that degrading the quality of the community? (talking to you fee.)

Chill out guys. Unless you like making problems, there's no reason for this. As long as we treat the word like it has a negative meaning, there will be a negative meaning.

I miss the way the Toribash community used to be. wtf is this

SPOILER: My reaction to this threads existance

Last edited by Proc; Nov 27, 2015 at 01:17 AM.
niggas, need to chill. qwerty is right. This has brought so much attention to the word.

fag is fine, Faggot, though. They to went through bull shit, with stuff like family values and what not, but hey, them people took the words straight from those biggoted assholes mouths and started using it to identify themselves with. THEY OWN the word, same with niggas, niggarettes, and what not. Those black dudes literally pulled the carpet straight from under those dudes mouths. A word is just a word and subject to interpretation through time, especially Slang.
Nobody can give a word any more power than you give it, yourself.

You're playing a dangerous game, on this page. If we have any word 'banned' (I saw mwah arguing saying the word isn't banned, earlier. It seems clear to me that when we indiscriminately punish people for any small utterance of the word, it's effectively banned) because it might offend someone, where do we draw the line? Do we draw it at faggot? Cunt? Bitch? Fuck? You can't tell me that we use bitch any differently than nigger, because it simply isn't true (Hey, you fucking nigger! or Hey, you fucking bitch! or Hey, you hecking idiot!) It's rather clear that they all have a possibility to be used to that purpose. Instead of dealing with people having their feelings hurt, why don't we just issue a black and white ban on all of those? I don't think any of you have established that there is anything that separates these words (nor will you ever be able to, they all have the possibility to be used as an insult/offend someone), so until then either pick to ban all of them or allow them all under certain contexts.

Anyone who is worried about kids is just being stupid. I absolutely mean that. I do not know a single swear word now that I didn't learn on the bus in elementary school (8ish years old). That isn't hyperbole, either. I'm entirely serious. The thing is, the vast majority of kids already know these words. They also probably know that it's generally not OK for them to use these words. It isn't your job to parent everyone's kid, and I doubt they need your help(/censorship). The real world is much much harsher than the internet, I don't know why you people act like this is the sole place anyone will have exposure to curse words in general.

If it wasn't clear, I'm entirely for the unbanning of "nigger" in casual contexts. Obviously if someone is using the word to intentionally harass someone, then they deserve all kinds of punishment, but in a casual context I don't see a problem with the word.
Originally Posted by mwah View Post
I think from what I can see, ele wants context to appear more prevalent when dealing with these words or at least some sort of easily accessible ground rules. though if you're advocating for the word to be able to be used freely, why? for the sake of not being censored? I'll go back to what Fee said but more bluntly: why the fuck do you need access to this word without repercussion.

Because we're smarter than that. We're smart enough to recognise when someone is clearly being racist and clearly intending offense. In the situations where it's unclear or when someone obviously is using the word in an acceptable context, and somebody gets offended and reports them, delete the post (and if you're so concerned about someone taking offense to a word being used in a non-offensive way, talk to them). Don't punish them. They've done nothing wrong. Just because somebody gets offended at something that isn't intended to offend doesn't mean you need to start throwing around warnings, infractions and bans. Focus on situations where somebody is truly being racist (or homophobic). Common-sense moderation rather than blanket ban moderation. Somebody's 'right to be offended' shouldn't trump somebody's right to free speech, especially when it's not even hate speech and intending no offense.
Originally Posted by Ele View Post
... Somebody's 'right to be offended' shouldn't trump somebody's right to free speech, especially when it's not even hate speech and intending no offense.

I couldn't have said it better myself, Ele. I think we should infract for obscene language. It clearly shows the community position without making a hard line-in-the-sand. Of course if a user receives to many infractions them they may still be banned. Can anyone tell me how this does not solve the issue with the most even compromise?
Originally Posted by iMatrx View Post
So it's also wrong to use nigger, or nigga, in a non threatening way in public servers?
such as, I might enter a public server and see a friend, and say 'whats good my nigga'
and if someone from that room reports me, i'm going to get infracted/banned?

I support you being infracted, if reported, but not banned. If you get enough infractions you should be banned. We all know that Toribash doesn't like the use of obscene words, but I think immediate ban for it is over the top.

By giving infractions instead of bans the community gets to maintain it's position without oppressing the user base. If you get an infract for the language you use in public, I be what you say in public will change. I think we have established that no-one cares what is said in private.
Originally Posted by Ele View Post
Because we're smarter than that. We're smart enough to recognise when someone is clearly being racist and clearly intending offense. In the situations where it's unclear or when someone obviously is using the word in an acceptable context, and somebody gets offended and reports them, delete the post (and if you're so concerned about someone taking offense to a word being used in a non-offensive way, talk to them). Don't punish them. They've done nothing wrong. Just because somebody gets offended at something that isn't intended to offend doesn't mean you need to start throwing around warnings, infractions and bans. Focus on situations where somebody is truly being racist (or homophobic). Common-sense moderation rather than blanket ban moderation. Somebody's 'right to be offended' shouldn't trump somebody's right to free speech, especially when it's not even hate speech and intending no offense.

you know you're arguing for the word nigger here right?

when is it acceptable to use the word nigger non-offensively other than a joke made in poor taste, disregarding the slang term?
Originally Posted by mwah View Post
you know you're arguing for the word nigger here right?

when is it acceptable to use the word nigger non-offensively other than a joke made in poor taste, disregarding the slang term?

This is the question that should be asked whenever a report comes up. It is quite possible that a conversation or discussion such as the one being had here could come up here and people would get banned for saying the word nigger - where they shouldnt be as the context males it non-offensive and non-aggressive.

Context is everything for using words such as this. If its being used un offensively what is the issue?
Don't dm me pictures of bowls that you find attractive.
Originally Posted by SmallBowl View Post
This is the question that should be asked whenever a report comes up. It is quite possible that a conversation or discussion such as the one being had here could come up here and people would get banned for saying the word nigger - where they shouldnt be as the context males it non-offensive and non-aggressive.

Context is everything for using words such as this. If its being used un offensively what is the issue?

yeah, I might agree with that if there was ever a report in-game or on the forums of a discussion where nigger was used in a 'peaceful' context such as this thread. generally nigger is used around here in the game or on the forum aside from this discussion thread in an offensive way. let's review Pimp's ban for saying nigger. he used it as a quote from a joke in poor taste. should he have been banned for 'racism' maybe not. should he have been infracted/banned for inappropriate language, yeah probably. but like I've said earlier every mod will interpret and moderate different situations in different ways. if you're calling for an across the board moderation for this fine bring that up, but if you are agreeing and saying that context is everything, you can't objectively look at context. it's always interpreted differently by different people. the same goes for moderators.

but to say that the word nigger can be used in so many different ways publicly isn't all that true. the only situations I can think of is a thread like this, or a joke in poor taste. if you can name any other situations go ahead.

but what I really think people are calling for is better reasoning behind bans that involve this word other than racism, across the board moderation for use of the word. because context has always been looked at with this word as well as the users background. for example not everyone will get banned off the bat for saying nigger depending on the person and the context. I'll agree on what ele said bout racism, the word isn't inherently racist depending on the context you use it in. but it's still a racial slur, and we don't support any kind of racial slur. same goes for most trigger words. even faggot. if I ever saw a report where someone calls a guy 'a fucking dumb faggot' I'd give him an infract or a ban depending on the person. replace faggot with any other trigger word like nigger and it goes the same way.