Seriously, a ban on the word "jew"

"
drakar8888 wrote:
Yes, the problem is not saying the word jew, cos there is nothing wrong with that word, but the whole "buying/selling jews" joke. I personally couldn't care less about it, but many people seem to be offended. It is like the new rage of the couple last years - to be offended over stuff on the Internet. The community won't stop making that joke - there will always be "that one guy" that keeps saying it no matter if you ask him politely to stop. Your only real option is to rename the item if you want it to end.


I don't think that "buying/selling jews" is a joke. It's just easier to type. And it's for sure not the same as "buying/selling Jews".
I for one just type the word jewelers every time....

Is it really that hard to type jewelers?
Standard Forever
In my opinion the smartest thing to do would be to change the name but not because a very very very small comunity is offended by it but because you found a better name.
"
Chris wrote:
We've been getting massive amounts of complaints from people who get offended by intentional racial jokes based around the shortening of Jeweler's Orb -> Jew.

I'd be fine with people using the shorthand it if it wasn't for the fact that it often inspires unnecessary racial jokes/insults that upset people.

Which of these options are best?
a) Rename the item. Should we have to rename items because players want to say offensive stuff?
b) Politely ask people not to use that shorthand so that they don't trigger racist jokes? (This is our current approach)
c) Allow it, causing a lot a lot of upset users.

I'd rather this kind of thing wasn't an issue in the first place. Your feedback/suggestions are appreciated.


LOL, how about

d. Punish people who use racist jokes.

I just cannot believe that wasn't even thought of as an option.

Fight censorship
https://www.reddit.com/r/The_Donald/
We've been struggling with this one for a while now. I was informed by some Merciless folk that the practice of 'jew orbs' was going on, and while it doesn't really bother me, I am fully cognisant of how sensitive the subject can be.

Therefore I've proposed a few alternative names and hope like hell that one goes in before Open Beta, because the last thing I personally want to be doing as a moderator is soft-censoring people from using a word like "jew" in a completely non-racist, non-prejudiced manner. It's an abbreviation, nothing more. I GET THAT. I seriously do.

I also get how bad 'wts jews' and 'buying jews' can look to someone who *doesn't* know the abbreviation.

Some of you understand the delicacy of the matter, some of you are just gamers who don't have to deal with it.

Well, we do. So let us handle it our way. I promise, as ever, it will be with your best interests at heart, but also in the ultimate aim of making PoE a better game, and its community that little bit more admirable and inviting.

Chris has called for your feedback and there it is. Much appreciated. Some of you don't seem to have realised that of the options he gave, one was virtually rhetorical and simply not acceptable. One was doable, the other was impractical but possible.

I'm closing this because ultimately it's up to us moderators how to handle this, in conjunction with the devs. I'd be really grateful if you, as players, could appreciate how lucky you are it's not your job to tip-toe through moral minefields like this. Unlike you, we have to cater to the thinnest skin, not just the thickest.

And let's be honest: those with the thinnest skin aren't going to post here anyway.

PS This isn't really about censorship, either. It's about an unfortunate abbreviation for an innocuous item name. If you want to blame anyone, blame GGG for not realising ahead of time that this might happen. I'm still very much against censorship and allow just about anything in-chat. Most of you know this, although I will head off certain topics that I feel might lead me to have to put the bad hat on. I don't want that and neither do you. You can still swear, make dirty jokes, talk politics, talk religion, hell you can even talk about Diablo 3 if you must. Please don't use this issue as a soapbox for how bad the censorship is in this game. Just don't.
Warhammer 40k Inquisitor: where shotgunning is not only not nerfed, it is deeply encouraged.

Dogma > Souls, but they're masterworks all. You can't go wrong.

I was right about PoE2 needing to be a separate, new game. It was really obvious.
Last edited by Foreverhappychan on Oct 27, 2012, 8:01:02 AM
Lots of posts from people trying to look tough and edgy by dismissing the sensitivities of others. Empathy doesn't make you weak, it makes you a decent human being. If you can't grasp that others may find racial slurs offensive then your mute/ban was coming sooner or later anyway. Let's be frank here, even if you didn't primarily intend your words about buying/selling jews to be offensive you knew how they could be seen but you specifically chose that wording anyway. You probably also took some degree of satisfaction at being able to get away with saying something like that.

PoE is already building a reputation for having a poor chat community just because some people can't contain their inner ten year old. This is not a good thing for the community or the game and it needs to be brought back under control. Otherwise, PoE will be seen simply as a haven for trolls and misanthropes. Expect global chat to moderated much more aggressively as PoE approaches Open Beta. Always remember that Global Chat is a privilege that will be revoked at any time if you choose to abuse it.

This issue has nothing to do with GGG and moderators catering to some imaginary minority of perpetual whiners and everything to do with a minority of people that knowingly choose to violate the handful of chat rules that are in place. We try to be very lenient in what we allow on the forums and in chat and it really pisses me off when people knowingly cross those boundaries anyway and then start some self-righteous bitching about censorship and free speech. I have no patience for that sort of thing.
Forum Sheriff

Report Forum Post

Report Account:

Report Type

Additional Info