Use of "gay" as a derogatory term...

Hi gang,

Not sure what to do about this post from Endorx: http://www.thundercatslair.org/forums/showthread.php?p=44008#post44008 .

I don't think he means any harm by it but I must admit on a personal level I dislike the use of the term "gay" as a derogatory term, I think it's offensive to people who are homosexual.

At the same time, we've had quite a bit of drama on the forums for the past couple of days and I know Endorx is quite a spicy character - I'm anxious that our forums don't start to look like a hostile environment, and there is (rightly or wrongly) nothing in our forum rules explicitly stating we don't allow this term to be used.

Opinions on this one, guys? :)

Take care... :)

Yeah, I see what you mean. I PMed him to ask if he'd rephrase it (not change point of view, just pick a less controversial phrase). Considering it is in reference to an object and not a person, I don't think he meant any harm.

Merged Post:
:duh: I missed the other derogatory term until now... "Cheap mofos!" That one is directed towards Bandai, so that is actual people.

I think Endorx got off the site before he had a chance to see my PM about using "gay" as derogatory. But we should probably do something about the other comment.

Suggestions?

Chris here...

"mcss aerocoupe, post: 44018" said:

Yeah, I see what you mean. I PMed him to ask if he'd rephrase it (not change point of view, just pick a less controversial phrase). Considering it is in reference to an object and not a person, I don't think he meant any harm.

Merged Post:
:duh: I missed the other derogatory term until now... "Cheap mofos!" That one is directed towards Bandai, so that is actual people.

I think Endorx got off the site before he had a chance to see my PM about using "gay" as derogatory. But we should probably do something about the other comment.

Suggestions?

Well handled with the PM - like you, I don't think he means any harm with the statement, there are a lot of people who use "That's so gay!" as a derogatory term, a lot of them probably without thinking about the implications of it. :)

However, I agree about the other term - my suggestion would be to just go in and replace "mofos" with asterisks ("Cheap *****!") - if he asks, we can always say we added the term "mofos" to our swear filter! ;)

...Unless we just go in and actually do add the word "mofos" to our swear filter?! :)

Take care... :)

I saw the gay comment but i dont think he meant it as such...more like gay as in something being stupid. As far as Cheap mofos...it is a slang and i didnt think it was outright derogatory.

I wouldnt put much emphasis on this instance but outright being offesive using the gay word yes. For now i'd say we just let it slide

I agree on the gay comment. It makes sense in the stupid meaning.

The other, it is slang, but it is just what it is slang for (at least in the US). "Mofo" is slang for "Mother F#@$er". I'm failing to find an ok term that could be traded in for a similar overall meaning, the best I can think of is "Cheap jerks".

At least the comments aren't directed at any other forum member unless we have Bandai employees as members.

Yeah cheap mofos is more like a comical slang for words like cheap skate, etc

Not a biggie and it wasnt directed at any one individual.

I agree to let it slide as we have had enough drama already this week. If someone does take offense in the meantime though, we'd obviously need to act on it.

Hopefully he doesn't make an habit of it. I say just watch him as he did send me a pm in defence of Wayne saying we were harsh to ban him (I don't think Endorx had seen all Wayne's posts that were later deleted....)

So he could be doing it to test how strict we are. So yep let it slide this time, but keep an eye on his posts...