Selective treatment

[Na$]

There was a guy who called his dog Adolf, well you can imagine what kind of guy that was. Besides that, I doubt if there are people who DARE to call their child adolf, if they are not nazi people..

[Na$]

But this thread is not particularely about SOME names, its about that staff should set up a clear list of critera, and if a name scores very high according to that criteria, that it will be a bannable name, forbidden name.

[Bilbo]

Mussolini is more of a comical name than a tragical.

[Ewan]

There was a guy who called his dog Adolf, well you can imagine what kind of guy that was. Besides that, I doubt if there are people who DARE to call their child adolf, if they are not nazi people..

The guy who called is dog Adolf also taught him to do the Nazi salute at passers by when he shouted "Sieg Hiel"(Sp?) so he clearly had some Nazi views

~Ewan

[MusLimStuDiO1]

hmm, well, I agree with the idea, but I also think that it will be extremely hard to implement.

I.e. If someone had used the name S-a-n-t-a (assuming santa was a horrible mass-murderer) it would be very hard to 'seek-out' due to the dashes.

This project would require a pretty sophisticated program, as well as the help of regular users to keep the staff advised...

Perhaps a special new area of staff can be created? Just to maintain the usage of usernames. I mean, its a good idea, its just really premature, it needs to be thought out well enough so that there are no kinks.

Furthermore, you can offend a lotta ppl by passing this rule

Lets take 'Ataturk' for example, the 'liberator' of Turkey... But a lotta ppl dont see him as that, they see him as a huge anti-human-rights activist. Im sure you can see my point, it can become very controversial and complex.

I like it, im all for it, but, sadly, it will be very hard to do.

[THE PUSHER]

I'm going to respond to this the same way I did to our staffers when this issue was brought up over a month ago.

Not having spoken to those who created the name filter, I don't know their motivations. I'm sure Adolf Hitler is blocked for good reasons (see any post where someone tries to defend their Nazi/racist heritage), as are some other names. I'm not going to guess at the reasons though. I'm sure a great many people still use the name Adolf (or even Adolph) in the Germanic world.

In a world of over 6 billion people, names are common. What I mean by this is, did you ever stop to think it might be the persons real name? Oh sure, the idea of this may seem far-fetched to some, in reality it's not. I have a real life friend named Jim Jones, and we've known each other for almost 15 years. I don't think ever once someone has forced him to change his name, simply because he shares the name of a famous mass murderer. I went to high school with a kid named Timothy McVeigh, spoke to him last month, so I don't think he's responsible for blowing up government buildings. How about Miraslav Satan, professional hockey player? Do you think Christians are beating down his door and spraying him with holy water because of his last name? How many people out there are named Saddam Hussein, Charles Manson, Jeffrey Dahmer, Albert Fish, or Ed Gein? The fact is, just because someone shares a name with a person famous for atrocities against humanity, doesn't mean we need to exclude this person based on that fact alone.

The fact is names are common, as are people who will use infamous names to evoke a response. Obviously, this is creating a larger response due to the timing, just as the Osama names did. As for those names, I don't think they were ever blocked, and people still use them. What those of you are complaining about really need to do, is just ignore it. A lot of you have issue because it strikes close to home. But what are you going to do the next time you're at a grocery store, a night club, or a petrol station and you meet a nice fellow named Marc Detroux, or the old man selling newspapers just happens to be named Jeff Dahmer? Are you going to insist he changes his name, or perhaps take more drastic action, all because he shares the name with a wholly evil individual?

[Verthanthi]

I dunno Push, Albert isn't a common name anymore and neither is Fish...

[Troll King]

What happens though, Pusher, when people come into TW with those names and then goes on to act in an offensive manner with regards to their infamous names? Your explanation makes sense in that it looks at just the use of the name without any ill intent. If they just have the name, and don't do anything but just play like a regular player and not say or do anything offensive, then fine. But what if someone comes in with the name of a serial rapist/killer and uses a kill macro "%killed has just been raped by...". On its own, if someone named TWNewb124 uses that it wouldn't have the same effect, but with the added context of the name, things aren't so clear.

[THE PUSHER]

TK explains quite well the Catch-22 we experience with this issue and many others. There really is no policy towards this, as of yet, and I'm not certain we would ever need one.

Think back to 9/11/01, after that we had a rush of people with names such as 'Nuke the Yanks' and 'Osama Forever'. Some of those people even went so far as to spew forth the rhetoric so commonly attached to these names. Our actions then, as I believe our actions will be now, was to inform anyone offended by it to ignore the person. If the person got out of hand, then we would warn accordingly based on our rules. These people eventually stopped, and we haven't heard a peep from them since.

You see, my biggest issue with this is the censorship of names. By the definitions being stated here, many names would be offensive or could be offensive for any reason. If we were to enforce such a policy, then many names could be subject to censorship or removal for any reason. Some examples:

THE PUSHER: I could be a drug dealer, offensive
Troll King: Trolls cause nightmares for children and are portrayed as evil, offensive
YoMama!!!: No one talks about my momma, offensive
HellzNo!: Little kids get suspended for saying hell in school, offensive
Weaver: Is he trying to say basket weaver? My brother is mentally ill, offensive
Stabwound: Condones violence, offensive
Bilbo: Ring-bearing catalyst for the deaths of hundreds of innocents on Middle Earth, offensive
Na$: Rap and hip-hop promote violence, offensive
MuslimStudio1: Professing your religion, offensive
PriitK: Sounds to much like prick, I hate that word, offensive

So where do we draw the line? I honestly believe that the current stance on name blocking is wholly acceptable. We as Staffers though, have the responsibility to ensure that what these people do isn't out of line. I have no issue with them using a name, but if they attach an image to that name via the messages they relay in the game, then we need to look at the situation and deal with it accordingly.

(PS - Vert thanks for the correction, I knew I was wrong when I said Edward Fish.)

[Verthanthi]

I knew my knowledge of serial killers would come in handy one day. I was just hoping it would be more of a special guest appearance on Matlock.

[Na$]

I guess your right Pusher, it's just that the people who use those 'provoking names' wear them to provoke. I mean names in real life are different since you are born with them, but if you choose to wear a nickname thats clearly offensive I do have my doubts if 'we' should tolerate it. But thanks for your input.

[iLDuce]

I own the name Mussolini

OMFG IT WAS YOU WHO STOLE THAT NAME FROM ME WHEN IT.... reset

[ZeUs!!]

I dunno Push, Albert isn't a common name anymore and neither is Fish...

Michael Fish presents the weather forcast... IS THAT SUCH A CRIME?

[Verthanthi]

Michael Fish presents the weather forcast... IS THAT SUCH A CRIME?

Does he do it well?

[Mantra-Slider]

try to get something offensive out of Mantra-Slider!!!