Racism/discrimination policy

[SEAL]

look its not the question about right or wrong. wrong is wrong and should not be tollorated.

since we're all into examples, look at it as a metal detector. Now, the detector just searches on machine guns, but not on knifes, ghb, etc. if someone wants to do harm they will get thrue the filters of subspace anyways; hence i mean why bother doing half a job. But since this is implemented anyways, why drop it? it works and keeps the machine guns out. In my opinion just not worth spending the time on it since it ain't a good working metal detector.

about teaching staff and such, i believed in santa clause too when i was young. ideal things and reality is a difference. in theory yes.

[Melo]

Let's not push discrimination to ''I dont like the way u type'' being illegal. Between for those thinking N word isnt that bad, you get shot in some areas if u call someone a N*****.

[SEAL]

thats kinda irrevant. some hill billy boy in kansas would kill a ****** if he see's one.
well my point stand, personally i dont think tw-staff should be babysitting people. its not their responsibility. but since it already excists i dont see a reason to remove it.

[Reaver]

the list goes on and on, so why bother and let the people itself have their responsibility. if the population is mature enough itself, then it should realize an insult means nothing over a keyboard. if not, then their parents should be helt responsible, not staff.

That's just it. The population is not mature enough, and most people ingame probably aren't just because of that, it's a game.

[SaucyKing]

Hey look, my reply was removed.

Charming.

[Troll King]

If you wrote it yesterday then it would be; everyone else's was.

[Ephemeral]

My opinion is that there are some words that transcend normal offensiveness. Just as in many countries 'hate crimes' transcend above normal crime.

If I go beat the living shit out of someone because I want their money, that is a crime. But if I go beat the living shit out of someone because of their skin color, religion, sexual beliefs, then it is hate crime. It carries more severe penalties since, in effect, I have commit a bigger crime because my actions impacted society at large. Basically a form of societal terrorism, I was sending a 'message' to many others than simply the victim I assaulted.

It's not really a hard concept to understand.

As far as I know, everyone in TW is allowed to be racist. You simply cannot publicly vocalize your racist beliefs. Why do people have such heartburn about this? TW isn't a sociopolitical forum or newsgroup. People come to play a game, have a good time. Is it so hard to understand that hurling racial epithets goes beyond insulting a single person? It is offensive to most people and certainly has no place in a online game where people gather to have fun.

[SEAL]

Of course it's wrong. It's also wrong to drive faster than the speed limit. Point is, it happens.

How do you control it. Right now saying ****** will get you warned. but people push the limit by getting around it, saying *1****. so, how cant ya write ****** but ya can write *1****. if you add that word, a new one will come up.

again, it's not about being right or wrong, it's about being the internet cop. every sane parent knows there's tons and tons of stuff out on the internet what isn't suitable for children. this also includes subspace.

yes it does. It's not really a hard concept to understand.

besides the racism.. all you ever see in public chat is hate anyways.

[Dim]

Wow, an actual intellectual debate on the forum.

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My view is, racism should be dealt as harshly as it should be in real life. Obviously a ban in a 2d spaceship game doesn't mean much compared to a possible jail sentence etc. If someones racist, and the context is undoubtable I think they should be banned for 30 days on sight. As most of you know, the majority of people who play this game have no social life. By banning them from their life for 30 days, I'm sure they won't be doing it much more. The way it is now hardcore internet thugs such as DEA are racist in one week periods so they get their satisfaction of acting macho on the internet without automatically being banned for being a repeat offender. I'm sure you'll agree that people who are racist in this spaceship game do not do it because they hate blacks or jews etc in real life, it's because they can pretend to hate them in their own fantasy world without any consequences. Because if they did it in the real world, not many of them would last long. People can't crack your ribs on the internet. Of course they'll deny this, because any internet thug is 'rock solid' apprently.

[Ephemeral]

Laws or rules cannot correct racism, since racism is a state of mind. Racism can only be influenced through education, and most likely from parents. So I agree that it is not the place of TW to try to educate and/or eradicate racism.

However, when a person acts or behaves in a racist way, then it becomes discrimination. Laws and/or rules can definitely address discrimination, since the behavior is overt and can be observed. This is something that TW can control and address, since a BOT/mod/other players can see the behavior.

You are correct in saying that someone can simply change the first letter and still convey the meaning of the word. In those cases, I believe that a person could report the incident to a mod and the mod would probably get the person to stop with a warning. But I am not sure that picking though ‘what if’s’ is the point. The point is that the staff has the empowerment and is doing what it can to provide a respectable environment for us to play our game in. No more, no less. Can little boys still come up with ways to circumvent the system, or push the limits? Of course. Just like there is no such thing as a completely secure network or PC, there can never be a completely racism free TW. But that doesn’t mean that we just give up. It is still worthwhile to send the ‘message’. The ‘message’ is, ‘take your racist remarks somewhere else, they will not be tolerated here.’ And there is value in that, in my opinion.

[Dim]

I'm not against people being racist, just saying their thoughts out aloud.

[Profound Magician]

Political correctness is a relatively new concept. Old prejudices take time to disappear. Racism is incredibly prevalent in the US of A - and there's nothing anyone (especially in SSCU Trench Wars) can do about it. Imagine you're born into a family of people who look down on minorities, all of your friends have always been that way, everyone around you has always been that way. It's going to take a hell of a lot to change your beliefs.

[SEAL]

Personally, i don't see the difference in 'wtf!? stfu faggot' or an extra racism word. the message that is being send doesn't change, it's the context; insulting. i really think that 98% or more will agree on this and wouldn't get offended more.

consistence..
implement more and tollerate less. It's just kind of weird to be able to make a name 'i rape sheeps' (btw shiran, it has never been proven and that picture might as well been edited :P) and to be able to say 'stfu faggot', but you cant say one little word..
nooooo that's racism, we do not tolorate that! We stand for something! if you stand for something then, maybe as dimboy said, just bann someone immidiatly for 150 days. now.. THAT does give a message.

to make a rambling pointless post short: fine that it's implented but it is actually, in my opinion, a waste of time. that time could have been spend better.

[Kim]

In a game where you'll probably co-exist better without any arguments, allowing racial terms to be used as additional tools of argumentation is DEFINITELY not the right way to go. That is the vibe that I'm getting from your ideas, SEAL.

[winipcfg]

I'm not condoning racism or verbal degradation, but having staff act as babysitters is a little more than the TW community should expect. There are tools available to people who are offended by what's said in the chats - whether is be the filter, leaving the arena... many things - and if people don't want to use these tools, then they get what they deserve. I can see Tarn's original point, but, in my opinion, banning people left and right because they say offensive things isn't a job the staff should have to do.