An Open Letter To Aruden

[pickled_heretic]

Originally Posted by Aadill [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

I was referencing word association and negative connotations that people build out of their own volition, not by some empirical or intrinsic discovery of a word in a language.

no such thing. the domain of language is exclusively subjective. a word means precisely what a person's interpretation of that word is. if most people conjure up images of burning jews and gas chambers when you say "holocaust," then that's what the word means. i'm not going to embarrass you by responding to the rest of your post, especially the last part.

[Aadill]

Originally Posted by pickled_heretic [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

no such thing. the domain of language is exclusively subjective. a word means precisely what a person's interpretation of that word is. if most people conjure up images of burning jews and gas chambers when you say "holocaust," then that's what the word means. i'm not going to embarrass you by responding to the rest of your post, especially the last part.

Embarrass me on the P99 boards I don't give a fuck. If this board is "not a place for these sorts of discussions," then heed your own warning otherwise discuss it.

Tell me, do you expect people to discuss the merits of a word defined in a dictionary or discuss the event that people associate with the word?

Originally Posted by Odonk [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

when did google become the one stop shop to tell us whether or not something is racist? it seems to me that your whole argument revolves around the fact that google has 8 pages of information about The Holocaust when you search for "holocaust" before it shows anything NOT pertaining to it.

[pickled_heretic]

Originally Posted by Aadill [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Tell me, do you expect people to discuss the merits of a word defined in a dictionary or discuss the event that people associate with the word?

they're going to use the word however they want to use the word. the most common interpretations are going to gradually filter to the top of search results. also, logic is hard.

[Aadill]

Originally Posted by pickled_heretic [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

they're going to use the word however they want to use the word. the most common interpretations are going to gradually filter to the top of search results.

alright let's put that into the scope of the situation here:

The people in the Holocaust guild are not labeling themselves as anti-Semitic. They are using their interpretation of the word. Aruden made a dumb post in which 50 people that voted against the guild name are using another interpretation of the word.

Tyrrany of majority through feigned ignorance or misperception.

[pickled_heretic]

Originally Posted by Aadill [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

alright let's put that into the scope of the situation here:

The people in the Holocaust guild are not labeling themselves as anti-Semitic. They are using their interpretation of the word. Aruden made a dumb post in which 50 people that voted against the guild name are using another interpretation of the word.

Tyrrany of majority through feigned ignorance or misperception.

that's not how it works. the majority of people in the states are not black, but we still confine some words like '******' to certain arenas of discussion. it's not that most people find the word offensive, it's that any civilized society protects its minorities out of its collective sense of moral justice.

i can't claim a word for my own use. i am a slave to however the word is most commonly used. i can't make a guild with the word "coon" in it for the same reason. sure, i can mean a raccoon. who cares? i could mean whever i wanted, the word can be easily interpreted with racist connotation and thus is simply not appropriate for guild naming conventions. once again, we're not talking about free speech in public discourse, we're talking about a fucking troll guild on an emulated pvp server. i would not allow the name just to avoid controversies like this that could reach beyond the scope of the server (and already have).

[Autotune]

Originally Posted by pickled_heretic [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

that's not how it works. the majority of people in the states are not black, but we still confine some words like '******' to certain arenas of discussion. it's not that most people find the word offensive, it's that any civilized society protects its minorities out of its collective sense of moral justice.

i can't claim a word for my own use. i am a slave to however the word is most commonly used. i can't make a guild with the word "coon" in it for the same reason. sure, i can mean a raccoon. who cares? i could mean whever i wanted, the word can be easily interpreted with racist connotation and thus is simply not appropriate for guild naming conventions. once again, we're not talking about free speech in public discourse, we're talking about a fucking troll guild on an emulated pvp server. i would not allow the name just to avoid controversies like this that could reach beyond the scope of the server (and already have).

holocaust isn't shortened, it is what it is.

Coon is short for raccoon, mostly to be used as a racial slur.

holocaust is not a racial slur in any shape form or fashion. Slave trade would be more appropriate in comparison. Slave trading was also around before the Africans were traded.

fuck off.

[pickled_heretic]

Originally Posted by Autotune [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

holocaust isn't shortened, it is what it is.

Coon is short for raccoon, mostly to be used as a racial slur.

holocaust is not a racial slur in any shape form or fashion. Slave trade would be more appropriate in comparison. Slave trading was also around before the Africans were traded.

fuck off.

"The Holocaust" is not a racial slur in any shape form or fashion, but it is commonly accepted that a guild name specifically referring to the Judeocide is unquestionably inappropriate. The only issue is whether "Holocaust" and "The Holocaust" are the same. your comparison is invalid.