4 ms·

>We are never going to remove the slur filter completely (or add an option to that effect), because we dont want to make it easy for right-wingers to use Lemmy.

>We are never going to remove the slur filter completely (or add an option to that effect), because we dont want to make it easy for right-wingers to use Lemmy. Welp, I just completely wrote off this site and I'm about as middle of the road as they come in America. What a short sighted and ignorant way to look at the world.

orthecreedence 6y ago
That's the thing! It doesn't stop hate speech. "I think we should eliminate all of (((those people)))." I didn't use the k-word, but everyone knows what the sentence means. On the other hand, you can't post "tranny" or "bitch" but, bitch is contextual: it's definition is a female dog, but even in the context of "wow she's such a bitch" bitch is not a slur. "Tranny" is derogatory in the context when used against trans people, but it's also used quite often in mechanics to mean "transmission." There are so many different contexts in which these words aren't derogatory, and in some cases represent the power of people to reclaim what was previously a slur. Banning certain words is incredibly short-sighted, and punishes everyone who uses the platform while not addressing the real issue: extreme right-wingers can still use it just fine, and have absolutely no problem coming up with new dog whistles in order to get around your elementary word filter.
- asdf21 6y ago
  In restaurants I worked in a long time ago, servers would just call black people "Canadians" -- for instance, "Nope, don't sit those Canadians in my section, they don't tip." Good luck filtering for stuff like that. And even if you did, people would just come up with new version. Re: The core problem... Why would having extreme right wingers use your site even be a problem? Presumably extreme left wingers are okay?
  - luckylion 6y ago
    > Re: The core problem... Why would having extreme right wingers use your site even be a problem? Presumably extreme left wingers are okay? The developers are extreme left wingers, so yes, it's just a tribal thing, not a "I don't want to write software for extremists" thing.

orthecreedence 6y ago

That's the thing! It doesn't stop hate speech. "I think we should eliminate all of (((those people)))." I didn't use the k-word, but everyone knows what the sentence means. On the other hand, you can't post "tranny" or "bitch" but, bitch is contextual: it's definition is a female dog, but even in the context of "wow she's such a bitch" bitch is not a slur. "Tranny" is derogatory in the context when used against trans people, but it's also used quite often in mechanics to mean "transmission." There are so many different contexts in which these words aren't derogatory, and in some cases represent the power of people to reclaim what was previously a slur. Banning certain words is incredibly short-sighted, and punishes everyone who uses the platform while not addressing the real issue: extreme right-wingers can still use it just fine, and have absolutely no problem coming up with new dog whistles in order to get around your elementary word filter.

asdf21 6y ago
In restaurants I worked in a long time ago, servers would just call black people "Canadians" -- for instance, "Nope, don't sit those Canadians in my section, they don't tip." Good luck filtering for stuff like that. And even if you did, people would just come up with new version. Re: The core problem... Why would having extreme right wingers use your site even be a problem? Presumably extreme left wingers are okay?
- luckylion 6y ago
  > Re: The core problem... Why would having extreme right wingers use your site even be a problem? Presumably extreme left wingers are okay? The developers are extreme left wingers, so yes, it's just a tribal thing, not a "I don't want to write software for extremists" thing.