Root out insults

Discussion in 'Forum Feedback' started by Birdwood, Apr 21, 2008.

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  1. Birdwood

    Birdwood Regular Member

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    Sometimes words have been used without the realization that they are insults. Other times, derogatory words were used deliberately to exert personal attack in the forum. Our moderators will for sure ban intentional offenders from BC if anyone repeatedly insults others. Unintentional mistakes do happen, and a simple apology should be forthcoming to alleviate bad feelings.

    To prevent mistakes from being made in the first place or offensive words being posted in discussions, BCers need to understand what words may constitute insults. Besides the most abusive ones, the common sense would be if you don’t like the words being used on yourself, it’s probably wise not to use them on others.

    If you have any concerns about particular words as insulting, you may want to list them here in this thread so as to bar the use of them in the future. No one should be subject to insults either intentionally or unintentionally in BC forum.
     
  2. Birdwood

    Birdwood Regular Member

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    “Chinaman”

    “Chinaman” had been used as a derogatory word for the purpose of demeaning Chinese immigrants, their decedents, and people who looked Chinese in a foreign land, especially in North America. It’s an offensive remark made solely based on one’s race, which had suffered from a long history of discriminations :mad:

    According to Wikipedia, “Chinaman is a term that refers to a Chinese man. It was not defined as offensive by older dictionaries. Today, Asian American organisations and others have objected to the use of the term as offensive, and it has been defined as such by current dictionaries.”

    For the history and controversies surrounding the use of “Chinaman”, please look at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinaman
     
  3. DinkAlot

    DinkAlot dcbadminton
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    While I agree with your two above referenced posts, I think you should just let it go.

    Trying to be defender of the faith just doesn't work on the internet.

    Just ask Gollum. ;)...:p
     
  4. CWB001

    CWB001 Regular Member

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    As far as I am concerned a Chinaman is what someone from China is called. Your over-sensitive Californian ways will cut little ice here.

    However, on second thoughts, if we are all allowed to state our sensitivities in this way, and guarantee that the word can henceforth never be used here again, I would say that "player" is the most offensive word known to man and should be banned. It is an offensive remark that has strong connotations of someone who is not serious about some activity, and it also has a long history of being used to imply that people have connections with organised crime, drug dealing and other shady activities. This can even be libellous and I'm sure the site owners would concur that this cannot be acceptable.

    A chinaman is the name of a type of ball bowled in cricket, by the way.
     
  5. Birdwood

    Birdwood Regular Member

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    Thanks for your thoughts. For many BCers, unfortunately that's the case. But to me, this is not just any internet forum, which I couldn't care less. This is THE sports and forum I love, and our mods have shown great resolve to root out bad apples. I felt it's everyone's responsibility to speak up and make BC a great home for every baddy player and fan around the globe.

    The second reason was that I was called "shut up la..chinaman!" in a thread. That was a racist remark and an insult which could be used not only against me, but also to all Chinese BCers if I let it stand. The person might have made a mistake without fully understanding its use. However, a huge amount of time and effort were wasted to set the record straight. So instead of dealing with individual post, it would be better to remind others to not use certain offensive words in BC. It can prevent more fights from breaking out and also save mods the time from monitoring the forum.
     
  6. jamesd20

    jamesd20 Moderator

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    For the Record, BF does not allow any personal insults or attacks in any way. The discussion must be about the subject genre and related items only.

    Indiscrimnate racist, nationalist, sexist or any other "ists" are treated in the same way. As such I am not going to comment an the incident, only to say that BF will not condone it, and any perpatrator of such postings will be at least have a temproary ban.
     
  7. kwun

    kwun Administrator

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    i think the intention is good.

    but trying to resolve the issue by listing out possible insults may have the opposite effect. it is telling school kids to not to swear by telling them all the swear words that they didn't before know. the next thing that will happen is that they will be practicing how to use them during recess time.

    i think it is best to let us know. if we see insults like that, we will deal with the violator swiftly.
     
  8. jchan04

    jchan04 Regular Member

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    I do not know where in this forum... or how... I can interpret "player" into anything that is related to shady business. Because I know that everytime I read posts or write a post... "players" is referred to a badminton player. Person who participates in the sport of badminton. Sorry CWB001, not convincing enough. (no offense tho) :)

    Well... I know that everytime someone gets flammed at from someone... it's usually a personal opinion or remark. So please try not to direct negative comments at someone... positive comments are always welcomed. And I think that another time that someone would be flamed at, would be the lack of knowledge or logic/reasoning to a statement that he/she have made.

    There's no such as dumb questions... but there are ignorant/negligent answers.:rolleyes:
     
    #8 jchan04, Apr 21, 2008
    Last edited: Apr 21, 2008
  9. jchan04

    jchan04 Regular Member

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    yeah if you search for "chinaman" on the BC forums, it appears that "chinaman" has been used in 14 different threads.
     
  10. Shifty

    Shifty Regular Member

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    actually, if you check the dictionary, a person from China is called a Chinese.
     
  11. jchan04

    jchan04 Regular Member

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    HAHAHAHAHA. that was funny. :DShifty

    "chinaman" is regarded as a racial slur... and it wasn't only used for chinese people, it was also used for people coming from the east asian countries like korea and japan.
     
  12. Louisa

    Louisa Regular Member

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    I am a chinese...but I don't find the word 'Chinaman' insulted.

    BUT, occasionally, if we say something which we might not think is insulting to others, and the other party find it insulted....what we need to do is just to apologise sincerely...and the matter will settle in a good way.

    If we keep posting 'no, i did not insult u', 'yes, u did'...imagine, the traffic in our forum will be :eek::eek::eek: high....and our MODs will be busy like a bee...:D

    I guess, insulting or not, all depends on the perception of the individual....just respect each other, and you will find, this is a Wonderful World....:D
     
  13. jchan04

    jchan04 Regular Member

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    You're right, slurs are determined on a personal level. I am Chinese as well, however I find that Chinaman is insulting.

    Other than perception of the term... I think it's better to be politically correct. Like in the future, are we going to teach our children to call Chinese: "Chinamen"... I don't believe so. That's why now-a-days we have to watch what we say. For example: South East Asian = Brown, African American = Black, East Asian = Orientals...
    hmmm. is that too many rules? I hope we can practice this correct lingo?

    and to answer the question at the top:
    Two rules to avoid conflicts in life and on forums:
    ---> no negative personal remarks
    ---> respect others' opinions
     
  14. eaglehelang

    eaglehelang Regular Member

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    And also cultural level. "Chinaman" is a commonly used term in Msia (no offense to anyone) to refer to those from China or Taiwan opening up companies in Msia. Sthing like "Yeah, Chinaman company, what you expect, think abt profits only, not employee welfare."

    There are far worse terms used, including those that tell us to go back to "Motherland China" when we've been here for generations.

    That said, and I already mentioned to our Birdwood, I've gotten (and some other BCers) worse remarks in the locked threads. Just let the other members read it & know the character of the other person, I try to keep civil (but stimes cant stand it :D) but still keep the derogatory terms out of it.
     
  15. azabaz_ipoh

    azabaz_ipoh Regular Member

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    if you think that a person is using racist remarks, just inform the moderators. like some have highlighted here, some remarks might be insulting to some and yet not so insulting to others. i have felt insulted before by patronizing remarks but they are not racist in nature and i learned to ignore and let them be. they are just that kind of person. but highly flammatory remarks should be reported and the person banned, be it temporarily or permanently. but before that, maybe we should pm the person and ask for an apology, just in case that person are not intentionally insulting us. if the person apologizes, all's well that ends well. if not, take it up with the mods personally and off record. let the mods do what they think is right. so far the mods have shown that they are very good at judging if a post warrant a ban.

    in the end, as has been mentioned before, what's important is that you think before you post. and if you made a mistake, apologize for it. simple as that.
     
  16. chris-ccc

    chris-ccc Regular Member

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    Words don't come easy

    .
    Yes... Words don't come easy. :):):)

    Sometimes we have to read between the lines of words used.

    I know in which thread Birdwood felt offended; It was there that I thought “Chinaman”' was referring to "Supporter of China", so I didn't think that it was meant to be a derogatory remark. :)
    .
     
    #16 chris-ccc, Apr 21, 2008
    Last edited: Apr 21, 2008
  17. Birdwood

    Birdwood Regular Member

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    There are baddy supporters of China around the World. Are they all referred to as "Chinaman" too :confused:

    He insisted that he meant what he said: a person from China, not supporter of China :mad:
     
  18. Oldhand

    Oldhand Moderator

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    Well, you cannot be insulted if you choose not to be insulted.
    Ignoring slurs and racial epithets makes you stronger too :)

    Yes, it is quite tough to remain unprovoked by an insult.
    But a smile in reply is the biggest put-down you can give ;)

    Nobody can hurt me without my permission
    - Gandhi
     
  19. Birdwood

    Birdwood Regular Member

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    Since BC is an international forum, words which offend others from different parts of the World should be banned from discussions to avoid insults being made. It's part of educational processes, which I hope to achieve here.
     
  20. chris-ccc

    chris-ccc Regular Member

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    Chinaman or not Chinaman ?

    .
    Come to think about this, go back and read his username... I think this so-called 'offender' might also be Chinese. :D:D:D
    .
     
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