Offensive Usernames

Handsome Bob

Hi,

I'm probably being 'PC' but I, as a Northsider, find this username offensive;

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/member.php?u=270699

I'm just wondering if there is any protocol concerning offensive usernames?

Thanks in advance.:)

Gordon

Users with offensive nicks are asked to change their name, but we don't have a protocol for it, we tend to take each one as they come up until now.

Is 'northsider' an offensive term?

Handsome Bob

It's more the "Ih8" part that I find offensive. To put it in clear terms his/her username is basically "I hate northsiders."

Name change is all I would ask for.

Gordon

I think if the term 'northsiders' was offensive then the combination might merit offensiveness, but if we were to bleach out such usernames it would make for a rather sterile environment. imo

Handsome Bob

That's fair enough, I personally find the username to be bigoted, but I can see when I'm fighting an uphill battle. I won't take the complaint any further.

Gordon

I just think that if we ask someone to edit that kind of name, we'll need to edit all kinds of names in the future. What if someone hates kittens for example, and they call themselves i8kittens? Is this offensive to animals? Where do we draw the line? How do we legislate and create protocol for that? I'm all ears if you have suggestions.

Incidentally, here is just a small list of people with 'i hate' in their name:

i hate boards
i hate jedis
i hate sprouts
ihatearsenal
ihatecarrots
IHATECHEMISTRY
ihateliars
ihatemymissus
graffitiHater

Which ones should we edit?

Handsome Bob

i hate boards
i hate jedis
i hate sprouts
ihatearsenal
ihatecarrots
IHATECHEMISTRY
ihateliars
ihatemymissus
graffitiHater

To be honest Gordon they are all trivial usernames. I think having a username of "Ih8northsiders" is slightly more serious than "I hate boards" for example. Would you feel comfortable with usernames such as "Ih8blacks" or "Ih8pakis"?

Gordon

Absolutely not, which is why I asked you if 'northsider' is an offensive term, which you said it isn't.

This is why it's difficult to get solidity on boundaries and create protocol. You don't seem to have a problem with someone called 'i hate jedis'. There are a number of censused jedis in the world now, people actually state jedism as a faith/religion/spirituality. According to wikipedia "In England and Wales 390,127 people (almost 0.8 percent) stated their religion as Jedi on their 2001 Census forms, surpassing Sikhism, Judaism, and Buddhism, and making it the fourth largest reported religion in the country."

How many people live in the north side? I presume you're talking about Dublin by the way? And I presume you know that the user in question is talking about Dublin do you?

Handsome Bob

Gordon wrote: »

Absolutely not, which is why I asked you if 'northsider' is an offensive term, which you said it isn't.

Is black an offensive term in itself? I don't think so, but it certainly becomes a part of bigoted term if you throw "I hate" in front of it.

This is why it's difficult to get solidity on boundaries and create protocol. You don't seem to have a problem with someone called 'i hate jedis'. There are a number of censused jedis in the world now, people actually state jedism as a faith/religion/spirituality. According to wikipedia "In England and Wales 390,127 people (almost 0.8 percent) stated their religion as Jedi on their 2001 Census forms, surpassing Sikhism, Judaism, and Buddhism, and making it the fourth largest reported religion in the country."

Fine, I'll concede that.

How many people live in the north side? I presume you're talking about Dublin by the way? And I presume you know that the user in question is talking about Dublin do you?

Let's not be pedantic here, here's referring to northsiders from Dublin. I have never heard of Northern Irish people being referred to as northsiders, nor I have I ever heard any other counties refer to their people as "northsiders."

Handsome Bob

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=62455612&postcount=1

I think we can safely say now Gordon that he's referring to northsiders from Dublin.

Gordon

It looks like he's probably trolling and you're feeding him.

If plenty of people actually feel offended by the phrase then I'll look into it. Do you think we should edit the 'i hate jedis' username too?

Handsome Bob

I don't think I'm feeding him/her, I've never had an exchange with him/her and I won't be losing any sleep if nothing is done.

Maybe you should hold back on changing the "I hate jedis" username until a complaint is made.