Request addition to swear filter 'Jap'

Renegade Mechanic

MilanPan!c wrote: »

Lot's of black folks are offended by the word ******, even when black people say it.



Why should Japanese people toughen up so you can be lazy?

As for the history of the word, well, as you say that's beyond the point.

They are plenty tough. I was referring to everyone else. Given what Ive learned in the links in this thread, Ill actively watch my tongue around a ww2 veteran should I ever be lucky enough to meet one. Likewise Id expect my grandfather or any of his predecessors to dislike being called a "spud muncher". An odder term I couldn't have picked but its exactly what was roared at us by some rather drunk Brits on New years looking for trouble. Know what I did? I burst out laughing. Because I wasnt around 150 years ago.

padd b1975

I just hope nobody ever describes a Japanese car as having a nippy engine!

P_1

It seems to me that the technology just isn't there to censor the word 'jap' without words containing those 3 letters in that combination becoming meaningless.

To give another example, in golf the term 'mis-hit' is often used without the hyphen in the middle so a lot of times when people here are describing poorly struck shots it reads as 'I mi**** the ball'.

Sir Humphrey Appleby

Femme_Fatale wrote: »

If it's offensive to Japanese people, it's offensive to Japanese people, but I still find it annoying as hell when context/intent are not taken into account and a deliberate attempt to offend/hurt (which is something I most certainly am not in the habit of - in fact I am considered at times to be a card-carrying member of the PC brigade) is found when not there - on an Irish forum not frequented by many Japanese people or people who are aware of Japanese culture.

I always thought it was just innocent short-hand for Japanese person too (like, as someone said, "Scot", "Brit", "Fin").

I totally agree, as another who is frequently accused of being a member of the "PC Brigade" I have always argued that context is everything.
I doubt very much that the average Irish person would ever guess that "jap" is considered insulting in most contexts.
I am very much against drawing up lists of banned words, words are usually subject to the context in which they are used, and it is the use in context that needs to be looked at in each case.

tfitzgerald

I think it's a bit too p c to give someone and infraction for using the term jap in the motors forum. A garage in limerick had jap imports for sale up on its wall for years and no one thought anything about it this is just p c fcukology

Mr E

Sorry guys, it's not going to happen. It would open a big can of worms that would lead to more marginal terms being censored, and nobody wants that.

Terry, you have a good case for getting the infraction overturned if you go through the DRP process.

Terry1985

Thanks for all the replies.

Seeing as another poster was so clearly upset, I thought it would be a simple technological solution. Feel free to close this request at your convenience if nobody else wants to argue on favour of it.

old hippy

The Mustard wrote: »

People will go miles out of their way to take offence these days.

People will go miles out of their way to pretend they don't know when they're being offensive these days.

old hippy

Mr E wrote: »

Sorry guys, it's not going to happen. It would open a big can of worms that would lead to more marginal terms being censored, and nobody wants that.

Terry, you have a good case for getting the infraction overturned if you go through the DRP process.

The boards have spoken - it's perfectely acceptable to use a racial slur.

MugMugs

old hippy wrote: »

The boards have spoken - it's perfectely acceptable to use a racial slur.

That's unfair.

The general concensus is that it isn't meant or used around here in a derogotory manner.

I've used it numerous times and even in the role of my work and I've never meant offence.

There's a degree of PC going mad about this whole thing frankly.

Paddy, Mick, Brit could all come under the hammer here aswell. Where do we draw the line ?

old hippy

MugMugs wrote: »

That's unfair.

The general concensus is that it isn't meant or used around here in a derogotory manner.

I've used it numerous times and even in the role of my work and I've never meant offence.

There's a degree of PC going mad about this whole thing frankly.

Paddy, Mick, Brit could all come under the hammer here aswell. Where do we draw the line ?

The above terms can be used as offense, of course. It's the particular topic under discussion that concerns me.

It's not PC of me to want an end to insults to my family and friends, surely you can understand that?

I'm not singling you out, btw. I'm just exasperated by the whole thing.

MugMugs

old hippy wrote: »

It's not PC of me to want an end to insults to my family and friends, surely you can understand that?

I honestly do get that but I suppose one would also expect a degree of understanding that it's not meant or being used in a means or manner meant to cause offense or hurt. I've never used it in that way nor would I ever (personally) and I can only imagine that any instance of it on this forum is just as innocent.

old hippy

MugMugs wrote: »

I honestly do get that but I suppose one would also expect a degree of understanding that it's not meant or being used in a means or manner meant to cause offense or hurt. I've never used it in that way nor would I ever (personally) and I can only imagine that any instance of it on this forum is just as innocent.

I reluctantly agreed that it's not meant on the motors forum as offensive, although I don't care for its use, obviously. When it comes to threads about the Pacific War and suchlike that's a different situation.

GarIT

I don't get how it became offensive because if its use. If the Americans had of made posters saying "Japanese out" rather than "Japs out" would calling someone Japanese then be offensive?

On a similar note I've heard Irish used as part of a discriminatory statement, should Irish people now be offended by being called Irish.

Jap was a perfectly legitimate way of refering to a Japanese person before the war, it has been used as part of discrimination but why would that change the use of the word when it is used without discrimination?

Big Nasty

tfitzgerald wrote: »

this is just p c fcukology

Amen to that!

old hippy

GarIT wrote: »

I don't get how it became offensive because if its use. If the Americans had of made posters saying "Japanese out" rather than "Japs out" would calling someone Japanese then be offensive?

On a similar note I've heard Irish used as part of a discriminatory statement, should Irish people now be offended by being called Irish.

Jap was a perfectly legitimate way of refering to a Japanese person before the war, it has been used as part of discrimination but why would that change the use of the word when it is used without discrimination?

I've posted dozens of links as to why the word is offensive since I joined here a few years ago. I'm too tired to dredge them up again. If you don't believe it's of any consequence; fine. Carry on.

GarIT

old hippy wrote: »

I've posted dozens of links as to why the word is offensive since I joined here a few years ago. I'm too tired to dredge them up again. If you don't believe it's of any consequence; fine. Carry on.

No you haven't, you have posted links to examples of it being used alongside discrimination not as discrimination.

Take any example you posted, replace Jap with Japanese, is it not still offensive? The offensive part isn't Jap.

Also thank you for ignoring the parts of my post you couldn't argue against. I assume you will respect my wishes and refrain from the use of the word Irish and I will refrain from using Jap.

old hippy

GarIT wrote: »

No you haven't, you have posted links to examples of it being used alongside discrimination not as discrimination.

Take any example you posted, replace Jap with Japanese, is it not still offensive? The offensive part isn't Jap.

Also thank you for ignoring the parts of my post you couldn't argue against. I assume you will respect my wishes and refrain from the use of the word Irish and I will refrain from using Jap.

When did this thread become about anti-Irish sentiment?

I ignored it because it has absolutely no bearing on the fact that the word "Jap" causes offense.

But no - you couldn't possibly entertain that notion so you'd rather dismiss it or make light of it and maybe even derail the thread.

El Guapo!

old hippy wrote: »

The above terms can be used as offense, of course. It's the particular topic under discussion that concerns me.

It's not PC of me to want an end to insults to my family and friends, surely you can understand that?

I'm not singling you out, btw. I'm just exasperated by the whole thing.

No one is insulting your family and friends. I think the one thing you're failing to take into consideration here is context.
Context is all important in matters like this.
You've been given reasons why adding it to the swear filter, and an outright banning of the word is impractical.

I'd say 99% of people don't mean it in an offensive way, and don't even know it's considered offensive in the first place.

In my opinion, the only practical way to "police" this is to take each post on its own merit. I hope you'll agree that there is no practical way to effectively "ban" the word, and you should understand that infracting a user for posting the word in an innocent way is also unfair.
Education is the only way to go here and I commend you for your efforts to do so, but there are better ways to go about it.

hullaballoo

old hippy wrote: »

The boards have spoken - it's perfectely acceptable to use a racial slur.

That's totally unfair and from what I've seen of your (usually quite sensible) posts, you have enough about you to know it.

What Mr E has said and he has gone no further, is that adding terms to the swear filter has unwanted consequences. To suggest that the site's administrators/owners/management would ever condone racial slurs is madness.

To extrapolate from Mr E's post that he/the site is condoning racial slurs is nothing short of out-and-out trolling.

Adding words to the swear filter is pointless. If people are going to be racist, let them hang themselves by using those derogatory terms and deal with the behaviour for what it is. If you automate the censorship, racists and bigots can just hide behind the asterisks.

P_1

old hippy wrote: »

The boards have spoken - it's perfectely acceptable to use a racial slur.

It all depends on the context at the end of the day.

Using the word 'Jap' in the sentence: "Those Jap bastards just killed another whale" is a racial slur.

Using the word 'Jap' in the sentence: "How reliable are Jap imports, I have my eye on a lovely looking Nissan March" isn't.

old hippy

hullaballoo wrote: »

That's totally unfair and from what I've seen of your (usually quite sensible) posts, you have enough about you to know it.

What Mr E has said and he has gone no further, is that adding terms to the swear filter has unwanted consequences. To suggest that the site's administrators/owners/management would ever condone racial slurs is madness.

To extrapolate from Mr E's post that he/the site is condoning racial slurs is nothing short of out-and-out trolling.

Adding words to the swear filter is pointless. If people are going to be racist, let them hang themselves by using those derogatory terms and deal with the behaviour for what it is. If you automate the censorship, racists and bigots can just hide behind the asterisks.

I hear you but I'm just sick to the back teeth of it. Do you follow? It's doing my head in & I can't stand it anymore.

Those of you who use it (not you, h) are shameless bastards.

Now that should earn me a ban & I can recharge until the inevitable onslaught some time in the future.

Mr E

You won't be banned for that, old hippy. Obviously it's an emotive subject for you.

I think we'll draw a line under this for now before it gets any more heated.