Use of derogatory terms

[cyberia]

Jim is on the money, but also keep in mind we are all friends here, and if you read something that strikes a nerve maybe the best first step is to let that member know.

I'm willing to bet there is no one here that would intentionally continue to be insensitive to another's feelings.

[razorboy]

Originally Posted by cyberia

Jim is on the money, but also keep in mind we are all friends here, and if you read something that strikes a nerve maybe the best first step is to let that member know.

I'm willing to bet there is no one here that would intentionally continue to be insensitive to another's feelings.

Paul is correct, by speaking directly to the member first it allows him to save more "Red Face" (Not a commie, sorry .... communist reference) than he would otherwise show if called out in front of the entire membership. I made reference to the Germans in our fictional story thread as "Jerries", anyone got a problem with that one? If so I'll remove it. I mean that guy was calling me a Kagummin something or other.

[Panzermacher]

My two cents, when I lived in Japan...a CORRECT short way to refer to the Japanese was "JN" (Japanese National) Not offensive in any way. And we called Koreans"ROKs" (Republic of Korea) Another acceptable term. Just use some sense when saying things.....just don't call me a Yankee tho.....My family hails from the South! (Reb or Johnnie are acceptable)

[Whiterook]

Originally Posted by razorboy

Paul is correct, by speaking directly to the member first it allows him to save more "Red Face" (Not a commie, sorry .... communist reference) than he would otherwise show if called out in front of the entire membership. I made reference to the Germans in our fictional story thread as "Jerries", anyone got a problem with that one? If so I'll remove it. I mean that guy was calling me a Kagummin something or other.

Now this really has me wondering!

I'll of course defer to Jim and the Super Mods on this but, in the case of the fictional story, some latitude (within reason) may be warranted??? ...as it IS a fictional story telling, the same a if you were reading a fictional novel. Flavor is the spice of any book, and when dealing with WWII, some terminolgy is bound to surface when tering to depict that era. Hence, what is acceptable? To me, it kinda comes back to what Paul said...this is a global website, so we must be vigilant to how others would feel to even a story...but we come back to, this is a story character talking, not the forum member? Man, I gotta tell you, this is a tricky one for me.

As for the the comment made to how the British are referred to on one of the Game Forum games, and as a British Player on that very game, I never felt it as derogatory in nature, and I doubt seriously a British subject would take it as derogatory in the context used; but I certainly would welcome a ruling form above on it (as Moderator of the Game Forum, I didn't see anything wrong with it, but I will most certainly defer to Jim).

[Jim O]

As a rule of thumb we should stay away from anything that might be viewed as being derogatory. Once again, historical accuracy is one thing, insulting is another.

As I said, on the Internet there are no facial expressions or tones, just typed words which can be misconstrued.

I'd rather err on the side of caution. As Wolster pointed out, the "tea drinkers" comments did irritate him.

So rather than asking me the question "is this or that alright?" how about asking yourselves "is this or that necessary?".

How far is it from calling the British "tea drinkers" to calling the Russians "rapists"? After all, Soviet soldiers did rape perhaps two million German women around the time of the war's end. It was horrible, but it also is historically accurate. It is highly inflammatory as well.

And while we're at it, why not call German forces "Krauts"? Heck, why not just call them "Nazis"? Or just plain "murderers"? Some were, most weren't. But what if you're commanding a group of Waffen-SS which might have had a higher percentage of party members? Would it be fair then to call them "Nazis"? Or how about the somewhat less objectionable term "Fascists"? Is that one OK? What about "Jew killers"?

Perhaps I am taking it to an extreme but name calling is a slippery slope that we are all best avoiding in an Internet forum.