Bans for Homophobic Behavior.
- Thread starter Da Jinks
- Start date
I had a quick discussion with Sploorky about this - I'd put it down to the fact we don't any concrete rules on how long a ban an offense should merit. We've actually had them once before and found that on the whole they're ineffective - because there's too many factors to take into account (victim aggravating offending person, age, etc. etc.).
I would typically suggest to bring it to the Director (or, if it is across two servers - to both Directors) for them to review and rule out any potential bias/leniency - I would be surprised if most didn't come to a joint agreement on how long the ban should be.
Sploorky also brought up a good point -
<18:05:08> "Sploorky": I don't think bringing up only 2 bans for homophobic slurs constitutes it being more prevelent
<18:05:19> "Sploorky": bt's always had people like that, its the internet
<18:05:22> "Sploorky": that'll never change
So while I don't entirely disagree with your view that the difference may have been unfair, I would be hesitant to say anything concrete unless there was some solid proof it was become more of an issue. Personally me and sploorky settled on a month for the log that was posted ~ I don't know what he was got/how long it was compared to that but, everyone will have their own individual stance which should be taken up with operators/directors/administrators if it occurs.
I would typically suggest to bring it to the Director (or, if it is across two servers - to both Directors) for them to review and rule out any potential bias/leniency - I would be surprised if most didn't come to a joint agreement on how long the ban should be.
Sploorky also brought up a good point -
<18:05:08> "Sploorky": I don't think bringing up only 2 bans for homophobic slurs constitutes it being more prevelent
<18:05:19> "Sploorky": bt's always had people like that, its the internet
<18:05:22> "Sploorky": that'll never change
So while I don't entirely disagree with your view that the difference may have been unfair, I would be hesitant to say anything concrete unless there was some solid proof it was become more of an issue. Personally me and sploorky settled on a month for the log that was posted ~ I don't know what he was got/how long it was compared to that but, everyone will have their own individual stance which should be taken up with operators/directors/administrators if it occurs.
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Malcovent's response has summed up a majority of my views on this issue. There is no leniency for those who express aggressively homophobic comments on our servers, and as with all questionable circumstances, the community is encouraged to speak to the appropriate server Director if a punishment appears to be poorly matched.
Such aggressive behaviour cannot be encouraged, but in some cases short ban length may be explained by the unfortunate prevalence of homophobic attitudes on the internet to attack others. Some may consider it worthwhile to provide a second chance to individuals who fall foul of such common decency not due to deep-rooted homophobia or other such attitudes, but because it has regrettably fallen into place as the go-to attack of the naïve prepubescent. While not every situation is deserving of it, it is sometimes better to give people a chance before losing hope completely. Staff are expected to be able to study the context of the situation and act accordingly, if not, as previously mentioned, there are always the Directors or even Administrators to veto decisions if required.
Homophobic or other hateful attitudes have not, are not, and never will be, accepted within Blocktopia. While there have been situations where a punishment may appear to be lenient, there are many channels in place to discuss concerns with a Director that help to lessen the likelihood that these attitudes will ruin the friendly and open atmosphere we all strive to create.
Such aggressive behaviour cannot be encouraged, but in some cases short ban length may be explained by the unfortunate prevalence of homophobic attitudes on the internet to attack others. Some may consider it worthwhile to provide a second chance to individuals who fall foul of such common decency not due to deep-rooted homophobia or other such attitudes, but because it has regrettably fallen into place as the go-to attack of the naïve prepubescent. While not every situation is deserving of it, it is sometimes better to give people a chance before losing hope completely. Staff are expected to be able to study the context of the situation and act accordingly, if not, as previously mentioned, there are always the Directors or even Administrators to veto decisions if required.
Homophobic or other hateful attitudes have not, are not, and never will be, accepted within Blocktopia. While there have been situations where a punishment may appear to be lenient, there are many channels in place to discuss concerns with a Director that help to lessen the likelihood that these attitudes will ruin the friendly and open atmosphere we all strive to create.
I'm not staff but I want to kindof throw something into this thread here:
Its important to give people second chances - I think its rare that people are banned/perma'd instantaneously for any offense, but its vitally important that no one writes off homophobic remarks as negligible because its a common insult or "all the kids are doin' it". So I guess my request, or maybe my ask for clarification, is that the later won't be happening? I see enough of it already.
Individuals are ultimately responsible for what they say and do, regardless of if it is on the internet or in real life interactions. Nobody will get a free pass simply because 'lots of people do it', as homophobic or hateful conduct is not acceptable regardless of particular circumstance. While the contextual contributions to attitudes may be considered, those breaching this standard of conduct will not face a blind eye because of it.
In my opinion ban lengths of any racist or homophobic slur should mainly be decided based on the sincerety of the appeal the person writes. The severity of the word/sentence should also be taken in consideration.
Some people can say these things because they are making a (awkward & bad) joke or just because they got a little mad for a bit. I think it is way too punishing to have 0 toleration for racist or homophobic remarks. What I used to do as director is hand out bans very quickly for this sort of behaviour but also unban them immediately if they had the decency to write a good, honest appeal. Of course it is different when that person was extremely out of line.
Sometimes people just say dumb things without overthinking it, if they are sorry for it then there is no need for any penalty. Only if someone formerly banned for this does it again do I think it's necessary to hand out a severe ban.
Some people can say these things because they are making a (awkward & bad) joke or just because they got a little mad for a bit. I think it is way too punishing to have 0 toleration for racist or homophobic remarks. What I used to do as director is hand out bans very quickly for this sort of behaviour but also unban them immediately if they had the decency to write a good, honest appeal. Of course it is different when that person was extremely out of line.
Sometimes people just say dumb things without overthinking it, if they are sorry for it then there is no need for any penalty. Only if someone formerly banned for this does it again do I think it's necessary to hand out a severe ban.
Edit: Its not fair for people to get instantly ban as they need second changes when they screw up, but its not fair for people to get instantly unbanned if they do something severe enough to get banned
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Highlighted a few things, some of the points made are understandable. When people are mad we say things we do not mean, and may regret later. And I agree in second chances, but the ideal that "short ban length may be explained by the unfortunate prevalence of homophobic attitudes on the internet" will never change unless WE change it. May it be the popular thing to do? No. But it needs to be done. If we say "well, there sure are lots of racists on the internet. Guess we should be a bit more lenient towards then" then it isn't as big and deal and more and more people won't think about it. I will also note (though I know some may judge appeals different then others) I personally found the first appeal to be rather awful with nothing but arguing and appeal two has the user being asked to apologize to the offended user? Not ideally apologetic appeals.
I will also note, my goal with this was to bring the issue up since the TS Badges thread was already revolving around LGBT stuff, and my goal isn't to paint Blocktopia as homophobic but rather help and see if issues can be corrected.
That was by no means the message I was intending to convey. Contextually there are many things to consider beyond the use of specific homophobic slurs. A 13 year old kid stumbles across the community after one too many heated rounds on Call of Duty and lets loose his newly acquired vocabulary within our community. Is he an ignorant fool? Sure is. Should he be smitten down for being an absolute disgrace of a human being and exiled immediately and permanently for his crimes? In the majority of cases, I'd argue not.
This is a sensitive, controversial, and consequently diverse issue. As such, resolving disputes surrounding homophobia is, to an extent, all about pragmatics. Unfortunate as it may be, it is a very difficult topic to place a blanket punishment over. No member of Blocktopia should ever have to worry about hurtful comments such as those brought by homophobia. I would like to reassure everybody that this has been, and always will be, the priority when dealing with such matters.