That which would be offensive in Buffy, should not be allowed. What is regarded as acceptable within the Buffy/Joss context - the subject matter this entire community is built around - should not be re-contextualized beyond the show.
I understand what you're saying, but would be inclined to disagree in this case. First, off the characters operate under FCC guidance, so there are a whole host of things they can't say that we can ;-). Second, this conversation has established that the word "spaz" has very different connotations in the U.S. than in the U.K. The Buffy characters may operate in a U.S. linguistic culture, but not everyone on this board does. I'd rather not have a thread title that many people will read as offensive, whether I (or Buffy) personally find it so or not. (And yeah, I know, Spike's Bitches ... but that thread title goes back to Table Talk.)
I participate in the Deathmatches, so my opinion may not have much weight, but I don't mind the announcements. In terms of scale, they take up much less time to read than all the other things on the board I'm not interested in....
It's not about not sympathising with regional language nuances, but rather more about logistics, consistency, and establishing a universal language base that the group accepts by way of it's fandom.
But what if I was bothered the first time I heard it, and really don't want a palpably offensive word smiling at me every time I see the index page?
Joss isn't God -- the episodes aren't his gospels -- people have been offended by things contained in them, and I wouldn't ask them to not be, just because it was on Buffy/Angel/Firefly.
Joss isn't God -- the episodes aren't his gospels -- people have been offended by things contained in them, and I wouldn't ask them to not be, just because it was on Buffy/Angel/Firefly.
Just might not be God, but his body of work is the closest thing a board like this has to universal texts.
Seems to me the debate is something akin to the constant issue of which dictionary to use in the world of Scrabble. There is no perfect answer in that case, and in our case, we actually only have 1 source common to all, and it's not the American, Canadian, Australian, British or South African dictionary of XY and Zee(or Zed), but rather that which we all turn up here to discuss - the work of Whedon.
And I agree - there is no universal rightness that will be good for everyone. That much is certain. In the absense of perfection, we *could* choose to use the subject matter as guidelines. Spikes Bitches is a perfect example of that which might be offensive in one context, not being so precisely because of the new context it is used in.
So I'm simply suggesting adopting a convenient, simple tome as guide and an alternative to the absolute logistical nightmare of actively purging all possible words/phrases that may have an offensive connotation in certain countries/regions of the English speaking world.
In short, i'm advocating adoption of the simplest of the available non-perfect solutions. This would ask for all participants to accept the single context provided by the source material as the defining medium, rather than the alternative of requiring every individual to learn and adhere to every other individuals personal and regional definitions of 'offensive', which while filled with the spirit of universal love, tollerance and wholesome goodness, is also probably hugely unmanagable and allows for newbies (and oldbies alike) to suffer extreme uncertainty of rules, acceptability and self-censorship.
Again, I could be just naive. It would be asking for some readers to see things that in other contexts they're not particularly comfortable with. Some might even be uncomfortable with things in the context of the Buffyverse. But there is no end to that road. What happens when we greet our first members offended by references to witchcraft or the occult? All discussion about Willows spells go off the table?
I dunno - when travelling, I tend to go with the flow of whatever culture I'm in, rather than expecting them to adjust to me.
Aren't there other suggestions for a thread title? Usually there are several. Let's go people, get creative.
t /reading Bureau
This would ask for all participants to accept the single context provided by the source material as the defining medium, rather than the alternative of requiring every individual to learn and adhere to every other individuals personal and regional definitions of 'offensive', which while filled with the spirit of universal love, tollerance and wholesome goodness, is also probably hugely unmanagable and allows for newbies (and oldbies alike) to suffer extreme uncertainty of rules, acceptability and self-censorship.
Good thing this isn't a board about Mark Twain....
Good thing this isn't a board about Mark Twain....
I love Steph. That is all.
But this isn't traveling. A better example is the mythical Buffista Island, where a home is made from many disparate cultural elements. Language is demonstrably a large part of that. When different cultures come together, this:
This would ask for all participants to accept the single context provided by the source material as the defining medium, rather than the alternative of requiring every individual to learn and adhere to every other individuals personal and regional definitions of 'offensive', which while filled with the spirit of universal love, tollerance and wholesome goodness, is also probably hugely unmanagable and allows for newbies (and oldbies alike) to suffer extreme uncertainty of rules, acceptability and self-censorship.
strikes me as frankly a bit lazy.
I was new here not so long ago, and I've been involved in several different internet communities over the years. One of the strengths of this one is how the discussions are ongoing, complex, and even prickly. But they keep going, generally, until the parties involved have some understanding of each other.
I hope you enjoy your stay here. Don't feel constrained to join in because you don't know all the "rules" or might step on someones toes. Just be ready to receive and understand as well.
When travelling, I tend to go with the flow of whatever culture I'm in, rather than expecting them to adjust to me.
The culture here has always been to err on the side of not offending anyone. No one (to my knowledge) ever said they were offended by "bitches", while several have said they
are
offended by "spazzed". It's just a thread title -- it's not worth offending someone over it -- let's just substitute "pants".
Just might not be God, but his body of work is the closest thing a board like this has to universal texts.
Whoa there. The board shares a common interest in some of JW's works, not a dogmatic approach to everything Jossian. The people on this board are way more than just Joss fans.
I'm simply suggesting adopting a convenient, simple tome as guide and alternative to the absolute logistical nightmare of actively purging all possible words/phrases that may have an offensive connotation in certain countries/regions of the English speaking world.
There's nothing convenient or simple about using television shows with characters spanning the moral spectrum as a guide for acceptable behavior in a social context. And in 1+ years of being on this board, this is the first time I've seen any significant debate about the appropriateness of a word used in a show. Hardly an absolutely logistical nightmare.
Again, I could be just naive. It would be asking for some readers to see things that in other contexts they're not particularly comfortable with. Some might even be uncomfortable with things in the context of the Buffyverse. But there is no end to that road. What happens when we greet our first members offended by references to witchcraft or the occult? All discussion about Willows spells go off the table?
The same thing that happens when we greet our first members offended by references to HoYay and other popular Buffista topics - they pack up their little browsers and surf elsewhere.
I dunno - when travelling, I tend to go with the flow of whatever culture I'm in, rather than expecting them to adjust to me.
Exactly. We're a sensitive community and a word that is offensive to a fairly large grouping of people is something the Buffista culture is prepared to consider discarding.
By the way, welcome. I really like the way you've expressed your opinions and laid out your arguments. Even the ones that are wrong. ;)
