After the recent bout on nonsense with people receiving unfair mutes in room 3, and seeing the moderator responses to that, I figured I'd throw in my own two bits. I otherwise never frequent the forums, but these policies on the part of the TFM moderators are homophobic in nature, and I am sick of myself and my friends having to suffer unfairly under them. For starters, I am the founder of the tribe SGKGBT which, as Haruhitastic mentioned in a recent thread, and as many others from room 4 (our particular haunt) and 3, 5, etc. could tell you is a tribe geared towards LGBT+ players and allies. I've never tried to make a big deal out of that, but at the same time I like to keep a safe space available where members can feel open and free to fully express themselves online if they lack the ability to do so offline. I created the tribe after noticing a developing community in room 4, and deciding to give that community a more solid platform to stand on. So, moderators and admins, you've got no excuse for pretending there's an unclear context in regards to my tribe name. If you want to pretend there's something even slightly homophobic about it, then accept the fact that in doing so you're painting yourselves as hypocrites.

And secondly, in regards to considering the word gay as a slur. To quote Whiskeypickle in a recent post: "it is still prominently used as an insult against homosexual people with the intent of being emasculating." Is it really? That's new to me, a gay man, and frankly the entire sentiment expressed on the part of the mod-community is offensive there. I honestly can't recall the last time I heard the word gay used in that context offline, and I've never seen it used in such a way in Transformice, at least not in the rooms I play in. I was having a chat with another gay player and the conclusion we came to was that we both much prefer to be addressed as gay rather than homosexual. The latter term just sounds callous, uncaring, and as if you want to whisk us away to some scientific theoretical world, and pretend we're not actually present in real life. Actually, given the game's current policies, that's exactly what you're accomplishing. The official Transformice rules are exactly like the laws of Russia, wherein homosexuals aren't even allowed to publicly talk about themselves for "fear for the children lest they be corrupted". I understand wanting to shelter younger players from potentially ambiguous contexts, but what about younger children who like this game, and are just coming to realize that they're gay, and then find themselves not only silenced offline, but also in a game they like? What kind of message are you sending to people where we're not even allowed to be mentioned.

In short, your policies are reprehensible, oppressive, and hypocritical, and I marvel at the amount of double-think that allows you to enforce them and still pretend that the lot of you are supportive of diversity.

We're actually having a talk about this over in Staff FAQ. I'm happy to see your side however. :)

I see the point of the OP, I am also a member of the LGBT+ tribe, and I can confirm that there has been a lot of stuff happening lately which I don't agree with. I also know the staff is trying to make things better, but stuff should happen sooner. I think there should be a clear line of what is and isn't allowed to be said. I know TFM have their priorities, but tfm isn't even that fun if you're muted for saying stuff like: "I'm gay".

I think at least Usefulnpc's opinion should be taken into consideration, and support the children in this game and not make them think saying the word "gay" is offensive, if you teach kids "gay" is offensive they'll never be able to cope with any kind of homosexuality in real life. I think it should be a part of their education, online and offline. I understand there are words that cannot be said online. but I think gay isn't one of those words.

I personally saw what happened the day at least 5 different users said (as far as I know), the only LGBT+ tribe's name and were muted for it and for one case someone had a 3 hour mute while the others only had a 1 hour mute which is highly ridiculous.

I would like to bring your attention to a particular screenshot: http://gyazo.com/fed11440d8e1b4644ad59ccc733b04fe, what did I say to be awarded this mute? "tfw kerrald is gay". I was not using "gay" as a slur towards anyone, not even myself and frankly just thinking "gay" is a homophobic slur is to begin with is just foolish. All I was stating is that I am clearly a gay person. So when I am freely expressing myself and then completely shut down what kind of message does that show to the younger users? You can freely express yourself if you're straight and you don't mention anything about homosexuality. Or this isn't a place for such people? If people are lead to believe that "gay" is such a bad word, what are they going to think when they meet a gay person?

Also regarding the Staff FAQ, we all know that homophobia will once again be swept under the carpet as a priority for maybe the next time such an event comes up. It's not going to be talked about as much as other issues and will soon be forgotten about. Although I very much hope for it to be a priority in the near future but clearly it's not going to be right now.

I like the way you pointed out the double standards by saying someone who was all "such-and-such is straight!" wouldn't get a mute.

and tbh if the staff don't care about policing rape jokes, i seriously doubt they have homophobia as a top priority. I have no idea why suddenly people are getting mutes for the word "gay" when words that can only be used in a malicious way are tollerated, i'm tempted to side with the people who are saying mods are abusing their power

Not really sure EN moderation is even a pool of resources and experience so much as new people replacing those that have quit or stopped playing, so of course what's discussed by the public mouthpieces here can be contrary to what's actually going on in their stead within the game.

even if staff retention is a problem surely they have guildlines/training/a knowledge base that they can all access and refer to if unsure?

I find it slightly amusing how the the mods say that "gay" is a slur while actual gay people are saying that it isn't. That must show for something.

And mods are abusing their power, 5 people were muted over saying a tribe name? That pretty excessive. I mean it's a tribe name for crying out loud. Who's it hurting?

if the tribe name was so offensive, then they wouldn't have let you have it in the first place/would have made you change it by now. I think the fact that you're an established tribe proves the name is inoffensive.

Well if such a thing existed and was effective this thread probably wouldn't exist.

Kerrald a dit :

I find it slightly amusing how the the mods say that "gay" is a slur while actual gay people are saying that it isn't. That must show for something.

Right, it's like I said in the thread that 4o4 is talking about that I spoke in. Don't make assumptions of what the LGBTQIA+ community is offended by. It's like the idiots saying the word "waifu" is racist to the Japanese when in actuality it's not.

Squirrelmows, I did see your posts regarding the problems you've been having with rape jokes, and we don't really have such a problem in room 4. You're always welcome to join us there. Whenever the regs are around we don't have much of a tolerance for those kinds of people, and will actively roomkick them.

Since I generally don't moderate on EN I'm not completely informed as to what went down. I'll make a few general comments along with my own point of view. This post is by no means meant to be some sort of official statement so please don't read it as such. In a way it's also me typing as I attempt to make sense of a complicated problem. Either bear with me or skip this post :)

First off, TFM's in game rules. Every staff member is supposed to give out sanctions according to a sanction sheet. This sheet is the same for every community and simply states a few categories and what sanction to give for it. It leaves a lot of room for interpretation, which can be both good and bad. It makes way for flexibility on our part, but also poor choices. It also means that staff members should at all times take any context into consideration. Since this seems to be centered around the usage of gay as a word; "I am gay" should not result in a sanction whereas telling someone else what sexual orientation they have ("you are gay") may result in a warning or even a mute. I'm confident that nearly every staff member will not sanction for "you are straight", however. I realize this is inherently unfair, but at this point I cannot think of a solution that pacifies everyone.

This does however make for a halfway decent bridge to an important point - one that I fear may upset a few people. Even if one gay person says "you are gay" to another gay person, it may be perceived by outsiders as one person trying to insult another. So while context is important, it's not unambiguous itself and as a staff member you will have to look at things from an outsider's perspective. As such, always be cautious with insider jokes, they may be interpreted differently by outsiders and as such earn whoever makes them a sanction. Even when most people know you and your tribe, playing in these public rooms means that there may always be ignorant (in the sense that they're unaware) people about.

As for your specific case - again, I don't quite know what happened and who was involved, I don't necessarily need to know either - I think you definitely have a point and have a right to get additional explanation. However, bear in mind that anything dealing with sanctions needs to be addressed through private channels; PMs work well. I can assure you that a lot of staff members have been made aware that this is an issue. It is something that is being thoroughly discussed.

No offense intended Lemodile, but if resolution via private channels offered a solution, I don't think we'd be seeing multiple forum discussion on the topic.

I think it also means something that everyone is using the word "gay" in their posts and not the word "f*****".

BECAUSE the word f***** is inappropiate and the word gay isn't.

Haruhitastic a dit :

Kerrald a dit :VoirMasquer

I find it slightly amusing how the the mods say that "gay" is a slur while actual gay people are saying that it isn't. That must show for something.

Right, it's like I said in the thread that 4o4 is talking about that I spoke in. Don't make assumptions of what the LGBTQIA+ community is offended by. It's like the idiots saying the word "waifu" is racist to the Japanese when in actuality it's not.

As an LGBT member, im offended by the behaviours of homophobic mods and players. By the way i dont really understand your point saying "waifu" is racist to the Japenese people. You cant compare LGBT community with a nation even if you give it as an example since there is no direct similarity between them at all.

Vodkaforlife a dit :

Haruhitastic a dit :VoirMasquer

Kerrald a dit :VoirMasquer

I find it slightly amusing how the the mods say that "gay" is a slur while actual gay people are saying that it isn't. That must show for something.

Right, it's like I said in the thread that 4o4 is talking about that I spoke in. Don't make assumptions of what the LGBTQIA+ community is offended by. It's like the idiots saying the word "waifu" is racist to the Japanese when in actuality it's not.

As an LGBT member, im offended by the behaviours of homophobic mods and players. By the way i dont really understand your point saying "waifu" is racist to the Japenese people. You cant compare LGBT community with a nation even if you give it as an example since there is no direct similarity between them at all.

What I'm trying to say here is that unless you are part of said community, then you can't determine what is offensive. IE: whether gay is a slur, whether waifu is a racist term. Sorry. Wasn't trying to compare the two issues, merely provide an example.

Haruhitastic a dit :

What I'm trying to say here is that unless you are part of said community, then you can't determine what is offensive. IE: whether gay is a slur, whether waifu is a racist term. Sorry. Wasn't trying to compare the two issues, merely provide an example.

What I'm trying to say here is that you can't compare racism with homophobia, ma'am.

Also, I think the waifu thing is on such a smaller base an issue and since nobody is getting muted for it, it's not relevant to this discussion, since we're talking about the word "gay", and people getting muted for that wrongly.

I do want to say I'm glad you support us. :)

Haruhitastic a dit :

Vodkaforlife a dit :VoirMasquer

Haruhitastic a dit :VoirMasquer

Kerrald a dit :VoirMasquer

I find it slightly amusing how the the mods say that "gay" is a slur while actual gay people are saying that it isn't. That must show for something.

Right, it's like I said in the thread that 4o4 is talking about that I spoke in. Don't make assumptions of what the LGBTQIA+ community is offended by. It's like the idiots saying the word "waifu" is racist to the Japanese when in actuality it's not.

As an LGBT member, im offended by the behaviours of homophobic mods and players. By the way i dont really understand your point saying "waifu" is racist to the Japenese people. You cant compare LGBT community with a nation even if you give it as an example since there is no direct similarity between them at all.

What I'm trying to say here is that unless you are part of said community, then you can't determine what is offensive. IE: whether gay is a slur, whether waifu is a racist term. Sorry. Wasn't trying to compare the two issues, merely provide an example.

Brendahahaha a dit :

Also, I think the waifu thing is on such a smaller base an issue and since nobody is getting muted for it, it's not relevant to this discussion, since we're talking about the word "gay", and people getting muted for that wrongly.

I agree with Brendahahaha. That Japanese example has nothing to do with this discussion.