So, Boss...*cough*

[Thane of Blue Flames]

I mean, the responses I get on stream when I ask people not to say things like that are:

"Oh god, THIS again."
"Can we just focus on the match?"
"It's not a big deal roflmao"
"GET *****"

It's going to be a slow process, clearly, but we ought to start by asking those who regularly address these streams and are most prominent on it to use the proper language. Thankfully TKbreezy, D1 and ThePhenomenalIEE are all very professional as well as very well-spoken.

That incident does not make me think Boss was a victim. GiMR politely asked him to abide by the rules of the stream off-mic, and was spited in response. It's hard for me to respect his behavior and his attitude after that.

 

[Terotrous]

You can do that sort of thing when you only have like 100 viewers. When you have 1000+ it's impossible to do so. Unfortunately, that's just the way stream chats are.

I don't know, honestly it's usually like 5-10 guys spamming the most offensive stuff over and over. There are some times when the chat gets flooded and you can't see who posted what but that's usually just "OMG!" and the like.

 

[Saito]

Annihilated, Destroyed, Wrecked, Smashed, and Decimated are pretty good words.

 

[Thane of Blue Flames]

As are dunked, intercepted, DENIED, walled, ejected, repelled, zoned out, and worst ... expelled.

(D1 was talking about no longer using the word 'gimp' in the stream chat)

 

[Terotrous]

I 100% approve of the use of the phrase "Get dunked" for Mario Fair or any move with a similar animation.

"Get that mess out of here" is my preferred saying for when someone gets spiked or meteored on the way back to stage.

 

[Thane of Blue Flames]

Can someone bring back 'clobbered'? Bonus points for making it a Bowser-exclusive term.

 

[Hinichii.ez.™]

Can someone bring back 'clobbered'? Bonus points for making it a Bowser-exclusive term.

Plzno

 

[Doctor Pink]

Just say Mooped when someone loses. Also, when DJ Nintendo wins, say "Oh man, DJ Nintendo Backflipped all over(insert player's name here)"

 

[ImpossiblyRood]

The way I see it, it's better to just avoid words that people find particularly hurtful. I don't think being overly sensitive should be a primary concern, but more the idea that being rude or hurtful will turn people away from a really awesome community.

I've come and gone from numerous gaming and online communities in my time and this is the only one where I've ever seen people treat one another with such respect and general respect. I know it seems a little hammy, but this community is awesome. It's just unnecessary to use words that make people uncomfortable because you can't be bothered to have a more colorful vocabulary. I'm not saying everyone should magically be able to remove habitual language use overnight, but an active attempt would be a good idea.


That lameness aside, aside from words like demolished and wrecked, I like using "buttered". Not quite sure why, to be completely honest. It just makes me think of a biscuit - no choice or opinion on whether or not it's buttered. It doesn't resist. It is just buttered. It's a sort of matter-of-fact kind of loss.

 

[Rᴏb]

The people who get offended by terms like "****" and "********" have no understanding of context and are simply choosing to be offended.

The only time these terms should be avoided is when sponsorships, money, and general community growth are on the line. In GiMR's case, what he did was completely appropriate and handled fairly well. However, if one were to think that his commentators are representative of the entire smash community, I'd say you're delusional.

Personally, I'm not going to change my vocabulary to be politically correct just for you. My words, or anybody's words for that matter, shouldn't be considered representative of an entire community and shouldn't be analysed without the proper context.

 

[Chesstiger2612]

Stockcancel or SD instead of suicide.
Many terms are already suggested to replace "****".
We need to be creative how to replace gimp.
Also gay as describing a campy playstyle is obviously not good because it has nothing to do with it.
More suggestions: "gets to meet the blast zone", "got his percent reset", "can now enjoy a fresh stock".
Also death-related words like annihilated are often related in a comical sense and not seen that serious, also dead people can't get triggers about it. Also with the animation and Nintendo's work to make it seem less brutal / deathlike, it is just more a kind of "defeat" whereas there is no such case in words like "****".

 

[Comeback Kid]

What if people just said the person playing got ****ed instead of *****.

Same idea, but without all the culture war baggage attached but I'm sure some sensitive kids would still be offended by the foul language so you can't ****ing win with them.

 

[Fortress]

Also gay as describing a campy playstyle is obviously not good because it has nothing to do with it.

And you're saying gay people can't be camp?

 

[SpiderMad]

More suggestions: "gets to meet the blast zone", "got his percent reset", "can now enjoy a fresh stock".

lol, I could imagine D1 saying the last one

 

[Saito]

I 100% approve of the use of the phrase "Get dunked" for Mario Fair or any move with a similar animation.

"Get that mess out of here" is my preferred saying for when someone gets spiked or meteored on the way back to stage.

For any spike or meteor I just go lonely island on everyone and say "THE GROUND"

 

[ImpossiblyRood]

The thing about being sensitive, in my view, is that while a lot of the 'getting offended' comes from people who don't actually have any justifiable reason for being offended (i.e. getting offended on the behalf of others), others have genuine problems with them. While I'm not saying you should reorganize your lifestyle to suit the opinions and baggages of others, you should keep in mind when online and in these big group settings that we all, as individuals, represent the smash scene.

If everyone projects these trigger words or offensive languages as being the norm by their overuse, we create a negative visage for the community as a whole. It isn't about you, it's about the rest of us being misrepresented. While I agree that people should see the individuals as being assholes rather than the community as being rude as a whole, that's not how people work. One bad interaction or perception can ruin an entire experience for a potential member or an existing member.

I don't think it's acceptable for people to be needlessly offended, especially when they have no personal basis to do so, but ignoring the feelings of those that have genuine discomfort that stems from words like "****" or "suicide" or "******" or whatever, should not be ignored nor should their existence be added to the jerkwads that get overly defensive for no reason. That's my point.

 

[JesseMcCloud]

For any spike or meteor I just go lonely island on everyone and say "THE GROUND"

I always let my inner Thor out and say, "I say unto thee, NAY!!"

 

[Kati]

Imo if someone can't control their vocabulary, they are more of a "baby" than anyone who takes offense at a word.

 

[9bit]

Imo if someone can't control their vocabulary, they are more of a "baby" than anyone who takes offense at a word.

Well in my opinion, the complete opposite is true. So I guess we're at a standstill.

 

[Comeback Kid]

The anti-saying suicide thing is just bizarre to me. In almost every game the objective is to get kills. You kill yourself and die if you jump off the stage. These are common sense terms that we shouldn't need to ban no matter what a few nutters think.

I'm sorry that saying words like killing, murder, death and suicide all have the potential to trigger bad memories in a few but that doesn't mean the world has to conform to your ideal "triggerless" existence.

If you are honestly that sensitive by any depiction of video game violence or its mention you have no business being in a game stream to begin with.

 

[ImpossiblyRood]

I'm inclined to agree with you, Kid, for the most part. I think suicide - not do doubt it's emotional impact - should be one of the lesser fixes we should focus on as a community.

 

[TheLastOneAlive]

Annihilated, Destroyed, Wrecked, Smashed, and Decimated are pretty good words.

My new personal favorite my brother used on me a few days ago in the middle of a combo is "Bamboozled"

 

[Deleted member]

i have a sense of ambivalence for this type of content. on one hand, i understand that this is calvin's livelihood and passion and he doesn't want anything to threaten that. this stance is totally defensible.

this is also the only part that i agree with.

1. obviously this is will's normal every day speech. so, is it more bigoted to use inappropriate language than it is to tell someone not to use his/her regular mode of speech? personally i strongly consider the latter to be the bigger offense of the two.

2. people have tried to sidestep this in a number of ways that are equally tactless but they won't admit it. referring to "the N-bomb" for example is straight intellectually dishonest because no REAL means has been used to sidestep anything- i know what it means, you know what it means reading my post right now, and everyone just assumes that phrasing it differently will fix that? trust me, if you want to not bother people by saying **** or niger and they ACTUALLY care and aren't just tumblr attention seekers, all you've done is still upset them while pretending that you didn't. it's intellectually dishonest and everyone knows it.

3. by dancing around words and having others expect that you do it for them, you're shifting guilt from them being unable to resolve their own issues and enabling them to make it YOUR issue when frankly it isn't YOUR issue. i got assraped when i was 9, but that's not your problem because it didn't happen to you, it happened to me. honestly the worst part of racism or molestation is not the event itself, but allowing it to affect your person for the rest of your life when it just doesn't have to. when you coddle a real victim, you're not helping them in any way, all you're doing is fostering a victimhood ideology which destroys your personal relationships in the long run.

4. context is everything. basically no one in the smash community comes out like "i'm going to give you non-consentual relations against your will". the fact is that the concept of **** in smash and the concept of real **** have literally NOTHING in common, and once again absolutely everyone knows this. overt racism in our community basically doesn't even exist. treating these things as jokes is remedial to the real issues behind those things because it removes the weight and tension that they once had. honestly joking about **** and racism is one of the best tools we have for making them trivial and harmless.

stop giving words more power than they actually have. it's more harmful than it is good, it's dishonest, it's just as bigoted, and it prevents legitimate means of finding one's coping mechanisms.

 

[JesseMcCloud]

1. obviously this is will's normal every day speech. so, is it more bigoted to use inappropriate language than it is to tell someone not to use his/her regular mode of speech? personally i strongly consider the latter to be the bigger offense of the two.

Really? It's more offensive to politely ask that some one refrain from using a few particular words or phrases is more damning than being an insensitive jerk with the vocabulary of a high-schooler?

2. people have tried to sidestep this in a number of ways that are equally tactless but they won't admit it. referring to "the N-bomb" for example is straight intellectually dishonest because no REAL means has been used to sidestep anything- i know what it means, you know what it means reading my post right now, and everyone just assumes that phrasing it differently will fix that? trust me, if you want to not bother people by saying **** or niger and they ACTUALLY care and aren't just tumblr attention seekers, all you've done is still upset them while pretending that you didn't. it's intellectually dishonest and everyone knows it.

I can think of literally NO time anyone has ever said, "N-Bomb," aside from you just now. We're talking about using terms like "SD" as opposed to "suicide," and "wrecked" vs. "*****."

honestly the worst part of racism or molestation is not the event itself, but allowing it to affect your person for the rest of your life when it just doesn't have to. when you coddle a real victim, you're not helping them in any way, all you're doing is fostering a victimhood ideology which destroys your personal relationships in the long run.

You can't POSSIBLY be serious.

context is everything. treating these things as jokes is remedial to the real issues behind those things because it removes the weight and tension that they once had. honestly joking about **** and racism is one of the best tools we have for making them trivial and harmless.

Oh, man, he's serious...

The problem is that people don't want to take responsibility for their own actions. Words can cause just as much good or harm as any tool or weapon. Those who want to freely and thoughtlessly throw about whatever terminology they themselves feel comfortable with, while expecting others to just "deal with it," are shirking any responsibility they have as decent human beings, and casting a palling light on themselves, and their community.

 

[Smash G]

I try to take the context and intentions into account. Like some people have a habit of using racial terms. This doesn't mean they're racist for sure. Not everyone who says the N word is a racist. However I tend to ask them to leave words like that out if we're in an area that calls for it.

If we're at a tournament or something that's kind of a public setting I'll likely tell them to stop using such words (including ****). If it's just a group of people I probably won't just because I don't want to start a debate.


I myself stay 100% away from that stuff. Wish other people would just because it can be insensitive at times. I mean it's NOT a non-issue. If you joke about **** around a **** victim you're an idiot. If you use the N-Word in a negative way, or sometimes any way at all (it matters what crowd you're in), you are an idiot. Know your crowd. Know what's acceptable in a given situation.
Again, I just have made a habit of never saying those words. Makes my life easier . Also it prevents slips (slips are forgivable nobody is perfect).

 

[DtJ SmithZzz]

3. by dancing around words and having others expect that you do it for them, you're shifting guilt from them being unable to resolve their own issues and enabling them to make it YOUR issue when frankly it isn't YOUR issue. i got *******d when i was 9, but that's not your problem because it didn't happen to you, it happened to me. honestly the worst part of racism or molestation is not the event itself, but allowing it to affect your person for the rest of your life when it just doesn't have to. when you coddle a real victim, you're not helping them in any way, all you're doing is fostering a victimhood ideology which destroys your personal relationships in the long run.


stop giving words more power than they actually have. it's more harmful than it is good, it's dishonest, it's just as bigoted, and it prevents legitimate means of finding one's coping mechanisms.

Same thing happened to me (at 8) & I agree. It really shouldn't be affecting your person for the rest of your life & we should stop giving words more power than they deserve.

 

[-_Face_-]

Seriously though....like...for serious....

Isn't the fact that no actual **** is occurring reason enough to not use the word? I understand one's desire to be illustrative but I think there are more accurate ways to describe situations in Smash that one might attribute the word "****" to.

I've heard Smash compared to chess, a symphony, jazz. In those areas, people execute with skill and wit; they don't ****. If you want to attribute the word "****" to Smash then would you also say playing Smash is like being a sexual predator or... I don't know...a barbarian? I see Smash as a beautiful thing in this world and would prefer to have a vernacular surrounding it that supports that view.

 

[Deleted member]

it is absolutely worse to be corrective of someone else than it is to be offensive, but *only with the qualifier of how it is usually done in the smash community*. calvin asking will to watch himself was absolutely fine because it's a professional production. this is simply not the same environment when considering the larger debate. having a stream where **** is not allowed in the chat or being unable to say **** at tournaments is the situation that happens much more frequently, and that's where i have a problem with it. telling someone else "talk the way i want you to talk or i will take <X punitive discourse>" is to fundamentally reject that person's mode of operation. with clear malicious intent and context, sure no one wants that. to reject someone when that context is not present is actually the basis of what bigotry is. it's a fine line and not one that's easy to work with, but we don't live in a black and white world.

lets use your own example to illustrate this point.

"i ***** that fox" vs "i wrecked your mom". clearly the latter is still more offensive, as the prior has no real meaning and no malicious context while the latter shows clear maliciousness and is quite personal. choosing what words you use matters much less than what you're really saying, and censoring yourself is a much less effective tactic than is just choosing not to be an ass about it. once again, saying "i ***** that fox" has absolutely no meaning to anything in reality, and being offended at it is laughable at best.

if you don't like the "deal with it" mentality, that's fine. i had no issue with personal preference. my issue is when other people come into the discussion and say "you can't say that" as if they themselves are taking the moral high-ground, not being bigoted themselves, or think they are helping the situation when they're not.

 

[Paradoxium]

I think using bad language is good, im totally fine with it. When I was a little kid I would cringe when I heard an f bomb, now I could care less, I actually drop it myself. And all our music nowadays is just littered with profanity. But we don't care. You wanna know who cares? My parents, and all of the elders. When we use this language so often it loses its sting, and I think that's fine. Why should a stupid word be able to trigger tears regardless of the context it is used in? Ok I can understand if you are directing it at a person and are trying to spark a reaction, but if you use it in a context that has nothing to do with them they shouldn't be offended.

My point is people give too much power to the word itself

 

[Jynx]

Offense is in the eyes of the beholder. It is a reaction given on a percieved event or situation. Saying, "Don't be offended." Is like telling someone with chronic depression to not be sad. It doesn't make sense, and it's a ridiculous argument. People don't WANT to be offended. We like having fun and feeling good about things. You CANNOT tell someone to not be offended, because you have no right to tell them how they should feel and what they should do to deal with their problems.

I personally do no say these words, nor am I offended by anything.
But the way I see it is:

Change our vocabulary for the betterment of Smash and society as a whole. MilkTea in the Smash doc put it well. "Using terms such as ****, is not going to help females get into the Smash community." The same for really goes for all newcomers.

It's true. Instead of HOPING people start to accept our terrible language and vocabulary, we should change the way we carry ourselves so we KNOW we can get people involved. It's not hard to do, and it improves us as players, people, and the community.

The people who use terms like this, give the Smash community an awful name. You are the ones who carry us into a degenerated level of society, where problems like the ones we are STILL trying to get rid of, flourish. That is not okay.

I love Smash, and would HATE to see it not get because because our players are too stubborn to realize how crucial empathy and sympathy is. Why just tell everyone else to suck it up, have a chance of offending them, and creating more problems for ourselves. When we can just fix our very-easy-to-fix vocabulary to ensure we have our asses covered.

Besides, words like gay, ****, and ******** don't even sound nice. There are SO many words that make you sound more intelligent, and makes things sound much more exciting.

Instead of, "He's ****** him right now!"

I think, "He'a playing with complete domination right now!" Sounds so much better.

 

[Saito]

Instead of, "He's ****** him right now!"

I think, "He'a playing with complete domination right now!" Sounds so much better.

I've never heard anyone say "******" during any gaming session. It's usually ***** being used to describe someone's defeat.

****** sounds extremely...bad just imagining it in my head while "*****" has a perfect enunciation because of the emphasis that is put on the "R" and ending with "ED".

It's just strangely accurate to use because of the fact that **** isn't a word that is limited only to sexual abuse, but abuse in general. However, it's main meaning is defined by the culture that we live in.

It's one of many appropriate words to use, but it's inappropriate by societies standards.

Taking that into account, I think it can be used, but one should make sure that it's okay with the people present at the event.
If you're not sure if it's right, it's probably not right.
If you think it's right, it's still not probably right so just make sure.

 

[ThreeSided]

Saying things like "You are choosing to get upset" or "You can not let it affect you if you really want to" is understandable but false. It's just an unfortunate example of human sympathies. People who haven't experienced it in some form are unlikely to understand it. They look at their own experience, and the only thing they can think of that's similar is when they let something get to them. As a result, they assume that since they haven't experienced it before it makes more sense that some other effect is at play. I don't like to blame people for this, because quite frankly, it's human nature to think that way and for all intensive purposes it makes sense.

I have just one thing to say to these people: Science says you're wrong. If you don't have your own experiences to trust, just take our word for it. If that's not good enough for you, look into the scientific literature and decide if it makes sense. If it doesn't, consider going into sociology/psychology and doing the experiments yourself. If you're not feeling up to any of that, at the very least consider that you may be wrong and measure the value of your continued use of these phrases with the possibility of seriously hurting someone or forming a community which does not allow for all people to feel comfortable or welcome.

There are many things in this world that are counterintuitive. It's such a large problem that we often skew the facts in popular culture just to prevent the general public from being completely bigoted. If we took statistics at face value and based our understanding of the world around anecdotal evidence, black people would be intellectually inferior to white people and women would be less skilled workers than men. It requires a much deeper understanding of the mechanisms at play to realize why these are fallacies. Your life is not an objective study of the world. You may use your personal experiences to make judgements about the world, but do not equate them to being any sort of objective example of how the world actually is.

 

[BaykersDzn]

It just comes down to growth and change, at this point for almost every competitive video game scene.

For example, growing up my friends and I played Halo in tournaments, saying phrases like "get *****" when someone just badly outplayed you was as normal as breathing for everyone. Also growing up in NYC our vocab and slang is very different. ex: the n word. Many people including myself use it all the time because thats just how it is. But now put on the internet to a more wider scale. Things instantly become offensive because people in other places aren't raised or grow up with the same style of living like we did. Because of this(and many other reasons) I took a step back to think about how i speak, now that I'm in college i've completely cut the n word out of my vocabulary. Its only been within the past few years has competitive video games also taking a side to be less vulgar and more professional due to eSports as well as sensitivity of others online. Honestly, what Boss said didn't phase me in any way. I felt nothing. But not because I'm not sensitive to those things but because I'm not on twitch stream to whine and complain about other people I'm there to watch some Project M. From what I saw the people in the twitch chat just talk as if there entitled to be treated like their above all, but thats a different conversation on how bad twitch chat can be. As a predominately male scene its not gonna happen over night but eventually, especially now with nintendo beginning to get involved with competitive smash. Things that are said will begin to lean ore towards how current eSports are. Will it be perfect and all clean with rainbows and sunshine? OFCOURSE NOT. This is a fighting game were playing not Club Penguin. But things will eventually become better as Smash grows and becomes more official. But for now I think everyone needs to hop off Boss's pintu (not fanboy'ing). Yes he said crazy things and GIMR is trying to run a business with his stream, but at the end of the day this game needs players keeping it alive. And Boss is currently one of the best in MD/VA region. So from my point of view all is well and hopefully the community will understand that we are online lol yes people will be sensitive but those same sensitive people who are offended will turn around and troll you for days in a heart beat.

 

[Saito]

Will it be perfect and all clean with rainbows and sunshine? OFCOURSE NOT. This is a fighting game were playing not Club Penguin.

>Implying Club Penguin is all rainbows and sunshine.

 

[XXXX1000]

it is absolutely worse to be corrective of someone else than it is to be offensive, but *only with the qualifier of how it is usually done in the smash community*. calvin asking will to watch himself was absolutely fine because it's a professional production. this is simply not the same environment when considering the larger debate. having a stream where **** is not allowed in the chat or being unable to say **** at tournaments is the situation that happens much more frequently, and that's where i have a problem with it. telling someone else "talk the way i want you to talk or i will take <X punitive discourse>" is to fundamentally reject that person's mode of operation. with clear malicious intent and context, sure no one wants that. to reject someone when that context is not present is actually the basis of what bigotry is. it's a fine line and not one that's easy to work with, but we don't live in a black and white world.

lets use your own example to illustrate this point.

"i ***** that fox" vs "i wrecked your mom". clearly the latter is still more offensive, as the prior has no real meaning and no malicious context while the latter shows clear maliciousness and is quite personal. choosing what words you use matters much less than what you're really saying, and censoring yourself is a much less effective tactic than is just choosing not to be an *** about it. once again, saying "i ***** that fox" has absolutely no meaning to anything in reality, and being offended at it is laughable at best.

if you don't like the "deal with it" mentality, that's fine. i had no issue with personal preference. my issue is when other people come into the discussion and say "you can't say that" as if they themselves are taking the moral high-ground, not being bigoted themselves, or think they are helping the situation when they're not.

I think I disagree with literally every piece of this post except for the part where you say GimR is allowed to do whatever he wants on his stream.

Why is it so bad to tell someone to talk in a certain manner? We do this all the time in real life without knowing it. If you work in any job that involves dealing with customers, then you know that you absolutely have to change the way you talk to people. You did it in school, you do it with the police, you do it in any professional setting. You do it when you meet people you've never met before. Why is it not acceptable in the smash community? Asking people to stop using language that is divisive and offensive isn't something new, and it really isn't a tall order for anyone using that language.

To push the issue a step further, let me ask you: at what point do we censor people's language at Smash events? If someone were using anti-semitic remarks, is that too far? Homophobic? What if they are flat out racist? Is there a line, if any, where you tell people that their actions and language aren't acceptable?

In your example, I would say the opposite - that the first statement is worse. I'll be honest, to me neither of them really mean much at all, so it's more of an issue of "which one is worse", but the kicker here is that you KNOW the word **** is a sensitive word. Talking about someone's mom is childish, and the person who is told that OBVIOUSLY doesn't think you actually interacted with his/her mom, but the word **** carries baggage with it. I find that to be much more rooted in reality. Should people start running around talking about each others' moms? No, but it'd be much better than people running around saying they ****/***** that person's video game character.

But it's not like every single word is getting removed from the community's vocabulary. I do see why people are taking it a step further with trying to replace "gimped", but I think that's a step of people predicting offense vs. actually being offended. Let's be honest, if there were only three people in the world offended by the use of the word "****" then everyone would still be using it. It's only the fact that a majority of people find it to be unacceptable that there's a movement to get rid of it. Words like "dumb", etc. have histories of being derogatory, but they no longer hold those meanings. I wouldn't have any issue with removing "gimp", but it'll only happen if a majority of the community tries to make that happen. In the end, it comes down to the fact that some of these words are known to cause problems for others. This isn't something that's being heard about for the first time, this is a legitimate concern and has been for a long time. **** doesn't only mean "to beat really bad in a video game," it has a whole other meaning that some people find really uncomfortable. If you know that a word makes some people uncomfortable AND there's dozens of other ways to state whatever you just stated (and more colorful ways at that) then why keep the word ****?

 

[9bit]

I think I disagree with literally every piece of this post except for the part where you say GimR is allowed to do whatever he wants on his stream.

Why is it so bad to tell someone to talk in a certain manner? We do this all the time in real life without knowing it. If you work in any job that involves dealing with customers, then you know that you absolutely have to change the way you talk to people. You did it in school, you do it with the police, you do it in any professional setting. You do it when you meet people you've never met before. Why is it not acceptable in the smash community? Asking people to stop using language that is divisive and offensive isn't something new, and it really isn't a tall order for anyone using that language.

Those are all professional settings though, except for meeting a new person. The whole thing you agreed with, GIMR being allowed to set the language tone, is because he's in a professional position. So all those examples don't really work against Umbreon's statement.

But it's not like every single word is getting removed from the community's vocabulary. I do see why people are taking it a step further with trying to replace "gimped", but I think that's a step of people predicting offense vs. actually being offended. Let's be honest, if there were only three people in the world offended by the use of the word "****" then everyone would still be using it. It's only the fact that a majority of people find it to be unacceptable that there's a movement to get rid of it. Words like "dumb", etc. have histories of being derogatory, but they no longer hold those meanings. I wouldn't have any issue with removing "gimp", but it'll only happen if a majority of the community tries to make that happen. In the end, it comes down to the fact that some of these words are known to cause problems for others. This isn't something that's being heard about for the first time, this is a legitimate concern and has been for a long time. **** doesn't only mean "to beat really bad in a video game," it has a whole other meaning that some people find really uncomfortable. If you know that a word makes some people uncomfortable AND there's dozens of other ways to state whatever you just stated (and more colorful ways at that) then why keep the word ****?

I don't think a majority of people are offended by the word ****, just a vocal minority. You never hear from all the people that don't find it offensive because why would they say anything (until a topic like this comes up). And all those words you mentioned, like gimp and dumb, have those other meanings that people could find offensive. But like you said they no longer hold those meanings, even though they did in the past. No one goes around associating the word dumb with being unable to speak anymore. The same may happen with the word ****. It may end up just being called forced sexual assault or some brand new word in the future if people continue to use it colloquially and for a different meaning. Just like the word dumb.

I am not advocating the use of the word **** in our community. But I do like thinking about language and how its used and how it changes, so I wanted to say all that stuff.

 

[shairn]

Can someone bring me up to speed as to why the word gimp would be considered offensive?
it doesn't make sense from my understanding of the word.

 

[9bit]

Gimp means someone who limps or is lame. I don't understand why people are thinking about getting rid of it.

 

[BaykersDzn]

Urban dictionary says its a derrogatory term for someone that is disabled or has a medicial problem that results in physical impairment. And that its an insult implying that someone is incompetent, stupid, etc. Can also be used to imply that the person is uncool or can't/won't do what everyone else is doing. and theres a 3rd meaning but i don't think that meaning can ever apply to a smash game / player.

 

[XXXX1000]

I also like thinking about how language evolves. But at the current point in time, "****" still has another definition, a very common, well-known definition. While "dumb" still technically means unable to speak, it isn't commonly used that way. I'm not a historian or anything, so I can't say why "dumb" is no longer used in that way, but it has been replaced by "mute". So, as long as "****" still means "to have sex with someone/something against his/her will" then I don't think it'll ever really be okay to use in a community setting. If a different word were adopted to replace "****" in that context, then things could change, and maybe in 300 years "****" will be what "dumb" is now, but that isn't the case in the present.

"Gimp" is a term to describe someone who is "lame". A person with a physical disability that hinders their ability to walk. However, calling someone a "gimp" is more of a slur thrown at that person, so it's very context-heavy. It's similar to "********" - yes, calling a mentally challenged person ******** is technically correct, but it's often used as an insult and there are more eloquent ways of saying what you want to say. Personally, I don't think the community will ever get as far as eliminating that word, though, since there's still disagreement about "****".