Offensive Backer List entry (Train stops, Trains, Labs, Roboports, Radars)

[Deadlock989]

I would submit that someone willing to _actually_ sling insults at someone who is merely trying to discuss it is more of an issue.

Sure thing, Mr "Some of my best friends have 'mental issues'".

[DanGio]

While I agree that this is not an appropriate name, I wonder for how long this name has been in the game. Because if the name has been accepted and integrated in the list 2 years ago, it would maybe be complicated to remove it now. Considering that name ingame is a reward and Wube always delivers what's expected

[bormand]

Considering that name ingame is a reward

Well, some early access games are very restrictive with that and accept only names as names. No nicknames, no jokes, only names. It too boring and restrictive, of course. But surely reduces debates about inappropriate names.

[Deadlock989]

While I agree that this is not an appropriate name, I wonder for how long this name has been in the game. Because if the name has been accepted and integrated in the list 2 years ago, it would maybe be complicated to remove it now. Considering that name ingame is a reward and Wube always delivers what's expected

The backer reward of getting your name in the game was only ever a thing from the original crowdfunding campaign nearly 8 years ago. But people with that level of perk could actually change their names on an ongoing basis and have it updated in new game releases, until 2018 when the ability to change them was removed. At that point there was a pass done on removing stupid and annoying names. This one obviously slipped past.

[starlinvf]

I have the impression that, on the contrary, the more privileged, the more people get easily offended. People who struggle to survive have other priorities than being offended I think.

I think that's total bollocks personally. I think people who tell other people it's their fault if they're offended by slurs and insults like "mong", "faggot" and "nigger" are little more than playground bullies. Telling them they could be happier if they didn't take the abuse personally is even worse. "Can't you take a joke?" is the eternal call of the bully.

"Retarded" is a foul word in my local variety of English. It seems less taboo in the States, but, they use the word "handicapped" which became less acceptable here as far back as the 1970-80s. Still, what do you expect from a country run by people who openly espouse fascism.

Those are just words. There is nothing inherently good or bad about them. Many used to BE medical terminology at one point or another.

What you're conflating here is how people assign meaning to those words, which how those words get empowered that way. This has parallels to an argument I had the other day about how "expanding the block list size" has somehow become a reoccurring topic the hand full of MMOs I've been playing over the past couple years. In years prior, I had NEVER once seen this being a legit concern, seeing as how much effort is required to fill up 100-150 entries of people you don't like.

Its also kind of concerning how cynical "corporate" responses to issues are becoming aligned with how players believe problems should be "addressed".... considering such "actions" ultimately never do any good, nor make any real change, yet everyone pats themselves on the back for resolving it. Because rather then addressing the root cause, we're mostly just finding more elaborate ways to distance ourselves from the symptoms while claiming credit for being more progressive. And if any of those words I just used caused you to be upset, that is a shining example how we got into this state in the first place.


If you, for the sake of argument, want to ignore all the rest of the surrounding context, and focus primarily on the language aspects- Definitions can become more accurate over time, and supersede its more vague predecessors. Hence how Autism became a word, and over time we're realizing its still not accurate enough to describe the many variations under the term. But then some asshole started using it to insult people, and now this legit medical term is morphed into an slur. And by reacting strongly, and treating it like a slur, we've let that asshole take control of the word and empowering it for his agenda. As more words get black listed, other words are co-opted to fill in the meaning or usage, which in turn gets those black listed, and so and so on.... until we're just inventing new words to serve those functions. And its not like those new words won't get black listed eventually either.

And we could realistically stop this cycle, if we just addressed the fact that these people are assholes. Which gets even more fun in the US when you start realizing Americans don't actually understand the 1st Amendment (Free Speech), despite the fact they run around yelling it all the time. And it continues to happen because, again, everyone else doesn't understand it either, and fall victim to the same assumptions.

And to cap off this bit of social commentary...... this desire for shared ignorance is whats enabling the entire system to get caught up in its own feedback loop. If I call you a Shazbot, which is very clearly an insult by inflection, only around 6-8 people here may actually know what it means. So is it really an insult, and becoming offended, if you don't know the concept I'm inferring upon you by using that word?

[Deadlock989]

Those are just words.

I'm aware of what words are and how language is co-constructed.

None of this cod-philosophy of language banter stops "retarded" from being a stupid and unnecessary thing to appear on screen in a family-friendly video game about trains and factories.

[mmmPI]

Thank you for some context.

The trouble is that in a train stop name, there isn't any context.

I just typed this on duckduckgo and look at when it´s used, there is twitter hashtag too and it´s not about mocking people ´s hair but rather sharing tips on how to slow down unwanted hair growth.


True that there is no context and that´s a "poor" unwise choice of name because some people seem to feel very bad about their mustachio, especially women, but there is this saying about not explaining things considering people are mean when it´s way more often that they are idiots

Without context why assume the worst ?

I understand the importance of wording, but if you say handicaped is better, some mean idiot will use it as an insult, if mentally-challenged is the correct term it will become the insult in their mouth and so on. You cańt sanitize vocabulary, and it´ s giving too much crédits to those people getting triggered by their provocation no?

[Impatient]

Actually that is the best answer to the case of "retardedhair". It is a medical term for some sort of abnormal hair growth. I can't even insult donald trump with it. Why are we having this discussion?



Appart from that, I have a question:

Why is it so important to have words like retarded, handicapped, mentally challenged and so on?

I am thinking, first, there is a correct medical term for a condition, which makes it difficult for a person to understand things. Which may change, so use the correct one if you must. BUT, and secondly, when we talk about Ralph, then it is just Ralph, not the retard or the handicapped or mentally-challenged. Do these names define Ralph?

"Hey, when you meet Ralph, don't be shocked. He sits in a wheelchair. And also, if you talk to him, talk simple and slowly. He has difficulties grasping things."

If it is about Ralph, then there honestly is no need for those words. Think about it!

[invisus]

Sure thing, Mr "Some of my best friends have 'mental issues'".

I'm aware of what words are and how language is co-constructed.

None of this cod-philosophy of language banter stops "retarded" from being a stupid and unnecessary thing to appear on screen in a family-friendly video game about trains and factories.

You are aware that "stupid" has been used in the past in much the same way as "retarded" has? You seem so concerned with keeping the in-game content family-friendly, but it certainly seems from your previous comments in this thread that this expectation stops with what is immediately in-game - the forum it seems is a free for all...

Being abrasive and insulting toward those who disagree with you also seems a bit counterproductive when the core issue here is being "offensive." Maybe you've found this to help you in the past, but it sure seems you're walking a fine line with being a bully yourself. And for me personally, the approach you're taking here seems only to detract from anything you have to say on the matter.

Perhaps we should all petition Wube to remove any and all weapons and violence from the game as it could be offensive to pacifists. Clearly the genocide of an alien species could not possibly be considered "family-friendly" in nature.

But I digress.

[ptx0]

you can just rename any train stations as they're placed.. or pre-screen backers.json file on your local installation for unwanted surprises

[grozovsky]

Random station name can give you a station called "Putimir Vladin" which is basically "Vladimir Putin" with swapped parts of the word. idk if this is a good thing to have in game based on our current world situation

[FuryoftheStars]

Reading way too much into that. That was the name an early backer of the game chose. It's been there for years.