Topic: The Chit Chat Thread

Honestly, the way people reply in the comment sections, that's the reason I feel unsafe to even share my gender identity.

In the comments someone posted claiming trans people have a "miswiring" in their brain. And apparently that's allowed on this site... Depressing.

@Kidfried yeah I called you bro yesterday then realised you might be a sis based on your avatar. Then realised you might be neither or both. I just know you humiliated me with a major dis and I’m gunna come back on you hard when you least expect it.

@kyleforrester87 Standard jargon lately is “bro” or “dude” is actually gender neutral. Go figure.
Anyways, I think you’re safe.
But I demand you refer to me as “Your Highness” or “Your Eminence”. I will also accept “Master” and “The Precious”. Everything else offends me.

@Kidfried That's why, unless I know for certain, I'll always refer to others online as "they" or in other gender-neutral terms... and it's also why I barely post in comment sections on the front page any longer. As soon as I saw both stories go up today (the cross-dressing one and the breast size one) I signed out and walked away. I get why PushSquare does it, they need clicks and this still remains a more civil place than most, but it's just become too dangerous, especially for those of us who are prepared to stand up and speak from experience.

Big respect for trying to engage as much as you have, but I'm sorry to hear it went... well, went exactly where I feared it would. If it helps, I'd still think you're awesome even if you identified as a desk lamp.

@Kidfried I was busy all day at work and dipped my toe in the pool of the comment sections of the articles today and recoiled as if shocked by freezing water.
Of course when the three lead articles are about cross dressing, Leisure Suit Larry, and breast size and the other article is entitled “PS5 is hard to get excited about” with a picture of Bayonetta as the header image... we’ll, it was a recipe for disaster from the beginning. 😅

@RogerRoger I think Push Square can write about these things. They probably even feel like they must, but with reporting on such topics also comes a responsibility with regards to moderation.

Often you'll see the flame war instilling and troll comments remain untouched on the site. I mean, if it's not ok to comment about politics, then maybe you also shouldn't allow comments on your site that accuse others of racism, or contain sentences like "masculinity is toxic", "black people just have big lips" or "being trans is a miswiring of your brain". You're going to get angry replies and people who make a fool of themselves replying to it, if you're allowing these things.

The fact that so many of this site's regular visitors have been addressing lately how toxic the site's comments can become, even avoiding them, is I think a sign that it should be addressed in a way.

I think it's what the site needs anyway if it wants to continue to grow. People can get the news anywhere, but they'll stay at a place where they feel is a community they can join.

But that's just my two cents.

@kyleforrester87 Nah, I just love Aoi from Danganronpa, that's all. Though if they're ever remaking Danganronpa, you'll probably find an article about how they're toning down Aoi's breasts. :')

Also, Kyle vs Kidfried. The beef is real, so let's take it to Twitter like "real men".

@RogerRoger I have no insecurities at all regarding my sex, gender or anything, but it's become something like my real name, skin tone, sexual preference, the place I live in, etc, that I don't really share online. I found out people can be creeps online.

@Th3solution I call some of the younger girls at work 'bruv' and they don't mind. It started off as a silly joke and just kinda stuck.

Personally - if someone has a preferred pronoun that isn't dumb (see: ze, zir) and they'd ask that it be used, I don't mind.

I do however refuse to accept or be bothered by anyone taking offence at being 'misgendered' accidentally or out of ignorance.

Regarding the clickbait articles, as others have pointed out - it increases traffic and helps keep the servers running. And it's nothing that isn't being picked up on other sites.

The comments section did degenerate, but at least it took 12 or so comments before anyone mentioned Hitler/Nazis!

The community here is the forums - they do feel somewhat removed from the commentators on articles for the most part.

In other news - I do not need to have a corneal graft (yet) and am going to try some scleral (massive!) contact lenses. Soon be seeing in stereo again!

@Kidfried @kyleforrester87 @RogerRoger i think part of the problem is people give certain terms a gender identity even when they don't really have one take the word Actor the meaning of that is "a person who acts out a role" and thus covers anybody who acts regardless of gender but now a days if you say it people automatically put a male identity on it same as the word Man in fact, Man is a short form of Human which itself is a romanization of Homosapian, it carries no gender ID at all but people give it one and to be honest until we stop either sorting people into groups or putting ourselves into groups we will never have any real equality, we are not man, we are not woman, we are not transexual, we are not straight, we are not LGBT, we are not black, we are not white or any other group that separates us, the only thing we ALL are is HUMAN

@FullbringIchigo
That's a nice sentiment - but whether it's from a positions of institutionalised power, or just the person on the street, we as humans just can't help but be tribal.
Categorisation, division and subdivision, segregation and grouping are an inevitable consequence of humanity.

@JohnnyShoulder Yeah, as I see it, the usage of “bro” and “dude” in today’s phraseology is actually more as an expletive rather than a pronoun or title referring to the actual person you’re speaking to. “Bro, did you see that video on YouTube?!” Can be said to anyone, irrespective of gender of the person. Such is the lexicon of the modern United States. I have no idea if it has to do with legitimate gender neutrality and is progressive in nature or if its just plain laziness. But I don’t think it’s acceptable yet to say, “Sis” or “Chica”, “Girl”, “Girlfriend”, “Lady”, etc when addressing a group of men at the sports bar, unless one is prepared to brawl. However, I hear a group of girls say “Bro” and “Dude” to each other all the time.

Some of it is highly regional too, although with the internet it’s all starting to meld together. I have to catch myself though when I’m tempted to address someone in my real life by “mate” as is frequently done here. I love that British term but it just isn’t used in the U.S. in the same way. It sometimes infers a sexual relationship even, so we have to be careful.
Another example is “sir” and “ma’am” which you may see me use on here from time to time and is completely normal to hear when addressing people where I live. However I expect those terms will soon drop out of the established parlance because of the way society is evolving.

Of course I jest about wanting to be called “Your Highness” but it is interesting to see how language changes and is not only regional, but also individual in its connotations and acceptability.

Oh gosh, did I actually just ramble on about language for that long? Sorry about that. 😅

@KALofKRYPTON true as a species we tend to try to group together, it's a tribal survival instinct and it's also why we can be afraid of others because they are different as long ago anything different was a potential threat but i like to think that we have the intelligence to eventually overcome those instincts and break down those barriers

it probably wont happen in my lifetime nor that of the next generation but i do think that one day it will

Worth a read!

https://www.kotaku.co.uk/2019/06/19/a-parliamentary-committee...

@KALofKRYPTON Interesting, indeed.

If there is one thing that frustrates me, it’s when people ignorant of the subject matter attempt to speak with authority on that subject, much less legislate about it. Unfortunately government and centralized corporate executive boards and committees seem to all be like the Parliamentary committee in this article — A bunch of people making decisions and drawing conclusions about things they know nothing about. If this committee reconvenes it would be better to have each member bring their children and/or grandchildren with them to serve as consultants. 😂
To be fair, I think the author of the article is probably a bit biased as well. The committee seems to bring up some reasonable points of concern and worthy of discussion, it’s just their throwing around conclusions and opinions without much research or experience. It also seems like a heavy amount of the proceedings were stimulated by Prince Harry’s comments. I’m not in-the-know about British politics, but I assume that any statement by the Royal family carries much more weight and obligation, so maybe that’s why this session was thrown together so haphazardly.
For example, I recall there has been illnesses and even deaths of people who became so enthralled with MMORPG’s in years past that they didn’t even take time away to eat — I seem to recall a guy in South Korea maybe died of starvation while playing StarCraft because he couldn’t be torn away from the game to eat. (Maybe I’m making that story up or misremembering it. If so I should definitely be asked to serve on this committee.) But a 9 year old girl wetting her pants because she’s busy playing Fortnite isn’t even that abnormal. Er, well... if it is then I might have a problem...

Anyways. Ahem....

I do like the hilariously PCish vernacular that corporate gaming has come up with of calling loot boxes a much more acceptable sounding name - “surprise mechanics.” 😂

@Th3solution
It's more the WHO decision than anything Harry said, though it is totally fair to say that our politicians (as with most) would rather be seen to legislate based on sensationalism and media driven/fabricated 'public outrage' than actually be fully informed on a subject.

This lot are no better than the scaremongers in the 90s. That at least gave rise to a voluntary ratings system, who knows where this idiocy will end up.

I object quite strongly to 'gaming addiction' being recognised in such a way and being used to legislate. It can certainly be a symptom and focus of unhealthy behaviours - but 'games' are not a substance. The resultant mental activity from playing games can be observed elsewhere. So those 'gaming addicts', removed from gaming, are just as likely to 'fall prey' to something else.

I don't think the industry particularly should be held accountable for the addictive behaviour of individuals.

Regulate 'surprise mechanics' (lol) by all means.

@KALofKRYPTON Yes, I think I agree with you. I’m a fan of an emphasis on personal responsibility in general. I realize there are some things that the government or corporations need to do to protect the innocent, but the mindset that we as individuals have to be protected against ourselves because centralized think-tanks know better than we do, well — that doesn’t make sense to me.
I think you’re right about there being individuals who have ‘addiction prone personalities’, for lack of a better term. There have been many a divorce, loss of job, bankruptcy, or physical illness which was related to sports, shopping, fishing, gambling, plastic surgery, over eating, etc, etc. Even devoid of an addictive substance, some people just engage in unhealthy behavior, like you say. It’s a bitter pill to swallow when legislators step into a citizens private life to intervene. I guess what I’m saying, is that I support the right to ruin our own lives (or at least I object most forms of impersonal oversight by those not directly involved in our personal lives and circumstances), because unfortunately the cost of taking away agency is that individuals are deprived of personal freedoms.
It’s a bit of a stretch but the discussion is somewhat related to one of my favorite quotes which I have a shortened version on my profile page here. Basically in a nutshell Teddy Roosevelt is talking about the ‘Man in the Arena’ who represents all of us in our own personal life battles and labors and if you aren’t in the arena with me, having the same battles and experiences as me, then I can’t be bothered to worry about your opinion. It’s not the critic who counts. In other words, he says - Don’t criticize, judge, (or legislate me) if you don’t understand me. And also, don’t expect to have the joy of victory and agony of defeat that I have if you’re just spectating from the crowd.
Anyways, I’ve always found that inspirational. 😄

i'm wondering if i should change my name from FullbringIchigo to GokuSuperSaiyanGod

what do you think, change or stay the same?

@FullbringIchigo I will have even less idea who you are after that. I can't seem to remember peoples names on here that well and you all keep changing your avatars!

@Thrillho i like to confuse people, makes me seem more mysterious than i actually am

@KratosMD I've noticed the absence of @Fight_Sora_Fight as well, but have no explanation for it, alas. Sometimes real life just happens. I hope they're alright.

@Fullbringlchigo Since I've gotten so used to typing your name out super-quickly, I say stay.