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News Aggregator Fark Adds Misogyny Ban

An anonymous reader writes The news aggregator Fark is ancient in dot com terms. Users submit news links to the privately run site and tear it — and each other — to pieces in the discussion threads. (Sound familiar?) While the site isn't as popular as during the early 2000s, the privately run discussion forum has continued and has its champions. site operator Drew Curtis announced today that Gifs, references, jokes and comments involving sexism will be deleted. "Adam Savage once described to me the problem this way: if the Internet was a dude, we'd all agree that dude has a serious problem with women. We've actually been tightening up moderation style along these lines for awhile now, but as of today, the FArQ will be updated with new rules reminding you all that we don't want to be the He Man Woman Hater's Club. This represents enough of a departure from pretty much how every other large internet community operates that I figure an announcement is necessary."

Given how bare-knuckled Fark can be, is it time? Overdue?

460 of 748 comments (clear)

  1. Lipstick by MorphOSX · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Well, you can put lipstick on a pig, not sure it makes it a princess, though.

    1. Re:Lipstick by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      Have you actually tried?

      That's how we got Kim Kardashian.

  2. Sigh by wbr1 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Guess I have to go to 4chan now to read gay hating misanthropic posts.

    --
    Silence is a state of mime.
    1. Re:Sigh by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Back when the whole Mozilla controversy was going on there were endless posts about how "just not liking gays" was somehow a perfectly okay position to take, and blaming them for daring to demand equality and human rights.

      I don't want to feed the troll, but...

      How exactly is forcing someone to like somebody supposed to work?

    2. Re:Sigh by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

      I think it's called marriage.

    3. Re:Sigh by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      It was basically "jerk logic". People complaining about being "forced to like gays" were actually only being forced to tolerate their presence.

    4. Re:Sigh by silfen · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Back when the whole Mozilla controversy was going on there were endless posts about how "just not liking gays" was somehow a perfectly okay position to take, and blaming them for daring to demand equality and human rights.

      Yes, not liking a group of people is a perfectly okay position to take. Lots of people who claim to stand up for "equality" themselves dislike lots of other groups (capitalists, conservatives, etc.). Likewise, equality [of outcome] and [positive] human rights are something many people reject, including people ostensibly intended to be "beneficiaries" of such policies. What you are complaining about are valid political positions you simply happen to disagree with.

    5. Re:Sigh by Intrepid+imaginaut · · Score: 5, Insightful

      The regulars didn't leave, AmiMoJo, least of all you who seem to show up regularly in the tediously increasing (and increasingly tedious) number of stories about how white western women, the most privileged creatures on this planet, have it so bad.

      I certainly haven't noticed a raft of gay hating posts around here (any more than the usual trolling) but any chance to drum up a moral panic eh? What I did see was a lot of discontent with the McCarthyist pogrom that was going on. That's the sort of thing that raises hackles, and it can be traced back to the post structuralist academics who teach people that the phrase 'I find that offensive' is a valid argument and why we have hate speech laws at the same time we claim to value freedom of speech.

      Anyway, yeah Fark. If they're going to tackle sexism they need to make sure they tackle all sexism, so no dick, cock, or misandric jokes either.

      Otherwise that would be sexist.

      It's been on the downslope for a while regardless, my guess is there aren't many gasps left in the old boiler.

    6. Re:Sigh by Typical+Slashdotter · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Yes, not liking a group of people is a perfectly okay position to take. Lots of people who claim to stand up for "equality" themselves dislike lots of other groups (capitalists, conservatives, etc.). Likewise, equality [of outcome] and [positive] human rights are something many people reject, including people ostensibly intended to be "beneficiaries" of such policies. What you are complaining about are valid political positions you simply happen to disagree with.

      Being gay isn't an ideology. Disliking homosexuals is completely different from not liking capitalists, conservatives, liberals, etc. Disliking homosexuals is disliking people for something that they didn't choose and cannot change. It is not a political opinion, and it is not acceptable.

      Furthermore, note that "disliking homosexuals" is marginal, even among evangelical Christian organizations. For example, the Southern Baptist Convention is the largest protestant body in the US, and are evangelical Baptists. Their Resolution on Homosexuality, while harmful and deeply misguided, doesn't go nearly that far. In fact, it contains the language "God loves the homosexual."

      Finally, I feel obligated to point out that you seem to be implicitly lumping LGBT rights activists with those seeking "equality of outcome," as though that program is seeking some sort of government handout. The key issue for LGBT rights activists is freedom to marry, which is "equal treatment under the law," not "equality of outcome."

    7. Re:Sigh by operagost · · Score: 1

      He's on about bad science nonsense. You know, the kind that is based on politics.

      --

      Gamingmuseum.com: Give your 3D accelerator a rest.
    8. Re:Sigh by squiggleslash · · Score: 2

      The problem with it was that it was a rhetorical slight of hand: the Eich controversy wasn't because "he didn't like gays", but because he was being proposed for a leadership position where he'd have to show good judgement and have to manage issues related to that, and through a number of ways related to but not specifically his support for a specific organization that happened to be anti-gay marriage, had shown himself not to have that.

      I don't care if someone is anti-gay or not. If they are, they're an idiot IMO, but oh well. I have my own prejudices. If I do something that proves to be obviously non-inclusive, and then on being asked about it, refuse to address the issue and instead attack those who are concerned, that is my right, but I wouldn't expect to be even considered for a leadership position afterwards.

      --
      You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
    9. Re: Sigh by frikken+lazerz · · Score: 1

      Sure, they didn't choose it, but why can't I dislike it? I should have the freedom to like or hate a person for anyreason, including stupid ones like race. Now to say gays don't deserve basic rights, that's a different story. But I shouldn't be forced to hire them or make them my friends. If I don't hire someone because he is gay and he turned out to be a better worker, my business' loss. Ideally though, keep your sexual orientation to yourself. This also goes for the guys at work bragging about picking up chicks at a bar like a frat boy. Keep that stuff out of the office please. And I don't hate gays, but I would defend a business' choice not to hire because the job seeker is gay. As I said before, their loss. And if the job seeker is dumb enough to advertise that in the interview, he is a moron. Of course America is now so PC that doing so is illegal, which is a serious problem, but don't get me too off topic about that.

    10. Re:Sigh by Bob9113 · · Score: 1

      Pick any random story about equality and it will be full of people accusing the women involved of attacking them personally and of being whiney bitches.

      Clarify this for me: Are you saying:
      1. Such posts exist, and some get upmodded.
      - or -
      2. The majority of such comments get upmodded and misogyny is the dominant sentiment in this community.

      If you're saying 2, we should take action. But first, citation needed, because I think you are mistaken. If you're saying 1, it is better to allow a few fools to express their opinion -- and better yet for us to discuss it without rancor and help them get a clue -- than to become a community that does not speak freely.

      Back when the whole Mozilla controversy was going on there were endless posts about how "just not liking gays" was somehow a perfectly okay position to take, and blaming them for daring to demand equality and human rights.

      Clarify this for me; are you saying:

      1. That the dominant meme in the Mozilla conversation was that it is perfectly okay to not like gays?
      - or -
      2. That a dominant meme was that he has a right to be a bigot, even though bigotry is wrong.

      The latter is what I saw in the Mozilla issue, and it is an important distinction.

      I am a hard-core equal rights advocate. Nothing good comes from hate. I argued in that thread for him to be dismissed, and believe it was right for him to "choose to resign".

      But here's the thing about "nothing good comes from hate" -- it cuts both ways. Nothing good comes from hate, even when the target of the hate is a bigot. While I may find a person's opinion repugnant, and I do not hesitate to tell such people their view is flawed, I will defend to the death their right to express it.

    11. Re:Sigh by donscarletti · · Score: 2

      there were endless posts about how "just not liking gays" was somehow a perfectly okay position to take

      Who determines what positions are and aren't OK to take?

      --
      When Argumentum ad Hominem falls short, try Argumentum ad Matrem
    12. Re:Sigh by nucrash · · Score: 1

      You still have Something Awful.

      --
      Place something witty here
    13. Re:Sigh by MyNicknameSucks · · Score: 1

      Or Slashdot. It's got really, really bad here over the last couple of years. Things really nose dived after the Beta exodus and a lot of regulars left. Pick any random story about equality and it will be full of people accusing the women involved of attacking them personally and of being whiney bitches. Back when the whole Mozilla controversy was going on there were endless posts about how "just not liking gays" was somehow a perfectly okay position to take, and blaming them for daring to demand equality and human rights.

      You're absolutely right.

      I think what we're seeing is that /.'s culture has shifted over the years; there don't seem to be as many thoughtful people around who can see issues from other people's viewpoints. Instead, /. is skewing towards a particular subclass of nerd, one that really doesn't get (and sometimes feels threatened by) people who aren't just like them. When it comes to stories reporting on the makeup of of the IT workplace, we're likely to see comments modded up that say white men in IT are the most discriminated against despite making up 70+% of the workforce. Apparently, 100% should be the goal.

    14. Re:Sigh by jythie · · Score: 1

      Yeah, but the effect of disliking powerful idealogical groups is pretty different from disliking weak inherent groups. One, while having a persecution complex, is generally safe from actual effects of that dislike, while the other has legitimate fear of how that dislike will impact their life.

    15. Re:Sigh by Kinthelt · · Score: 1

      Or Slashdot. It's got really, really bad here over the last couple of years. Things really nose dived after the Beta exodus and a lot of regulars left.

      We're still here. We're just too tired to post any more.

      --

      "Evil will always triumph over good, because good is dumb." - Dark Helmet (Spaceballs)

    16. Re:Sigh by LWATCDR · · Score: 1

      " it will be full of people accusing the women involved of attacking them personally and of being whiney bitches."
      Well.
      1. The first part may be true. I have had men attack me personally on Slashdot and women could do the very same thing.
      2. The second part is simple bigotry.

      Misogyny is the hate or strong dislike of women. That is simply a lack of respect for or bias of women. Still not okay but actual Misogyny usually is reserved from much more extreme actions.

      It is also not even bias to say that a women is personally attacking you if you feel that is what is happening anymore than it is bias to say a male is attacking you personally if you feel that way.
       

      --
      See my blog http://ilovecookes.blogspot.com/ for light hearted technical information.
    17. Re:Sigh by Kythe · · Score: 1

      Yep. it's exhausting keeping up with these young whippersnappers.

      --

      Kythe
    18. Re: Sigh by reanjr9417 · · Score: 2

      I've been around Slashdot since the 90s and I think you're full of shit. Discourse is just as bad now as it has always been. Shit, it's been years since I came upon a GNAA link.

    19. Re:Sigh by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      You're right in that it's gotten worse for women. But only to the extent that women are now copping the same flak that men do.

      You see, it's generally not even *noticed* when the target of abuse is a male. (e.g. violence in films or commercials. Heck, look at crime stats ... society is significantly more dangerous if you're male.) However, it's top-story when the target is a woman.

      What we are seeing lately is women being treated the same as males (i.e. poorly).

      It would be nice if *both* genders were treated well ...

    20. Re:Sigh by Kielistic · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Disliking homosexuals is disliking people for something that they didn't choose and cannot change. It is not a political opinion, and it is not acceptable.

      Scratch homosexual and put in pedophile (used in the broad, incorrect way) and are you still so strongly supportive? How about the rest of the "fire Eich" brigade? I don't see too many people defending their rights. You think one is morally wrong and some people think they're both morally wrong. Eich did "tolerate" homosexuals by the way- he just didn't think they should marry. You may disagree with him but disagreeing with his right to have a political opinion is a bit different than wanting him to "tolerate". Which is the problem with using the term. "Tolerate" is a nebulous concept and is often (mis)used as a moral mallet to make others look bad and the user to feel superior.

      Now before you go and think I am saying something I am not I happen to largely agree with you- and probably for mostly the same reasons. I disagree with using it as a means to morally elevate yourself above others- which is pretty much what the whole debacle was about. Trying to legislate or force morality on others never turns out well. Moral superiority is far too addictive and unstable.

    21. Re:Sigh by genner · · Score: 1

      Guess I have to go to 4chan now to read gay hating misanthropic posts.

      No, Fark isn't affording any protection to men so your still good as long as you leave the lesbians alone.

    22. Re:Sigh by ilsaloving · · Score: 2, Insightful

      You can't.

      You *can* however, make it very clear that such behaviour is no longer acceptable in civilized society.

      The human population on this planet is now well over 8 billion strong. It is virtually impossible for people to not run into each other, and only slightly less impossible to not run into people that you *choose* to despise.

      It's well past time that we grow the f__k up, for our own safety. But people being people, I have zero faith in that actually happening.

    23. Re:Sigh by silfen · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Being gay isn't an ideology. Disliking homosexuals is completely different from not liking capitalists, conservatives, liberals, etc. Disliking homosexuals is disliking people for something that they didn't choose and cannot change. It is not a political opinion, and it is not acceptable.

      As a gay man, I have had to accept that people dislike me for something I didn't choose. Your draconian attempts to force others to accept me make things worse for me.

      The key issue for LGBT rights activists is freedom to marry, which is "equal treatment under the law," not "equality of outcome."

      Organizations like the HRC very much push laws like ENDA, which goes far beyond "equal treatment under the law". As for marriage, a far better way of achieving "equal treatment under the law" is to stop having the state interfere in how people arrange their personal lives or try to come up with legal definitions for religious concepts.

    24. Re:Sigh by Payden+K.+Pringle · · Score: 2

      Being gay isn't an ideology. Disliking homosexuals is completely different from not liking capitalists, conservatives, liberals, etc. Disliking homosexuals is disliking people for something that they didn't choose and cannot change. It is not a political opinion, and it is not acceptable.

      Source?

      Because according to the American Psychiatric Association:

      Currently there is a renewed interest in searching for biological etiologies for homosexuality. However, to date there are no replicated scientific studies supporting any specific biological etiology for homosexuality. Similarly, no specific psychosocial or family dynamic cause for homosexuality has been identified, including histories of childhood sexual abuse.

      So I personally don't see the basis for that statement when we still haven't determined why it is a "thing". Admittedly, that web page is somewhat old, but I would figure that if such a thing were determined, since LGBT rights are such a hot topic these days, that web-page would be quick to update.

    25. Re:Sigh by silfen · · Score: 1

      Yeah, but the effect of disliking powerful idealogical groups is pretty different from disliking weak inherent groups.

      I find it offensive that you consider gay men and women to be "inherently weak".

      One, while having a persecution complex, is generally safe from actual effects of that dislike, while the other has legitimate fear of how that dislike will impact their life.

      The effects of that dislike will only get exacerbated if you try to mandate it away.

    26. Re:Sigh by Kielistic · · Score: 1

      Just to make sure I'm clear on your meaning:

      It wasn't because "he didn't like gays". It was because he "happened to be anti-gay marriage" and donated to a campaign which you disagree with so therefore he has bad judgement and wasn't fit to lead. Aren't those two statements effectively the same thing? Do you think someone could be anti-gay and not have "bad judgement" to you? Are you sure it is not you that is making the rhetorical slight of hand? (love the gay; hate the sin comes to mind here).

      I read your little journal- you do know that constantly repeating "objective" doesn't actually make something "objective", right?

    27. Re:Sigh by silfen · · Score: 1

      Your entire statement is premised on the erroneous idea that being anti-gay-marriage is being anti-gay.

    28. Re:Sigh by Mr.+Slippery · · Score: 1

      I sure as fuck chose my lifestyle, thanks. Three bad engagements to women, and I made up my mind to date men after that.

      Sounds like you're a bisexual person who made a choice to date only men. Ok, fine. Congratulations, even. But most of us could no more choose which gender to date, and to be sexually attracted to, than we could choose which sort of music we like.

      --
      Tom Swiss | the infamous tms | my blog
      You cannot wash away blood with blood
    29. Re:Sigh by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

      It's a very US American thing to pretend that the only valid position against homophobia is the dogma that sexual orientation is 100% genetically determined. Instead of "Fuck your hateful god and his moral law" they say "I'm sorry if my life is an abomination, I can't help it, I was born this way". I think this is a reactionary biologistic position. It devalues my conscious choice, in my case in my early teens, to become gay. I'd rather tell young people that what you are isn't set in stone and that what makes life worth living is to experiment and invent yourself, sexually and otherwise.

    30. Re:Sigh by jedidiah · · Score: 5, Insightful

      > We're not forcing you to like anyone. We're simply requiring you to behave, in public, as if you don't hate them.

      It's not even that. He can still hate people. He just can't ACT on it.

      It's like he wants to act like ISIS and doesn't even see the painfully obvious parallel.

      Tolerating people you don't personally approve of is just the cost of living in a free society that manages to tolerate YOU.

      --
      A Pirate and a Puritan look the same on a balance sheet.
    31. Re:Sigh by sdoca · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I agree. I'm Canadian where we do allow homosexual marriage (which I'm fine with), but ideally I would like the concept of civil marriage to be done away with. If you believe in a religion that has marriage, then that's fine and feel free to marry/divorce according to that religions customs/beliefs. But, that shouldn't have any effect on our civil lives regarding taxes, benefits etc.

    32. Re: Sigh by Mr.+Slippery · · Score: 1

      But I shouldn't be forced to hire them or make them my friends.

      No one is forcing you to make anyone your friend.

      Commerce, on the other hand, by its nature involves the state. (At least beyond the trivial. Your lemonade stand generally flies under the radar here.)

      If you want the state to issue a charter for your corporation or register your partnership, if you want to call the cops to use force against people your want removed from your place of business, if you want the government to enforce your business contracts, if you want to engage in interstate commerce and use the economic infrastructure that the state has created, you don't get to complain that the state is interfering with your "private choices" when it requires that your business not be racist, sexist, etc.

      --
      Tom Swiss | the infamous tms | my blog
      You cannot wash away blood with blood
    33. Re:Sigh by squiggleslash · · Score: 2

      It wasn't because "he didn't like gays". It was because he "happened to be anti-gay marriage" and donated to a campaign which you disagree with so therefore he has bad judgement and wasn't fit to lead.

      No, that's not what I said at all.

      I said that Eich made certain bad decisions concerning how he handled a controversial act. The controversial act itself doesn't matter. What matters is that when the issue was raised, instead of saying "I can understand your concern, this is why you shouldn't be concerned", he insulted everyone who'd expressed concern.

      Of course, if you're like the 99% of people who responded to me during the controversy, you're going to pretend I didn't write this and respond as if I'm saying Eich should be fired because he doesn't want teh buttsex. I challenge you to prove me wrong.

      --
      You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
    34. Re:Sigh by DNS-and-BIND · · Score: 1

      Being gay means you must be on the left. Ask any homosexual if you doubt.

      --
      Shutting down free speech with violence isn't fighting fascism. It IS fascism!
    35. Re:Sigh by Jiro · · Score: 1

      Disliking homosexuals is disliking people for something that they didn't choose and cannot change.

      Being a capitalist, conservative, liberal, etc. is ultimately a description of your beliefs. You can't choose or change your beliefs--you didn't arrive at your beliefs by suddenly saying "I choose to believe in farm subsidies", you figured out that farm subsidies are good or bad. Even though people with opposite beliefs could argue that you made a mistake when figuring it out, you still figured it out to the best of your ability and can't just change that by force of will.

      Beliefs are not like rooting for a football team.

      (Of course, you could still change your actions--you can't choose to believe in capitalism, but you could choose to buy stocks or speak about capitalism--but that applies to homosexuality too. You could choose to have gay sex, to express pride in being gay, etc.)

    36. Re:Sigh by jedidiah · · Score: 1

      > Yes but that doesn't make the intestines a sexual organ.

      There are plenty of girls that will STRONGLY disagree with you on that point.

      --
      A Pirate and a Puritan look the same on a balance sheet.
    37. Re:Sigh by squiggleslash · · Score: 1

      No, because that doesn't make any sense given the problem with Eich was not his donation but the way he handled the revelations, insulting anyone that expressed a concern that Eich might not be a potentially inclusive leader.

      And FWIW, though it's not relevent, the organization that Eich donated to was homophobic. You might similarly argue that being against interracial marriage is not racist, but whether you do or not, if a specific organization is running ads making claims about blacks and how dangerous they are, if you choose to express your opposition to interracial marriage by donating to that organization, you are donating to a racist organization.

      But like I've said three times now today alone, whether Eich is anti-gay, pro-gay, whatever, doesn't matter. What matters is that rather than addressing concerns that he might be non-inclusive, he insulted those who were concerned. That's fine if you want to be churning out code from your basement. It's not OK if you want to lead people.

      --
      You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
    38. Re:Sigh by drinkypoo · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Disliking homosexuals is disliking people for something that they didn't choose and cannot change. It is not a political opinion, and it is not acceptable.

      What? Fuck you sideways. I mean, I personally have no problem whatsoever with lesbigaytrangenderedetc people but I will stand up for anyone's right to do so. I get off the bus before it gets to the stop where you're permitted to treat people with prejudice when you're in a position of power. If I am a public figure who has a responsibility to people regardless of their sexual orientation, ideally you would have no idea what my personal position in fact is because I would do my job and it would not matter.

      Further, there's plenty of gay people who don't like straight people, or don't like straight people of certain kinds. Are you going to go tell them that's not okay? Or is it still acceptable to hate on nominally white, nominally straight males?

      Furthermore, note that "disliking homosexuals" is marginal, even among evangelical Christian organizations [...] "God loves the homosexual."

      If you're going to start claiming that evangelical christians are like god, then you're really going to have to deal with an endless deluge of laughter and derision.

      The key issue for LGBT rights activists is freedom to marry, which is "equal treatment under the law," not "equality of outcome."

      No, no it is not. The key issue for LGBT rights activists is equality, which is "equal treatment under the law". It is a mark of how far our society has not come that we are actually arguing over one specific aspect of equality with such fervor. Next, we will get to move onto the next aspect of equality, still without actually recognizing that homosexuals are human beings who deserve equal protection under the law to every other human being. Instead, we continue to treat them like a subclass, and make them beg, plead, and finally fight for each individual right. Perhaps soon we will permit them to sit in the front of the bus.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    39. Re: Sigh by silfen · · Score: 1

      By your reasoning, any rule that the state imposes could be justified. But just because the state takes my money and builds roads with it, hands it to crony capitalists, and forces me to register my business, doesn't make engaging in social engineering any more legitimate.

      And, apart from legitimacy, the problem with the state "requiring that your business not be racist, sexist, etc." isn't that those aren't laudable goals, it's that as policies go, such policies end in failure, if not outright disaster.

    40. Re:Sigh by Sentrion · · Score: 2

      Your comments frighten me. That makes you a terrorist.

    41. Re:Sigh by drinkypoo · · Score: 4, Interesting

      AmiMojo counts sentiments like yours as proof of hate. If you disagree (or ask for meaningful evidence) that the problem is all around us and unbearable then you obviously support misogyny.

      When you ask for meaningful evidence of misogyny on slashdot (or wider society) you only underscore your blindness to the problem. You shouldn't need anyone to point out examples, because an intelligent person would be able to find a discussion and skim it. When you learn to use the internets, you'll spend a lot less time whining.

      Every woman I know well enough to tell me whether she has been raped has been raped. (I don't ask, obviously.) Either you live in a magical fairy world where women are treated better than they are in Northern California, or women don't trust you well enough for you to know how serious the problem is. And let me tell you, based on your statements, I am something less than shocked.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    42. Re:Sigh by silfen · · Score: 1

      Being gay means you must be on the left. Ask any homosexual if you doubt.

      Well, given the large and hostile Christian conservative presence on the right, it's not like being on the right has been much of an option. The US still lacks a truly liberal party: laissez faire in both social and economic questions.

    43. Re:Sigh by Richy_T · · Score: 1

      Beliefs are not like rooting for a football team.

      I wish.

    44. Re:Sigh by AmiMoJo · · Score: 4, Insightful

      How exactly is forcing someone to like somebody supposed to work?

      You missed the point entirely. It's the statement that they generally "just don't like gays". Homosexuals make up about 5% of the population, 1 in 20. Saying you just don't like people who are homosexual is saying you don't like a random 5% of the population for no reason other than who they are attracted to. Personality, political views, religion or anything else they can choose is fair game, but sexuality is not in the same way that race and gender isn't.

      Imagine if it were "I just don't like blacks" or "I just don't like women". It's the literal definition of bigotry - a general dislike of a large group for reasons that have nothing to do with anything that group can control, or anything that applies to all members.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    45. Re:Sigh by Typical+Slashdotter · · Score: 5, Insightful

      First, let me state in no uncertain terms that, in very important ways, homosexuality and pedophilia are not equivalent and cannot serve as functional substitutes for one another in a debate in general. This is because "homosexuality" describes desires upon which to act is normal, healthy, and acceptable, while "pedophilia," in the sense you mean, describes desires upon which to act is harmful and unacceptable.

      That said, in the broad sense you mean, I am supportive of pedophiles who refrain from acting on their desires. I don't know all that much about pedophilia, but I am under the impression that, as with attraction to a specific gender, attraction to children is innate and cannot be altered through willpower or other known means. Those who are afflicted with attraction to children yet do not harm them (either themselves or through child pornographers) deserve our acceptance and understanding. Anyone who spurns them causes suffering and misery, without justice. (In fact, I suspect this widespread hatred likely causes many such people to look more favorably on those who would encourage them to harm children.)

      Also, by the way, I do not think that people who express (in words, without threat or intimidation) dislike for homosexuals or disapproval of homosexual acts or marriage are "morally wrong." Some are expressing political opinions which are misguided. This is not morally or ethically wrong; I just disagree with them. Others describe broader positions, the collective prevalence of which does real harm to homosexuals beyond the political realm by creating the unjust social burden of being treated as an outcast or deviant in many contexts and communities, with consequences ranging from loneliness and shame to poverty and suicide. Nevertheless, those espousing these positions are not committing a moral act; they are simply wrong, and the harm they cause is in the domain of ethics, rather than morality. (Those who shout slurs or otherwise intentionally intimidate people are morally wrong, but we weren't discussing them I don't think.)

      Finally, stop trying to create some sort of equivalence over, for example, being fired for a political opinion and being fired for being gay. Both are generally wrong, but they are not the same.

    46. Re:Sigh by Oligonicella · · Score: 1

      You do not get to choose what he believes himself to be in order to make his statements fit into your narrative.

    47. Re:Sigh by Sentrion · · Score: 1

      In a perfect world, logic and civility.

    48. Re:Sigh by Sentrion · · Score: 1

      It's kind of like Walmart. Nobody shops there anymore because it's too crowded.

    49. Re:Sigh by Typical+Slashdotter · · Score: 1

      From the very page you link to:

      There is no published scientific evidence supporting the efficacy of “reparative therapy” as a treatment to change one’s sexual orientation...Some may seek conversion to heterosexuality because of the difficulties that they encounter as a member of a stigmatized group. Clinical experience indicates that those who have integrated their sexual orientation into a positive sense of self-function at a healthier psychological level than those who have not.

    50. Re:Sigh by serviscope_minor · · Score: 1

      These things are not at odds:

      It is not a political opinion, and it is not acceptable.

      What? Fuck you sideways. I mean, I personally have no problem whatsoever with lesbigaytrangenderedetc people but I will stand up for anyone's right to do so.

      I will also stand up for their right to do so. I will ALSO stand up for (and join in with) the right of other people to villify them. It cuts both ways.

      --
      SJW n. One who posts facts.
    51. Re:Sigh by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

      What you are complaining about are valid political positions you simply happen to disagree with.

      How is "just not liking a random 5% of the population because of who they are attracted to" a valid political position? If it were specifically "I don't like certain gay rights activists" that would be a political position, but simply disliking an entire group of people who have no common trails other than their sexuality is simple bigotry.

      This is exactly what happens in every Slashdot debate. It turns into a debate over the meaning of terms, and I suspect many commentators deliberately try to confuse the issue. Do you really think that gay people want "equality of outcome" when they ask for the right to be married? Do you imagine they are demanding brides and husbands be allocated to them or something?

      Gah, I'm getting sucked into the argument. The whole point is to divert people away from the actual issue.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    52. Re:Sigh by silfen · · Score: 2

      What matters is that rather than addressing concerns that he might be non-inclusive, he insulted those who were concerned.

      And who was "concerned" exactly? And how did he "insult" them?

      I think I was "concerned" and I didn't feel "insulted", I simply thought he was wrong. If you can't work with or for people who hold political or religious beliefs you disagree with, you have a problem with professionalism.

    53. Re:Sigh by Oligonicella · · Score: 1

      Both of you apparently are unaware of the gay Republicans. In short, you're both wrong.

    54. Re:Sigh by Typical+Slashdotter · · Score: 1

      What draconian attempt? I just don't think people should hide behind the false defense of "It's a political opinion, respect it!" as cover for broad dislike of a group that isn't defined by a political stance. Any imperative to accept all political opinions as valid doesn't apply. These opinions are harmful to express in their current prevalence due to the harmful social effects on many gays (with consequences including poverty and suicide), and in that sense they are unacceptable.

      No one here (certainly not me, anyway) is censoring debate; I had mod points but chose to post in this thread rather than downmod, for example.

    55. Re: Sigh by walshy007 · · Score: 1

      bigotry ËbÉgÉ(TM)tri/ noun intolerance towards those who hold different opinions from oneself It is kind of sad, how the people calling others bigots in a negative fashion are often being bigots themselves. The word is used far too often by left-leaning people in hypocritical ways.

    56. Re:Sigh by Jiro · · Score: 1

      I am skeptical that someone can honestly think, for instance, that farm subsidies are good, then say "I choose to believe that farm subsidies are bad", and tomorrow honestly believe that farm subsidies are bad. I'm not even convinced that "choosing to believe X" is a coherent concept.

      But even supposing that someone has a messed up belief process such that they can do this, intelligent people who use reasoning won't to be that way. Congratulations: you've just decided that prejudice against people with the wrong politics is "different" from prejudice against gays when its only different for people who you don't want on your forum anyway.

      (Or you could just say "well, anyone who disagrees with my political side is stupid and doesn't use reasoning". But I hope you can see what's wrong with that.)

    57. Re:Sigh by Kielistic · · Score: 1

      All that you actually done is an intense bit of handwaiving. You even italicized it for extra wave. You say that everyone misses your point (I say you are unclear purposefully). I see your point perfectly clear; it just isn't as solid as you think it is. You know what you are supporting is counter to political freedom so you have latched on to something else you think you can pin it on. The fact that you think you have more justification in three simple sentences he made as opposed to his opinions is laughable.

      His statement was true even if you don't want it to be. He had no obligation to defend his political opinions to you in the first place. You do not approve of his politics- that is why you say he is unfit. It was not his response you had a problem with. It was that his response wasn't a full repentance of his sins of offending your morality. You say that clearly enough in that little journal post.

      You say strike one was donating and the second was not apologizing for it and saying he was wrong. Your metaphor got a little mixed when you didn't find a strike three though (shouldn't that mean he's still fit?)

      So how, exactly, are you not simply opposed to his politics when you say his only recourse was to change his politics?

    58. Re:Sigh by jareth-0205 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      "Disliking homosexuals is disliking people for something that they didn't choose and cannot change."

      I sure as fuck chose my lifestyle, thanks. Three bad engagements to women, and I made up my mind to date men after that.

      What nonsense are you on about?

      Then that would make you bisexual. Not everyone is. Are you unable to conceive of someone who has different sexual preferences to you?

    59. Re:Sigh by Typical+Slashdotter · · Score: 1

      Disliking homosexuals is disliking people for something that they didn't choose and cannot change.

      Being a capitalist, conservative, liberal, etc. is ultimately a description of your beliefs. You can't choose or change your beliefs--you didn't arrive at your beliefs by suddenly saying "I choose to believe in farm subsidies", you figured out that farm subsidies are good or bad. Even though people with opposite beliefs could argue that you made a mistake when figuring it out, you still figured it out to the best of your ability and can't just change that by force of will.

      Beliefs are not like rooting for a football team.

      (Of course, you could still change your actions--you can't choose to believe in capitalism, but you could choose to buy stocks or speak about capitalism--but that applies to homosexuality too. You could choose to have gay sex, to express pride in being gay, etc.)

      It's not the same. I didn't read all about sex, think about it for a while, and then decide "I'm attracted to women, but that could change if new evidence came to light or someone made a convincing argument." (I'm a man, if that colors your reading of the previous sentence.) It's not something I discovered about the world, it's something I know about myself and is not subject to debate. Same with, for example, (many; I can't speak for all or most) men who are attracted to men.

      Also, if anyone holds a political opinion that isn't subject to change when faced with new evidence or arguments, while I admit that happens a lot, that's a problem.

    60. Re: Sigh by jareth-0205 · · Score: 1

      Sure, they didn't choose it, but why can't I dislike it? I should have the freedom to like or hate a person for anyreason, including stupid ones like race. Now to say gays don't deserve basic rights, that's a different story. But I shouldn't be forced to hire them or make them my friends. If I don't hire someone because he is gay and he turned out to be a better worker, my business' loss.

      Ideally though, keep your sexual orientation to yourself. This also goes for the guys at work bragging about picking up chicks at a bar like a frat boy. Keep that stuff out of the office please.

      And I don't hate gays, but I would defend a business' choice not to hire because the job seeker is gay. As I said before, their loss. And if the job seeker is dumb enough to advertise that in the interview, he is a moron. Of course America is now so PC that doing so is illegal, which is a serious problem, but don't get me too off topic about that.

      This is all great and fine, right up until you are in a category of people that are systematically discriminated against. Sometimes (and I know this is controversial) the market cannot fix everything. People should not have to hide who they are to get a job. There is a difference between inappropriate frattishness and pretending you are asexual or straight to try not upset someone who is sensitive, and has power over you.

    61. Re:Sigh by narcc · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Tolerating people you don't personally approve of is just the cost of living in a free society that manages to tolerate YOU.

      +5

    62. Re:Sigh by squiggleslash · · Score: 1

      I think I was "concerned" and I didn't feel "insulted",

      Well obviously, because you didn't actually hear what he had to say when he accused you of "are not providing a reasoned argument (and) labeling dissenters to cast them out of polite society."

      I would call that an insult. I'm assuming, of course, you really are saying in good faith you were concerned at the time and expressed that concern. I'm also assuming, of course, that you were expressing concern and not actually being unreasonable ;-)

      If you can't work with or for people who hold political or religious beliefs you disagree with, you have a problem with professionalism.

      Quite. Which brings us to why Eich was a bad fit to be a leader of an organization of people whose dissenting opinions he couldn't respect.

      --
      You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
    63. Re:Sigh by bluegutang · · Score: 1

      I think we need a new version of Godwin's Law which refers to ISIS (or the Taliban) in addition to Hitler.

    64. Re:Sigh by smartr · · Score: 1

      The belief that homosexuality is not a choice is one I generally concur with. What assumptions and definitions I make about the world are pretty arbitrary. Obviously, every individual has a choice about who they choose to fuck and marry. What defines the start of your life, your sexual identity, and your sexual preference are as arbitrary as those who think God is self evident. Not being shitty tribal jerks over queer ideology would be nice, but I don't really blame the tribe for being feeling vengeful for the way they're generally treated.

    65. Re:Sigh by squiggleslash · · Score: 1

      I challenged you to prove me wrong, and it appears you've failed on that score. Sorry, but I'm not interested in discussing an issue with a troll who is arguing in bad faith.

      I'm pretty sure everyone else can see the difference between firing someone for their political views, and opposing someone being put in a senior leadership position because they handle a controversy badly.

      So how, exactly, are you not simply opposed to his politics when you say his only recourse was to change his politics?

      When you stop beating your wife, I'll let you know the answer to that one ;-)

      --
      You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
    66. Re:Sigh by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Parent post is confusing "transgender" with "gay". They are completely separate things, aggregated together (along with L and B) only with respect to fighting for the same rights the USA Constitution says they are supposed to have (as citizens, without regard to gender or sexual orientation).

      As near as I can tell, many who doing the transgender transformation are "heterosexual" wrt to their gender identity. As I live in Portland OR which has a large transgendering community (having to do with availability of medical and support services), my volunteer and recreational activities are often alongside Ts (as well as Gs and Ls, and probably Bs as well, but I don't ask, and they are less likely to tell or show than the LGTs).

      To restate my point: Transgender and gay or lesbian are two very distinct things. One of the women mentioned in parent post was heterosexual, the other twin most likely was heterosexual wrt his new gender identification. He undoubtedly has strong relationships of mutual support with other transgendered persons.

      (Posting AC as I have invested mod points in this thread --Will)

    67. Re:Sigh by Atzanteol · · Score: 1

      Pick any random story about equality and it will be full of people accusing the women involved of attacking them personally and of being whiney bitches.

      Clarify this for me: Are you saying:
      1. Such posts exist, and some get upmodded.
      - or -
      2. The majority of such comments get upmodded and misogyny is the dominant sentiment in this community.

      If you're saying 2, we should take action. But first, citation needed, because I think you are mistaken.

      http://apple.slashdot.org/stor...

      I await your action and apology. Very clear pattern of up-mods for misogynistic crap and down-mods for anything not toeing the line.

      --
      "Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge"

      - Charles Darwin
    68. Re:Sigh by Z80a · · Score: 1

      Then why not banning systematic barrage of hate directed at a particular kind of people instead of specifically women?

    69. Re:Sigh by Typical+Slashdotter · · Score: 2

      Disliking homosexuals is disliking people for something that they didn't choose and cannot change. It is not a political opinion, and it is not acceptable.

      What? Fuck you sideways. I mean, I personally have no problem whatsoever with lesbigaytrangenderedetc people but I will stand up for anyone's right to do so. I get off the bus before it gets to the stop where you're permitted to treat people with prejudice when you're in a position of power. If I am a public figure who has a responsibility to people regardless of their sexual orientation, ideally you would have no idea what my personal position in fact is because I would do my job and it would not matter.

      If you're going to make me split hairs, having an opinion that you choose to keep to yourself is only wrong in that the opinion may be misguided or factually wrong. It is only making certain decisions based on such opinions, or expressing them in a way that could cause harm, which is unacceptable. Furthermore, I don't mean to imply that I support firing people, or writing censorship legislation. Not every debate needs to transform into some meta-debate about free speech. I'm saying that I'm not okay leaving these opinions as "to each his own", that prevalence of these opinions does harm.

      Further, there's plenty of gay people who don't like straight people, or don't like straight people of certain kinds. Are you going to go tell them that's not okay? Or is it still acceptable to hate on nominally white, nominally straight males?

      Yes, I will tell them that. Dear gay people who don't like straight people: that's not okay. I never said I agreed with anything any gay person ever said, that would be ridiculous.

      Furthermore, note that "disliking homosexuals" is marginal, even among evangelical Christian organizations [...] "God loves the homosexual."

      If you're going to start claiming that evangelical christians are like god, then you're really going to have to deal with an endless deluge of laughter and derision.

      That's the quote that happened to be in the source I found; I worked with what I had. Read the full source yourself; it's quite short. Notice that they deride "homosexuality," the adjective, not "homosexual" the noun. The only uses of the noun form are to discuss portrayal in media and, separately, that homosexuals have God's love and can earn redemption. The distinction between "acts" and "people" is common in Christian discussions of homosexuality, and I stand by my source as an example of this.

      The key issue for LGBT rights activists is freedom to marry, which is "equal treatment under the law," not "equality of outcome."

      No, no it is not. The key issue for LGBT rights activists is equality, which is "equal treatment under the law". It is a mark of how far our society has not come that we are actually arguing over one specific aspect of equality with such fervor. Next, we will get to move onto the next aspect of equality, still without actually recognizing that homosexuals are human beings who deserve equal protection under the law to every other human being. Instead, we continue to treat them like a subclass, and make them beg, plead, and finally fight for each individual right. Perhaps soon we will permit them to sit in the front of the bus.

      You're absolutely right here. I misspoke; freedom to marry is an example of what activists want, rather than the goal in and of itself.

    70. Re:Sigh by danlip · · Score: 1

      While you say homosexuality is not a choice (and I agree) the people on the other side of the debate says that it is, and it committed to not changing their mind based on facts (they call it "faith"). So that argument is not going to convince anyone.

      And that Baptist resolution you sited says they "deplore homosexuality as a perversion of divine standards" and it "is an abomination in the eyes of God". That's much stronger language than "dislike". The phrase about God loving everyone despite their sin is just a throw-away phrase to try and make them look less like huge assholes (didn't work).

    71. Re:Sigh by Typical+Slashdotter · · Score: 1

      Agreed. I'm aff at a Catholic university, and I know many gay students who have deep conservative convictions.

    72. Re: Sigh by Typical+Slashdotter · · Score: 1

      I am aware of that, and didn't use that word. I'm not accusing people of wrongheadedness, I'm accusing them of harm.

    73. Re:Sigh by dave420 · · Score: 1

      Of course people can choose a lifestyle, but as homosexuality (or, indeed, bisexuality) is not a lifestyle, your point is rather moot.

    74. Re:Sigh by walshy007 · · Score: 1

      Considering I don't see gay marriage activists advocating polygamy be accepted yeah, they aren't for equal rights. The only sensible thing that would treat everyone equally in regards to marriage would be to eliminate it as a government thing whatsoever.

      treating people equally can be a silly goal though at times, I would not treat the prime minister of great Britain. The same as I would treat a six year old on a special needs bus. Like it or not people are different and sometimes those differences can matter to their suitability to a task or problem.

      what people would probably agree more to is not using criteria irrelevant to a task, but that then devolves into what are the criteria and why is it important.

      anyway the point I was trying to get across is equality as a blind goal is not necessarily a good thing.

    75. Re:Sigh by Typical+Slashdotter · · Score: 1

      In a debate, you're not trying to convince the other guy, you're trying to convince the audience. Most people don't derive their opinion on homosexuality from heartfelt, unshakeable faith; they assemble it over the course of their lives from what they hear from those around them, some of whom sound reasonable, and some of whom they trust. A reasonable opinion spoken with an audience is never wasted.

      About that SBC source; I agree that it's just awful. However, many people, including the comment I originally replied to, talk about "disliking homosexuals" as people, without realizing that Christian faith, even in typical evangelical forms, simply doesn't support that. I also disagree that "God loves everyone" is throwaway. It is a central principle in Christianity guiding how to treat others in all situations. Just ask any pastor. (Disclaimer: I'm not Christian.)

    76. Re:Sigh by AmiMoJo · · Score: 2

      The important point is that homosexuals marrying does not harm anyone in any real sense. Some people get upset by it, but that isn't nearly enough to justify banning it. On the other hand paedophiles do directly harm children, so their behaviour cannot be tolerated.

      In the same way Eich's behaviour cannot be tolerated either. He tried to harm homosexuals by preventing them from marrying, and from having equal rights to heterosexuals.

      Tolerance is accepting behaviour you dislike but which does not hurt anyone. Although some homophobic groups claim that homosexuality does harm children or homosexuals themselves, the majority of society does not agree and there is much evidence to suggest otherwise.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    77. Re:Sigh by CauseBy · · Score: 1

      Straw man.

      OP: "posts about how 'just not liking gays' was an okay position to take"

      You: "How is forcing someone to like somebody supposed to work?"

      He didn't say anything about forcing anyone. He said that it wasn't okay to take the position that you "just don't like gays". The solution isn't to "force" the hater to change, the solution is for the hater to change.

      Next time try responding to the actual comment you are responding to.

    78. Re:Sigh by CauseBy · · Score: 3, Informative

      "Sorry, being forced to "tolerate" someone is, for me, functionally indistinct from being forced to approve of them."

      Well, then you don't know the definition of "tolerate".

      If you approve of something, then you cannot tolerate it because tolerance implies disapproval. It's part of the definition.

      tolerate: allow the existence, occurrence, or practice of something that one does not necessarily like or agree with without interference

      It's not our fault that you can't read a dictionary, or refuse to accept the meanings of words. Look inward.

    79. Re:Sigh by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

      As a gay man, I have had to accept that people dislike me for something I didn't choose. Your draconian attempts to force others to accept me make things worse for me.

      Can you be specific exactly how things are worse for you because of demands for equality? I can't really imagine how you could be openly gay and openly discriminated against, yet still be better off than you are today.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    80. Re:Sigh by MacTO · · Score: 2

      You aren't being forced to like somebody because they are gay. You are being told that it is immoral to dislike a person based upon the sole criteria that they are gay. Of course, you are free to dislike that person for a variety of other reasons that are deemed non-discriminatory in the legal sense.

    81. Re:Sigh by CauseBy · · Score: 1

      "Scratch homosexual and put in pedophile (used in the broad, incorrect way) and are you still so strongly supportive?"

      Used in the incorrect way? Why would we assent to using words the wrong way? That would be stupid. Let's not be stupid, let's use words the correct way, which leads to an easy answer.

      Pedophile, yes. Child molester, no.

      Next question.

    82. Re:Sigh by ruir · · Score: 1

      And freedom of expression goes out of the window, yes?

    83. Re:Sigh by sexconker · · Score: 1

      there were endless posts about how "just not liking gays" was somehow a perfectly okay position to take

      It absolutely is an perfectly fine position to take. People are allowed to like, dislike, hate, and love whatever they want, for whatever reasons they want. How they act on those feelings is a different matter entirely.
      If people like you are FOR tolerance and acceptance as you always claim, why is it that you're always driving a hate train at anyone who disagrees with your views?
      Why is tolerance and acceptance limited to the groups and opinions you like? If you were open-minded, tolerant, or accepting, you would abide the opinions and views of others even when you disagreed with them, and you would simply ignore those that you found offensive and instead focus on actual crimes, not your phony thought crime bullshit.

    84. Re:Sigh by wbr1 · · Score: 2

      This.. a thousand times this. as grandparent to this thread, I cannot moderate, but I do not believe that the state should issues ANY edicts regarding a religious ceremony and joining. There should be laws regarding contracts and benefits between groups of people, and nothing else. Leave marriage to the priests, and if that church does not believe in your type of union, find another.

      --
      Silence is a state of mime.
    85. Re:Sigh by CauseBy · · Score: 1

      "Eich did "tolerate" homosexuals by the way- he just didn't think they should marry."

      That's not what tolerate means. (Are you trying to use words the incorrect way again?) If you deny legal rights to a person based on a characteristic, then you aren't tolerating the characteristic.

      If you are opposed to homosexuality, but you tolerate them, then you support full equal rights for gay people and then you go out and try to tell them to stop being gay. That's what tolerance means.

      Next question.

    86. Re:Sigh by CauseBy · · Score: 2

      "'pedophilia,' in the sense you mean, describes desires upon which to act is harmful and unacceptable."

      If you want to split hairs, then it is not harmful or unacceptable for a pedophile to act on his desires by imagining having sex with children while masturbating.

      But it would be if he went out and found a child to have sex with.

      Dan Savage calls the first kind "gold star pedophiles". It's a tough paraphilia to have.

    87. Re:Sigh by JackieBrown · · Score: 1

      Back when the whole Mozilla controversy was going on there were endless posts about how "just not liking gays" was somehow a perfectly okay position to take, and blaming them for daring to demand equality and human rights.

      Way to simplify that topic. Being against gay marriage is not the same thing as being homophobia (a fear of gays) nor is it not the same thing as not liking gays. I am not for dads marrying daughters but that doesn't mean I hate dads or daughters.

    88. Re:Sigh by charnov · · Score: 1

      Most of us old dudes moved over to Reddit and Soylent... one of us one of us... come on over.

      --
      [RIAA] says its concern is artists. That's true, in just the sense that a cattle rancher is concerned about its cattle.
    89. Re:Sigh by bill_mcgonigle · · Score: 1

      Disliking homosexuals is completely different from not liking capitalists, conservatives, liberals, etc. Disliking homosexuals is disliking people for something that they didn't choose and cannot change.

      You mean like how the USSR succeeded because it worked with innate human values instead of against them?

      --
      My God, it's Full of Source!
      OUTSIDE_IP=$(dig +short my.ip @outsideip.net)
    90. Re:Sigh by Payden+K.+Pringle · · Score: 1

      I fail to see your point. I made no claim except for that there is no basis for stating that it is a fact that homosexuality is not a choice.

      We have found one thing that does not work, and that statement seems fairly general, rather than specifically about homosexuality, even if it's far more relevant to homosexuality than to other sexual orientations.

    91. Re:Sigh by prgrmr · · Score: 1

      You were kicked out of kindergarten as a child for not playing well with others, weren't you?

      Or, if you require a religious analogy, if worship is an act of volition (i.e., you have to chose to worship God), then approval also has to be an act of volition; as opposed to tolerance, which simply involves a choice to ignore behavior that doesn't otherwise interfere with your personal choices. Or do you not believe in or not understand free will?

    92. Re:Sigh by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      I agree. I'm Canadian where we do allow homosexual marriage (which I'm fine with), but ideally I would like the concept of civil marriage to be done away with. If you believe in a religion that has marriage, then that's fine and feel free to marry/divorce according to that religions customs/beliefs. But, that shouldn't have any effect on our civil lives regarding taxes, benefits etc.

      Except there's another sword edge to your stance that you may have missed. There are legal implications to marriage that deal with probate that would also need to change in order for your proposal to work. You seem to leave out inheritance, or are you completely against that in all cases as well? You decouple civil union from marriage and you create another monster of a problem that I don't think you've completely thought through, which is the problem with most ideas/stances like this--not thinking them through. On the surface this idea has appeal, but in practice there are an awful lot of gotchas to overcome for a positive outcome. I really don't see the dissolution of civil unions as the ideal fix.

    93. Re:Sigh by aristotle-dude · · Score: 2

      "Sorry, being forced to "tolerate" someone is, for me, functionally indistinct from being forced to approve of them."

      Well, then you don't know the definition of "tolerate".

      If you approve of something, then you cannot tolerate it because tolerance implies disapproval. It's part of the definition.

      tolerate: allow the existence, occurrence, or practice of something that one does not necessarily like or agree with without interference

      It's not our fault that you can't read a dictionary, or refuse to accept the meanings of words. Look inward.

      I think the person you were responding to knows the actual dictionary definition of tolerance but many liberals who are rabid supporters of the gay community seem to be confusing the word tolerance and acceptance or affirmation. They are quick to call anyone who is not affirming gays as intolerant. I tolerate their existence in society but I do not support specific rights for gays. Their human rights should suffice.

      --
      Jesus was a compassionate social conservative who called individuals to sin no more.
    94. Re:Sigh by alexo · · Score: 1

      Sorry, being forced to "tolerate" someone is, for me, functionally indistinct from being forced to approve of them. I will not sit by idly and let disgusting bullshit happen just because it's now politically correct to do so.

      That's OK, as long as you don't complain when somebody bigger/stronger/better-armed/better-connected considers your behaviour to be "disgusting bullshit" and will not sit idly and let it happen.

      It's up to us to resist it with all our strength, and acknowledging and king of tolerance for the enemy's ideology goes against that. Liberalism is a disease and must be fought as such.

      See above. Some day you will find yourself on the receiving side. And when that day comes (and it will), just remember that you have defined the rules of engagement and don't run crying to "Liberal" organizations to protect you.

    95. Re:Sigh by Typical+Slashdotter · · Score: 1

      Science organizations and science literature aren't going to use a word like "choice," since it doesn't correspond to anything measurable. Let me ask, though: did you choose your sexual orientation? I didn't, and I can't think of anyone I know who did. I know some bisexuals who have gender preferences in their dating, but that's not the same thing and doesn't discount the very large group of people of don't choose to be either straight or gay. This is consistent with what scientific literature there is.

      Also, note that "not a choice" doesn't necessarily mean "genetic," or even "predetermined." I acknowledge that there isn't much consensus at the moment, scientific or otherwise, on mechanism.

    96. Re:Sigh by Intrepid+imaginaut · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Riddle me this - if women are somehow, somewhere being paid less for doing the same job, having the same experience and qualifications as men, why wouldn't employers hire the cheaper employee? I mean did you perhaps miss the whole outsourcing thing? They aren't moving operations wholesale to Shanghai for the local cuisine.

      Which leads us to the next question, which is - what sort of mind is unable to take the minimal critical steps internally not to ask these sorts of questions immediately?

      Sexual abuse, really: http://www.apa.org/pubs/journa...

      And that doesn't even factor in the whole US prison thing.

      Healthcare, female specific health issues garner between two and twelve times as much funding as male, and even then the feminists complain about movember.

      And we can talk about lifespan disparities, the enormous suicide disparities, jail sentencing disparities, numbers enrolling and graduating from third level institutions disparities, inequality of outcome in the family courts (see what I did there?), VAWA laws that have resulted in female child abusers actually getting child support from their underaged victims, disparities in the numbers of homeless, and so on and on and on.

      Although I do like the way you rounded it off with a fairly elderly shaming tactic. Vintage.

    97. Re:Sigh by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

      Further, there's plenty of gay people who don't like straight people, or don't like straight people of certain kinds. Are you going to go tell them that's not okay? Or is it still acceptable to hate on nominally white, nominally straight males?

      I think you have to differentiate between "acceptable" and "legal". In the former case you might be shunned by much of society and face criticism, but it isn't illegal.

      I interpreted the GP to mean that homophobia, or for that matter heterophobia, is not acceptable for most of society and if you express those views you can expect others to react. It isn't illegal to hate gay people for whatever reason you like of course. That's how free speech works. You are legally free to say what you like, but that doesn't mean you can expect others not to react as well.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    98. Re:Sigh by mythosaz · · Score: 1

      identical twin sisters

      They're genetics are (mostly) the same

      Mostly?

    99. Re:Sigh by AmiMoJo · · Score: 2

      Sorry, but you can't choose to become gay. If you were previously attracted to the opposite sex (in your pre-teen years, presumably, since you "chose" in your early teens) then you are in fact just bisexual but chose to live as a homosexual.

      Sexuality isn't binary, there is a whole range between straight and gay. It is fixed though, and although you can choose within a certain range you can't force yourself to be something you fundamentally are not. People trying to convince you otherwise are just trying to drum up business for their "treatments".

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    100. Re:Sigh by dugancent · · Score: 1

      They did leave. That's why current posters have an virtual orgasm when someone with a 5 digit, or dear god 4 or 3 digit, uid posts. They moved on.

      --
      SJWs are the new boogeyman. -Me
    101. Re:Sigh by sdoca · · Score: 1
    102. Re:Sigh by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

      "I can understand your concern, this is why you shouldn't be concerned"

      He needed to apologise. No less.

      What he did harmed other people. Gay people who wanted to marry, who wanted equal rights and equal treatment under the law to straight people, where directly harmed by his actions. Having bigoted beliefs is one thing, but it's quite another when a person starts acting on them to the detriment of others.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    103. Re:Sigh by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

      The rule is very simple. If the position is over something that the person has no control over, like race, skin colour, height, hair colour, gender, sexual orientation etc. then society at large will probably shun you for it. If it isn't illegal to discriminate on those grounds already it probably should be.

      On the other hand any kind of choice is a valid target for criticism. Political views, religious views, that sort of thing.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    104. Re:Sigh by Intrepid+imaginaut · · Score: 1

      That was happening many years before the beta thing, champ. Someone actually did an analysis of UIDs and the frequency with which they post over time, quite interesting if it can be dug up again.

    105. Re:Sigh by Kielistic · · Score: 2, Insightful

      You just proved my point in its entirety. You think one is wrong and the other isn't. Others believe both are wrong. You even use the same language as homophobes. They think that homosexuality is not normal, healthy or acceptable.

      That said, in the broad sense you mean, I am supportive of pedophiles who refrain from acting on their desires. I don't know all that much about pedophilia, but I am under the impression that, as with attraction to a specific gender, attraction to children is innate and cannot be altered through willpower or other known means.

      But someone that says they are fine with gays as long as they don't act on it (like getting married) is still a homophobe and intolerant. That is what the whole Eich fiasco was about.

      Finally, stop trying to create some sort of equivalence over, for example, being fired for a political opinion and being fired for being gay. Both are generally wrong, but they are not the same.

      Other than being fired unjustly I guess they are different. I never tried to make them "equivalent". They are both wrong. Just because you think one is "more" wrong doesn't justify the other nor excuse it from criticism. I'm perfectly capable of criticizing both.

      I have to stress that I do not in any way, shape or form condone any kind of homophobia and I believe that not allowing gay marriage is against your Constitution (and would require an amendment if it wasn't). I am only against the huge number of people that get very sanctimonious about it. That only retards progress.

    106. Re:Sigh by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      First, let me state in no uncertain terms that, in very important ways, homosexuality and pedophilia are not equivalent and cannot serve as functional substitutes for one another in a debate in general. This is because "homosexuality" describes desires upon which to act is normal, healthy, and acceptable, while "pedophilia," in the sense you mean, describes desires upon which to act is harmful and unacceptable.

      Emphasis mine. Citation needed.

      In modern-day Iran, homosexuality is not normal, healthy, or acceptable. In ancient Greece, pedophilia was not harmful or unacceptable. Your cultural bias is blinding you into thinking in absolutes.

    107. Re:Sigh by epyT-R · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Except that, in the mozilla case, it was a couple of gay employees who couldn't tolerate the presence of the new CEO who donated private funds to an anti gay marriage effort. Gays are human, too, thus they can be just as intolerant as any other human.

    108. Re:Sigh by Kielistic · · Score: 1

      You missed the point. By incorrect usage I meant having sex with a minor (the common usage).

      Pedophile, yes. Child molester, no.

      So where are you when people are getting prosecuted (and persecuted) for pictures? Or when a minor consents with an adult.

      Your reasons for saying, in absolute, that a minor cannot consent with an adult and therefore it is harmful is completely as arbitrary as homophobes saying that homosexuality is harmful.

      Homosexuality is safer because it really cannot harm anyone- I agree there. But you can't just throw words like "legal rights" around. Why is one a legal right while the other is not?

      If you are opposed to homosexuality, but you tolerate them, then you support full equal rights for gay people and then you go out and try to tell them to stop being gay.

      Again, replace that with pedophile and see if you still agree with it. Are you still going to tolerate the characteristic (by your definition of tolerance)?

      This is why I am opposed to using "tolerance" as the moral mallet to silence others. It is an emotional argument and not a rational one. You are right that homosexuality harms no one and there is no reason to fight it. Full stop. Relying on emotional arguments does more harm than good.

    109. Re:Sigh by aevan · · Score: 1

      It's not acceptable, because it's not accepted? *blink*

      *pictures a few hundred years ago someone making the same statement with the labels reversed, to defend child brides.

    110. Re:Sigh by fnj · · Score: 1

      What many places in the world choose to call liberal is what the USA chooses to call libertarian. Just think of it as a different dialect if it pleases you, but know that there definitely IS a libertarian party in the USA. It may burst your bubble as much as it most definitely burst mine to realize that it ain't goin' nowhere.

      You can take that left/right crap and sell it somewhere else, though. Left vs right is a fake power game practiced to keep the people right where the masters want them.

    111. Re:Sigh by 0xdeadbeef · · Score: 1

      I lean on the side of it being perfectly ok to hate people for their attributes, regardless of whether they can change them or not, regardless of whether they are willing to change them or not. And that it is why I have no problem fucking over the anti-gay ideologues and I laugh at your precious concern for their freedom of "conscience". I don't give the slightest fuck about your religious beliefs, your oh-so-logical arguments, or the cultural norms you grew up with. There is no sane defense for that nonsense, it's as irrational as racism and as stupid as astrology. If you side with anti-gay bigots, there's really no way around it, you're basically a cunt.

      But the hypocrisy, you cry! Don't you remember the parable of the Nazis? After they came for the bigots, there was no one left to speak for me! I need the bigots to speak for me!

      Hating gay people doesn't make you a protected class. It is our choice to hate those people who believe that our hate of their hate should make them a protected class. The difference between us and the bigots is that history is never going to decide that hating bigots is a horrifically immoral crime, you know, like every over thing the bigots once supported. But go ahead, liken us to Jim Crow and the Red Scare, it's hilarious. I hope they all end up unemployable like the child molesters who live under bridges. If we could start a blacklist to hasten that outcome, I'd be snitching on them like Reagan.

    112. Re:Sigh by Typical+Slashdotter · · Score: 1

      "Two sides, therefore equally valid" is so, so wrong. Will anyone here actually stand up and argue that homosexuality is wrong? Or that gay marriage shouldn't be allowed? Even against my points that the prevalence of those views is harmful? Or must I instead argue, over and over and over again, against arguments as nebulous as "people have different opinions which you must respect" (which, as I've said, I reject in this case due to the harm those opinions cause), and "censorship!" (which my opinions just aren't)?

    113. Re:Sigh by epyT-R · · Score: 2

      In the mozilla case, it was the CEO who was discriminated against by a few gay employees because of his politics, possibly due to religious convictions. They used the lobbied pro-gay culture bias to stick it to him and won. There's no justice in that.

      Perhaps the reason it's 'gotten really bad' is because there is validity in the arguments being made? Perhaps people are getting sick of the hypocrisies surrounding affirmative action and feminism in particular?

      People are not obligated to like you. People are also not obligated to agree with you. In free countries, they're also allowed to express these positions. Usually it is the one demanding censorship of the opposing side who has the most logical flaws to hide.

    114. Re:Sigh by Kielistic · · Score: 1

      If you can't provide meaningful evidence other than "if you can't see it you are blind" then you are either wrong or not the person to be advocating. I have skimmed, read and participated in many such discussions. When asked for evidence it is the same two responses: You are blind and part of the problem. And anecdotal, completely unverifiable stories from people with more bias than an Apple Store employee.

    115. Re:Sigh by epyT-R · · Score: 1

      From the viewpoint of traditional religious conservative culture, they do. He is arguing from a pro liberty position.

    116. Re:Sigh by micahraleigh · · Score: 1

      Or "I just don't like AmiMojo" or myself or abstract ideas ... etc.

      Government should not be forcing people to like or dislike things.

      To paraphrase Kerry: it's not against the law to be stupid.

    117. Re:Sigh by epyT-R · · Score: 1

      just as leftists are the ones with the rank hypocrisy and arrogance to suggest that feminism promotes equality of any sort, that deficit spending helps the middle class and poor, and that heavy taxation solves inequity.

      I say get rid of both parties. I want my rights and freedoms preserved.

    118. Re:Sigh by micahraleigh · · Score: 1

      Everything you say here rests on your claim that homosexuality is OK and pedophilia isn't.

      I completely disagree with your premise, so all of the implications you describe mean nothing to me.

      I would say that we are at an impasse, but your side is saying these views need to be policed.

      Let people have their own opinions! Everything is crazy politically correct already !!

    119. Re:Sigh by Typical+Slashdotter · · Score: 2

      I said why it's not acceptable: because having sex with children harms them. Citation from scientific literature: Early sexual abuse and lifetime psychopathology: a co-twin–control study. I'm on a university campus, so I don't know if it is paywalled or not. From the abstract:

      In the sample as a whole, those reporting CSA [childhood sexual abuse] were more likely to receive lifetime diagnoses of major depression, conduct disorder, panic disorder and alcoholism, and were more likely to report suicidal ideation and a history of suicide attempt.

      See? No equivalency with homosexuality, just like I said. Gay marriage isn't some first step down a slippery slope toward marrying dogs, sex with children, or whatever else some people imagine.

    120. Re:Sigh by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      The reason he said that is because he believes that government policy and cultural programming have effectively made any criticism of certain castes effectively unacceptable under any circumstance. Meanwhile the hypocrisy continues with examples like the mozilla case, where the gay employees showed a complete lack of tolerance for the new CEO's personal views and made sure he was let go before he even had a chance to start work. That is not an example of tolerance.

    121. Re:Sigh by epyT-R · · Score: 1

      Except that under the guise of 'universal tolerance', politicians have built a system that requires more 'tolerance' for certain castes than others. This kind of hypocrisy adds fuel to the fire for people like him. Want him to go away? Fix the broken legal code.

    122. Re:Sigh by 0100010001010011 · · Score: 1

      What counts? Would "BIE?" a classic fark comment be banned? It's like they're trying to reinvent themselves while alienating their original demographic (Sound familiar Slashdot?).

      Fark was my go-to place for link aggregation as was slashdot for my tech. Then they banned boobies on the main page. Then they had the cluster fuck "You'll get over it" redesign in 2007. After a while it really didn't feel like Fark and I went over to Reddit and every time I go back Fark seems to be pandering to what they think is the Reddit crowd to draw more users back.

      Look at the Fark Archives from the week of September 11th: https://web.archive.org/web/20.... A Bin Laden post "bin Laden claims to have nuclear, chemical weapons (*cough* bullshit *cough*)" on the same page as "Miss World 2001 contestants. Chile wins (safe for work)".

      Both of them need to go back to their original demographics, be happy with that because driving them away at the expense of your actual regulars won't end well. How's your MySpace profile these days?

    123. Re:Sigh by epyT-R · · Score: 1

      Except that they're not banning 'hate'. They're banning criticism. This argument fails the moment they toss the civil critics out with the trolls. Many of these 'victims of hate' willfully trollbait and then recast their troll collection as a random selection from the target community in order to 'prove' their 'persecuted' status. I'll bet a lot of them do it for clicks, but I'm sure some do it for attention, or out of spite.

      The way you associate your particular brand of politics with 'civility' is ad hominem against those who have a different brand. It doesn't make or counter any arguments.

      When dealing with 'systemic barrages' of criticism, it's important to pick through it for valid arguments to ensure your position is as solid as you want to believe. If not, you need to reevaluate and change your position accordingly. The rest of it can be safely tossed. These policies at fark (and other sites) are purposely designed to keep it ALL out for the sake of some group's feelings. That isn't good for anyone.

    124. Re:Sigh by evilviper · · Score: 2

      "[W]hite western women" are not "the most privileged creatures on this planet", as things like wage disparity

      What wage disparity exists, comes as a result of what career paths women choose to take. So says a number of studies. Giving women the same wages as men, despite them being in less demanding jobs, is pure man-hating, women-are-perfect, political correctness gone completely awry.

      sexual abuse

      Huge populations of men are doing long jail terms and then being made unemployable and homeless for the rest of their lives, due to ever more strict laws that conflate rape with any and every other legal infraction that happens to have any minor sexual component.

      access to healthcare

      Men pay considerably more for health insurance, specifically to subsidize the higher cost of providing health care for women. Whatever the problems with the US health care system system, women aren't being disproportionally affected by it.

      --
      Slashdot gets worse every day... Pipedot: News for nerds, without the corporate slant
    125. Re:Sigh by ilsaloving · · Score: 1

      What do you mean by "wasn't"? The vast majority of the world *still* is not accepting of homosexual behaviour. There are countries that murder homosexuals for no other reason than they are homosexual. Heck, look at what Uganda is doing. And note that it was people from the US that put them down that path.

      Racism was supposed to have been extinguished, but it's still rampant. Same with genderism, and countless other isms.

      The world we live in is a very scary place, because people are care more about hating each other than working together, and I don't see that ever changing.

    126. Re:Sigh by epyT-R · · Score: 1

      and you are deliberately misrepresenting pragmatic reality. When society systematically punishes people for having/expressing politically incorrect views, it is force. The mozilla case is a perfect example. These stupid site conduct codes are another.

    127. Re:Sigh by nukenerd · · Score: 1

      Tolerating people you don't personally approve of is just the cost of living in a free society that manages to tolerate YOU.

      But I don't think they do.

    128. Re:Sigh by micahraleigh · · Score: 1

      From the opposing side, I agree: let's abandon this fatalism stuff.

      When I hear fatalism I usually see people who are having trouble owning up to their views, and I think you are right to say this undermines your cause.

    129. Re:Sigh by maccodemonkey · · Score: 1

      It's not even that. He can still hate people. He just can't ACT on it.

      I'm not sure someone in that position could actually promise that, and I understand why the board would be uncomfortable with that.

      His job entailed using his judgement to guide a company. Whatever he promises, his biases are part of that opinion. If the board doesn't like the sort of judgement he'd exercise in running the company, they're free to boot him. Especially if there was a risk that he might treat homosexual employees unfairly, which both opens the company to lawsuits, and could keep away good talent.

      This reminds me of what the CEO of Urban Airship said: "Sure, I visit swingers clubs and sexually assaulted my girlfriend, but that's entirely separate from my work life." When you run a company, your personality and views are entirely relevant to your work life because they affect your judgement, which affects the company.

      "My personal and work lives are entirely separate and I won't let me ideas from one affect the other" is totally a bogus excuse. You can't tell me that someone who does not like gay people at home is suddenly going to come to work, turn that entirely off, and then treat gay people like total equals and not discriminate in any fashion. Sorry, I don't buy it.

    130. Re:Sigh by epyT-R · · Score: 1

      Who are you to say what is moral for someone else? Reality check: no one is required to like you.

    131. Re:Sigh by ilsaloving · · Score: 1

      ....seriously?

      If I say a colour is one shade of red and you say it's a different shade, that's a disagreement.

      Trying to deny another human being from living in an equal capacity from you for no reason other than their choice in sexual partners, is bigotry. It is hate.

      The fact that you can't tell the difference between the two just proves my point.

    132. Re:Sigh by Typical+Slashdotter · · Score: 1

      Get over your jurisdictional objection, already. I'm allowed to challenge you on your beliefs about homosexuality on the internet. Do you have anything substantive to say?

    133. Re:Sigh by dugancent · · Score: 1

      That was happening many years before the beta thing, champ

      That's true. I have a 5-digit I can't use anymore due to a dead email address. Oh well.

      --
      SJWs are the new boogeyman. -Me
    134. Re:Sigh by epyT-R · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Actually, in free countries, people should be free to like or dislike whoever they want for any reason they want, and form their associations accordingly. The reason gays, feminists and other left wing activists get so much shit is because their 'tolerance' only goes in one direction. They want to dictate what others can do to/say about them, but they want it no holds barred when they're the ones spewing vitriol. Get a gay person fired because he's gay? Instant condemnation and legal action. Get a brand new CEO fired for donating private funds to an anti gay marriage effort years before? That's apparently a-OK. So much for tolerance, right?

      Those LGBT activists use the same flawed reasoning for their positions as SPLC does for race issues. They're all a part of the same political spectrum. They argue from perpetual victimhood to justify privilege for themselves or their target demographic at everyone else's expense, be it finances or liberty. If they just wanted the freedom to marry, they'd lobby to get the state out of marriage altogether, but it's obvious they would rather use the state to force organizations who don't agree with their lifestyle to conform.

    135. Re:Sigh by Jiro · · Score: 1

      Also, if anyone holds a political opinion that isn't subject to change when faced with new evidence or arguments, while I admit that happens a lot, that's a problem.

      But that's a different sense of "change". Evidence can change it, but you can't just change it by saying I choose not to have this belief because people with it are subject to prejudice".

    136. Re:Sigh by Noah+Haders · · Score: 1

      But most of us could no more choose which gender to date, and to be sexually attracted to, than we could choose which sort of music we like.

      lol you don't get to choose which music you like? or do you just have a closed mind and view all music in its social context? you should get Pandora and expand your mind.

    137. Re:Sigh by Noah+Haders · · Score: 1

      Those who are afflicted with attraction to children yet do not harm them (either themselves or through child pornographers)

      +1 CP inflicts damage with each download. its time for a subset of childhood people to get their heads out of their butts and realize this.

    138. Re:Sigh by Khyber · · Score: 1

      "Then that would make you bisexual."

      You talk as if you know me. You're sorely, sorely mistaken. I've fucked herms and trans people before, so that doesn't make me bisexual, by any means. In fact, that pretty much puts me into pansexual territory. I CHOOSE TO LIVE MY LIFE WITH A MAN. Key word - *CHOOSE*

      --
      Still waiting on Serviscope_minor to wake up to fucking reality and realize that Jessica Price isn't going to fuck him.
    139. Re:Sigh by Bob9113 · · Score: 1

      >> 2. The majority of such comments get upmodded and misogyny is the dominant sentiment in this community.

      > http://apple.slashdot.org/stor...
      >
      > I await your action and apology. Very clear pattern of up-mods for misogynistic crap and down-mods for anything not toeing the line.

      I read through the top rated comments, and it was not as clear to me as you suggest it is. It is possible that I do not understand what constitutes misogyny. I read this entry in Wikipedia, and am still not sure I see the cases that match that definition. There are 21 comments modded +5. To show that the dominant sentiment is misogyny, could you please link the 10 that you feel are most misogynistic?

    140. Re:Sigh by Khyber · · Score: 1

      Sexuality is part of one's lifestyle. Thus, it is a lifestyle choice.

      Put the bong down, it's my turn for a hit.

      --
      Still waiting on Serviscope_minor to wake up to fucking reality and realize that Jessica Price isn't going to fuck him.
    141. Re:Sigh by Kielistic · · Score: 3, Insightful

      The very fact that you think you have the moral authority to say people should be fired for their political beliefs is what I'm contending. You say that because you think it causes harm that it's totally fine to infringe on political freedom. If Eich had have started firing people for supporting pro gay marriage groups I'd have the same problem with that (plus other problems since I'm pro gay marriage).

      There are a whole lot of people that think that homosexuality is harmful. They are wrong. You are never going to change their minds by telling them "no u". Emotional arguments cannot defeat emotional arguments. They only inflame people.

      I am perfectly capable of defending someone's political freedom without having to agree with their politics. If I wasn't then I wouldn't be capable of defending anyone's political freedom.

      The reason you feel you are arguing over and over again is because you keep insisting you have some kind of moral authority and ignoring the fact that people are telling you that you do not. You give absolutes that don't apply to yourself as soon as you feel they don't.

    142. Re:Sigh by jareth-0205 · · Score: 1

      "Then that would make you bisexual."

      You talk as if you know me. You're sorely, sorely mistaken. I've fucked herms and trans people before, so that doesn't make me bisexual, by any means. In fact, that pretty much puts me into pansexual territory. I CHOOSE TO LIVE MY LIFE WITH A MAN. Key word - *CHOOSE*

      Fair enough, pansexual. However few people *choose* who they're attracted to, and you shouldn't assume that other people can simply because you seem to be able to.

    143. Re:Sigh by Kielistic · · Score: 1

      The only person that wants beliefs to be unchallengeable here is you. The rest of us are happy to have actual discussions about it. You want to punish and silence people you claim cause harm. I say you both cause harm.

    144. Re:Sigh by Noah+Haders · · Score: 1

      but a marriage is legally a contract between two people that has enormous consequences for family and property. we (society) decided that a long term relationship with property and kids needed additional legal protections.

    145. Re:Sigh by squiggleslash · · Score: 1

      As a human being, yes, I agree he should do.

      But in terms of being "CEO material", my concern is exclusively limited to the idiotic way he handled himself when it become public knowledge he'd funded a specific organization that was running an anti-gay smear campaign.

      Ultimately if we're going to limit who gets to run companies purely by whether they're nice people or not, we're going to be stuck with a very short list.

      At the same time, accusing anyone with concerns about his donation of running a smear campaign and being unreasonable shows a lack of an ability to deal with people, to deal with conflicting viewpoints. Indeed, Eich's behavior, to be brutally frank, suggests he'd have acted as a thuggish CEO, intolerant of those around him who have the temerity to criticize his actions, and unwilling to engage with them. That isn't just disqualification for a CEO position at a conventional private company, but anethema for one so prominent in Open Source, a movement that is built around cooperation and mutual respect.

      --
      You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
    146. Re:Sigh by Typical+Slashdotter · · Score: 2

      In post 47703383, an ancestor of your post, I wrote

      ...for example, being fired for a political opinion and being fired for being gay. Both are generally wrong, but they are not the same.

      You can see my confusion when you write things like

      you think you have the moral authority to say people should be fired for their political beliefs

      I'm not arguing from an appeal to authority. I'm not arguing from an appeal to emotion. My argument, as I've made it in this discussion, is

      1. The belief that homosexuality is wrong is incorrect. I haven't supported this claim much (doesn't mean I can't) because, if you pay close attention, no one has actually really challenged it. All I've heard in response is "I disagree and am entitled to my opinion." We did start to have something going, though, with the discussion about pedophilia, where my point was that pedophilic behavior is wrong because because it harms children, implicitly claiming that homosexuality does not suffer from that or similar defects.
      2. The widespread expression of this belief is harmful to homosexuals. Again, no one has actually raised an argument against this, just "I disagree with you, so I don't care."
      3. (Implicit: expressing a wrong belief, when that expression is harmful, is wrong. Once again, no counterargument detected.)
      4. Therefore, expressing the belief that homosexuality is wrong is itself wrong. This follows by pure deduction from the first points.
      5. Furthermore, a relevant internet forum thread is an acceptable time and place to have this discussion. This is the only one I actually hear objections to, although those objections are not stated as such. They mostly come in such loaded terms as "I have a right to my opinion" that I doubt the writer actually knows that this is what they are trying to argue against.

      I'm not trying to censor anyone, or claim any authority. My argument is about what people should do. In particular, it's about what you shouldn't do, not about what I should or shouldn't do to stop you. There is no implied suppression of your rights to free speech.

    147. Re:Sigh by Typical+Slashdotter · · Score: 1

      Just for sake of argument, let's say government gets completely out of marriage, civil or otherwise. Say you've lived with the same person romantically for the past 3 years. You have a sibling. You die without a will. Who gets your money? Do you see why the state has an interest in defining this relationship?

    148. Re:Sigh by Kielistic · · Score: 1

      Well we were talking about Eich's political beliefs and how people caused him to lose his job because of them in this thread. You seemed to be defending those people. Or at least trying to deflect criticism away from them.

      No one has even made the claim that homosexuality is wrong. Only that some believe that and that they should be free to have such a belief.

    149. Re:Sigh by TubeSteak · · Score: 1

      Gays are human, too, thus they can be just as intolerant as any other human.

      "Tolerate my intolerance" is a failed argument when it comes to civil rights.

      --
      [Fuck Beta]
      o0t!
    150. Re: Sigh by Calavar · · Score: 1

      Yes, and liberals such as myself contend that marriage is a human right. If tolerance means allowing gay individuals to have human rights, then they must have the right to marriage.

    151. Re:Sigh by Typical+Slashdotter · · Score: 1

      I guess we haven't really met each other's points directly. Why I'm commenting here is because, in post 47702397, the parent of my original post, there was the claim "not liking a group of people is a perfectly okay position to take," with the "group" being homosexuals. My whole argument is that, no, that's not an okay position to take, for the reason that it sits at he intersection of misguided and harmful. Again, just to be clear, I mean "not okay" in the sense of "you shouldn't do it," not "I should stop you."

    152. Re:Sigh by TubeSteak · · Score: 1

      You just proved my point in its entirety. You think one is wrong and the other isn't. Others believe both are wrong. You even use the same language as homophobes. They think that homosexuality is not normal, healthy or acceptable.

      You can't compare pedophilia and homosexuality because ONE OF THEM INVOLVES MINORS WHO ARE UNABLE TO LEGALLY CONSENT.

      Sure, the age of consent is arbitrary and varies from state to state, but that's the fundamental difference.
      And I don't see the slippery slope argument that leads from consenting adults to children to animals.
      It's just not there.

      --
      [Fuck Beta]
      o0t!
    153. Re:Sigh by rizole · · Score: 1

      Well that's just Typical isn't it?

    154. Re:Sigh by silfen · · Score: 1

      Well, take it from the founder of GOproud:

      “I just came to the realization that the Republican Party doesn’t represent my principles and values,” LaSalvia told POLITICO. “I’m a small government conservative and they’re for big government. They’re happy to have big government as long as they’re in charge, More importantly, I don’t tolerate bigotry of any kind, whether it’s anti-gay bigotry, anti-Muslim bigotry. And they do and that’s just not OK with me.”

      http://www.politico.com/story/...

    155. Re:Sigh by redeIm · · Score: 1

      This other person is by definition of many nations laws not allowed to consent to sexual intercourse or it is not allowed to consent to sexual intercourse with this person. This is something we deny people to do in order to protect the "weak".

      That's just legal nonsense; such sex is not inherently harmful for anyone involved. We decide on a case-by-case basis whether rape occurred when something happens between adults, and we should do the same in every other case.

      Our laws are the way they are because people get emotional and irrational whenever children are involved.

    156. Re:Sigh by redeIm · · Score: 1

      Therefore, expressing the belief that homosexuality is wrong is itself wrong.

      That's subjective.

      I'm not trying to censor anyone, or claim any authority. My argument is about what people should do.

      Also subjective.

    157. Re:Sigh by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

      Tolerance is accepting and not discriminating against people who you may disagree but who do not harm you. Tolerance does not require you to tolerate people attacking you, trying to take away your rights and happiness.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    158. Re:Sigh by redeIm · · Score: 1

      The only safe generality we can draw are those in which harm has occurred. IE, someone is harmed in rape. Some one is harmed in murder. Racially-motivated murder is bad.

      Using your above logic, none of those generalizations can be completely true as long as a single person or group disagrees that harm was done.

    159. Re:Sigh by sdoca · · Score: 1

      No, actually I don't.

      In your example there's not enough info to determine if the person who died (wasn't me, I have a will that sets out explicitly what I want done with my estate) wanted either the sibling or the romantic partner to get all or part of the money. Maybe the person was on the verge of breaking up with the partner. Maybe the partner is independently wealthy and the sibling has more need of the money. Maybe the sibling has children. Maybe the person wanted to leave all the money to her favourite charity.

      Regardless, I don't see how the government getting out of marriage affects the outcome in this case.

    160. Re:Sigh by silfen · · Score: 1

      These opinions are harmful to express in their current prevalence due to the harmful social effects on many gays (with consequences including poverty and suicide), and in that sense they are unacceptable.

      Harmful social effects are when you get beaten up for being gay, as I was as a kid. Harmful social effects are not some Christian conservative voicing his disapproval of gay marriage. Perhaps you are too pampered to understand the difference.

      Any imperative to accept all political opinions as valid doesn't apply. ... What draconian attempt?

      You said "disliking homosexuals is not acceptable". That isn't a statement about "accepting a political opinion as valid" and sounds threatening to me. Maybe you can clarify what exactly you mean by "disliking homosexuals is not acceptable".

      Disliking homosexuals is acceptable in the same way that disliking Catholics, disliking whiny progressives, or disliking having sex with women is acceptable. It may not be a feeling you share, you may prefer that other people didn't have these dislikes, but in the end, you better learn to live with them.

    161. Re:Sigh by redeIm · · Score: 1

      I said why it's not acceptable: because having sex with children harms them. Citation from scientific literature

      Oh, no. When they largely get rid of the subjective criteria, subjective and biased data gathering methods, and the act of coming to arbitrary conclusions based on data (which they gathered using ridiculous methods), maybe psychology could be taken seriously as a science. As it is, it doesn't have nearly as much rigor as a field like physics. These things are especially prevalent when it comes to 'controversial' topics like this where lots of people get emotional. Anyone providing citations to psychology studies to 'win' in a debate is just a damn fool.

    162. Re:Sigh by redeIm · · Score: 1

      Pedophiles directly harm children? Or do you mean that *child molesters* harm children? A pedophile is just someone with a sexual attraction to prepubescent children. That doesn't mean they rape children, and that doesn't mean that everyone who does rape children is necessary a pedophile.

    163. Re:Sigh by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

      The key difference that we always come back to is that homosexuality harms no-one else, where as paedophilia does. Gay people marrying does not harm you, so you should tolerate it even if you don't like it. Paedophilia harms children so you should not tolerate it.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    164. Re:Sigh by sdoca · · Score: 1

      Inheritance can be handled by ensuring the parties involved have set up their wills properly. It could easily be the case that married couples don't leave their individual assets to one another. Shared assets are a different issue and can easily be dealt with with existing civil laws (e.g. joint tenancy for property ownership).

    165. Re:Sigh by silfen · · Score: 1

      Do you really think that gay people want "equality of outcome" when they ask for the right to be married? Do you imagine they are demanding brides and husbands be allocated to them or something?

      If you're not gay yourself, stop dehumanizing us by thinking of us as some homogeneous group. And if you are gay, grow up and stop assuming that your preferences represent the preferences of every gay person on the planet. Believe it or not, there are many good reasons for gay folks to oppose the push for gay marriage.

    166. Re:Sigh by redeIm · · Score: 1

      So where are you when people are getting prosecuted (and persecuted) for pictures? Or when a minor consents with an adult.

      They're too busy with their 'save the children' kneejerking to think rationally. The standard response is that it's 100% impossible for children to consent, even though that's just some legal nonsense. Another response is that they don't have developed brains and hence might make an error in their judgement, but the latter is true of everyone, including full-grown adults; you make mistakes, and you have to get over them.

      Prohibiting pictures is just censorship, and not something that should be tolerated in any truly free society.

    167. Re:Sigh by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

      Get a brand new CEO fired for donating private funds to an anti gay marriage effort years before? That's apparently a-OK.

      I seem to recall it wasn't a-OK actually. There were a lot of articles, comments and blog posts about how it wasn't a-OK, much of it in mainstream media.

      Having said that, it is a-OK because his beliefs were a choice he made, an opinion he held. Being gay is not a choice and can't be changed, so it's not okay to blame people for being gay. A person has to accept the consequences of their choices and stated opinions, but cannot be held accountable for the way they were born.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    168. Re:Sigh by silfen · · Score: 2

      I can't really imagine how you could be openly gay and openly discriminated against, yet still be better off than you are today.

      For starters, I much prefer open discrimination to hidden discrimination; I prefer hearing "we don't want to hire you because you're gay" to lame excuses, or worse, ending up in a workplace that doesn't accept me.

      I could go on, but my general point is that the progressive activist approach of "demanding equality" through legislation is only one of many possible approaches, and one that I believe is ineffective and potentially harmful. So-called "LGBT rights activists" do not speak for all gay men and women, and their means aren't necessarily right just because they pursue ends I may agree with.

    169. Re:Sigh by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

      Riddle me this - if women are somehow, somewhere being paid less for doing the same job, having the same experience and qualifications as men, why wouldn't employers hire the cheaper employee?

      Because companies are not perfectly rational actors. They are made up of people, and at management level the majority are men. They tend to hire and promote and give wages rises to people like them, i.e. other men.

      Often the pay gap is due to the jobs being functionally identical but with different titles, so men and women are doing the same work to the same standard but one gets paid more.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    170. Re:Sigh by Typical+Slashdotter · · Score: 1

      So, who gets it? That is the government's decision. Judges decide this very issue many times a day. In our universe, the rule is "if they're married, the spouse; otherwise, the sibling." Marriage is how you blanket declare this sort of wish to the state. Take that away, and the state has no reasonable basis for a decision, as you pointed out: you'll instead have a nasty court battle with the sibling arguing "they hated each other" and the partner arguing "we loved each other."

    171. Re:Sigh by Typical+Slashdotter · · Score: 1

      I'm sorry I don't have a citation for the effects of child abuse in a physics journal (*eyeroll*). I cited a specific paper (it looks like it is actually paywalled, but a web search for the title should find you the full text). Do you have a problem with their methodology? Do you have anything even remotely approaching their level of rigor claiming the opposite? Do you have annecdotes or opinions of therapists claiming the opposite? Do you have armchair reasoning about why their conclusion must be false? How should we debate whether sex with children harms them, enlightened one? Put up or shut up.

    172. Re:Sigh by Intrepid+imaginaut · · Score: 1

      The next time you lean in, we'll be here.

      Leaning OUT.

      Feminist halfhead,

    173. Re:Sigh by Chelloveck · · Score: 1

      If you approve of something, then you cannot tolerate it because tolerance implies disapproval. It's part of the definition.

      tolerate: allow the existence, occurrence, or practice of something that one does not necessarily like or agree with without interference

      It's not our fault that you can't read a dictionary, or refuse to accept the meanings of words. Look inward.

      Look inward yourself. You missed a very important word in that definition: "necessarily". The definition says that it's not necessary to like or agree with something in order to tolerate it. Your approval is not needed to tolerate something, but it's not prohibited either.

      After all, it's not our fault that you can't read a dictionary, or refuse to accept the meanings of words.

      --
      Chelloveck
      I give up on debugging. From now on, SIGSEGV is a feature.
    174. Re:Sigh by Typical+Slashdotter · · Score: 1

      Why is it subjective? True, if I try to list a complete deductive argument, there will be assertions like "condemnation without justification is erroneous" (for the first) and "you should, in the absensce of other concerns, avoid actions which cause significant harm," and I won't have deductive reasons for them. However, since, as far as I can tell, these broad claims impress themselves upon me from my core construction as a human being, and since other human beings seem to share many core aspects in common, I have a reasonable expectation of universality. So I ask, why do you think claims like this are subjective?

      As a side note, I dare someone to find me an example of a person who simultaneously holds that homosexuality is wrong and that ethical systems are subjective. Seriously.

    175. Re:Sigh by TangoMargarine · · Score: 1

      It's not even that. He can still hate people. He just can't ACT on it.

      Unless you're a Mozilla CEO, apparently. Or is having donated funds to an organization in the past considered action personally attacking them?

      --
      Unity? Screw that: XFCE. Slashdot Beta? Screw that: SoylentNews. Australis? Screw that: Pale Moon. UX developers DIAF
    176. Re:Sigh by redeIm · · Score: 1

      I'm sorry I don't have a citation for the effects of child abuse in a physics journal

      Nor do I expect you to. That's not the point.

      Do you have anything even remotely approaching their level of rigor claiming the opposite?

      An absence of a good way to study something does not mean that current methods are good; they aren't.

      If your studies rely on subjective data, subjective data gathering methods, and the ability to reach arbitrary conclusions based on the data, then they are deeply flawed. There is no reason anyone should take pseudoscience like psychology seriously. A viable alternative need not exist in order for me to state these simple facts, as the quality of the research stands or falls on its own merit, not on whether or not good alternatives exist.

      Do you have annecdotes or opinions of therapists claiming the opposite?

      I'm not going to get into a pointless citation war where we cite pseudoscientific studies, opinions, or anecdotes back at one another. What would the point be?

      If you want opinions and anecdotes, though, the article I linked to has some.

      How should we debate whether sex with children harms them, enlightened one?

      Again, arbitrarily deciding what someone feels, and basing your entire study off of subjective data gathering methods is not science. It is, however, significantly more prone to bias than other fields (like physics) with actual scientific rigor.

      How should we? I don't know, but that's irrelevant. Bad science is bad science. Accepting bad science just because we don't know anything else is ridiculous.

    177. Re:Sigh by sdoca · · Score: 1

      you'll instead have a nasty court battle with the sibling arguing "they hated each other" and the partner arguing "we loved each other."

      There's nasty court cases like that every day in the courts with the current system. That's no reason to change things.

    178. Re:Sigh by Typical+Slashdotter · · Score: 1

      First, there is a matter of degree. The situation in court would be worse without institutionalized marriage. Second, I'm not advocating changing things...

    179. Re:Sigh by redeIm · · Score: 1

      Why is it subjective?

      Because absolute morality doesn't exist, just like magical sky daddies don't exist. Your (and their) feelings about such matters is inherently subjective, and the number of people that agree with either side is irrelevant.

      However, since, as far as I can tell, these broad claims impress themselves upon me from my core construction as a human being, and since other human beings seem to share many core aspects in common, I have a reasonable expectation of universality.

      Instinct, culture, and a number of other factors can work together to make you believe as you do. That does not mean there's some magical source of morality where someone is objectively 'wrong' for believing that a certain thing is moral or immoral.

    180. Re:Sigh by TangoMargarine · · Score: 1

      That you're arguing with a guy by the name of "Typical Slashdotter" is also dramatically ironic as hell.

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    181. Re:Sigh by TangoMargarine · · Score: 2

      It's that anyone who doesn't immediately jump on board The Right Viewpoint on those women's issues articles is instantly labelled misogynistic. So in that view, probably 80% of Slashdot is Bad People.

      In other news, it's a bad idea to expect the Internet to be polite and politically correct. Story at 10.

      --
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    182. Re:Sigh by TangoMargarine · · Score: 1

      The people modding you for speaking your mind :P

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    183. Re:Sigh by TangoMargarine · · Score: 1

      Well, except for gender reassignment and whatever Michael Jackson did to become white...and the jury still being out on whether sexual orientation is 100% genetic...

      But other than that, yeah.

      --
      Unity? Screw that: XFCE. Slashdot Beta? Screw that: SoylentNews. Australis? Screw that: Pale Moon. UX developers DIAF
    184. Re:Sigh by Typical+Slashdotter · · Score: 1

      It is, however, significantly more prone to bias than other fields (like physics) with actual scientific rigor.

      How should we? I don't know, but that's irrelevant. Bad science is bad science. Accepting bad science just because we don't know anything else is ridiculous.

      Two points. First, I think you overstate your argument about the rigor of modern psychology. Imperfection, and failing to have the same level of rigor as physics (when such rigor would be impossible), does not automatically make bad science. The study in question uses twins, focusing on situations where one twin reports that they were abused and the other does not. It then asks these twins separately, in interviews, a variety of questions about things like alcohol use and suicide attempts. The researchers performed statistical analysis to ensure the data truly does show correlation. True, there are other explanations for the correlation than the mechanism suggested, but this is true of many physics results as well. Your objection seems to be based on the fact that there is "subjective" assessment involved, such as concluding that reporting "I tried to kill myself last year" is related to actual attempts. "Subjective" methods like this are used well beyond psychology and other "pseudosciences." Do you think we shouldn't give morphine to patients in pain because effectiveness of pain remedies is primarily measured by asking patients "how much pain are you in?"

      Second, you assert that because the data isn't perfect, we can't draw any conclusions from it. People, including legislators, must often make decisions based on imperfect data. They shouldn't outright ignore everything available simply because causation wasn't shown directly in a double blind, 8-sigma trial, with results measured directly by devices without human intervention. My claim that sex with children harms them significantly is justified given available evidence, and banning such sex is prudent as a result.

    185. Re:Sigh by temcat · · Score: 1

      Does this study (or any other study you know) consider the bias that opinion of the society may cause in such cases? When the society thinks (whether correctly or not) that X is very bad, and a person subjected to X realizes it (and may well share this opinion), I think that this by itself can cause severe psychological harm in some people.

    186. Re:Sigh by Typical+Slashdotter · · Score: 1

      If I wanted to account for that issue, I would attempt to compare harm to CSA victims across national and cultural boundaries. The study I cited used Australian subjects only. A quick search didn't turn up a study specifically about this, but that doesn't mean there isn't one (I'm not an expert in the field). If there hasn't been one, one should be performed.

    187. Re:Sigh by redeIm · · Score: 1

      Imperfection, and failing to have the same level of rigor as physics

      I expect them to have some amount of rigor. I do not expect absolute perfection. The field is so rife with pseudoscience that it really can't be trusted.

      The study in question uses twins, focusing on situations where one twin reports that they were abused and the other does not. It then asks these twins separately, in interviews, a variety of questions about things like alcohol use and suicide attempts.

      And this is why psychology is mocked. Subjective interviews being promoted as actual science?

      True, there are other explanations for the correlation than the mechanism suggested, but this is true of many physics results as well.

      So you admit it. Then you don't get to arbitrarily decide it's one or the other. It's far, far more true in psychology; there are rigorous standards in physics that psychology has yet to match, and likely cannot match.

      "Subjective" methods like this are used well beyond psychology and other "pseudosciences."

      Medicine is pretty bad, too. I did not mean to imply that psychology is the only flawed field.

      Do you think we shouldn't give morphine to patients in pain because effectiveness of pain remedies is primarily measured by asking patients "how much pain are you in?"

      But don't call it scientific unless you have hard (not inherently subjective) science behind you. You can give them the morphine, but you can't decide to ban something because of your pseudoscience. The two have vastly different effects on society, even if I were to assume they're similar situations.

      Second, you assert that because the data isn't perfect, we can't draw any conclusions from it.

      Straw man.

      People, including legislators, must often make decisions based on imperfect data.

      Not just imperfect data, but horribly inaccurate data. They often shouldn't.

      My claim that sex with children harms them significantly is justified given available evidence, and banning such sex is prudent as a result.

      No, and no. You don't get to use pseudoscience to justify the banning of something Also, banning something merely because it could be harmful is anti-freedom.

      Another issue with a lot of these studies is that they only study the people who feel and/or were told they were "abused," rather than ones who feel they had a consensual relationship. Not that that would somehow improve the situation, but at least the results would be less blatantly biased. That's not always what happens, though.

    188. Re:Sigh by redeIm · · Score: 1

      +1 CP inflicts damage with each download.

      It's pretty much like like voodoo, and exactly as real.

    189. Re:Sigh by Typical+Slashdotter · · Score: 1

      You've convinced me. You've convinced me so well that I think hitting people in the head with baseball bats, causing concussions, should be legal, because otherwise that would infringe on people's freedoms. Measurements of mental capacity after severe concussions are subjective. Any conclusion that being hit with a baseball bat is painful is unscientific, also, because that would rely on patients self reporting their pain level. If you say "medical bills," the bills used to justify this had better not include any pain treatment or physical therapy. If you say "harm is objective, because of brain scans," I'll ask how you know the brain scan is actually related to pain or diminished mental capacity.

      If the only illegal acts were those shown to be harmful at the level of rigor found in a good experimental physics article, I don't think anything at all would actually be illegal.

      P.S. Yes, interviews can be used in science. ("Interview," here, often means asking a series of quantitative or yes/no questions with scripting wording.) Also, if you think that particle physics experiments set up a cause and directly measure effect, without numerous intervening assumptions, then you should read more about them. (Did they seriously forget to control for the strength of magnetic field when testing which energy levels resulted in those reactions?!)

    190. Re:Sigh by brantondaveperson · · Score: 1

      No - it's called behaving like a civilised adult. Views like 'i hate gays' are simply do not belong in a civilised society, and I find it completely astonishing that any other point of view than that could be entertained by anyone. Feel free to explain my misapprehension.

      And anyway, no-one is "punished" for "hating gays", or whatever your particular brand of bigotry happens to be. Your comment may be removed from a discussion forum, and hopefully you would be generally shunned socially too (but I expect that depends on who you hang out with). That doesn't come under any definition of "punished" that I'm aware of.

      I don't think Fark even removes comments, do they? Last time I checked the just replace terms with things like "Attractive and successful african-american", which usually leaves the individual trying to be all offensive looking pretty silly. Sounds fine to me.

    191. Re:Sigh by brantondaveperson · · Score: 1

      I'm agreeing, but wanted to respond to;

      something that they didn't choose and cannot change.

      Whether or not ones sexuality is a choice is entirely irrelevant. People *should* be able to chose whatever orientation they like if they happen find either option attractive. And if they don't, then that's fine too. And if they're not sure, and feel like giving it a shot to see what it's like, then that's fine as well.

    192. Re:Sigh by redeIm · · Score: 1

      You've convinced me. You've convinced me so well that I think hitting people in the head with baseball bats, causing concussions, should be legal, because otherwise that would infringe on people's freedoms.

      It seems that you have trouble distinguishing between subjectivity of emotion and damage to physical bodies, something that can trivially be detected regardless of what the person says. That's the fundamental difference that you don't seem to comprehend. It's why the result of hitting someone with a baseball bat is actually measurable to some extent, while just asking people questions about how they feel, pretending it's absolute fact or because X happened when you don't even understand the brain all that well, and then calling it science.

      If you're going to call it science, then you'd damn well better have a good, scientific understanding of the human brain to the point where you can pinpoint what causes what to happen, and no coming to arbitrary conclusions based on subjective data, either.

      If the only illegal acts were those shown to be harmful at the level of rigor found in a good experimental physics article, I don't think anything at all would actually be illegal.

      You're an idiot spewing forth straw men.

      The opposite of your straw man is that you put forth your unscientific opinions as science and then ban things based on your own prejudices. That's unacceptable, but it's what is happening.

      P.S. Yes, interviews can be used in science. ("Interview," here, often means asking a series of quantitative or yes/no questions with scripting wording.)

      It's plainly obvious that they can be used. It's just not a good idea to take the results, come to a conclusion, and then call it science.

      Also, if you think that particle physics experiments set up a cause and directly measure effect, without numerous intervening assumptions, then you should read more about them. (Did they seriously forget to control for the strength of magnetic field when testing which energy levels resulted in those reactions?!)

      Straw man. I did not say that other fields are 100% perfect; just that they're far more scientific.

      You do love those straw men and false equivalencies, don't you? If the only way you can try to 'debunk' my arguments is to attack things that I never said, or to pretend as if I'm saying psychology needs to be perfect, then simply don't bother replying. You could just as easily ask, "Wow! Can you scientifically prove we're not in the matrix?" and you'd look just as stupid to me.

      Oh, and I would be 100% opposed to the TSA and the NSA's mass surveillance even if they provably kept people safe. That's what it means to care about freedom. The idea that, because having sex with children is often (or sometimes) abused, that it should be banned, is disgusting to me.

    193. Re:Sigh by brantondaveperson · · Score: 1

      And why does that matter? So what if it's a lifestyle choice? Why shouldn't it be?

    194. Re: Sigh by brantondaveperson · · Score: 1

      But I shouldn't be forced to hire them

      If they're the best person for the job, then yes you should.

      or make them my friends.

      No - and they won't miss you.

    195. Re:Sigh by brantondaveperson · · Score: 1

      Also, banning something merely because it could be harmful is anti-freedom.

      You Americans and your freedom. It's not OK to have sex with children - it causes incalculable harm that often lasts more than a single generation. Are you seriously trying to argue otherwise? Seriously? Or is this just an intellectual exercise for you, one in which the (ill-defined) term 'freedom' trumps all other concerns?

    196. Re:Sigh by redeIm · · Score: 1

      It's plainly obvious that they can be used. It's just not a good idea to take the results, come to a conclusion, and then call it science.

      That's not strictly true. It all depends on how it's done, and what conclusions they reach.

      One study gave people (students, I believe) a questionnaire that essentially asked various questions about rapists and how long they should be put in prison. Some of those people were then showed pornography videos, and given the same questionnaire again. This time, the amount of years that people felt that rapists should be put in prison for went down for quite a few people. The conclusion? Porn causes people to be callous towards women. An arbitrary conclusion using flawed and biased data collection methods from a non-representative portion of the population. Were there other possible explanations? Sure, but they were ignored in favor of the researchers' biases. That was the gist of it, at least.

      It's that sort of thing that I'm opposed to. I'm not expecting perfection. I expect that they don't act like complete pseudoscientists. Where is the null hypothesis? Where are the actual standards here?

    197. Re:Sigh by brantondaveperson · · Score: 1

      Not liking gays is pretty much a lot like not liking, oh I don't know, redheads for instance. And then defending that position as being a "valid political position". And then getting into arguments over whether people who have red hair have it through choice, and whether or not dying one's hair red is an equally indefensible act.

      It's just completely and totally silly. If that guys over there wants to do nasty things to that other guy, and they're both grown-ups, then get the fuck over it bucko and move on. Also if that girl over there wants to do some other things to that other girl, and they're both grown-ups, then get the fuck over that too. Except, like most anti-gay people, you're probably not nearly as anti-that as you are anti-the-other. Right?

      Fact: none of these things are any of your business.

    198. Re:Sigh by redeIm · · Score: 1

      You Americans and your freedom.

      I assure you, it has nothing to do with me being American. Most Americans either accept or are apathetic to the TSA, the NSA's mass surveillance, free speech zones, protest permits, constitution-free zones, draconian copyright laws, stop-and-frisk, DUI checkpoints, unfettered border searches, unwarranted surveillance in general, the drug war, etc.

      So me being pro-freedom has nothing to do with being American.

      it causes incalculable harm that often lasts more than a single generation.

      That's your belief, probably due to a culture of indoctrination. Why is sex with a child inherently harmful? Do you have real science behind you, unlike the pseudoscience that was being discussed? Why do you feel the need to be part of the 'for the children' crowd? Do you just become emotional whenever children are mentioned?

      Also, whether something is "OK" or not is completely subjective.

      Are you seriously trying to argue otherwise? Seriously?

      Does it surprise you that there are people that question the absolutist statements that you've been taught to believe? Because that's what I'm doing. Personally, I believe there is a lot of harm that can come from raping a child, but the idea that *all* sex with children is inherently rape or harmful is what I am questioning.

    199. Re:Sigh by Typical+Slashdotter · · Score: 1

      So, then, if interviews can be used ("It's plainly obvious that they can be used"), and assumptions coming between measurements and conclusions is okay ("...pretend as if I'm saying psychology needs to be perfect", in response to "Did they seriously forget to control for the strength of magnetic field when testing which energy levels resulted in those reactions"), in what way is physics qualitiatively more scientific than the sort of psychology that contains this study, rather than just in shades of rigor. Both have underlying, coherent theories which purport mechanisms and make predictions. Those predictions are falsifiable by experiment, and rival theories make different predictions. Real experiements are then designed to test these predictions and distinguish the theories, taking care to eliminate as much background noise as possible in any given experiment. Practitioners then advise and inform the public on those theories which have been shown to resist falsification. This process is science, and vague lectures about rigor are insufficient to claim otherwise.

      The hypothesis that sex with children harms those children has been around for a while, and has resisted attempts to falsify it by a variety of different experiments, designed and run by different groups. These attempts could have falsified it. No competing hypothesis has proven nearly so robust. It is our duty as science-minded people to act as though that hypothesis is true.

    200. Re:Sigh by Typical+Slashdotter · · Score: 1

      But we're not talking about "psychology, as a whole" we're talking about the hypothesis that sex with children harms them. Saying that some areas of psychology have bad studies is irrelevant. I pointed to a specific study. You seem to have some rigor problems with this study, but the sort of errors you point out are not indicative of an unscientific mentality by the practitioners. I argued that many studies like the one I cited exist, and they can combine to produce a scientific conclusion despite the (unavoidable) defects in rigor you may have found.

      With a subject as emotional as this, and given the state of psychology, you can't expect any other result. Any other studies (likely bad science too) that reach a different conclusion would be criticized out of existence, and have been. Those studies don't say what people want to hear, and that may be why. Or it may not be.

      Ohhh, it's a conspiracy to silence people who agree with you; that's why the theory I'm arguing for hasn't been falsified. Here I thought we were discussing what level of rigor was appropriate in experiment design.

    201. Re:Sigh by Khyber · · Score: 1

      Are you even paying attention to the conversation? A poster few posts above these said being gay wasn't a choice. It most certainly was in my case and I stated so. Others argued their point. Are you even following, here?

      --
      Still waiting on Serviscope_minor to wake up to fucking reality and realize that Jessica Price isn't going to fuck him.
    202. Re:Sigh by Kielistic · · Score: 1

      I'm not making a slippery slope argument. I'm not saying one will lead to the other. I am saying people's moral objections to both are usually fairly similar. All I am advocating is for people to avoid making emotional and moral arguments. They just don't help. For instance: the main reason that the anti gay marriage folks are losing the battle (slowly but surely) is because all they have is emotional and moral arguments. Using the same method to combat them only gives their methods more power.

      ONE OF THEM INVOLVES MINORS WHO ARE UNABLE TO LEGALLY CONSENT.

      And gays aren't legally allowed to marry. Case closed? You cannot use "one is illegal" as justification of difference when you are arguing why something should be legal for the other. It just doesn't make sense.

    203. Re:Sigh by Kielistic · · Score: 1

      Fair enough but that comment was talking about people of the "someone must stop you" variety. And that someone saying that others are "free to hate" is somehow anti-gay and pro-homophobia. Of which there are quite a few. AmiMojo's strawman there is pretty good evidence that they are one of those people.

      My issue is that kind of sentiment only makes problems worse. If both sides are just screaming that the other is harming society how can we make it anywhere? They are both deaf of anything but emotional arguments which they fully belief are already on their own side.

      There was nothing wrong with saying Eich was wrong, explaining why he was wrong or even mocking him (I did all those things). But attacking him personally for his political opinion crosses a line. And no matter how wrong you think his opinion is it is in fact shared by a lot of people. If the tide ever turns back in their favour do you really want to leave them with the power to destroy political opponents on that level?

    204. Re:Sigh by Kielistic · · Score: 1

      I'd like to point out that just because people say you don't have moral authority doesn't automatically make it true.

      An absolute moral authority does not exist. It is not me saying someone isn't a moral authority that makes it true; the lack of its existence makes it true.

      You argue to be so open minded and capable of seeing things from another's perspective, but I bet you never entertained the notion that perhaps your morality is indeed inferior, for good and demonstrable reasons.

      Demonstrate one. First you will have to define my "morality". The only way you will ever change somebody's mind about something is to actually see things from their perspective. Basing your arguments on another's moral inferiority precludes your ability to see things from their perspective.

      but you are arguing from the gut.

      Please explain how advocating the avoidance of using emotional arguments is arguing from the gut.

    205. Re:Sigh by Pseudonym · · Score: 1

      Sorry, being forced to "tolerate" someone is, for me, functionally indistinct from being forced to approve of them.

      This is a common misconception.

      It's true that for a bigot, approval and tolerance might be equally difficult, but they are not functionally identical. The very notion of "tolerance" presupposes the existence of something that you find detestable. Being asked to tolerate is a tacit admission that it's okay that you don't approve.

      --
      sub f{($f)=@_;print"$f(q{$f});";}f(q{sub f{($f)=@_;print"$f(q{$f});";}f});
    206. Re:Sigh by Shadow+of+Eternity · · Score: 1

      You are literally saying that the very act of asking for evidence of something in and of itself IS evidence of it, that goes beyond circular logic into pure absurdity.

      --
      A bullet may have your name on it but splash damage is addressed "To whom it may concern."
    207. Re: Sigh by walshy007 · · Score: 1

      What people consider harm can be pretty arbitrary though

    208. Re:Sigh by Kielistic · · Score: 1

      Haha, the old "you're just a troll so I don't have to defend my flawed position" card.

      When you stop beating your wife, I'll let you know the answer to that one ;-)

      I don't have a wife. Will you answer my very simple question now? It is not a rhetorical trick to ask you to clarify your point if that is what you were implying. You wrote a thousand god damn words to beat around the bush so you could avoid making a concrete statement. You did that so you could continually hand wave and say people miss your point when they disagree with you. When they demonstrate they do understand your point you say they are arguing in "bad faith".

      That nonsense doesn't work on me. So I will ask a simple question again

      So how, exactly, are you not simply opposed to his politics when you say his only recourse was to change his politics?

      You have stated that he handled the issue badly because he did not admit that he was wrong. Your issue was not with his handling of the situation- it was his politics. He had no obligation to defend his personal politics to you in the first place.

    209. Re:Sigh by silfen · · Score: 1

      When you presume to speak for me because I am gay and you make assumptions about what is good for me, it is very much my business.

      It's bad enough when other gay folks presume to speak for me. You are probably not even gay.

      I don't need jerks like you standing up for my rights, thank you very much.

    210. Re:Sigh by Magius_AR · · Score: 1

      It's the literal definition of bigotry - a general dislike of a large group for reasons that have nothing to do with anything that group can control, or anything that applies to all members.

      Actually the definition of bigotry has nothing to do with whether you can control it or not. In fact, the term bigot originated with hating heretics and foreigners: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B...

      It can apply to anything from "I just don't like republicans" to "I just don't like religious zealots" to "I just don't like rich people" or "I just don't like Americans" or "I just don't like nerds". Blanket dislike of groups of people exists all over the world, many times for things out of their control. Often it's because of behavior exhibited by their group. But that could be applied to homosexuals as well, at least of the flaming variety.

      I also find it odd that you believe you can just easily choose your personality/political views/religion (particularly personality). Alot of that stuff is really baked into a person through their life experiences. You can't just wake up one day and "be different" with the flip of a switch.

    211. Re:Sigh by silfen · · Score: 1

      Well obviously, because you didn't actually hear what he had to say when he accused you of "are not providing a reasoned argument (and) labeling dissenters to cast them out of polite society." I would call that an insult.

      I think he was objectively correct. If you felt insulted by his statement, I think the error is with you.

      I'm assuming, of course, you really are saying in good faith you were concerned at the time and expressed that concern.

      I was "concerned" in the sense that Eich's actions (supporting Prop 8) affected me as a gay man and that I disagreed with them. I wasn't concerned in the sense of being "worried".

      Eich's donation simply reflects the mainstream beliefs of the Mormon and Catholic churches. I happen to disagree with those beliefs (in fact, I think the theology of those churches are morally reprehensible in many ways), but that is no reason not to work with such people as long as they are willing to work with me on a professional basis.

      Based on what I have seen, I would have no problem working with Eich, even though he may disapprove of my lifestyle. I would have a problem working at Mozilla, because while my coworkers may accept me as a gay man, they have shown that they are unwilling to separate their personal and professional lives, which is exactly the source of discrimination against gay men and women in the workplace in the first place.

    212. Re:Sigh by thesandtiger · · Score: 1

      The thing is, why should it matter if it's biology or a choice or a combination of both? We protect choices all the time. We protect biological destiny all the time. We protect things that are likely a mix of the two all the time. Why (other than that some people find it icky) should sexual orientation be any different?

      People choose to follow a particular religion, and religious freedom is seen as a Good Thing in much of the western world. Yay tolerance for other people's choices.

      People are born black, and racism is seen as a Bad Thing in much of the western world. Yay tolerance for other people's biology.

      To be honest, as long as all parties are capable of and willing to consent, I don't give a fuck about who people fuck or why they fuck them. Maybe if I am one of the people involved in the fucking I might give a fuck, but really unless the "why" causes some kind of issue, I don't give a fuck. It might be of some academic interest, along the same lines as "why are some people left handed" but it seems like using "why" as a basis for tolerance or whatever is goofy.

      Mind you, I agree with you that being gay is almost certainly very largely a result of biology, and I actually think that the people who are trying to do "conversion therapy" are monstrous just as it would be monstrous to try and get straight people to go gay. I'm just saying that choice or biology, people need to get the fuck over it and stop giving so much of a shit about other people's bouncy bouncy fun time.

      --
      Since I can't tell them apart, I treat all ACs as the same person.
    213. Re:Sigh by Atzanteol · · Score: 1

      Very nice example of confirmation bias. You went looking for everything that supported your belief.

      Now go look at the down-modded ones as well. As I said - anything not toeing the line is at 1 or 2.

      "2 hidden comments"
      > How about hiring qualified applicants?
      >> "2 hidden comments"

      Notice how you only see one side of the conversation?

      --
      "Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge"

      - Charles Darwin
    214. Re:Sigh by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      If you can't provide meaningful evidence other than "if you can't see it you are blind" then you are either wrong or not the person to be advocating.

      Yes, by all means, engage in defensive prevarication instead of examining the problem. That will surely lead to advancement!

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    215. Re:Sigh by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      If you're going to make me split hairs,

      Say what you mean in the first place, and I won't "make" you do anything. How weak are you that I can "make" you do things on Slashdot, anyhow?

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    216. Re:Sigh by Bob9113 · · Score: 1

      Now go look at the down-modded ones as well. As I said - anything not toeing the line is at 1 or 2.

      I did. I spent about half an hour looking at the downmodded ones, and trying to see something that I could easily point to, and I didn't find it. But let me remind you of your original reply and my original assertion:

      >> 2. The majority of such comments get upmodded and misogyny is the dominant sentiment in this community.
      >>
      >> If you're saying 2, we should take action. But first, citation needed, because I think you are mistaken.
      >
      > http://apple.slashdot.org/stor...
      >
      > I await your action and apology. Very clear pattern of up-mods for misogynistic crap and down-mods for anything not toeing the line.

      You claim you were confirming my item 2, which makes an assertion about upmods and and misogyny being the dominant sentiment. It seems you cannot show that using the +5 rated comments. Therefore, I believe that we have already shown that your contradiction of my post, and demand that I apologize, was unjustified.

      Now you are backing off to the less stringent, and harder to quantify, claim that comments which don't "toe the party line" were more likely to be downmodded. I suspect that misogynistic comments are relatively easy to categorize. Posts which don't "toe the party line" is a fuzzier issue, since I am not sure I know what you are saying "the party line" is. I'm not sure if you mean misogynistic comments are the party line, or if you are saying that the party line is a lack of support for affirmative action programs to balance the unequal treatment of women in STEM. Which is to say I think that the "party line" issue will be harder to show empirically.

      But if you want to classify all the posts into misogynist versus not misogynist, or party-line-toeing versus party-line-anti-toeing, and upmodded versus downmodded, and present the data, I'd love to see it. It just seems like it would take a lot of work to get an objective answer. You presented a single example in your post. Individual anecdotes are extremely susceptible to confirmation bias.

      While we're on the subject of confirmation bias, and your accusation that I have fallen victim; I think you are off base.

      First, my assertion was that this forum does not have a dominant theme of misogyny demonstrated by the majority of misogynistic comments being upmodded. I think that looking at the +5 comments and trying to find a significant number which are misogynistic is an eminently fair test for that hypothesis.

      Second, it would be rather hard for me to be a victim of it, since I do not have a strongly held belief of what the outcome will be. I haven't seen a strong pattern of misogyny here, but I've said, earlier in this thread, that I may simply be missing it, and I want to understand if that is the case. That is why I have been asking these questions in an unbiased and respectful manner. (though admittedly, you are testing my patience with your shifting of the specific facts in question and your impugning of my integrity)

      Finally, it would also be difficult for me to be a victim of confirmation bias on the affirmative action question, because I am in favor of affirmative action programs to balance the unequal representation of women in STEM. I think that, much like the addition of women to the industrial labor force in the wake of WWII, increasing equality of women in STEM would be good for our nation both at the pragmatic economic level and in terms of the substantial ethical issue that is at stake.

      But I do not see the objectively quantified empirical evidence of a pattern of misogynistic rhetoric on this site. Worse yet, I think that spurious suspicion of misogyny, particularly of people like me who want to see these kinds of programs move forward, is harmful to their advancement.

      If that is because I do not understand what misogyny is, I am hoping you can enlighten me. But if I am not seeing it because upmodded misogynistic comments are actually not very common, perhaps that is an equally significant observation.

    217. Re:Sigh by Richy_T · · Score: 1

      Many who both agree and disagree with many of my beliefs are doing it for reasons that are akin to rooting for a football team. They do not reason, they rationalize and we would be better off without them, or at least, their beliefs. They just muddy the water.

    218. Re:Sigh by Wandering+Idiot · · Score: 1

      I'm pretty sure all the things you just stated are basically empirically true, although those are overly simplistic and broad phrasings of them, almost to the point of uselessness. I'm sorry any formulation of political or social policy more complex than "burn down the existing civilization, I'm sure things will be magically all better then!" rankles you.

    219. Re:Sigh by Wandering+Idiot · · Score: 1

      "You have to tolerate my bigotry and intolerance, or you're the real oppressor!!1" is such a tired and misguided argument I'm amazed at how proud idiots always seem to be when they make it.

    220. Re:Sigh by micahraleigh · · Score: 1

      Link didn't work for me.

      You *are* allowed to challenge me on my beliefs, and I thank you for doing so.

      What you are arguing for is policing what people like and don't like such that people are not allowed to like what they want to like.

    221. Re:Sigh by davydagger · · Score: 1

      just not liking gays is not an OK position, but its not worth kicking javascript's inventor out of the head slot from mozilla, especially when he keeps his beefs personal.

      Somewhat hypocritical when the standard of "total social and political banishment" for the slightest anti-gay sentiment isn't implemented accross the board.

    222. Re:Sigh by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 1

      What do you mean by "wasn't"? The vast majority of the world *still* is not accepting of homosexual behaviour. There are countries that murder homosexuals for no other reason than they are homosexual. Heck, look at what Uganda is doing.

      Which is why they say "Uganda win them all"!

      Oh, I'm bad.....

      --
      The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
    223. Re:Sigh by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 1

      Disliking homosexuals is disliking people for something that they didn't choose and cannot change. It is not a political opinion, and it is not acceptable.

      Scratch homosexual and put in pedophile (used in the broad, incorrect way) and are you still so strongly supportive?

      Scratch homosexual and pedophile and put in straight but likes people to pee on them, or likes putting them in rubber suits and whipping them, or likes autoerotic asphyxiation and are you so strongly supportive? Or anything but church approved reproduction only sex?

      FIrst off, most pedophiles are heterosexual. We don't equate heterosexuality to pedophilia do we?

      Next up, pedophiliais obviously wrong on both a mental level - those children are children, not adults, so can hardly form consent, and even more so, they aren't physically formed for the act. Moral and physically just wrong.

      --
      The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
    224. Re:Sigh by Bob9113 · · Score: 1

      Getting on the road for Burning Man. Probably won't get another chance to check in. I didn't want you to think I was ignoring you if you want to continue the dialogue, but I probably won't be able to respond for two weeks.

    225. Re:Sigh by CauseBy · · Score: 1

      You make a good effort, but fail.

    226. Re:Sigh by spiralx · · Score: 1

      No, I think it's more that these people have always been here, but the last couple of years has seen a) the flourishing of the disgusting "Men's Rights" movement, b) more talk about sexism in the tech industry, which has lead to c) more articles about the subject here, and thus more arguments about it. In almost 15 years here I don't think the demographic has changed very much at all - there's a wider age range and it's more international, but fundamentally it's the same sort of audience. The site just has more articles on topics where this sort of thing comes up.

      The rampant sexism seen in a lot of these articles is pretty depressing though.

    227. Re:Sigh by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

      I prefer hearing "we don't want to hire you because you're gay" to lame excuses, or worse, ending up in a workplace that doesn't accept me.

      I don't know what the law is like where you live but if someone said that here it would be illegal. They would likely be prosecuted for discrimination, and you could sue them personally too. I really don't see how that is worse than just accepting you can't get some jobs because of your sexuality.

      I'd make the comparison with being black. I don't think many black people would agree that simply accepting overt discrimination is better than having laws and a society that supports equality for them, even if they still have to fight from time to time. Unlike you they can't hide the fact that they are black either.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    228. Re:Sigh by fuzznutz · · Score: 1

      "You have to tolerate my bigotry and intolerance, or you're the real oppressor!!1" is such a tired and misguided argument I'm amazed at how proud idiots always seem to be when they make it.

      You confuse oppressor with hypocrite. I suspect you grow tired of having the hypocrisy pointed out.

    229. Re: Sigh by fuzznutz · · Score: 1

      Yes, and liberals such as myself contend that marriage is a human right. If tolerance means allowing gay individuals to have human rights, then they must have the right to marriage.

      So exactly what causes it to rise up to the level of human right and not just societal privilege? It would seem to me that there are societies that exist just fine without the construct of civil sanctioned marriage. Lack of it does not inhibit the free association of any individual to be with any partner they want. It appears to me to be primarily an attempt to acquire the financial benefits of tax reductions, insurance benefit coverage, and automatic inheritance which I would argue do not rise up to the level of basic human right. I would also surmise that a secondary reason is the excitement and exhilaration for those to have something that had been previously forbidden.

    230. Re:Sigh by fuzznutz · · Score: 2

      "Tolerate my intolerance" is a failed argument when it comes to civil rights.

      What about ignore my hypocrisy when I am lecturing you on tolerance?

    231. Re:Sigh by fuzznutz · · Score: 1

      I think the KEY factor here in declaring the validity of any study cited is "independently repeatable" which is very difficult with the subject matter being discussed.

    232. Re:Sigh by walshy007 · · Score: 1

      Were the dissenting opinions from within the organisation though? I remember a piece written by one of the gay employees that said while the revelation of his donation was disappointing that he had always been reasonable and treated them no differently than anyone else.

      from a bystanders point of view, it looked like just a lot of hate directed towards him, with no end in sight until there was some form of admission that he was an evil evil person.

    233. Re:Sigh by fuzznutz · · Score: 1

      The most strident defenders of the sanctity of children's innocence seem to have the notion that children maintain blissful ignorance of their own sexuality up until they cross that magical 18 year mark and they suddenly become hypersexual. Just as children are mortified to realize that their parents are engaging in the dirty deed, parents are likewise horrified to think their precious little bundle is exploring themself, often with their peers. Yet when that peer age differential increases to only a few years, it becomes a horrendous crime that requires registration for life. And rational folk who point this out are accused of moral relativism and coddling pedophiles. The older I get the more I realize that most people are not rational and survive solely on emotion.

    234. Re:Sigh by fuzznutz · · Score: 1

      Yeah, I guess the USSR failure had nothing to do with being bankrupted in a futile arms race and proxy wars with the US. Or the failure of a central economy to meet the needs of the population. Or the fact that a reformer General Secretary came in an made modernization changes with glasnost and perestroika. It was all those denials of "human values," whatever that means...

    235. Re:Sigh by silfen · · Score: 1

      I don't know what the law is like where you live but if someone said that here it would be illegal. They would likely be prosecuted for discrimination, and you could sue them personally too.

      Correct, and I think it is bad for me as a gay man.

      I really don't see how that is worse than just accepting you can't get some jobs because of your sexuality.

      There are many jobs I can't get for many reasons that I can do nothing about. Are you going to make any such factors illegal? Is there going to be a committee that determines which factors any particular employer can use in any job category? Or where is this going to end?

      I'd make the comparison with being black.

      You would, of course! How much better to advance an argument than drag race into it! But since you did, employment non-discrimination laws for blacks were justified on the basis of redressing a legacy of slavery, hardly something that applies to us gay folks. It's not that we didn't used to be treated badly, it's that our parents, by and large, weren't gay.

      But what is the same in both situations is the harmful effects such legislation has in the long run. It is exactly because I look at what has happened to blacks that I don't want the same to happen to gay men and women.

      I don't think many black people would agree

      The argument that because "(group X) wants (thing Y)" therefore "(thing Y) must be good for them" is ludicrous, in particular since the same people usually make arguments of the form "we must regulate/outlaw (something) because people cannot be trusted to make the right decisions themselves". Popularity is not an indicator of beneficence.

      Furthermore, what "many people" want is irrelevant to what I want. Many gay folks want ENDA and gay marriage laws, but that doesn't mean you should say "the gays want gay marriage and non-discrimination". Stop labeling people ("black", "gays", "white", etc.) and assigning beliefs to them collectively; start treating them as individuals.

      that simply accepting overt discrimination is better than having laws and a society that supports equality for them,

      "Forcing people to hire (minorities)" vs "accepting overt discrimination"? That's a false dilemma. You can't end discrimination by outlawing it, any more than you can end drug use, poverty, broken families, or bad grades by outlawing them. Supporting ineffective legislation is not supporting equality.

      Furthermore, non-discrimination laws don't "support equality"; what they are saying is that some group is economically so weak and socially so despised that if there weren't laws forcing people to hire us, we'd be starving in the streets. It's not only bad economics, it's insulting. And the motivations for non-minorities to pass such laws are simply to assuage their guilty conscience ("I can't be racist/sexist/homophobic because I voted for...") and make themselves feel superior. Don't tell me that amounts to "supporting equality". If you want to support equality, you have to do better than vote for feel-good laws.

    236. Re:Sigh by redeIm · · Score: 1

      It might be possible to abuse, but that's no reason to ban it. I'm opposed to age of consent laws, which was the point, and why quoting that wouldn't make any difference.

    237. Re:Sigh by jwhitener · · Score: 1

      Replace gay with something like 'black' or anything that is easier for you to grasp the civil rights issues involved. Then make that statement again, "they can be just as intolerant as any other human" in that context.

        I guess you can describe being 'against' or 'not liking' racism, as being intolerant of racists, but it sure doesn't sound right. If your new CEO to be, donated to campaigns that tried to prevent white people from marrying black people, and you were vocally against the new CEO because of this, is the correct word to use to describe you "intolerant"?

      Some people hold views that are actually wrong. Being against those views doesn't show you to have a lack of tolerance.

    238. Re:Sigh by jwhitener · · Score: 1

      The very fact that you think you have the moral authority to say people should be fired for their political beliefs is what I'm contending. You say that because you think it causes harm that it's totally fine to infringe on political freedom. If Eich had have started firing people for supporting pro gay marriage groups I'd have the same problem with that (plus other problems since I'm pro gay marriage).

      There are a whole lot of people that think that homosexuality is harmful. They are wrong. You are never going to change their minds by telling them "no u". Emotional arguments cannot defeat emotional arguments. They only inflame people.

      I am perfectly capable of defending someone's political freedom without having to agree with their politics. If I wasn't then I wouldn't be capable of defending anyone's political freedom.

      The reason you feel you are arguing over and over again is because you keep insisting you have some kind of moral authority and ignoring the fact that people are telling you that you do not. You give absolutes that don't apply to yourself as soon as you feel they don't.

      I don't understand why you keep describing marriage equality/gay/etc... as something that falls under the tent labeled political opinion.

      Some views are just wrong. While your political ideology may be the driving force behind any view X, some of those views can just be plain wrong.

      If Eich had have started firing people for supporting pro gay marriage groups I'd have the same problem with that

      Yeah. Because pro gay marriage is the correct stance, given that it is a civil rights issue, with no difference between civil rights issues in the past, like the legality of marriage between a black person and a white person. Like if I refused to hire women... I should expect, and people should applaud, me being sued and fired.

      In 30 years (some time in the future, just making a number up), people will look back on this and it will be very obvious that this was civil rights battle. Eich and others won't be viewed as people with "just another political viewpoint", they will just be viewed as being plain wrong.

      I know the entire country isn't there yet, so this view isn't the 100% accepted one yet. Some people actually still do think that 'being anti-gay' or 'being against marriage equality' is a legitimate position because of religious or political ideologies. History will judge otherwise.

    239. Re: Sigh by aristotle-dude · · Score: 1

      Yes, and liberals such as myself contend that marriage is a human right. If tolerance means allowing gay individuals to have human rights, then they must have the right to marriage.

      When was the last time basic human rights required a license? Driving a car requires a license and most people would consider it not a right but rather a privilege with a specific set or requirements. Both marriage and driving have "age" requirements and marriage used to have very specific test that you had to take (blood tests and record searches).

      So tell me again, how is it a basic human right? Can you marry multiple people without first divorcing a spouse? No? That does not sound much like a right to me.

      --
      Jesus was a compassionate social conservative who called individuals to sin no more.
    240. Re:Sigh by ilsaloving · · Score: 1

      Too bad you can't mod and post in the same article. This would have totally gotten my vote. :>

    241. Re:Sigh by Cinnamon+Beige · · Score: 1

      I agree. I'm Canadian where we do allow homosexual marriage (which I'm fine with), but ideally I would like the concept of civil marriage to be done away with. If you believe in a religion that has marriage, then that's fine and feel free to marry/divorce according to that religions customs/beliefs. But, that shouldn't have any effect on our civil lives regarding taxes, benefits etc.

      Except there's another sword edge to your stance that you may have missed. There are legal implications to marriage that deal with probate that would also need to change in order for your proposal to work. You seem to leave out inheritance, or are you completely against that in all cases as well? You decouple civil union from marriage and you create another monster of a problem that I don't think you've completely thought through, which is the problem with most ideas/stances like this--not thinking them through. On the surface this idea has appeal, but in practice there are an awful lot of gotchas to overcome for a positive outcome. I really don't see the dissolution of civil unions as the ideal fix.

      The majority of people who get married or want to get married do not have a clue about the legal implications of marriage, and in fact getting married is merely the less expensive way to achieve the same legal results.

      Part of the problem is that marriage law currently is an entrenched piece of bad code--if it was a program, it would be a piece of crufty, wrongly-documented COBOL woven together of crocks and kluges which properly ought to not work at all--and the most reasonable fix of scrapping it entirely & rewriting from the ground up is going to get anger from all sides.

      Civil unions don't have this problem. I doubt you'd even have many people knowing to complain if you enacted the reformed version of marriage codes using 'civil union' in place of 'marriage,' and once you were done...announce that civil unions will now be required for legal recognition. (Basically it'd ultimately be a terminology switch, but one which permits actual useful and practical reforms, especially if you want to also allow polyamorous relationships to have legal recognition.)

    242. Re: Sigh by Nonesuch · · Score: 1

      Could also be that the more elder slashdot users are simply retired and/or just generally not as interested in tech news anymore.

      Could also be that they just aren't as interested in spending time posting.

      I read slashdot about as often now as I did a decade ago, usually logged in, but have moved on to other forums as far as posting goes.

    243. Re:Sigh by CauseBy · · Score: 1

      Pictures? Getting prosecuted for drawings is a legal gray area. I think the SCUSA even struck that down, didn't they? Getting prosecuted for photos is a perfectly straightforward case of exploitation.

      We don't recognize consent from children, so if you're prosecuted for that it's because you're accused of being a child rapist.

      I tolerate pedophiles despite thinking their proclivities are gross. I support full equal rights for pedophiles. I don't want to deny pedophiles the right to marry, or to put pedophiles in jail, or to suppress their freedom of speech. Of course marriage and sex require consent of a second party, so you have to establish legally valid consent for those things. I don't see any contradiction there.

    244. Re:Sigh by CauseBy · · Score: 1

      Generally we divide government action from private action. If you use a racial slur and your brother frowns at you, we don't usually consider that force. But if you use a racial slur and the police arrest you for incitement, or whatever, then that would be typical of "force". There's a gray area when a whole community of private actors use shame together. But if you say "I don't think gays should be allowed to enjoy marriage rights" and your employees say "We don't want to work for someone who thinks that", I don't think that's "force", and I don't think any reasonable person could say it is.

    245. Re:Sigh by ganjadude · · Score: 1

      you really need to be careful with that line of thinking however. If its not a choice, some will claim its a birth defect. and then the next obvious action for these people is to try and "cure" it

      not saying thats right, just thats what some people will try

      --
      have you seen my sig? there are many others like it but none that are the same
    246. Re:Sigh by ganjadude · · Score: 1

      This is because "homosexuality" describes desires upon which to act is normal, healthy, and acceptable, while "pedophilia," in the sense you mean, describes desires upon which to act is harmful and unacceptable.

      to YOU one may seem normal, to others, they both seem abnormal

      --
      have you seen my sig? there are many others like it but none that are the same
    247. Re:Sigh by ganjadude · · Score: 1

      never heard of the log cabin republicans I see? Also many libertarians have no issue with homosexuality

      --
      have you seen my sig? there are many others like it but none that are the same
    248. Re:Sigh by ganjadude · · Score: 1

      not liking, and not agreeing with ones decisions are 2 different things though. there are many groups i "dont like" but that doesnt mean I hate them, It only means I disagree with them.

      --
      have you seen my sig? there are many others like it but none that are the same
    249. Re:Sigh by ganjadude · · Score: 1

      you are right, its been corrected to troll

      --
      have you seen my sig? there are many others like it but none that are the same
    250. Re:Sigh by ganjadude · · Score: 1

      no, right now slashdot is full of cowards who think they know what slashdot is full of

      --
      have you seen my sig? there are many others like it but none that are the same
    251. Re:Sigh by Artifakt · · Score: 1

      Even identical twins have only about a 50% chance of the second one developing Schizophrenia if the first one does. I guess that means Schizophrenia is a choice. Genetics is an aspect of etiology, and that may or may not include the etiology of sexual orientation. But, it's very risky to start aguing that people have a choice or else there has to be a gene that causes the effect 100% of the time, as nothing genetic works that way.

      --
      Who is John Cabal?
    252. Re:Sigh by ImprovOmega · · Score: 1

      So...by your logic once the CEO of Mozilla had people attacking him and wanting to take away his right (to a job) and his happiness (money and power from that job), then he's no longer required to tolerate them because now he's been attacked? I just want to make sure I understand you, because it sounds like a double standard where attacking someone is okay if you disagree with them, but horrible and intolerant if you agree with them. Does that about sum up your position?

    253. Re:Sigh by Chris+Mattern · · Score: 1

      I'm afraid the one who can't read a dictionary is you. The definition you quote does not state that tolerance implies disapproval. It states that tolerance does not imply approval. That's not at all the same thing.

    254. Re:Sigh by St.Creed · · Score: 1

      "Tolerate my intolerance" is a failed argument when it comes to civil rights.

      What about ignore my hypocrisy when I am lecturing you on tolerance?

      That one still works.

      --
      Therefore, by the (faulty) logic you're using, you're just a cow with a keyboard - osu-neko (2604)
    255. Re:Sigh by Stickasylum · · Score: 1

      I'm pretty sure none of that is hypocrisy. Some of those liberal assertions might turn out to be wrong (or at least wrong in certain circumstances), but then they'd just be wrong, not hypocritical. I'd really like it if everyone's rights and freedoms were preserved, not just yours!

    256. Re:Sigh by Stickasylum · · Score: 1

      You're welcome to your hate-filled morality, but it doesn't give you the right to legislate discrimination.

    257. Re:Sigh by Stickasylum · · Score: 1

      Sure they do, within the bounds of non-infringement upon the rights of others. Tolerance doesn't mean you get to do whatever the hell you want. It means you get to do whatever you want until it affects someone else negatively, and then compromises need be drawn up, based on the severity of the negative affect, and the necessity of what you want to do.

  3. That's it for Fark by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Given that 95% of the comments on Fark reference sharp knees, I'm guessing there won't be much content left after Drew's purge.

    1. Re:That's it for Fark by B33rNinj4 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Pretty much this. Fark hasn't been relevant in a long time, so trying to "clean up" now is too little too late.

  4. mehinator2000 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Hopefully they make some kind of machine that detects when men have mysognist thoguts so we cant have these kinds of thoughts in our heads too...

  5. Muh freedom of speech by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I don't get why people want to lock themselve in an echo chamber. That seems silly to me.

    1. Re:Muh freedom of speech by Nimey · · Score: 1

      You're a straight white male, aren't you?

      --
      Hail Eris, full of mischief...

      E pluribus sanguinem
    2. Re:Muh freedom of speech by Nimey · · Score: 1

      No, I didn't have to. Now fix your trilby, it's crooked.

      --
      Hail Eris, full of mischief...

      E pluribus sanguinem
    3. Re:Muh freedom of speech by jareth-0205 · · Score: 1

      I don't get why people want to lock themselve in an echo chamber. That seems silly to me.

      I'm fairly sure you have never been at the mercy of the trolls of the internet. Much of what is posted under the anonymous cover is extremely upsetting, abusive and threatening, and it's about time we stopped giving it a pass under 'free speech' cover.

    4. Re:Muh freedom of speech by Nimey · · Score: 1

      "Any asshole can make up a quote." -- Nikola Tesla

      --
      Hail Eris, full of mischief...

      E pluribus sanguinem
    5. Re:Muh freedom of speech by sexconker · · Score: 1

      You're a straight white male, aren't you?

      You're a heterophobic, racist, sexist, bigot, aren't you?
      You're literally dismissing someone's opinions, views, and experiences based on their sexuality, race, and gender, without consideration, simply because they differ from your own established views.
      You're matching the exact definitions for these things, ignoring the whole hijacking of "phobic" that PC clowns like you pulled with "homophobic".

    6. Re:Muh freedom of speech by Nimey · · Score: 1

      Oh, that's why I killfiled you. Thanks for the reminder.

      --
      Hail Eris, full of mischief...

      E pluribus sanguinem
    7. Re:Muh freedom of speech by AioKits · · Score: 1

      I don't get why people want to lock themselve in an echo chamber. That seems silly to me.

      From my experience it seems to be an issue of wanting control and self assurance. That being, "if all these people think and say the same thing as me, I MUST be doing the right thing!"

      --
      "Quote me as saying I was mis-quoted." -Groucho Marx
    8. Re:Muh freedom of speech by sexconker · · Score: 1

      Oh, that's why I killfiled you. Thanks for the reminder.

      Because I point out the hilarious holes and hypocrisy in your posts?
      Please respond to my actual points about you dismissing someone's opinions/views and experiences on the basis of their race, sexuality, and gender. I could use a good laugh. Or continue to tell me more about how I've been "killfiled". Either way works.

    9. Re:Muh freedom of speech by Nimey · · Score: 1

      "A witty quote is no substitute for critical thinking." -- Isoroku Yamamoto

      --
      Hail Eris, full of mischief...

      E pluribus sanguinem
    10. Re:Muh freedom of speech by ganjadude · · Score: 1

      I don't get why people want to lock themselve in an echo chamber either. That seems silly to me as well.

      --
      have you seen my sig? there are many others like it but none that are the same
    11. Re:Muh freedom of speech by ganjadude · · Score: 1

      no. its not time to stop giving free speech a pass. If you dont like it, go to another website

      --
      have you seen my sig? there are many others like it but none that are the same
  6. Long overdue by mtthwbrnd · · Score: 5, Funny

    This is long overdue.Thank god for the censorship which will shape our future.

    1. Re:Long overdue by LWATCDR · · Score: 1

      1. Censorship only applies to governments.

      A website or a store deciding that they do to carry a product is not.
      Whole Foods does not sell Coke.
      A tee shirt stop may not want to carry a KKK or Hitler tee shirt.
      A website may not want posts that are offensive.
      The nice thing is you can always start your own Website or store or go to different store or website.

      That being said, why is this offensive speech worthy of protection and not, anti-semitic, anti-christian, anti-islamic, anti-gay, pro-abortion, anti-abortion,.....

      --
      See my blog http://ilovecookes.blogspot.com/ for light hearted technical information.
    2. Re:Long overdue by Mr.+Slippery · · Score: 1

      1. Censorship only applies to governments.

      No. It doesn't. "censor...To review in order to remove objectionable content from correspondence or public media, either by legal criteria or with discretionary powers".

      Please stop spreading the mis-definition that claims that private interests with control over information flow cannot engage in censorship.

      A website or a store deciding that they do to carry a product is not.

      If they decide "we won't carry this because our customers won't buy this", it's not censorship. If they decide "we won't carry this because we object to it", it is censorship.

      --
      Tom Swiss | the infamous tms | my blog
      You cannot wash away blood with blood
    3. Re:Long overdue by HeckRuler · · Score: 2, Insightful

      1. Censorship only applies to governments.

      No, that's just plain wrong.
      The first amendment only applies the US government.
      Freedom of speech is a universal ideal.
      The right to freedom of speech is a legal quandary.
      Censorship is an action that anyone can do, rightly or wrongly, legally or illegally, in a multitude ways with a broad spectrum of severity.
      If you think that it is only limited to a niche type of occurrence and doesn't apply to you then you're pretty damn closed-minded.

      That being said, why is this offensive speech worthy of protection and not, anti-semitic, anti-christian, anti-islamic, anti-gay, pro-abortion, anti-abortion,.....

      It's worthy of protection against censorship the same way that anti-semitic, anti-christian, anti-islamic, anti-gay, pro-abortion, and anti-abortion sentiments are worthy of protection, despite how offensive they are to you and me.

      "I might not agree with what you say, but I will defend, to the death, your right to say it."

      But yeah, Drew can do whatever he want with his site. I stopped going there years ago so it's really no skin off my teeth.

    4. Re:Long overdue by jedidiah · · Score: 1

      > So any store that only carries Organic foods is censoring?

      A merchant has to be able to make money to keep the lights on and pay the rent. A merchant is subject to physical constraints. A merchant is PAYING for the things they present to you.

      Why didn't you just make it a bad car analogy from the start?

      Trying to deviate from that doesn't make the problem of applying physical rules to the ethereal realm any more senseless.

      --
      A Pirate and a Puritan look the same on a balance sheet.
    5. Re:Long overdue by jedidiah · · Score: 1

      The 1st Amendment of the US Constitution is a limit placed on government. It's not a limit placed on the people. It's a statement of universal principle so important that our nation at it's birth was unwilling to accept a written Constitution without it.

      It is not some sort of "legal loophole" that justifies everyone else being a tyrannical jackass.

      --
      A Pirate and a Puritan look the same on a balance sheet.
    6. Re:Long overdue by LWATCDR · · Score: 1

      That is where things go pearshaped.
      A website that does not allow you to post x is not stopping your freedom of speech. You can post on other websites or start your own.
      Your freedom of speech is not being infringed on.
      You are allowed to say whatever you want "within reason aka slander, fraud, and so on" you have no right to say it everywhere.

      --
      See my blog http://ilovecookes.blogspot.com/ for light hearted technical information.
    7. Re:Long overdue by babymac · · Score: 1

      And yet there are TONS of posts in the Fark thread pretty much saying exactly this.

      --
      "War makes me sad." - Me
    8. Re:Long overdue by LWATCDR · · Score: 1

      "A merchant has to be able to make money to keep the lights on and pay the rent. A merchant is subject to physical constraints. A merchant is PAYING for the things they present to you."

      A website has to pay to host, to maintain the system. If you have never been involved with even a medium sized website you would not dismiss those costs.

      --
      See my blog http://ilovecookes.blogspot.com/ for light hearted technical information.
    9. Re:Long overdue by Carewolf · · Score: 1

      So any store that only carries Organic foods is censoring?

      No, but if food was speech, then yes, it would be. Though we usually don't use the term censorship when the selection criteria becomes that broad. A book store not carrying a few specific books is censoring, but a bookstore only carrying science fiction would be better described as filtering, though the store does the same thing only much more aggresively.

    10. Re:Long overdue by Sentrion · · Score: 1

      The problem is that general discussion forums that emerged in the early days of the internet gave people a way to express non-conforming opinions that they never had before. Letters to the editor were only published if newspaper editors felt they were appropriate for their target audience. Speech on public streets can be and is regulated, so offensive speech can be censored for the "sake of the children". Many of those who came out of the closet built up the courage to do so only after finding so many others like themselves anonymously proclaiming themselves online.

      Fast forward to today, and every news site has a comments section for every news story. But the fear of liability for tolerating bigotry or allowing cyber bullying has most of these mainstream news outlets deleting comments and even banning users for rather mild offensive speech or politically incorrect positions. Many other websites that allow comments selectively delete content that doesn't fall in line with their own ideology. This story just shows how the trend of private censorship, speech control, expression management - or whatever else you want to call it - is growing, and there are now fewer places where the general internet faring public can go to vent their opinion to a larger audience. When the wackos, weirdos, and non-conformists cannot find a public and open space to vent their delusional opinions and ideas, they are driven underground. This has two very negative effects: 1. They surround themselves with others that share their own crazy world view, reinforcing their perception that their view is rational, sane, and acceptable; and 2. they are cut off from mainstream society and with it the possibility that they could be exposed to logical challenges that might lead them to question their own delusions which could hopefully break the chain of insanity.

      So in singular cases I have no problem when one website decides to impose stricter rules for comments from their contributors. But in aggregate it is harmful when such strict controls are so widely adopted that no one can hear what the lunatics have to say.

    11. Re:Long overdue by Lendrick · · Score: 1

      I know. We need government interference to tell Fark that they aren't allowed to moderate the content on their own site. If people area allowed to run their privately owned websites the way they choose, it'll be anarchy! Anarchy!!! ANAARRRCCCHHHYYYYY!!!!

    12. Re:Long overdue by HeckRuler · · Score: 1

      A website that does not allow you to post x is not infringing your freedom of speech in the context of the first amendment because that only stops the government from censoring you, and doesn't stop individuals from censoring others nor does it force individuals to perpetuate others speech (as in host it).

      But it is most certainly censoring you on their website. That is almost exactly the definition of censorship. It would be exactly the definition of censorship if you posted X, and then they removed said post. If they have a blanket ban on X prior to any such post, that can still be considered censorship. And hey man, some censorship is good:

      -Self-censorship is best. I'm not going to wave my dick about on a playground. That'd be pretty fucked up. And illegal. And rightfully so.

      -Outlawing any discussion of global warming, anywhere, online or off, would be a crazy-stupid level of censorship. And illegal.

      -StackOverflow censors any open-ended discussions, because it's a Q&A site striving for quality posts rather than bickering about which language to use. And I'm down with that.

      But news aggregators like Fark and Slashdot where the "value added content" is the community and commentary, I prefer the censors to have a light touch. If someone is being a real douche, sure, ban'em. But I'd be worried about mods becoming tyrants. And from the sounds of it, I'm glad I'm not a regular on Fark anymore.

      You are allowed to say whatever you want "within reason aka slander, fraud, and so on" you have no right to say it everywhere.

      Correct. Just like I said in my post. It's great we agree. But that sure as shit doesn't mean that Fark's new policy isn't censorship.
      (Also, and I'm just being pedantic here, you DO have the right to say it, but they also have the right to ban you/kick you out of their store/house/server. Effectively, no you don't have the right to say it everywhere)

      Remember, what rights you have is a legal quandary. The act of censorship, which is the anti-thesis of freedom of speech, is not tied to legal matters. If you want to sue/arrest someone, consult the law books. If you want to uphold the ideals of freedom of speech, you need not consult the law.

    13. Re:Long overdue by HeckRuler · · Score: 1

      Right.

      Did I somehow imply otherwise?

    14. Re:Long overdue by sexconker · · Score: 1

      1. Censorship only applies to governments.

      LOL!
      What if I said "Racism only applies when the government does it."? Would you flip your shit at how absurd that is?
      You probably would, and you still wouldn't see how absurd your own statement is.

      Censorship occurs when things are censored, government or not.
      1st amendment violations occur when the government limits or criminalizes speech.

    15. Re:Long overdue by Obfuscant · · Score: 1

      Censorship is an action that anyone can do, rightly or wrongly, legally or illegally, in a multitude ways with a broad spectrum of severity.

      And that overly-broad definition of the word changes it from something useful and with significant meaning into a word useful only for conveying the perjorative connotation that the limited definition has. It is dishonest to use a word in a newer, very broad sense to attempt to evoke the response based on the older, narrower meaning.

      I mean, cries of "censorship!" because a website owner won't let you post babble on his site is exactly that: implying the website owner is an awful person who is squelching your freedoms when he is simply invoking his own. It is no different than trying to brand someone as a "rapist" when the truth was that he had sex with his wife and she wasn't the initiator.

      If you think that it is only limited to a niche type of occurrence and doesn't apply to you then you're pretty damn closed-minded.

      Nothing about trying to use the word in its true, limited, serious meaning says anything about a belief that censorship can never be applied to someone or that it cannot happen.

      It's worthy of protection against censorship the same way that anti-semitic, anti-christian, anti-islamic, anti-gay, pro-abortion, and anti-abortion sentiments are worthy of protection, despite how offensive they are to you and me.

      I run several websites, and if you think you're going to get me to let you post your anti-semitic, anti-christian, anti-islamic, anti-gay, pro-abortion, and anti-abortion sentiments on any of them out of some concern for protecting such speech, you have another think coming. It is not censorship if I keep your comments off, no more so than if I were an editor to a newspaper and I did not select one of your letters to the editor containing such babble for publication.

    16. Re:Long overdue by Obfuscant · · Score: 1

      Censorship occurs when things are censored, government or not.

      What an absolutely marvelous definition, and I bet you love it that way. It's no different than "I don't know the definition of pornography, but I know it when I see it!" It allows you to cry "censorship" every time someone stops you from saying something, even if they are only stopping you from saying it using their property.

      The difference between "censor" and "racist" is, of course, that "censor" implies an official capacity to perform (and enforce) that action, and "racist" implies nothing of the sort.

    17. Re:Long overdue by HeckRuler · · Score: 1

      What the fuck are you smoking?
      "old, narrower meaning"? Son, the enlightenment has a lot to say about censorship and it got codified into some of the laws. Since then, people with power have tried to stuff the term into a narrow little box that only applies to other people. So you can take your "older" meaning and shove it right up your box.

      The term "censorship" has an definition. Has had it for a very long time. It has negative connotations because it DAMN WELL SHOULD. If you pay for and run a server which allows users to post comments, you have the right (in the USA, barring contracts and licenses) to delete someone's posts. Exercising that right is most certainly an act of censorship. Straight up. Negative connotations and all.

      Some censorship is good. Some censorship is bad. It's one of those things that people should take a critical eye to because of how it can be abused.

      Nothing about trying to use the word in its true, limited, serious meaning...

      You are litterally redefining the word to suit your purpose.

      I run several websites,

      Bias confirmed.

      if you think you're going to get me to let you post your anti-semitic, anti-christian, anti-islamic, anti-gay, pro-abortion, and anti-abortion sentiments on any of them out of some concern for protecting such speech

      I don't, because I won't, because I don't hold any such sentiments. And I'm fully aware that a lot of people do not hold any sort of lofty ideals when it comes to the freedom of speech. Plebeian shmucks who haven't thought it through, affluent power-mongers who want to control people, self-centered assholes who don't give a fuck about society while leeching off it as much they can. Since you "run several websites" you probably lean towards the power-monger type.

      It is not censorship if I keep your comments off, no more so than if I were an editor to a newspaper and I did not select one of your letters to the editor containing such babble for publication.

      It IS censorship. In very much the same way an editor selects editorials. Don't redefine the word and then bitch about people not using your definition. Learn some history kiddo.

    18. Re:Long overdue by ganjadude · · Score: 1

      unless you are a baker, than you must bake a gay cake even if you dont want to

      --
      have you seen my sig? there are many others like it but none that are the same
  7. I hope it's just me by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    ...but I'm getting really annoyed by this "anti misogynist" theater. It feels like a hostile takeover. A lot of good things have been sidetracked and derailed and are now reduced to political correctness banter. All the people who want to get shit done leave when the oppressed women show up. And I mean "show up". They're not women who were there and now feel like they need to change their own environment.

    1. Re:I hope it's just me by Sarten-X · · Score: 5, Insightful

      They're not women who were there and now feel like they need to change their own environment.

      How are you so sure about that? Have you done any analysis to determine the extent to which the sexist comments have intimidated women and discouraged them from making their gender known?

      --
      You do not have a moral or legal right to do absolutely anything you want.
    2. Re:I hope it's just me by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · · Score: 1

      Is it really a 'hostile takeover' if the management voluntarily decide to do it for their own interests(whether perceived quality, ad revenue, subscriber base, or some combination of the above)?

      Between the first amendment and the explicit immunities specified by section 230 of the Communications Decency act, a site operator is pretty damn ironclad even in the case of absurdly nasty forums (so long as the copyright infringement is kept to a dull roar and the service isn't linked to too many gruesome murders). If they wanted to take a stand on the matter they would have little difficulty doing so. Apparently they don't see that as worth the trouble.

    3. Re:I hope it's just me by Iamthecheese · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Seconded. Slashdot is a haven for rational thought, which naturally and innately fights all ignorance including sexism. The thing is, rationalism fights antiwomen and antiman sexism alike and doesn't give either undue focus. That's not good enough for people of certain political bent.

      Please leave the politics elsewhere.

      --
      If video games influenced behavior the Pac Man generation would be eating pills and running away from their problems.
    4. Re:I hope it's just me by Iamthecheese · · Score: 1

      Shitty behavior on Slashdot? Would you kindly point out some upmoded misogyny? I don't think I recall ever seeing things like that on Slashdot. As for other sites the sexism you perceive on Reddit (which I would bet is just people not being anti-man enough for you) is not best answered by censoring Slashdot. You just as much as admitted to wanting a feminist takeover of Slashdot.

      --
      If video games influenced behavior the Pac Man generation would be eating pills and running away from their problems.
    5. Re:I hope it's just me by squiggleslash · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I'm sure all this overbearing political correctness that tortures you so will start to disappear once it stops being the case that every woman on Twitter who says anything remotely prominent stops getting hundreds of rape threats in response.

      But good for you, standing up for the right to be annoyed that uppity women keep complaining about all the rape threats they keep getting.

      --
      You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
    6. Re:I hope it's just me by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      You know men threaten men in the same ways all the time. Men threaten men with violence as a habit. Just because a minority of them actually do it doesn't mean that traditional male behavior is wrong. When bitching or fighting with anyone you always say the shit that will scare them or hurt them the most. Or you haven't ever had a bad ass screaming match with your significant other?

    7. Re:I hope it's just me by squiggleslash · · Score: 1

      No, not really. Men don't generally get hundreds of these level of threats on Twitter et al when they make mildly (or even full on) controversial statements. Propose putting Einstein on a dollar bill, or that men's razors should be free or subsidized, and see if you get anything remotely close to what happens if you're female and suggest or mention female dollar bill characters or subsidized tampons.

      --
      You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
    8. Re:I hope it's just me by squiggleslash · · Score: 1

      Can you come up with some actual examples of individual men being the target of violent threats on Twitter etc because he posts a mildly controversial opinion? (And I think we can agree that suggesting a famous woman be on a dollar bill, or that tampons be subsidized, counts as mildly controversial.)

      FWIW incidentally I don't recall any copyright campaigns that aluded to rape, nor any that were aimed exclusively at male offenderes.

      --
      You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
    9. Re:I hope it's just me by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

      A lot of good things have been sidetracked and derailed and are now reduced to political correctness banter.

      Can you name some?

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    10. Re:I hope it's just me by murkwood7 · · Score: 1

      ... "free speech" (which is only supposed to apply to governments, btw) ...

      uhm. Explain, please.

      --
      - X/Y -
    11. Re:I hope it's just me by Sentrion · · Score: 1

      We don't need to analyze anything when we know that no TRUE Scotswoman would be oppressed.

      en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_true_Scotsman

    12. Re:I hope it's just me by cherenkov · · Score: 1

      They won't be happy until everywhere is a safe space.

    13. Re:I hope it's just me by StikyPad · · Score: 1

      If you want to convince me, you'll have to start by using words appropriately, facts in lieu of vagaries, and avoid drawing parallels between twitter posters and slaves.

    14. Re:I hope it's just me by squiggleslash · · Score: 1

      Are you responding to my comment or did you hit the wrong Reply button?

      Not seeing anything about slavery there, nor anything vague or any words being used with the wrong definitions.

      --
      You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
    15. Re:I hope it's just me by mjwx · · Score: 1

      Seconded. Slashdot is a haven for rational thought, which naturally and innately fights all ignorance including sexism.

      Has it really been that long since we've seen a GNAA post?

      The thing is, rationalism fights antiwomen and antiman sexism alike and doesn't give either undue focus.

      This.

      Rationalism is the enemy of intolerance in all its forms.

      --
      Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument.
    16. Re:I hope it's just me by mjwx · · Score: 1

      I'm sure all this overbearing political correctness that tortures you

      I've found the cries of "Political Correctness" to be the modern day equivalent of "think of the children".

      It's a thought-terminating cliche used to prevent rational people from calling out obviously racist/sexist/xenophobic rants in the same way "think of the children" is used to silence criticism of overbearing laws, ideas or organisations.

      The cry of oppressive political correctness is most often used ironically by those who want to force others into their own form of orthodoxy. These people dont want a free exchange of ideas, they want an echo chamber for their own.

      --
      Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument.
    17. Re:I hope it's just me by strikethree · · Score: 1

      Hm. So either allow females full control over every aspect of the shared male/female environment or support sending death and rape threats to random women who speak their mind?

      Tough choice. I fully support treating people as people before gender is even recognized but I am not willing to give complete control over the shared environment to one gender... as that would violate what I believe in.

      But then, sending death and rape threats also violates what I believe in.

      Damn dude. You got me between a rock and a hard place. It is a shame there is nothing in between... such as being annoyed when the shared environment starts getting tilted to correct a perceived imbalance. If this will be a war, men will win. If this is to seek equality, we can all share. Your choice.

      --
      "Someone needs to talk to the tree of liberty about its ghoulish drinking problem." by ohnocitizen
    18. Re:I hope it's just me by Intrepid+imaginaut · · Score: 1

      You're talking about that idiot Valenti? Here's a little holiday snap that might explain why she's catching heat: http://returnofqueens.com/wp-c...

      I've no doubt that the people who've lost a father, a son, a brother, an uncle, a husband or a lover to suicide (which disproportionately affects men) wouldn't mind a long soothing bath in Jessica's warm salty tears. You can't do things like that then act the innocent when there's a backlash.

      Meanwhile other prominent women post controversial things on twitter all the time with nary a rape threat in sight.

      Why do you think that might be?

    19. Re:I hope it's just me by squiggleslash · · Score: 1

      Hm. So either allow females full control over every aspect of the shared male/female environment or support sending death and rape threats to random women who speak their mind?

      I don't think anyone anywhere mainstream is making you make that choice. Rather the idea of the story is that prejudice has little or no place in rational discourse, and that includes blatant misogyny and sexism. Why? Because it isn't rational, and because it leads to horror.

      FWIW, I find myself, as I get older, having less and less respect for women as a group (as individuals, of course, everyone deserves to be treated on their own merits), but even as I veer towards misogyny myself, I find it completely ridiculous that we should continue to tolerate a situation where members of one gender - the other being more or less free to say anything - is targeted for frightening abuse up to and including rape and death threats whenever said women speaks their mind on anything remotely controversial, and frequently on topics that shouldn't be controversial at all.

      We are not Iran. Hell, Iran is not Iran.

      It's fine to say Jane Austin sucks and shouldn't be on a banknote. It adds nothing to the debate, however, to say women shouldn't be on banknotes, and tt's not OK to post rape threats against Caroline Criado-Perez.

      --
      You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
    20. Re:I hope it's just me by squiggleslash · · Score: 1

      Can I suggest that you actually follow the discussion rather than picking whatever the latest thing you heard and thinking that's what everyone's talking about?

      No, it"s not just about Valenti. And no, lots of women, prominent and otherwise, are finding that when they post anything mildly controversial, they get rape threats.

      Finally, even if your attempt to misrepresent one columnist using a zero-context photo had legitimacy and didn't misrepresent her, it wouldn't support rape threats against her.

      Michele Malkin regularly gets rape threats against her. The woman routinely lies, and smears those who disagree with her. She's a horrible, horrible, person. Whatever Valenti has said pales in comparison. And Malkin she doesn't deserve rape and violence threats either.

      And nobody's committed suicide, NOBODY, because they felt they were unable to issue a rape threat against an uppity woman who they disagreed with, so why bring it up?

      --
      You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
    21. Re:I hope it's just me by Intrepid+imaginaut · · Score: 1

      No, it"s not just about Valenti. And no, lots of women, prominent and otherwise, are finding that when they post anything mildly controversial, they get rape threats.

      I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess they're mostly feminists, right? Believe it or not almost nobody wants to rape anyone else, men don't go around raping at random, and rape culture is the most stone cold idiotic attempt to induce a moral panic I've ever heard of. That's not to say some social maladjusts don't send rape threats of course, but the internet is littered with all sorts of mental wreckage without indicating widespread mis-whatevery.

      Finally, even if your attempt to misrepresent one columnist using a zero-context photo had legitimacy and didn't misrepresent her, it wouldn't support rape threats against her.

      There really isn't anything to misrepresent. She put it up on her twitter feed as a holiday snap. She's a well known feminist figure and like most feminists, she's widely despised. That photo illustrates why. Why is it okay one way but not the other when male suicides are 4 or 5 times female suicides? Not very funny now is it? Or envision if you will the response if a man were photographed wearing a t-shirt that says "I bathe in female tears", the social justice brigade would have a seizure.

      Valenti's made a career out of demonising half the population, so she's not representative of "most women" and their experiences. That you made a mental leap from there to insinuating that she deserved however it says a lot more about you than me.

      Michele Malkin regularly gets rape threats against her.

      You've access to her personal email accounts and so on, I suppose? I checked it out though, and I can only find one publicised instance of her receiving rape threats - when she criticised a particularly thin skinned rapper. Again this isn't representative of the experiences of most women, for reasons which should be obvious.

      And nobody's committed suicide, NOBODY, because they felt they were unable to issue a rape threat against an uppity woman who they disagreed with, so why bring it up?

      I'm not sure how convoluted deflections can actually get, but this is probaby in the top tenth percentile if anyone's keeping track.

    22. Re:I hope it's just me by murkwood7 · · Score: 1

      Yea. I didn't think so.

      --
      - X/Y -
    23. Re:I hope it's just me by squiggleslash · · Score: 1

      I'll bullet point what I'm reading and you can tell me what I'm misunderstanding from your post, if anything:

      - The women receiving rape threats are, in your view, Feminists, and so it's not an issue. You don't explain why it's OK if Feminists receive rape threats.
      - Michele Malkin has never retweeted numerous death and rape threats despite widespread coverage when it happened. (She's probably a Feminist too, amirite?)
      - Valenti has made a career of demonising men, as can be evidenced by one joke T-shirt, which is totally not misrepresenting her views because she wore it in public and even showed a picture of it online which nobody ever does with a joke shirt.
      - You bringing up male suicides in response to someone complaining they're seeing more PCism because women online keep getting rape threats is not deflection. Me pointing out that it has nothing to do with the topic at hand is.

      Correct?

      Here's the truth, which you appear to be completely unable to comprehend:

      1. No, Valenti does not hate men, nor has she made a career of demonizing them. I've actually read some of Valenti's stuff, and while she says a lot of nonsense, most of the idiots complaining about misandry are the ones who respond to "Wouldn't it be nice if men didn't ${badthing} women" with "Not all men ${badthing}" despite the fact the sentence was never "It's terrible that ALL MEN ${badthing} women, it should stop!"
      2. No, Valenti is not the only one getting rape threats.
      3. Sorry to bring up Valenti again, as this issue has nothing to do with her save for her being one of the numerous victims, but asking about the existence of subsidized tampons should not result in you receiving threats of physical and sexual violence, including rape.
      4. Thinking it would be nice to have Jane Austin on a banknote does not mean you deserve to be threatened with physical and sexual violence, including rape. Jane Austin is fucking awful, but that is a disproportionate response. BTW, that wasn't Valenti. Valenti is not the receipient of all or most of the rape threats.
      5. Even hating liberals should not make you a target for threats of physical or sexual violence.
      6. Politely asking men not to hit on women in public spaces like cons should not make you a target for threats of physical or sexual violence. In fact. Rebecca's request was an entirely reasonable one regardless of your views on women.
      7. Actually, pretty much no action should result in you getting those threats. None. Not even over-reacting to men making sexist jokes behind you in a way that gets both one of them and yourself fired.

      --
      You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
    24. Re:I hope it's just me by Intrepid+imaginaut · · Score: 1

      - The women receiving rape threats are, in your view, Feminists, and so it's not an issue. You don't explain why it's OK if Feminists receive rape threats.
      - Michele Malkin has never retweeted numerous death and rape threats despite widespread coverage when it happened. (She's probably a Feminist too, amirite?)
      - Valenti has made a career of demonising men, as can be evidenced by one joke T-shirt, which is totally not misrepresenting her views because she wore it in public and even showed a picture of it online which nobody ever does with a joke shirt.
      - You bringing up male suicides in response to someone complaining they're seeing more PCism because women online keep getting rape threats is not deflection. Me pointing out that it has nothing to do with the topic at hand is.

      You are aware that people can literally look directly above your post to see what was actually said as opposed to your laughable "interpretation" of it. They can even click on the links if they like! I could just copy and paste it again in response to this parade of strawmen.

      The old critical theory doesn't fare too well in this format.

      You said: "every woman on Twitter who says anything remotely prominent stops getting hundreds of rape threats in response". This is ludicrous hyperbole, an attempt to foster moral panic.

      You've twice used the term "uppity women" to suppress dissent through framing the conversation in an adversarial fashion - men keeping women down, using language most often associated with the actual real oppression endured by black people in the south of the US, for which hijacking I'm sure they'd be appropriately irritated. This is equally ludicrous, certainly in modern developed countries.

      Everything since then has been you trying to avoid being called out on your bullshit. So, er, good luck with that.

    25. Re:I hope it's just me by squiggleslash · · Score: 1

      I wrote my bullet points because I really couldn't believe you wrote what you just did. If I'm interpreting your response correctly, you either are embarassed by what you wrote and are trying to walk it back in a way that doesn't admit you made the mistake at all, or you're trolling. You certainly haven't attempted to clarify how my interpretation is incorrect.

      You said: "every woman on Twitter who says anything remotely prominent stops getting hundreds of rape threats in response". This is ludicrous hyperbole, an attempt to foster moral panic.

      No, it's a reasonable depiction of the current environment. You, thus far, have claimed it isn't because (1) you claimed only Valenti was getting the threats, and then, when it became clear that wasn't true, that (2) it was only "feminists" who were getting them (and somehow implied this isn't a problem then.)

      I'm leaning towards the "I'm being trolled" hypothesis when it comes to your commentary. You're welcome to prove me wrong, but at this point I'd like you to start by:

      - Agreeing that it's not just Valenti getting the threats of physical and sexual violence.
      - That NOTHING Valenti has said justifies the threats of physical and sexual violence.
      - That it is actually misrepresenting someone to post a picture of them wearing what's obviously a joke T-shirt and imply that it isn't a joke, rather than address directly what they've written.
      - That the subset of threats of physical and sexual violence I've pointed you at directly were unjustified
      - That Feminists do NOT deserve threats of physical and sexual violence.

      Once you say, explcitly, the above, I'll respond. But based upon how you've commented thus far, I'm not interpreting it as anything other than how I've described, and I'm concerned you're not arguing in good faith.

      --
      You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
  8. Not moderated on their pay site? by lecithin · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I'm just wondering if it will be moderated on 'totalfark'. Totalfark is the paid side of Fark. I could see this as just revenue generation.

    --
    It could be worse, it could be Monday.
    1. Re:Not moderated on their pay site? by Khyber · · Score: 1

      I just did a CTRL+F for "Drew" "TF" and a few other things amongst the almost 5 pages of stuff. Not a single result showed up hinting at it, just people making jokes about it.

      TFD doesn't get moderated unless someone complains, so I don't know WTF you're on about.

      --
      Still waiting on Serviscope_minor to wake up to fucking reality and realize that Jessica Price isn't going to fuck him.
    2. Re:Not moderated on their pay site? by RyoShin · · Score: 1

      I was a TFer long, long ago for many years (ending in the year 2008/9 or so) and we had moderation on the paid side, too. I personally earned a (warranted) 24 hour posting ban for being a dipshit and submitting an inappropriate link. However, the moderation seemed to be more lax than on the "Lite" side, likely because advertisers didn't care about TF (and advertisers are often the source of a site implementing censorship of any kind). When it was applied it seemed a bit uneven, which is a reason I eventually let my TF account lapse.

      I imagine this hasn't changed in general, and the rules will be applied there as well (though not as tightly.) I don't know that it would be necessary; back then TF was a fairly solid community and, while you would have cliques, a misogynist would be shouted down by members. I doubt this has changed much, either.

      (Will Drew still allow Farkers to say "UFIA"?)

  9. Because narrowly defining "sexism" will work! by Chas · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Basically, like just about every other "ism" out there, we'll see mission creep. Or people abusing a badly defined policy to censor legitimate and non-infringing dialogs.

    I'm not saying the sentiment isn't noble. But they just don't have an apparatus in place to make sure it gets applied in a fair, even-handed manner.

    --


    Chas - The one, the only.
    THANK GOD!!!
    1. Re:Because narrowly defining "sexism" will work! by Shadow+of+Eternity · · Score: 1

      Fark is dominated by SJWs who regularly get away with everything up to and including mocking people who have a problem with men dying from circumcisions performed with broken glass in the street as "whining about dickfeels", and who think the very idea that men can be raped is laughable.

      This is just officially announcing that fark is a tumblr style echo chamber.

      --
      A bullet may have your name on it but splash damage is addressed "To whom it may concern."
  10. It's always amazed me... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    When I was on Fark, you could make all sorts of rape, incest, murder and violence jokes, but I just mocked the delusions of 3D printer nutters and it got me banned.

    Drew is a bit of a douche.

    1. Re:It's always amazed me... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Interesting

      While the site isn't as popular as during the early 2000s...

      Policies like this new one are why it's not as popular. They started down the path of pleasing their corporate overlords (ie, advertisers) a long time ago and started removing all the boobies pics and anything that might appear NSFW could get you banned because *gasp* heaven forbid they lose the ad-revenue of all those 9-5 desk-imprisoned FARKers click click clicking away all day on the company dime.

      FARK has sucked for years. This is par for the course for Drew "FYIGM" Curtis and the constant nagging "join totalfark" ads and even the "please disable adblock" nag on their site.

    2. Re:It's always amazed me... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      When I was on Fark, you could make all sorts of rape, incest, murder and violence jokes, but I just mocked the delusions of 3D printer nutters and it got me banned.

      From what I can tell, Fark and its users have always exhibited a contradictory- if not downright hypocritical- attitude. On one hand they'll happily use a story about some random person who's died- often some unfortunate person who hasn't even done anything stupid to deserve mocking, merely been in the wrong place at the wrong time- and use it as an excuse to make weak and distasteful jokes with little hint of empathy beyond a crocodile-tears "sad" tag. On other occasions they'll descend into downright vicious hatefulness (e.g. the death of Anna Nicole Smith- maybe not a saint, but not remotely deserving of some of the comments posted).

      On the other hand, they'll run a "sappy" story with some offhand reference to "dust in their eyes" (i.e. by jokingly denying that a sentimental story brought tears to their eyes, they're saying it's okay- i.e. expected- for Fark users to be moved by something about someone who arranged a special treat for children in hospital or a dog that saved someone's hamster from drowning) or cutesy cat lovers' "Caturday" stories where anything less than deferential towards their beloved moggies would probably get you hanged.

    3. Re:It's always amazed me... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      I've never actually visited 4chan (heard it was downright f*****g dubious and full of CP, and I was probably too old for it even in its heyday). However, it strikes me that it's something which originated with a (then-) adolescent part of the Internet community doing something for its own amusement. Such things will inevitably not last forever.

      As the existing users grow up, and others lose enthusiasm or move on, the site will inevitably start to lose steam. Their younger counterparts- i.e. those of a similar age to 4Chan's users in its early days- will have their own culture and experience and want something that represents that, which belongs to *them*. They won't want something associated with a generation ten years older than them, especially if it's lost the edge of its heyday and become more the preserve of existing users approaching- or well into- their thirties.

    4. Re:It's always amazed me... by suss · · Score: 1

      If you were the one posting the off-topic "3D printers suck" rant in every single irrelevant thread; you deserved it.

  11. News Aggregator by Gothmolly · · Score: 1

    At least they editorialize on the submissions, Slashdot just copypastas the first paragraph or two.

    --
    I want to delete my account but Slashdot doesn't allow it.
  12. The toothpaste by WormholeFiend · · Score: 1

    has left the building

  13. Whatever.... by fudgefactor7 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Fark isn't, and hasn't been, relevant in nearly a decade. This is just Drew, the whiny owner of Fark, bending over backwards to please advertisers. This is a PR move, based on money, nothing more.

  14. Fark already defies internet culture. by joelgrimes · · Score: 5, Interesting

    A lot of things run counter to typical internet culture on Fark. You can't even curse on that site. It has moved away from porn. People actually pay for membership. They do IRL meetups almost every week somewhere in the world. They've been pretty successful at banning memes in the past.

    I find it more witty than harsh.

    1. Re:Fark already defies internet culture. by Jahoda · · Score: 1

      Yeah, truly witty folks. I left 5 years ago because I don't need to spend my free time reading a website polluted with alts and career trolls that the mods do _nothing_ about, because, hey, ad revenue or manufactured controversy or something.
      I met some wonderful people on TotalFark, but I don't read the internet to be pissed off and overall that place is a complete dump of assholery, and I have never looked back. Reddit works just fine.

    2. Re:Fark already defies internet culture. by Khyber · · Score: 5, Interesting

      "Reddit works just fine."

      Not even. For such a supposedly 'open' community, a ton of the bigger subreddits have fucked rules.

      Example, tried to post two days ago in r/aquariums regarding a problem I have. I have a new account since Reddits PW system is irreparably broken. Because I have a new account, I can't post in the aquariums section (and don't want to derail another thread with my issue) and AutoModerator removed my submission. Why? It thinks a self-post with no link, no brand names, nothing like that being mentioned, is SPAM.

      Well, here I am two days later, half my tank is dead.

      At least 4chan's /an/ managed to help keep half my tank alive.

      Fuck Reddit.

      --
      Still waiting on Serviscope_minor to wake up to fucking reality and realize that Jessica Price isn't going to fuck him.
    3. Re:Fark already defies internet culture. by mrex · · Score: 1

      I left 5 years ago because I don't need to spend my free time reading a website polluted with alts and career trolls that the mods do _nothing_ about, because, hey, ad revenue or manufactured controversy or something.

      Hear, hear. They play at ridiculing the media's sensationalism and tendency towards moral panic, but they're more guilty of it than any local TV channel in Ocala.

      The cynic in me imagines that this is Drew's way of preparing for the Hillary 2016 campaign.

    4. Re:Fark already defies internet culture. by mrex · · Score: 3, Insightful

      A lot of things run counter to typical internet culture on Fark.

      No, Fark has just started to run counter to what made Fark good and fun and famous. Boobies links, "I'd hit it" jokes, erudition, and irreverence for taboos and political correctness have been replaced with sponsored headlines, recycled 4chan memes, and the kinds of banal, insight-free commentary you'd expect to hear from lumpy blue hairs sipping coffee in rural truck stops.

    5. Re:Fark already defies internet culture. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      I run a few, smaller subreddits. Most of the spam I remove is self posts that don't contain links and don't mention brand names.

      How is that spam you ask? The people posting these things are trying to make their accounts look valid by posting semi-sensical posts that don't directly push their product or service, then they'll turn around and start pushing their stuff down the line. I bet /r/aquariums sees a lot of the same shit.

      It sounds like you were merely unlucky. Did you message the mods to have your post automatically approved? If not that most likely would have helped.

    6. Re:Fark already defies internet culture. by Khyber · · Score: 1

      "Did you message the mods to have your post automatically approved?"

      No, and I shouldn't have to. Did I have to message a moderator here to be able to post when I was new? Nope.

      --
      Still waiting on Serviscope_minor to wake up to fucking reality and realize that Jessica Price isn't going to fuck him.
    7. Re:Fark already defies internet culture. by mrex · · Score: 1

      If those are the main things that made it good, it wasn't ever good.

      A lot of people thought that it wasn't good. A lot of other people thought that it was. Who's to say who is right? And why do we need to, given that there's enough space for a place like old school Fark.com to exist alongside whatever sort of place you want to build?

      The thing that freaks me out about the extremists in this movement is that their goal isn't getting their message out, it's silencing others.

    8. Re:Fark already defies internet culture. by mrex · · Score: 1

      Which part requires clarification?

    9. Re:Fark already defies internet culture. by Lotana · · Score: 1

      Boobies links, "I'd hit it" jokes, erudition, and irreverence for taboos and political correctness

      I thought 4Chan had that covered from the very beginning. Why would you go to Fark for more of that?

    10. Re:Fark already defies internet culture. by mrex · · Score: 1

      Fark predates 4chan, but 4chan was better at those things. Probably why everyone today knows what 4chan is, and most people don't have never heard of Fark.

  15. Drew is cowtowing to someone. by Stan92057 · · Score: 1

    Drew is cowtowing to someone. What's the full story. Not a place for me at any rate. Not going to use the site no matter what they do there .Be interesting just what he really is making the change for his rep is beyond fixing IMO.

    --
    Jack of all trades,master of none
    1. Re:Drew is cowtowing to someone. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      It's "kowtowing". No ruminants involved.

    2. Re:Drew is cowtowing to someone. by bughunter · · Score: 1

      Spot on.

      Only seven stories later on the main page, Fark announced a partnership with several university and private media research centers. Lots of farkers believe it's related:

      http://www.fark.com/comments/8...

      Of course, given that it's named DERP institute, even more people believe it's a joke.

      --
      I can see the fnords!
    3. Re:Drew is cowtowing to someone. by Stan92057 · · Score: 1

      Well.. i forgot 1 reason, he may have seen the light and is now one of gods children. But my bet is the good old $

      --
      Jack of all trades,master of none
  16. Much ado about nothing by pla · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Basically Fark has one particular mod, of a gender I don't need to mention, who gets upset every time she greenlights another trashy Jezebel link and the Fark regulars (rightly) rip it to shreds. Admittedly, some posters cross the lines of good taste in doing so, but most just point out that Jezebel itself does more to advance misogyny than any forum trolls could ever do.

    The official announcement thread for the new policy pretty much says it all. Fark regulars openly mocked this new policy, much like anti-beta posts here... All while shown prominent links to Foobies (along with plenty of other not exactly "wymyn friendly" advertisements) in the sidebar. This policy will last a whole week, unless Drew goes nuclear and literally bans half the userbase. But hey, we need another MetaFilter since Google has starved off the original, right?

    For those seriously debating the "need" for websites to take actions like this, look at Slashdot as a role-model. Put bluntly, sites that feel the need to censor their comments simply have inadequate moderation systems. As much as Slashdot's doesn't always work to bring the best to the top, it does do an amazing job of pushing the complete garbage to the bottom. Browse at -1, and Slashdot looks much like Gorgor-era Fark; browse at 2+, and threads look like a coherent discussion of the issues broached in TFA.

    1. Re:Much ado about nothing by Khyber · · Score: 5, Informative

      Your idiot Fark mod is Genevieve Marie. No need to hide the moron's Fark handle.

      --
      Still waiting on Serviscope_minor to wake up to fucking reality and realize that Jessica Price isn't going to fuck him.
    2. Re:Much ado about nothing by pla · · Score: 1

      constant use of feminine pronouns

      Good catch, but I wouldn't really call one slip "constant".


      You are wearing a tower of twelve fedoras.

      Damnit, why do people keep insisting on calling a trilby a fedora?

    3. Re:Much ado about nothing by Khyber · · Score: 2

      What's lower is FARK mods already banning people over on FARK for things being said here and on Reddit.

      So they get zero fucking quarter from me.

      --
      Still waiting on Serviscope_minor to wake up to fucking reality and realize that Jessica Price isn't going to fuck him.
    4. Re:Much ado about nothing by puto · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I will mention her. GM are her initials. I have been a member of Fark since 2001, and watch her epic rise and subsequently taking over the reigns from Drew. She is the same girl who wrote an article for MS Magazine about her being a slut in college and blaming it on the guys, not herself. http://msmagazine.com/blog/201...

      --
      The Revolution Will Not Be Televised
    5. Re:Much ado about nothing by mrex · · Score: 1

      aka KittiePie070 when she's feeling trollish...

    6. Re:Much ado about nothing by grahamsz · · Score: 1

      I believe Reddit has the advantage that small groups run the individual subreddits and few people associate the garbage in a reddit like /theredpill with the site as a whole. Controversial topics are effectively discussed far away from the main page.

      Drew (and to a lesser extent me, as primary admin of a fark off-shoot) is faced with a nearly impossible task of keeping a coherent standard of moderation across all topics. Someone who trolls political threads might be a positive contributor when discussing cars or beer - reddit's model facilitates that better.

      The other problem is that the user base changes over time. Misogyny in paticular has probably driven away thousands of fark users, but adding the rule now is too little too late - those users are unlikely to return and the users that are left are (on average) going to be far more resistant to the new rule.

    7. Re:Much ado about nothing by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      I have a longer time slashdot username than fark username (which itself is a decade old) and yes, Commander Taco got moderation correct in ways no one else ever has.

      Presumably that one mod can't green her own links, but I do think what you wrote is mostly accurate.

    8. Re:Much ado about nothing by Triv · · Score: 1

      browse at 2+, and threads look like a coherent discussion of the issues broached in TFA.

      Only if you agree with the overall tone of the thread. Moderation re-enforces the party line, and the choice of articles and/or post content are catered to generate interaction. Unpopular threads get pushed down pretty fast and hard, or (worse) are barely moderated at all.

    9. Re:Much ado about nothing by cherenkov · · Score: 1

      It's hilarious that she pretends nobody knows KittiePie070 is her alt and unironically uses it to kiss her own ass. Also, Jezebel sucks. No amount of new rules is going to change that, so what is she going to complain about when the masses still aren't praising the Jezebel links?

    10. Re:Much ado about nothing by mrex · · Score: 1, Insightful

      English needs a word for people like her. They're definitely an increasingly prevalent "type" of individual in our society.

      A unique form of parasite, they invade the host organism, an organization or a cause or whatever. Contributing nothing but their slimeball social climbing, they subtly and expertly worm themselves into positions of minor authority, then persistently use that minor authority to gain more and drive off any threats. Like most parasites, the organism itself suffers almost from the moment of infection, and is certain to die an eventual wasting, lingering death.

      Totally hollow. She thinks dressing up like Rainbow Brite and watching Firefly makes her a geek, and counts on superficial charm to summon a cavalry of white knights whenever anyone calls her out on it.

    11. Re:Much ado about nothing by eepok · · Score: 2

      Yes, just like this. Browse at "0" and you see stuff like this. Thank you for being a great example to pla's post!

    12. Re:Much ado about nothing by Wee · · Score: 1

      I also like Reddit's moderation model better. And it's a better site in general. If you want to see stuff in /r/wtf, more power to you. If you want to hang around in /r/aquariums then you can do that too. There's no heavy-handed moderation/censoring/banning and constant need to pander to advertisers.

      -B

      --

      Ash and Hickory, straight-grained and true, make excellent bludgeons, dandy for the cudgeling of vegetarians.

    13. Re:Much ado about nothing by mightyQuin · · Score: 1

      I believe Reddit has the advantage that small groups run the individual subreddits and few people associate the garbage in a reddit like /theredpill with the site as a whole. Controversial topics are effectively discussed far away from the main page.

      Drew (and to a lesser extent me, as primary admin of a fark off-shoot) is faced with a nearly impossible task of keeping a coherent standard of moderation across all topics. Someone who trolls political threads might be a positive contributor when discussing cars or beer - reddit's model facilitates that better.

      The other problem is that the user base changes over time. Misogyny in paticular has probably driven away thousands of fark users, but adding the rule now is too little too late - those users are unlikely to return and the users that are left are (on average) going to be far more resistant to the new rule.

      Is the type of trolling that exists on other sites that are "community moderated" tolerated in the garbage-type subreddits? I honestly haven't been able to tolerate the threaded model for comments on reddit to get very involved in any threads/subs.

      --
      Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got some idea balls to remove from a manatee tank.
    14. Re:Much ado about nothing by Khyber · · Score: 1

      " If you want to hang around in /r/aquariums then you can do that too. There's no heavy-handed moderation"

      Uhhh......

      --
      Still waiting on Serviscope_minor to wake up to fucking reality and realize that Jessica Price isn't going to fuck him.
    15. Re:Much ado about nothing by mrex · · Score: 1

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeri_Ellsworth

      Nah. That would be confusing, because that word is already used to describe people like this.

    16. Re:Much ado about nothing by grahamsz · · Score: 1

      There are plenty of subreddits that tolerate sexist and racist remarks and plenty that don't allow them. I'm not sure of the exact blend, but it seems like there's something for everyone

    17. Re:Much ado about nothing by RyoShin · · Score: 1

      You have to be careful; if you browse at 5 you'll get a venerable circlejerk. +3 or +4 seem much better (if you set up a negative funny modifier) for getting worthwhile discussion that also has dissenting opinion.

      Fark's style of moderation is more about control than actually taking care of jerks. IMO, if there are going to be specified moderators their only job should be to get rid of the outright spam and nefarious links (to malware sites etc.) I help moderate a 4chan offshoot, and my job as moderator has three parts:
      1) Get rid of spam/illegal content (namely child porn)
      2) Get rid of content that is not relevant to a board (posting about fighting games on a train discussion board, for instance)
      3) Get rid of spammy trolls, the ones who will hop thread to thread posting irrelevant opinions or otherwise trying to derail every thread

      That last part is censorship, yes, but is only done when something or someone seems to quickly fouling the entire community. I try to use it as rarely as possible; an IP or tripcode has to show a history of such antics before it's even considered.

  17. It's a load of crap by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Go check out the main page thread where this was discussed. Basically, it was all the women saying thank you, some of the men saying that's great, and just the mention of "well, what about misandry" getting said poster curb stomped. It's still perfectly fine to call a man a "fedora wearing neckbeard" or a "men's rights actvist (MRA)" as derogatory terms, but if you make even the slightest negative remark about anything "feminism" and you'll get you comment either deleted, get a "time out", or even so far as get banned.
     
    One of the moderators is a very outspoken feminist. And while she is actually a very bright young woman, she has no clue just how much damage she actually does to her own cause with some of the crap she spews there (think Jezebel level man hating). I'm betting she had a strong hand in these changes.
     
    (posted as AC because my screen names here and there are almost identical, and the way the "popular kids" are acting now, if someone knew I posted this it might bring the banhammer down on my head)

    1. Re:It's a load of crap by geminidomino · · Score: 4, Insightful

      "Derailing" is apparently the new term for pointing out inconsistency and hypocrisy. Not really surprising, ideologies love redefining words.

      We get it. Women are precious, delicate snowflakes who have to be protected from harsh language and a world that is out to make a meal out of them, and society has to do it, because they're too fragile to do it for themselves.

      Wait, what do you mean that's not the message feminism is trying to send? Could have fooled me.

    2. Re:It's a load of crap by mekkab · · Score: 1

      oh wait, are you HONEST? got it, then!

      --
      In the future, I would want to not be isolated from my friends in the Space Station.
    3. Re:It's a load of crap by thesandtiger · · Score: 1

      I guess that's the message one would get if they only look at the noisy assholes, but that's fair, since they are noisy assholes and make a disproportionate amount of noise. Fact is, though, that most feminists are actually just advocating for human rights for all.

      Kind of like how one might get the impression that Slashdot is full of racist fucktards because a few noisy assholes are constantly posting crazy racist shit. Thing is, most people here are actually just nerds who want to discuss nerd stuff with other nerds, which is totally cool.

      Or how one might get the impression that all gun owners are crazy morons with inadequacy issues who think it's somehow proving a point to get a bunch of yokels together and show up at various family restaurants armed to the teeth when public shootings are constantly being hyped up in the news. Fact is, most gun owners are just regular people who know how to comport themselves in public and don't think scaring the shit out of people is good pr.

      Point here is that you (the general "you") would be well served to realize that if you're trying to dismiss a rather large segment of the population by using some kind of cartoonish stereotype, it might be worth looking at some of the quieter members of said group. Just sayin'.

      --
      Since I can't tell them apart, I treat all ACs as the same person.
    4. Re:It's a load of crap by geminidomino · · Score: 1

      I guess that's the message one would get if they only look at the noisy assholes, but that's fair, since they are noisy assholes and make a disproportionate amount of noise. Fact is, though, that most feminists are actually just advocating for human rights for all.

      You might have a point, except for one large flaw in the "Not all feminists are that way" excuse that's so popular:

      You don't get an "-ism", i.e. an ideology, and especially not a political ideology, from a single bullet point. And feminism is very much a political ideology. The "quieter members of said group" aren't contributing any tenets to the feminist ideology, they're just picking and choosing the parts they don't like and pretending it doesn't apply to them.

      Meanwhile, the core of actual feminism still remains firmly rooted in the delusion of persecution that is the "patriarchy" model, and a perpetual sense of victimhood that says that society and law must be changed to give women the rights they are unable, as victims, to claim for themselves. (Didn't someone say something, once, about rights you're given vs. rights you take for yourself?).

      If your "quieter members" don't want to be held to that fact, then it's really on them to be more picky about whose flag they choose to fly for the sake of having a convenient little brand-label to slap on themselves.

      Don't get me wrong, I'm all for taking care of those who can't do it for themselves. Feed the hungry, help the helpless, etc. We could use more noble pursuits in this ignoble pit. So if you (the general "you") need to be taken care of at my expense, I'm actually all right with that, but once you cash that check, "equal" is out the window.

      And if you (the same) want to claim that you're somehow owed that protection because I'm a terrible person and deserve to be punished and/or treated as a second-class citizen because of some imagined slight from your past, then fuck you very much.

    5. Re:It's a load of crap by thesandtiger · · Score: 1

      You and I have a very, very different understanding of what feminism is. You're coming at it from a direction and conceptualization of it that is, frankly, alien to me, and while I would love to have a discussion of the details and the genesis for those different approaches, I don't know if that would be terribly fruitful here.

      You're basically trying to make me answer for things I've never said and beliefs I do not hold, but that happen to be held by people who use a term I use to describe my thinking. It's like asking a random "Christian" to justify and explain Westboro Baptist's behavior because they both think of themselves as "Christian" despite that term meaning vastly different things. Other than saying "some people are assholes" I really can't be bothered to try and explain their behavior and shrug.

      What I can say is what *I* believe and what *I* subscribe to. For me, feminism is recognizing that there is a pervasive and harmful current in society along gender lines, and that it hurts EVERYONE, be they male, female or neither. It's not about victimhood, it's about recognizing that harm is being done constantly and wouldn't it be nice if we could stop hurting ourselves over stupid shit?

      What do I mean by "harm"? Here:
      Guy has kids, wife makes more money so he stays at home to watch the kids while he works. Guy would get a ration of shit from buddies and probably a great deal from himself. He's been taught his entire life that men work, that childcare is women's work and god forbid he not make at least as much if not more than his wife. That's INCREDIBLY harmful to him.

      Guy loses his job. Guy has to take one that pays less. He now may see himself as less of a man because men are defined by their work in many ways; their value gets determined by what they make. Harmful.

      Guy goes to see a movie, it's got a sad ending, he's bawling. Has to toughen up and say "it's dusty in here" or hide it, be ashamed of feeling something. Harmful.

      Woman goes out to a bar and picks up a guy, they have sex. He's a stud, she's a slut. Harmful - to both parties, actually, since he's being defined by something stupid like his ability to find women to have sex with (making him less of a man if he fails) and she's being denigrated because she's having casual sex.

      One common theme to all of these is that a man who doesn't act in a typically manly fashion is often insulted by being described as feminine, showing a general belief that "feminine masculine." Which is why many who try to address this harmful current in society: If feminine were seen as equal in status to masculine, there would be less damage done to ALL genders because it wouldn't be shameful to be more or less masculine or more or less feminine or to do manly things if you're a woman or womanly things if you're a man. Equal in status, not identical in function.

      --
      Since I can't tell them apart, I treat all ACs as the same person.
    6. Re:It's a load of crap by geminidomino · · Score: 1

      It's like asking a random "Christian" to justify and explain Westboro Baptist's behavior because they both think of themselves as "Christian" despite that term meaning vastly different things.

      Close, but not quite. The difference is that "the assholes" in your example (WBC) aren't the only one setting dogma. Using the same metaphor, it's closer to you objecting to having "believing in the divinity of Christ" held against you, even though you don't, and you feel that calling yourself "Christian" just means "Being a decent person"

      Feminism is not (just) a "philosophy", it's a proselytizing ideology: the goal is to bring people into their way of thinking, and that means that the way it's presented trumps dictionary definitions, trumps NAFALT, and trumps personal gnosis on what "feminism means". And as far as presentation goes, sorry, but the "assholes" are ruling that particular roost. "Mainstream" and/or "media" feminism is spawned in pits like Jezebel now, and I don't think anyone needs to be told how that sort of lot deals with being called on their bullshit.

      So no, I don't think it's unreasonable at all, when someone claims the moniker of "feminism", to hold their tacit complicity against them.

    7. Re:It's a load of crap by thesandtiger · · Score: 1

      Sorry, but no - I'm not responsible for other people's behavior, no matter how much you feel like I should be simply because I use the same term.

      You've clearly got some issue with "feminism" and "feminists" - but it's not an issue I can help you with. .Not my monkeys, not my circus. Be well.

      --
      Since I can't tell them apart, I treat all ACs as the same person.
    8. Re:It's a load of crap by geminidomino · · Score: 2

      Not my monkeys, not my circus

      I'll have to remember that little quip the next time someone's complaining about "women-hostile conditions in the $X industry."

  18. Re:Will they ban this ? by cdrudge · · Score: 5, Insightful

    No, for the same reason why a news article that talks about a white supremacist assaulting a African-American isn't automatically racist. Or one about Westboro Baptist Church picketing a funeral of someone who was gay doesn't make it automatically homophobic. The context of the whole article is what makes it misogynistic (or racist, or homophobic, or ...)

    Now if that Reuters article had that same line, but then followed it with that the woman shouldn't have been out of the kitchen. Or she just needed to fix a sandwich. Or any other misogynistic ideas according to modern society then yes, it would be banned.

  19. Bad summary. by geminidomino · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Silly submitter, "sexism" is just fine. It's just misogyny that's not allowed. When did the concept of "subset" fall so far from general understanding?

    Ah well. Fark has been as relevant to me as Jezebel or Stormfront since about the turn of the century, so I'll just go on not giving a fuck.

  20. What constitutes sexism? by timrod · · Score: 3, Interesting

    What I want to know is exactly what they think constitutes sexism, and whether it goes both ways. Most people think of it only as misogyny, but there is plenty of hatred the other way around as well. For instance, a few weeks ago, Vice had a rather intriguing article about a person calling themselves "The Femitheist", a 22-year-old college student infamous for posting a lengthy rant in which she claimed that the world would be better off if men were treated like animals - forcibly castrated in a public "ceremony" and used as breeding and/or labor slaves, with the penalty for refusing to accept that being an immediate execution. The scary part about this is that as bugfuck insane as it is (she claimed in the Vice article that it was a "joke" after people got understandably pissed at her) there were feminists and tumblr SJW cheering her on.

    Now, I'm not a feminist or a tumblrite, but I'm sure if I posted the same thing word for word (except with females as the sub-human class) I would have an army of angry feminists calling for my head - and I'm sure if I told them it was "a joke", they'd only get more riled up. I'm certainly not saying this "Femitheist" person shouldn't have the right to say what they want, but it's ridiculous that a double-standard exists.

    1. Re:What constitutes sexism? by operagost · · Score: 1

      forcibly castrated in a public "ceremony" and used as breeding

      Not necessarily in that order... but then we're talking about someone who could only come up with the handle "Femitheist".

      --

      Gamingmuseum.com: Give your 3D accelerator a rest.
    2. Re:What constitutes sexism? by swb · · Score: 3, Interesting

      IMHO, a lot of academic radical feminism borders on misandry.

      There are arguments to be made about gender imbalances in every society, but radical feminism often takes it to such an absurd level that I question when it stopped being a legitimate cultural critique and started being the expression of individual emotional imbalance.

    3. Re:What constitutes sexism? by timrod · · Score: 2

      Oh, it was worse than that. If I remember the rant correctly (I did read it a few times on 4chan), she had the idea that the men are given a female "judge" (which she, creepily enough, said should be a direct blood relative if possible) who decides whether he's worth "milking" (her word) for a sperm sample before they are castrated and turned over as slaves. I think she also mentioned the idea of some males being kept as breeding cattle for several years before being sent for castration. The fun part was when she insisted that this was a good thing.. FOR THE MEN.

      What's even more apeshit is the second giant rant she made, which was more recent, about the idea of committing wide-scale infanticide against male babies in order to "reduce the male population to 10% of what it currently is", because she believed that was the "ideal balance" between genders. The hilarious part was when she insisted that this didn't extend to committing genocide against men to get her desired numbers, as if this somehow made the idea more palatable. Again, I'm sure if I posted her exact words somewhere but reversed the genders, I would have feminists banging on my door complaining of misogyny.

    4. Re:What constitutes sexism? by u38cg · · Score: 1
      >>What constitutes sexism?

      A starting point might be thousands of years of repression, yah.

      --
      [FUCK BETA]
    5. Re:What constitutes sexism? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      So the goal isn't equality, but revenge? Maybe a little honesty would help clear things up.

    6. Re:What constitutes sexism? by u38cg · · Score: 1
      Princess. Love it.

      Do show me where it was that women as a class asked for those things.

      --
      [FUCK BETA]
    7. Re:What constitutes sexism? by geminidomino · · Score: 1

      In what may be the most fitting use of the idiom, ever:

      What's good for the goose is good for the gander.

    8. Re:What constitutes sexism? by phorm · · Score: 2

      Would that be "genocide" or "gendercide"?

    9. Re:What constitutes sexism? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      This is probably the primary reason why feminism is not treated seriously by the broader person-on-the-street, because feminism as a movement has the same problem as Islam as a movement; it doesn't do enough to visibly reject its bat-shit crazy elements.

      A similar problem is found in the more extreme LGBT-based organisations. As a straight guy who passionately believes in equal marriage opportunities, and that one's sexuality and gender expression shouldn't be something that one is discriminated against (as long as that expression is between consenting adult humans, and doesn't stretch the boundaries of sanity aka "I am a trans-species dragon and failure to provide regular virgin sacrifices is cultural oppression"), approaching LGBT groups to ask how you can help is an exercise in frustration.

      You will see some shit. Assertions that 'privilege' is a one-way street, and that it is completely impossible for society to ever discriminate against a hetrosexual person in any capacity. "die cis scum", "straight people are the enemy", etc. As a group who typically become outraged by slag terms, even jokingly used or well-meaning, they're quite happy to throw around terms like 'breeder', 'cis scum', and others.

      I've found feminist groups to be similar. If feminism is truly about sexual equality (in the same way that mankind, all people, has 'man' in it), then the movement needs to seriously and unequivocally reject misandry, just as seriously as it rejects misogyny.

      Currently it doesn't. Individual feminists certainly may; most, if asked, certainly do. But not as a movement. Not with wholehearted, united rejection. Otherwise... all feminism's really doing is just attempting to swap the hats of oppressor and oppressed.

    10. Re:What constitutes sexism? by dave420 · · Score: 1

      Errr... One example is "plenty"? You have to admit that if there are two entities - one with more power than the other - that haranguing the one with less power is clearly not as acceptable as haranguing the one with more power. Both suck, but if there is an imbalance, one should expect the powerful entity getting it in the neck. Beating the less-powerful from on high is clearly not cool.

    11. Re:What constitutes sexism? by epyT-R · · Score: 1

      Might doesn't make right..or wrong, in this case. If free speech is respected, then the only way one side has more power is by the strength of the argument made.

    12. Re:What constitutes sexism? by cherenkov · · Score: 2

      What I want to know is exactly what they think constitutes sexism, and whether it goes both ways.

      It's whatever Genevieve Marie says it is, and no it won't go both ways because as she has already said, misandry isn't real. She also sees nothing sexist about calling someone who is an asshole a "dick". Insults bashing men or male genitalia are acceptable.

    13. Re:What constitutes sexism? by mekkab · · Score: 1

      as a long time Farker*, what will constitute sexism will be the sniff test.

      It's basically "if you aren't in the clique and know the moderators, your post will be scrutinized for context. If you're in the clique, you'll get a pass unless you are actively harassing someone in a thread."

      So the enforcement will be like all enforcement; subjective and prone to favoritism, But, to be fair, this is their club so they can make the rules.

      *-I'm getting a kick out of all these replies!

      --
      In the future, I would want to not be isolated from my friends in the Space Station.
    14. Re:What constitutes sexism? by Shadow+of+Eternity · · Score: 1

      Fark's dominated by people who when confronted with evidence of men in africa being beaten, paraded naked through the streets, mutilated with razors and broken glass, and then many of them left to die of infections afterwards mock people for "whiny dickfeels".

      Take a guess how they define "sexism".

      --
      A bullet may have your name on it but splash damage is addressed "To whom it may concern."
    15. Re:What constitutes sexism? by strikethree · · Score: 1

      a lengthy rant in which she claimed that the world would be better off if men were treated like animals - forcibly castrated in a public "ceremony" and used as breeding and/or labor slaves, with the penalty for refusing to accept that being an immediate execution.

      I am cool with this idea... but, nothing happens in a vacuum. The men (including me) will try to do the opposite to the women and it will be deserved at that point.

      And, who do you think will win that battle? Yeah, she is not so smart after all.

      I think we are all better just trying to respect each other as humans before we consider actual gender.

      --
      "Someone needs to talk to the tree of liberty about its ghoulish drinking problem." by ohnocitizen
    16. Re:What constitutes sexism? by KamikazeSquid · · Score: 1

      Again, I'm sure if I posted her exact words somewhere but reversed the genders, I would have feminists banging on my door complaining of misogyny.

      I'm pretty sure that feminists are also banging on that woman's door to complain about her blatantly offensive and counter-productive ideas.

      Also, considering that you read this on 4chan ... are you sure that it was actually written by a woman? Or is it possible that this was made up in some way, as a strategy to discredit another group? Either way, you can't look at something like that and then seriously think, "this must be what all feminists believe in." That would be ridiculous.

    17. Re:What constitutes sexism? by KamikazeSquid · · Score: 1

      Follow-up research suggests that the interview questions and responses were modified prior to publication, so for what it's worth, here is the woman's response to the article: http://www.femitheist.net/2014...

  21. Manners vs. Censorship by geekmux · · Score: 1

    While I can understand the statement from Fark and the justification behind it, it's quite the large assumption that people will understand the true difference between someone asking them to play nice vs. someone trying to censor them.

    Ignorance will likely assume the latter is at play, and people will be offended by this request.

    As others have pointed out, it's also quite difficult to define sexism these days with a hard line acceptable by all.

    1. Re:Manners vs. Censorship by epyT-R · · Score: 1

      It depends on how the asker defines manners. The problem here is that manners between men and women are traditionally tied to chivalry. Feminism came along under the guise of equality, which granted women's suffrage and other things, but did nothing to discourage chattel privilege. Part of that privilege was expecting men to be deferential to women's feelings, even in the face of reality, which, in modern culture, boils down to 'ye shalt not question the feminine imperative.' Thus, we now have a bunch of people who don't get that equality and chivalry are mutually exclusive. The political left has inherited the majority of the reverence for that chattel privilege and the neo right inherited the 'man up' part, basically saying that it's men's duty to prop up feminism.

      You might have a valid point if sites weren't lumping valid, yet 'polite' critics in with the rest.

    2. Re:Manners vs. Censorship by Shadow+of+Eternity · · Score: 1

      Fark's dominated by people who when confronted with evidence of men in africa being beaten, paraded naked through the streets, mutilated with razors and broken glass, and then many of them left to die of infections afterwards mock people for "whiny dickfeels".

      The only "justification" behind this is an ideological purge to turn fark into a jezebel hugbox.

      --
      A bullet may have your name on it but splash damage is addressed "To whom it may concern."
  22. History by Kokuyo · · Score: 1

    I history has taught us anything, then that it's impossible to change a made up mind through the use of force.

  23. What's wrong with being sexy? by microcars · · Score: 1

    - Nigel Tufnel

    --
    I like microcars
  24. Bullshit! by denzacar · · Score: 2

    That kind of sexist bullshit is why we are having this discussion in the first place!

    Towing is NOT just for bulls! Cows have exact same right to tow if they feel like towing! It's in the constitution!
    If the cow's constitution allows her to tow without hurting herself or others nobody - NOBODY, has the right to tell her she can't tow if she wants or needs to tow!
    Cows have live in the shadow of fear what's right and what's wrong for them for to long!
    Cows are no longer afraid to speak up against their oppressors! Cows are NOT cowards!

    COWS R NOT COWARDS! COWS R NOT COWARDS! COWS R NOT COWARDS!

    --
    Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens
  25. what about misandry? by kick6 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Why is it that sexism is only banned in one direction? Women are allowed to shit all over men, and men are just supposed to "man up and take it." Equality my ass...

    1. Re:what about misandry? by evilviper · · Score: 1

      Why is it that sexism is only banned in one direction?

      Who said it was? Rape jokes directed at men are banned now, too.

      How it'll actually pan-out remains to be seen, and I can only hope it doesn't turn into the man-hating women's club everyone is expecting.

      It wasn't that long ago that Fark stopped posting nudie pics every day, and spun that off to a separate Foobies site that next to nobody visits.

      --
      Slashdot gets worse every day... Pipedot: News for nerds, without the corporate slant
    2. Re:what about misandry? by eepok · · Score: 1

      The problem is the in the pendulum swing. The harder it swings, the less rational the reactionary force has to be. As it pertains to sexism, the historical weapon of chauvinists and the established patriarchy, those riding that pendulum to its furthest extent don't like to (no do they need to) have any introspective dialog regarding any double-standards or hypocrisy in their missions.

      For the social reaction to sexism, the pendulum is swinging hard. Consider some of the issues wherein men are currently ridiculed for their interest and/or sensitivity:

      Post-divorce child custody -- Still heavily biased toward the mother.
      Post-divorce alimony -- A patriarchal concept still being fought by males, but rarely a peep in protest comes from the sex that benefits the most.
      Male Circumcision -- Sometimes called "male genital mutilation" in an attempt to garner the same disgust as female genital mutilation, the fight against automatic male circumcision at birth is derided.
      Rape -- While all of the western world vehemently fights to reduce the occurrence of female rape, man-on-man rape is thoroughly facilitated mass incarceration centers.
      Gender Studies -- Most research universities have a Gender Studies department, but the research and education provided are typically "women's studies". There is little in the way of researching the history and evolution of masculinity (especially in the light of the equalization of rights).

      Those riding the pendulum will say, "Oh, too bad! Sucks to be on the other side, doesn't it?" without consideration of who actually ran the patriarchy.

      For males that grew up as part of the institutionalized patriarchy, these don't seem like a big deal. However, for the massive number of young males that grew up being taught that males and females are genuinely equal in most ways and should be treated equitably in all things, these double standards are unacceptable. These, amongst other issues, are the problems that young males face, despite not being part of the gender-biased systems of the past.

  26. Fark's slow motion shark jump by sandbagger · · Score: 1

    Naturally over the years as Fark's membership has declined from the roaring highs, the owner has needed to look at ways of maximizing revenues. So, the boobies links got removed and put into a separate site etc. The core ethos of the site remained: be funny no matter how offensive you are.

    This has been chipped away. Thus the core offering of Fark has been reduced.

    It hasn't helped that the moderation has been inconstant, secret and users get banned or worse, shadow banned. This is the expensive way of moderating a web site because ideally you want to nudge the users so that they police themselves. One of the rules of Fark is that discussing moderation is cause for being banned. It hasn't helped that there's been no investment in the backend serving up Fark. No new features have been added, um, ever. I'd not be surprised to learn that they were using their original launch DB.

    There has clearly been more of an effort to shape the conversation in Fark in recent years. The result is that the place is less interesting AND there are fewer page views. Discussions used to rocket to infinity twice a week. Discussions nearly never reach four digits these days. I understand why this was done. Many of the women posters on Fark appear to appreciate the intent. I understand. However, as a business offering, the result is that there's a smaller population mix in Fark these days making for a more uniform set of opinions. Thus, shorter discussion threads that are less likely to go to infinity and beyond.

    The recent glut of MRAs blighting Fark has also been on Slashdot. I think this is a wave that will burn itself out in a year or so and turn into something else.

    --
    ---- The above post was generated by the Turing Institute. Maybe.
    1. Re:Fark's slow motion shark jump by epyT-R · · Score: 1

      Actually, MRAs are a relatively new societal response to the blight on freedom that is feminist politics. It's not just a fad. You do get the part about the reshaping and closing of internet culture, though. It's been oozing from a lot of orifices, recently and it's unfortunate.

    2. Re:Fark's slow motion shark jump by Shadow+of+Eternity · · Score: 1

      MRAs blighting fark? What are you smoking? Pointing out that people are dying after being stripped naked, beaten through the streets, and mutilated with razors and broken glass gets people mocked for "whiny dickfeels".

      --
      A bullet may have your name on it but splash damage is addressed "To whom it may concern."
  27. ugh... white knights. by GT66 · · Score: 1

    " if the Internet was a dude, we'd all agree that dude has a serious problem with women. "

    And? So what? Adam Savage's simple minded statement obviously assumes that no man ever could or should have a problem with the behavior of some women. And yet the feminists keep shrieking that ALL men are pigs, that ALL men are rapists or rape apologists, ALL men are oppressors.

    Perhaps Adam Savage and his ilk should try meeting an actual woman once in their lives. Otherwise, his attitude reeks of naïve white knighting based on worn out codes of chivalry themselves based on nothing but a caricature of the human female as imagined by other white knights.

    Furthermore, by it's own actions, Fark implicitly admits that women are weaker (and therefore unequal), needing the special protection of da menz (thereby perpetuating patriarchy) to protect their delicate eyes from seeing or reading something that might offend their delicate nature. And yet, one of these selfsame delicate creatures went to prison for killing her baby by putting it in a microwave.

    1. Re:ugh... white knights. by serviscope_minor · · Score: 1

      And yet the feminists keep shrieking that ALL men are pigs, that ALL men are rapists or rape apologists, ALL men are oppressors.

      Equating the entirety of a movement to its most crazy wingnuts is really misrepresenting it.

      Perhaps Adam Savage and his ilk should try meeting an actual woman once in their lives. ...? I don't even know what this is supposed to mean. What would meeting an "actual woman" do? Do you mean a woman with some specific traits? Or do you mean literally any female?

      And yet, one of these selfsame delicate creatures went to prison for killing her baby by putting it in a microwave.

      I'm not sure what point you're trying to make except that you seem to like picking the most extreme examples of something and using them as somehow representative.

      --
      SJW n. One who posts facts.
    2. Re:ugh... white knights. by PPH · · Score: 1

      Equating the entirety of a movement to its most crazy wingnuts is really misrepresenting it.

      Which is what the misogynists are on the male side. The crazy wingnut faction.

      I think the point GT66 is trying to make is: We wouldn't dare supress the "all men are pigs" posts made by the whack-a-doodle feminist faction. Try that and you'll have the enire movement camped out on your doorstep with protest signs. Even if many feminists might quietly agree that the "all men" statements come from the nut job fringe.

      We don't surpress the misogynists on many boards because we make fun of them. The self-proclaimed "alpha males" are in reality the neck-beards living in their parents' basement. But we can't do that with the fringe feminist elements because that would be an attack on all women.

      --
      Have gnu, will travel.
    3. Re:ugh... white knights. by serviscope_minor · · Score: 1

      We wouldn't dare supress the "all men are pigs" posts made by the whack-a-doodle feminist faction

      What do you mean "we"? If anything even vaguely approaching this comes up here, then people jump all over it.

      Try that and you'll have the enire movement camped out on your doorstep with protest signs.

      To me this sounds like a gross exaggeration. Do you have anything more concrete to back it up?

      --
      SJW n. One who posts facts.
    4. Re:ugh... white knights. by PPH · · Score: 1

      We wouldn't dare supress the "all men are pigs" posts made by the whack-a-doodle feminist faction

      What do you mean "we"? If anything even vaguely approaching this comes up here, then people jump all over it.

      My point is: It comes up. And we respond to it. Nobody is suggesting that we surpress "all men are pigs" remarks. Fark is explicitly surpressing 'Calling women as a group "whores" or "sluts" or similar demeaning terminology'. Why? Let's out the knucle-draggers for what they are.

      As a compromise, I could accept deletion of all 'hate language' posted anonymously. Want to make a negative generalization? Back it up with your reputation (your on-line ID as a minimum).

      --
      Have gnu, will travel.
    5. Re:ugh... white knights. by mjwx · · Score: 1

      And yet the feminists keep shrieking that ALL men are pigs, that ALL men are rapists or rape apologists, ALL men are oppressors.

      So you think that these women should be silenced?

      Maybe they should even be restricted from leaving the kitchen?

      Jokes aside, if you think these views are the majority or even accepted by most women your head is so far up your arse you've been able to insert it into your colon twice.

      The thing is, there are a lot of people like you who love to have a good whinge about issues that dont actually affect you. The media knows this and loves to give airtime to extremists, it's like intervening the KKK to give a balanced view of America. Only idiots believe it.

      Yet to see the widescale oppression of men, doubt I will within my lifetime, not even within the lifetime of my grandkids when they're born in 20 or so years. Your rant is a pointless attempt at poisoning the well, by attempting to radicalise the discussion you only demonstrate your complete lack of attachment to reality.

      Perhaps Adam Savage and his ilk should try meeting an actual woman once in their lives.

      I would recommend you go out and meet real women for once in your life... but I think of all the women I have as friends and I'm not enough of a cunt to subject them to the likes of you.

      --
      Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument.
    6. Re:ugh... white knights. by Shadow+of+Eternity · · Score: 1

      No, denying, minimizing, or outright erasing the actual real world actions and character of a movement totally dominated and utterly defined by those crazies is misrepresenting it. People on the internet insisting "feminism is nice and friendly!" do not outweigh people in real life committing felonies and violent crimes.

      --
      A bullet may have your name on it but splash damage is addressed "To whom it may concern."
    7. Re:ugh... white knights. by serviscope_minor · · Score: 1

      u mad bro?

      --
      SJW n. One who posts facts.
    8. Re:ugh... white knights. by GT66 · · Score: 1

      aw... a hero. How nice.
      "Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument."
      You should try taking your own advice. Typical SJW hypocrite.

  28. Re:Will they ban this ? by Medievalist · · Score: 1

    "They tied the hands of one woman to the back of a car and her legs to another car and they split her into two," he said beside makeshift tents as women cried

    Would Fark ban the above news, from Reuters ?

    If the article (which I did not read) explicitly approves or promotes the activity described in your quote, then yes.

    If not, then no.

    Usually it's easy to tell the difference between reporting an atrocity and cheerleading for the perpetrators. Usually.

  29. Look around you and what do you see? by westlake · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I don't get why people want to lock themselve in an echo chamber. That seems silly to me.

    --- and a bizarre question to be asking here.

    You can see the posters here circling the wagons when topics like gender equality come up on Slashdot.

  30. ROTFL by westlake · · Score: 4, Funny

    Slashdot is a haven for rational thought

    Stop it, please. You're killing me.

  31. Re:so now sexism=misogyny? by mrex · · Score: 1

    You might want to check Fark's own headline before criticizing.

  32. Does Fark still exist? by jcr · · Score: 1

    I quit reading it when foobies.com was split off into a separate site.

    -jcr

    --
    The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
  33. Because narrowly defining by grahamsz · · Score: 1

    I think you've hit the nail on the head.

    The other problem is that sites like fark (believe me, I know) generate a lot of clique-like behavior. Moderators can and will read a comment like "shut you you trollop" as misogyny when it comes from someone they don't like and consider it funny it other contexts.

    I don't really know what the answer is but I'm pretty opposed to drawing rules that aren't clear and unambiguous.

  34. What a joke, considering the site's intent by epyT-R · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Criticizing feminists and feminism is not misogyny. Unfortunately, white knighting fools get this wrong quite a bit. Calling people 'haters' or their positions as hateful are not arguments either.

    I'm sure he won't also allow equivalent criticism of men, right? Oh wait, who am I kidding? Anti-male feminist vitriol is perfectly ok. People who actually take so much offense to free expression that they insist on censorship are really the ones who need help. If these were baptists, no one would give them any mercy, but when feminists and/or women are the target, suddenly 'equality' gets thrown out the window by knee jerking white knight mangina useful idiots swooping in to 'save' them. This 'fark dude' is one of them apparently.

    I also like how he claims his site "represents enough of a departure from pretty much every other internet community that [he figures] an announcement is necessary", totally ignoring the fact that lots of sites are doing this, now, out of a relatively new culture of PC corporate sterility and/or morbid fear of losing clicks. This new 'social justice' bandwagon of appealing to the feelings of the easily offended makes for a 'perfect' excuse. What happened to round-filing complaints for unpopular criticism and calling whiners out for the losers they are?

    1. Re:What a joke, considering the site's intent by Vitriol+Angst · · Score: 1

      "knee jerking white knight mangina useful idiots swooping in"

      Nobody would call you a hater -- to your face, within range of your shotgun which is reasonably attached to the gun rack on the side of your laptop. Nobody.

      Since I'm on the internet, I'll just say; "it's a private website, and they can have any stupid policy they want." Just saying. Just calmly saying with no anti or pro intent. I'm putting down my pen -- it's just a pen.

      I'm backing away from my keyboard now. Slowly.

      --
      >>"ad space available -- low rates!!!"
  35. Disagree != Flamebait by s.petry · · Score: 5, Interesting

    While surely this could have been worded differently for clarity and to lighten the offense, I don't believe its flamebait (just a bit misguided).

    I disagree with the post in that it's not just liberals that want to control people's mind, it's an establishment problem that relates to people in office/power and not just liberals. Half of waking up is to notice the corruption, the other half is to start broadening your view to ensure you are getting the full picture.

    When the News is manipulated to give you a specific opinion, that is mind control. For example, everyone in the US is under the belief that Iran is evil, hell bent on destroying Israel, and bent on world domination. They have a larger military than most countries in the region, yet have not invaded anyone in over 200 years. Assad from Syria is painted as a horrible dictator today, yet prior to the revolt in Libya, US media repeatedly claimed that Syria was the most progressive country in the Middle East. You won't hear about the Saudi Arabian police killing people for speaking out against the government, or putting a women in jail for driving in US media. Ignore the slave labor problems in Dubai and UAE. Those guys are our friends, so we have TV specials showing you how great they are and fire journalists that cover a story that is not favorable.

    You will also hear intentionally manipulated "news" to ensure that you have a biased opinion and reaction. Zimmerman/Martin is an easy example, and on the surface the Ferguson MO is another. OWS was just a bunch of bums, they were not demanding accountability for criminal acts by executives. And when protesters are too big of a nuisance, send in agent provocateurs. I'm sure you remember that during the Oakland OWS protests which turned violent the majority of protestors arrested for violent confrontation were not from California. (Interesting that similar reports are coming from Ferguson IMHO.)

    People may want to (falsely) believe that the only kind of mind control is like the Manchurian candidate, because someone shaped their reality to have that belief. Just like most people associate the word "conspiracy" with insanity and impossible. Not rational when you look at it, we all know conspiracies happen. I'm sure you remember the TV show "Survivor" which was full of people conspiring to win. Yet if I told you that a winner was in a conspiracy you may have difficulty agreeing. People will argue that they plotted or planned and manipulated, very rarely will they agree with the term conspiracy.

    Shaping thought is not new, not novel, and not unique. We like to think it only happens to those other guys, but it has been happening here for generations. Further, US Media has been working at demoralizing the USA for a long time (has nothing to do with homophobia or sexism, ask for clarity if you are lost). You don't have to like it, and you can surely ignore that portion of reality, but you can't deny the facts. There is plenty of material to study if you so desire.

    Last point so that I'm not writing a novel, is that there is more than one reason for the people in power to do this. If the people in power can keep us arguing with each other about our differences they get to stay in power and gain more power. The Hegelian dialectic is exactly this. Own both sides of the argument so that people line up in the center. Provide a problem so that you can implement a solution you want towards a resolution that you want. Hegel was not the first person to understand this social control method, he was just the first person we know of that wrote down the process.

    --

    -The wise argue that there are few absolutes, the fool argues that there are no probabilities.

    1. Re:Disagree != Flamebait by flayzernax · · Score: 1

      I have not logged in to participate psuedoanonymously in any truely constructive way for a long time.

      But I wanted to log in and say that I love this post. It is very well written and concise. And I feel like people will flame you just for speaking your mind.

      Thank you for thinking independently and rationally and sharing that independent and rational thinking with your fellow humans. Very well said.

    2. Re:Disagree != Flamebait by Pseudonym · · Score: 1

      In the interested of balance...

      OWS was just a bunch of bums, they were not demanding accountability for criminal acts by executives.

      Similarly, the Tea Party was originally a protest against increasing the national debt by an insane amount, to bail out financial institutions because they were "too big to fail". It was only later that it was taken over by the crazy end of the Republican Party.

      --
      sub f{($f)=@_;print"$f(q{$f});";}f(q{sub f{($f)=@_;print"$f(q{$f});";}f});
  36. Freak gasoline fight accident by fyngyrz · · Score: 1

    Yes, it's still going strong (and particularly hot right now!)

    Hansel? Is that you?

    --
    I've fallen off your lawn, and I can't get up.
  37. Recommended viewing for the politically correct by fyngyrz · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Please take a minute and 45 seconds to absorb the following (quite funny) video:

    http://www.boreme.com/posting....

    --
    I've fallen off your lawn, and I can't get up.
  38. No wonder you're anonymous by fyngyrz · · Score: 2

    Yes but that doesn't make the intestines a sexual organ.

    Any body part with nerve endings and/or usable contact surfaces can be brought into play in sexual relations under the right circumstances. This has nothing do do with the gender of the party or parties involved. The fact that you don't know these things speaks very poorly about your competence and experience in the sexual arena.

    --
    I've fallen off your lawn, and I can't get up.
  39. Been there, had that done to us by fyngyrz · · Score: 3, Insightful

    People owning and running businesses should be allowed to choose whith whom they associate and do business and then the ones which discriminate against otherwise good, paying customers can rightfully go under instead of being propped up by the policies of the state.

    That's precisely the kind of thinking that led to child labor in factories and mines; it is also why we have to subsidize low paying jobs through our taxes so people can survive at a (somewhat) more reasonable level. It is what led to "whites only" and "separate bathrooms"; It is why the male/female employment ratios are so skewed; it is why older engineers are replaced by younger ones who know far less and don't have families to support; it is why the EPA, or something like it, really needs to exist. And so on.

    Business, large and small, incorporated or not, as entities, resemble people only to the degree that most of them, left unregulated, exhibit sociopathy and/or psychopathy. History has shown this explicitly, time and time again. No one is guessing about this: the facts have been in for a long time, and new facts consistent with the old continue to arrive with distressing regularity.

    The idea that business, left to its own discretions, will do the right thing is nothing more than a fantasy. Unregulated business is a very bad idea, and further, the premise that bad businesses will automatically fail because customers will do the right thing is equally bankrupt, and for many of the same reasons. Large numbers of people are both selfish and disinterested in the welfare of others.

    --
    I've fallen off your lawn, and I can't get up.
    1. Re:Been there, had that done to us by Richy_T · · Score: 1

      What led to child labor in factories and mines is that children worked (typically in gruelling agrarian labor) and those jobs became available. What made abolishing child labor possible was those factories and mines allowing an increase in productivity such that we could afford to have such luxuries.

    2. Re:Been there, had that done to us by Richy_T · · Score: 1

      You also have the low paying jobs backward. Such low paying jobs are only able to exist *because* government subsidizes them. What is subsidized is encouraged. It's a form of corporate welfare and should be abolished.

  40. No word on misandry by StikyPad · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Which is not surprising, considering sites like Jezebel routinely use disparaging remarks against men in the headlines and content of their articles, like calling someone who wants equality for men a "jackass" and a "shitnugget." http://jezebel.com/jackass-sui...

    I'm not saying that they are in any way responsible for people posting porn GIFs, or posting misogynistic comments. Two wrongs don't make a right. I *am* saying that Jezebel needs to take a very close look in the mirror and lead by example. No civil rights effort has ever succeeded by villainizing the other side, and equality should mean equality, not superiority or an attempt to collectively punish a group of people based on a few bad actors.

    I'll admit that men have many advantages over women in America. We are not a minority -- we are, in fact, a majority, and thus can exert more political influence. Under 30, we are better educated, earn more, have more health benefits, options, and social programs. We live longer. We're excluded from compulsory military service. We are more likely to pass along our genes. We get courted by women who try to impress us, please us, and pamper us. If we're not impressed, we can obtain the genetic material of a more suitable mate for a nominal fee without having to deal with that whole "relationship" thing. We prevail in custody cases under a presumption that we're better parents. We are but 30% of the homeless population. We are sentenced more leniently for the same crimes, and more likely to receive warnings for speeding. When we make bad decisions, it's an accident -- everyone knows we have good intentions. We are almost never charged with sexual assault, let alone convicted, and we receive more support when we're the victims. We can use our sexuality to our advantage. Women are often our fiercest advocates, and protect us unfailingly against external threats. Women provide for us.

    Imagine the outcry if any of that were true.

    1. Re:No word on misandry by mod+prime · · Score: 1

      That jackass should go to somewhere else, such as Paris Gym, which is 100% male only. He never has to worry about women intimidating him at the gym again. http://www.parisgym.com/about....

  41. Humor vs. Measured Offense Potential by eepok · · Score: 4, Insightful

    My partner and I have been together for almost 13 years. We have one of those very good relationships where we talk about problems instead of getting to the point of yelling, etc. She has a very audacious sense of humor and feels comfortable joking about spousal abuse (amongst other things) because she knows that spousal abuse is such a foreign concept in our relationship. ("I know I said I would cook tonight, but I'm ordering pizza. Please don't beat me...") I say the same back.

    If someone didn't understand the context and overheard us joking in this way, they might think there was an actual issue with violence in our household. And I think this is the impetus with the new censorship rule on Fark. If you're not a frequenter of Fark discussions and stumble across one of many memes without the historical context, you'll think everyone there is a rape-shrugging, gay-bashing, general hater. And you would be wrong.

    ----------------------
    Let's talk about a couple of the memes:

    40 lbs. Box of Rape (http://i.ytimg.com/vi/2Z7SafOiCXM/hqdefault.jpg) - If you simply read someone threaten to "send a 40 lbs. box of rape" to another person, you'd think that was a horrible concept. Boxed rape!? The idea alone is atrocious. That is until you figure out that someone took a photo of a box of rapeseed (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rapeseed), considered the homonym audaciously humorous, and put it online. The internet went wild with the hilariously outlandish concept of "boxed rape" (the action, not the seed) and it has since been part of tongue-in-cheek, context-driven discussion.

    Blazing Saddles references - The Mel Brooks movie 'Blazing Saddles' is synonymous with audacious humor and if any one work of artistic endeavor was to embody the spirit of Fark, it would be this movie. It addresses rape, penis size, stereotypes (beneficial and detrimental), racism, homophobia-- nothing is so sacred that it cannot be laughed at. But consider the actual context-- Mel Brooks projects absurdity upon each of these ideas by making their offenders look absolutely ridiculous. And for the most part, Fark feels and acts within the same vein.

    Glenn Beck's mythical crime in 1990 - Fark is one of the grand purveyors of the myth that Glenn Beck raped and murdered a girl in 1990. They publicized the hoax not as a means of directly implicating Glenn Beck in a crime that never happened, but to demonstrate the effectiveness of the political messaging system that was/is constantly making extreme accusations in the form of inquiry. So Fark (amongst others) shot back. "Why hasn't Glenn Beck denied...?"

    'Legitimate' Rape - A couple years back, a conservative politician stated that abortions do not need to be available to women because in the case of 'legitimate rape', the female body has a means of preventing any impregnation at all. This, of course, is absolutely absurd... which is why Fark latched onto it. It's demonstrative of really, really stupid politician commenting on thing about which he knows little and Fark thrives on such snafus. So when a story comes up regarding rape, you're likely to see the idea of "legitimate rape" be brought up-- not because they're suggesting a distinction, but because they're restating the absurdity of this concept.
    -------------------

    If you are under the impression that Fark users tell jokes that promote rape, sexism, racism, or discrimination on the grounds of race, sex, religion, or sexual orientation, then you don't know Fark. Farkers celebrate every gain in the realm of gay rights and attack heinous acts with derision.

    If you don't understand that Fark's use of rape, sexism, and homosexuality in their humor comes from a Mel Brooks-style commentary on the absurdity various ideals and actions, then you don't understand Fark. It's disappointing that this kind of humor will no longer be tolerated as it pertains to these specific topics because it's a cathartic outlet for audacious humor in a good direction.

    1. Re:Humor vs. Measured Offense Potential by TubeSteak · · Score: 1

      Let's talk about a couple of the memes:

      You forgot one: I definitely would NOT hit it. Just look at those sharp knees. She is way below my standar|

      Fark doesn't spare anyone. Even its own privileged white males.

      --
      [Fuck Beta]
      o0t!
  42. What is this world coming to? by Control-Z · · Score: 1

    What is this world coming to if men can't pursue their favorite passtime, complaining about women?

  43. HAHAHA "bare-knuckled" by poity · · Score: 2

    It gets image macros from 4chan and still can't decide on what the irony tag is for. Fark has long become a shadow of its former self. The left leaning political correct mob has been in control for many years now -- even being a consistent critic of public officials on both sides of the political aisle gets you into trouble because in those times when you do write anything critical of a left leaning politician, you get 10 replies of people knocking down strawmen and breathlessly posting whataboutisms.

    --
    your thin skin doesn't make me a troll
  44. Add it to the thousand other things they pussy out by gelfling · · Score: 1

    For example, the name: Fark. They don't let you curse on Fark even though a tenth of the greelits are news articles about someone cursing. Also you can't talk about black people at Fark either. Gay rape though is very popular. In the politics tab, they won't greelight you unless you're a little to the left of Ralph Nader. And of course as is required by liberals;, Jews are fucking eeeeeevul.

    But the thing that Fark does more than any other moderation or banning is the Shadow Ban. Fark modmins LOVE to shadow bin hundreds or even thousands of people. That's where they set your profile so that you are the only person who sees your comment. This is so Alcoholic Drew the Will Weaton Wannabe can get viewers to click ad-revenue without dirtying up Drew's world with unpleasant things. BTW, Salon.com does this too, in case you need a benchmark of Drew's "bravery".

  45. Been on fark as long as I've been here by Archfeld · · Score: 1

    The worst issue and the real root cause of the rule change is the 'new' association with DERP.
    Fark, unlike Slashdot claims ownership of all comments and other postings and has now agreed to allow the Derp group to harvest and share all postings in whatever manner they see fit. Derp http://derp.institute/
    It will likely have a measurable cooling effect on the postings at Fark.

    --
    errr....umm...*whooosh* *whoosh* Is this thing on ?
  46. Re:Will they ban this ? by amicusNYCL · · Score: 3, Insightful

    The ban isn't necessarily on news, it's on comments that people make.

    --
    "Our two-party system is like a bowl of shit looking at itself in a mirror." - Lewis Black
  47. Re:Will they ban this ? by cdrudge · · Score: 4, Interesting

    The problem here is that the policy is apparently all about "misogyny", which makes it inherently discriminatory. The policy should be about sexism.

    While I understand what you are saying, I disagree in the intent of the policy. Sexism is offensive, misogyny is hatred. Being offensive isn't prohibited for if it was, the internet would cease to exist. Being outright hateful is though.

    If I say "that awful parking job had to be by a woman", I'm sexist. If I say "that bitch deserves to be raped for that parking job", I'm misogynistic. It's the later trolling they don't want.

  48. Dumb Adam Savage Quote by brit74 · · Score: 2

    Let's take a moment to dissect what's wrong with that Adam Savage quote: "Adam Savage once described to me the problem this way: if the Internet was a dude, we'd all agree that dude has a serious problem with women." The internet is made-up of a billion people. If you describe the internet as doing anything, as if it were a single human being, it's going to come-off as bizarre. First of all, if the internet was a person, first and foremost, it would be schizophrenic - because so many different opinions coming out of one mouth would necessarily be contradictory. Second of all, you can find any extreme opinion you want on the internet. This means that "we'd all agree that the internet has a serious problem with [fill in the blank]." is probably true because there's no consensus about anything on the internet, therefore, in order to say the internet thinks [fill in the blank], you have to pick-out some minority who believes one thing and then represent it as if it was "the internet".

    1. Re:Dumb Adam Savage Quote by mod+prime · · Score: 1

      You overall point is fine - but schizophrenia is nothing to do with holding lots of contradictory views, opinions or personalities. There may be comorditity with Dissociative identity disorder, but most schizophrenics don't have it.

  49. Re:Will they ban this ? by redeIm · · Score: 2

    Sexism is offensive, misogyny is hatred.

    Misandry is hatred, too, then. Well, they're both just offensive to some people's sensibilities. Labeling it "hatred" and then pretending it's 100% different really makes no difference.

  50. Correction... by sdoca · · Score: 1

    There's nasty court cases like that every day in the courts with the current system. That's no reason to NOT change things.

  51. Re:Will they ban this ? by FirephoxRising · · Score: 1

    I think they need to add a misandrist one as well. I'm sick of the male bashing and men being a joke in the media. Fair's fair!

  52. Re:Will they ban this ? by mjwx · · Score: 1

    No, for the same reason why a news article that talks about a white supremacist assaulting a African-American isn't automatically racist. Or one about Westboro Baptist Church picketing a funeral of someone who was gay doesn't make it automatically homophobic. The context of the whole article is what makes it misogynistic (or racist, or homophobic, or ...)

    This, discussing the issue of crime or alcoholism in Aboriginal communities is very different to saying "all them fucking boongs are drunks and thieves".

    Intent is everything and intent is often only determined by context.

    --
    Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument.
  53. Re:Will they ban this ? by cdrudge · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Perhaps it was poorly stated on my part. What I was meaning was an article about WBC picketing a funeral does not make the article homophobic just because the subject the article about is.

    The original comment was would Fark prohibit a legitimate news article that reported on a (horribly understated) misogynistic action. And I was saying no, because it wasn't the news article that was necessarily misogynistic, rather it was the action being reported on. If someone came along and said that the victim got what she deserved, then that would be prohibited.

  54. Re:Will they ban this ? by Pseudonym · · Score: 1

    Misandry is hatred, too, then.

    Sure it is. However, I don't recall it ever being a problem on Fark.

    --
    sub f{($f)=@_;print"$f(q{$f});";}f(q{sub f{($f)=@_;print"$f(q{$f});";}f});
  55. Let me guess... by Draugo · · Score: 2

    misandry (which I noticed is not in the firefox dictionary) is still allowed and encouraged?

  56. don't kid yourselves by buybuydandavis · · Score: 1, Insightful

    The great scourge of rape jokes is only the rationalization of a larger movement to install speech censors and enforce ideological conformity.

  57. Re:Will they ban this ? by wallsg · · Score: 1

    Some of the stuff on Jezebel might cross that line occasionally.

  58. Re:Will they ban this ? by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 1

    The problem here is that the policy is apparently all about "misogyny", which makes it inherently discriminatory. The policy should be about sexism.

    While I understand what you are saying, I disagree in the intent of the policy. Sexism is offensive, misogyny is hatred.

    Are you certain? Let us not forget that there is a really wide range of opinion about what is and what is not misogynistic.

    http://arstechnica.com/tech-po... Adria Richards got two guys fired for making dongle and forking jokes. She apparently thoght they were misogynists.

    Enough outrage at these guys that she took a photo and shamed them on Twitter and complained to the organizers of the event.. And got one of them fired.

    And yet,Adria managed to post this on her twitter account earlier

    https://twitter.com/adriaricha...

    "you should put something in your pants next time...like a bunch of socks inside one...large...sock. TSA agent faint"

    Which was obvoiusly a story about smuggling socks.

    Fact is this is a world where we now have two different standards. And men can lose their jobs if a woman overhears them and might be in a bad mood, or had too much coffee

    As a Co-worker once told me - sexual harassment "depends on the mood I'm in."

    And the discretion of the reviewer, too. I severely doubt that the men who were fired hate women. It was a joke, yet getting fired for making it shows exactly how it is interpreted as misogyny.

    And in the end, her likely bad mood cost her her job, as she went outside channels to publicly shame these guys. Which no doubt some think was a misogynistic firing. And despite your assertions, check this out: http://colorlines.com/archives...

    Not only misogyny, but racist bigots too!

    Fortunately only men are this way, so at least half of us are innocent.

    --
    The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
  59. Re:Will they ban this ? by DrGamez · · Score: 1

    Misandry is sexism, too. And there has been a lot of that around, too.

    Score: 5, Funny.

  60. Thank Chelsea Van Valkenburg, aka Zoe Quinn. by sethstorm · · Score: 1

    Thank her and someone related to Kassie Washington for the dhimmitude:

    A link
    Another

    Thankfully Slashdot isn't getting the SJW treatment. But if this gets downmodded, you can probably tell who modbombed me.

    --
    Twitter supports and protects racists - by smearing their critics with the "Hate Speech" label.
  61. Re:Will they ban this ? by 2fuf · · Score: 1

    The quality of your memory is not the subject of this discussion.

  62. Re:Will they ban this ? by Pseudonym · · Score: 1

    It's a word way of saying [citation needed].

    --
    sub f{($f)=@_;print"$f(q{$f});";}f(q{sub f{($f)=@_;print"$f(q{$f});";}f});
  63. Re:Will they ban this ? by Pseudonym · · Score: 1

    wordy

    --
    sub f{($f)=@_;print"$f(q{$f});";}f(q{sub f{($f)=@_;print"$f(q{$f});";}f});