9 replies to this topic

[meow121325]

so i have been noticing a lot of people have been cracking down on using nerf gun instead of nerf blaster saying that it isnt a toy gun yadayadayada i do see where they are coming from but most of those points are due to the political climate and before people began to be crazy scared of guns nerf gun was less feared but still discouraged due to it being not the greatest word and i just want to know people beliefs on the shift in the fear of the term "nerf gun" or "toy gun"

[Zorns Lemma]

We've been calling them blasters for probably longer than you've been alive. The emphasis on moving away from firearm nomenclature arises from the believe that nerf is a hobby/community/activity and not consumer armchair military fetishism (i.e. airsoft, which is heavily retail-consumption based).

[meow121325]

thats not what im trying to talkabout i am trying to talk about the fears related to a outsider or newbie or a slip of the tongue calling a nerf blaster a nerf gun and why it is at least personally getting greater like when i started nerfing it was like oh oops sorry now it is like CODE RED CODE RED WORD WE DONT REALLY LIKE HAS BEEN DETECTED REEEEE and i want to know if others have seen such a thing or im just going crazy (sorry for the clickbaitey title)

Edited by meow121325, 13 May 2019 - 01:23 PM.

[Meaker VI]

I, Meaker VI, have very likely been putting together the framework that is making you think that.

 

Yes, it is more heavy-handed than in the past. I'm not sure if it's much more important than it was, or if it's just as important as always and nobody bothered to do anything about it before because we didn't have any information. Whatever the case, I have a page filled with examples of games being canceled, shut down, or otherwise ended, people being confronted by the cops or worse, discussion groups being blocked/banned (Including this one; NH is frequently blacklisted on public servers) and other non-desirable interactions with the community over just the term "Gun". And more people are realizing this is the case and perhaps being more aggressive about it.

 

Now, regarding the reddit bot that I helped build: People make a post, it corrects them, they change or delete their post, we all move on. Before we instituted the bot, a noob would slip up and a wave of comments would flow in berating them for it. Now it'll just post immediately, no one else posts berating the OP, and we manually remove the comment if we notice OP has edited their post. Not a perfect system, but it's working as intended and doing more good than harm ATM. I have seen a few posts where OP panic-deletes rather than edit but they'll learn.

 

If you've got ideas for things I can add to or edit from the bot's posts I'll hear them. I've been told my posts come across as condescending so I must not be down with the lingo kids are using these days.

[meow121325]

honestly i would like that list it would be good knowledge to have can you link it please?

[Meaker VI]

honestly i would like that list it would be good knowledge to have can you link it please?

 

Link - but the bot's post also includes the link (and has now for several weeks at least). I'm also on the lookout for more such stories, but they aren't easy to find unless they're posted to our sites.

[Darksircam]

To be blunt: Yes, you're going crazy. We have been insisting that they be called blasters for a long time - before I made this account, and that was over a decade ago. It's only more obvious as of late because people have been poking the beehive and being adamant that they have the right to use "gun", regardless of how it affects the community. And because of recent events (see Meaker's link) being more relevant as the online community has grown.

Insulting people telling you "please stop doing that, you know better" is why you've been seeing the response you've been getting. You've said, across different communities, that:

 

1. It's okay to call them guns because they aren't actually blasters, no matter what the official terminology is.

2. Asking why the word gun is being restricted because "this isn't f***ing china"
3. Arguing with moderators after being told to stop. Across multiple communities with multiple mod teams.
 

Most people being told to say blaster instead of gun, they go "oh oops sorry", and that's the end of it. You're the one arguing with people and bringing up the topic with hostility, that's why you're being met in kind.

 

If I understand what you've been saying so far across a few platforms (reddit, discords): You understand that we should be using blaster instead of gun because the public gets upset, but don't like how we are forcing it in every context, even in private.

Here's an analogy: Racial slurs are not okay in public. You do not use them because they immediately tell people that you are an insensitive/prejudiced individual. Just because you're in private and the public can't hear you, that does not make it okay to use racial slurs. It just lets everyone in the community know that you're willing to use those words, and makes you look bad. Especially because you know the harm those words can do.

[Thanhtacles]

For real though, how are you still on about this.

All the adults and even kids younger than you in the community are mature enough to accept calling them blasters, I don't see why you have to be special about it. It's not even a purely political situation. The last thing any of us want is for some ignorant cop to shut down a game because of community negligence, or worse... It also helps us host open public games anywhere if we maintain the status that they are toys. And it is MUCH easier to get little kids to follow along if we all do it. So that's why every mod in the community has an understanding to just fiat the rule and make sure everyone follows suit.

 

It's kind of like the whole n00b-black paintjob. It doesn't make you cool, it just comes off as unlearned. Honestly if you're embarrassed to call them blasters, maybe take some time to grow up first.

[meow121325]

To be blunt: Yes, you're going crazy.

when have i stated if i am crazy or not

 

For real though, how are you still on about this.

All the adults and even kids younger than you in the community are mature enough to accept calling them blasters, I don't see why you have to be special about it. It's not even a purely political situation. The last thing any of us want is for some ignorant cop to shut down a game because of community negligence, or worse... It also helps us host open public games anywhere if we maintain the status that they are toys. And it is MUCH easier to get little kids to follow along if we all do it. So that's why every mod in the community has an understanding to just fiat the rule and make sure everyone follows suit.

 

It's kind of like the whole n00b-black paintjob. It doesn't make you cool, it just comes off as unlearned. Honestly if you're embarrassed to call them blasters, maybe take some time to grow up first.

 

 

To be blunt: Yes, you're going crazy. We have been insisting that they be called blasters for a long time - before I made this account, and that was over a decade ago. It's only more obvious as of late because people have been poking the beehive and being adamant that they have the right to use "gun", regardless of how it affects the community. And because of recent events (see Meaker's link) being more relevant as the online community has grown.

Insulting people telling you "please stop doing that, you know better" is why you've been seeing the response you've been getting. You've said, across different communities, that:

 

1. It's okay to call them guns because they aren't actually blasters, no matter what the official terminology is.

2. Asking why the word gun is being restricted because "this isn't f***ing china"
3. Arguing with moderators after being told to stop. Across multiple communities with multiple mod teams.
 

Most people being told to say blaster instead of gun, they go "oh oops sorry", and that's the end of it. You're the one arguing with people and bringing up the topic with hostility, that's why you're being met in kind.

 

If I understand what you've been saying so far across a few platforms (reddit, discords): You understand that we should be using blaster instead of gun because the public gets upset, but don't like how we are forcing it in every context, even in private.

Here's an analogy: Racial slurs are not okay in public. You do not use them because they immediately tell people that you are an insensitive/prejudiced individual. Just because you're in private and the public can't hear you, that does not make it okay to use racial slurs. It just lets everyone in the community know that you're willing to use those words, and makes you look bad. Especially because you know the harm those words can do.

its honestly people like you that get this community a toxic tone to it meaker already gave me plenty of into by giving my that link but no people like you guys are too halfbrained to know when to stop jumping into dead conversations

[Meaker VI]

Hey look! I can also lock topics! Which is what needs to happen here. Meow, you've gotten the info you need, PM me wherever with questions.