Getting Picky About Words

Unread post by **Mania** » Thu Mar 18, 2010 10:59 pm

There are a handful of words that get used a lot as slang in gaming, but that should not be used as slang on these forums.

Gay:
- Yes: Pertaining to, related to, or indicating homosexuality.
- No: Bad, stupid, silly, etc.
Rape:
- Yes: Sexual assault.
- No: Casual reference to a win or loss.
Retard:
- Yes: None.
- No: Idiot, describing a person who is stupid, silly, ignorant, etc.
Fat & related words:
- Yes: Describing the physical state of a person or thing.
- No: Making a moral judgement or expressing disrespect based on the physical state of a person or thing.

If any of these distinctions are unclear to you, remember this helpful guideline: If in doubt, leave it out!

And of course you are expected to avoid using derogatory or obscene language based on race, sex, gender, religion and so on. But I wanted to call out the slang above explicitly because these uses are so common in gaming.

A little picky? Maybe.

But we want to keep this a friendly and polite community, and that sometimes means thinking about the words you use here.

If you have any questions or comments about this policy, please feel free to contact me at mania@wow-petopia.com.