Since when is buffy an insulting term???

Discussion in 'Linguistics' started by Syzygys, Feb 17, 2010.

  1. joepistole Deacon Blues Valued Senior Member

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    I think the real issue is that some people can call him Buffy and never and issue. But let someone else call him Buffy and you get notices. And Buffalo Roam is one of the greatest offenders when it comes to name modification. Buffalo Roam has learned that he can use this behavior as a weapon when he looses arguements.
     
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  3. Fraggle Rocker Staff Member

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    B.R. has obviously made himself moderately famous for crafting offensive nicknames for other members. This is a statement to all of us that he believes that offensive nicknames should be allowable on this website.

    That is not a totally unreasonable opinion. On a website like ours where childish behavior is routinely tolerated so we don't have to ban half our members, I personally believe that a name has to be seriously offensive to merit punishment. Calling Asguard Assguard was seriously offensive; calling Sam Spam was merely childish.

    Nonetheless, whether or not he has managed to get away with his own nicknaming, because the Moderators are overworked volunteers who sometimes let things slip past us, is not the point. The point is that he believes that it's fair to make up nicknames.

    Therefore, to yell "offensive" when somebody else calls him by a nickname, which is not obviously and seriously offensive and which indeed is considerably less offensive than "Spam," is to be an [obviously and seriously offensive seven-letter expletive deleted.] Or, as we used to say when we were of an age when calling Sam Spam would have been considered really cute and clever, "You can dish it out, but you can't take it."

    We should not be fine-tuning the rules of SciForums (much less those of the English language!) to accommodate [obviously and seriously offensive eight-letter plural expletive deleted.]

    Childish nicknames should be tolerated the way we tolerate most other childish behavior. Normally formed English-language nicknames (truncated, with optional -Y or -IE, like "Buffy") should be tolerated categorically because this is an English-language website.

    If a nickname is obviously crafted to be offensive, for example because it contains a vulgar word, an ethnic insult, or some other term that the member has an exceptional reason to be hurt by (for example if Sanborn's wife just delivered a dead baby it would be phenomenally cruel to nickname him Stillborn), THEN we can simply invoke the rule against rudeness. (Yes, I checked and we don't have anyone named Sanborn.)

    We still don't need to change the rules of SciForums.

    Or of the English language!
     
    Last edited: Feb 21, 2010
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  5. joepistole Deacon Blues Valued Senior Member

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    Agreed. We should also not be allowing people to change standard word definitions. Those on the right wing of the American political spectrum are inventing new meanings for words in order to scare people. They should not be allowed to invent new meanings for old well defined words like socialism, marxism, etc.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Feb 22, 2010
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  7. phlogistician Banned Banned

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    See, I think not. If a member is naive enough to pick a handle so easily lampooned, and thinks it won't happen, well, they deserve the flames.

    Hmm, referring to a muslim by a name associated with a Pork product is merely childish?

    See, if we all chose to be pedants, like BuffaloRoam has, we could keep spinning this issue until the cows come home. I should think that simply, people learn to live with a bit of ribbing. Far worse happens in the real world.
     
  8. S.A.M. uniquely dreadful Valued Senior Member

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    FYI, I never thought of SpAM as a pork product, yes, it was childish just like Assguard or tiASSa [you know who you are]

    But if someone wants to advertise their immaturity, who am I to interfere?
     
  9. sniffy Banned Banned

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    Interesting thread we have here.

    Not OK: Making fun of a user's username

    OK: Trying to imply a user is mad, bad, dangerous, dishonest, needs to get a life, simply because they point out certain glaring inconsistencies.

    Oh to be a mod's favourite.

    Noted

    Not that I'm bitter or anything

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    BTW feel free to mess with my username.....
     
    Last edited: Feb 22, 2010
  10. Pinwheel Banned Banned

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    Sure thing smelly.
     
  11. Fraggle Rocker Staff Member

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    The rule I would enforce, which as a linguist I insist is quite reasonable, includes these bullets:
    • If the nickname is formed by the normal grammatical rule of vernacular English, which is to truncate the name and optionally add -Y or -IE, then it is presumed not to be offensive. Azzy and Buffy both conform to this rule. Assguard and Spam do not.
    • If the nickname is formed to include a word generally considered offensive among English-speaking people, such as a curse word, a vulgar word, an ethnic slur, etc., then it is presumed to be offensive. Neither Buffy nor Spam violate this rule. Assguard does.
    Therefore I presume that Buffy is inoffensive and that Assguard is offensive. Spam is presumed neither offensive nor inoffensive, so if Sam complained I would listen to her reasoning, but I would not be easily disposed to rule in her favor. (She did not complain so this point is strictly academic.)

    As for choosing a name that is easily lampooned, it's not easy to foresee what idle childish minds are going to do on a slow day. Plenty of real-life names contain the character string AS. If your name is Aston Asplund and somebody changes it to Asston Assplund, do you have no right to be offended?

    My problem with Azzy is that he chose a name that has already been vandalized. Asgard is what Heaven is called in Norse mythology, and there's no U in it. To deliberately misspell it could easily be regarded as disrespectful and offensive by someone from Scandinavia who treasures his people's ancient culture. So to complain because someone else comes along and defaces it further seems pretty silly. I have no idea whether Azzy actually did complain about this, but in any case the Moderators ruled on it because of the embedded vulgarity, not the mangling of a sacred name.
    Sorry, I haven't eaten Spam in fifty years (gratefully) so I forgot what it's made of. Nonetheless, as a haven for science SciForums makes no secret of exempting religions from the rule against insults. So we'd have to split some hairs and decide whether Spam is a personal insult against an individual or a generic insult against a religion.
    Indeed. Gentlemen and ladies do not stoop to acknowledge the boorishness of their inferiors. All they really want is attention so they should not be rewarded with it.
     
  12. Trippy ALEA IACTA EST Staff Member

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    It doesn't have to be about pork and islam to be insulting.

    Consider it as a reference to post volume, and post content. It's still derisive, because it implies that S.A.M does nothing other than spam the board, but it has nothing to do with being about Islam and dietary requirements.
     
  13. Fraggle Rocker Staff Member

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    I'm restricting my comments to nicknames that are offensive, not insulting. Insults are merely childish. As I've noted, we can't start banning childish behavior or this will be a very lonely place.
     
  14. Trippy ALEA IACTA EST Staff Member

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    Interesting, not generally a distinction I've ever made (or one I had intended to make). I've always considered that everything that's offensive is also an insult in some way, and everything that's insulting is offensive in some way.
     
  15. Buffalo Roam Registered Senior Member

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    Yes, and someone complained about it and I got slammed, by Asguard, 3 days, along with Asguard stating anyone else who disrespected anyone name would be banned.

    Yes, S.A.M., you and Asguard were real buddy buddy as Mod's weren't you.

    You would run to Asguard and Asguard would nail a warning on me, or hit me with a ban.

    And as for Buffy, it isn't a contraction of Buffalo, I will accept Buff, Buffalo, or Buffalo Roam.

    I have never complained about what anyone called me until I was hammered for serving up sauce to the goose.

    Seems I remember you calling me a murderer.
     
  16. Trippy ALEA IACTA EST Staff Member

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    And yet, since 2007 you appear to have accepted it.

    So that's your explanation then?
    Revenge?
     
  17. Buffalo Roam Registered Senior Member

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    I have never accepted the dimiutive of Buffy on Forum after I was banned by Asguard and He posted His edict about banning anyone who used diminutives in a insulting manor.

    Now as to revenge, you seem to know a lot about such things your self.
     
  18. Trippy ALEA IACTA EST Staff Member

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    You're going to have to be more specific here (A rough idea of dates would be useful) otherwise I have no way of reasonably verifying anything you say.

    Again, you're going to have to be more specific, and be forthcoming with some proof - generally I'm not a fan of false or vexatious allegations, they tend to make me somewhat testy.

    Addendum: I'm also fairly certain that I'm not the only one in this thread that would appreciate a straightforward answer to a straightforward question.
     
    Last edited: Feb 23, 2010
  19. pjdude1219 The biscuit has risen Valued Senior Member

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    he's retconning reality
     
  20. Syzygys As a mother, I am telling you Valued Senior Member

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    You, and your unreasonable expectations....

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    You are talking to a conservative, after all.
     
  21. Buffalo Roam Registered Senior Member

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    I would give you date's but for some reason the bans from Asguard seem to have been deleted from my files.

     
  22. Trippy ALEA IACTA EST Staff Member

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    You mean this post?
    209082

    From September 2008?

    You're telling me that you changed your mind, apparently in the last two weeks, about something that appears to have been okay as recently as three months ago, because of something that was said to you 15 months (or so) ago?

    There seems to be a small problem with causality there to me.

    And before you go accusing me of anything, these are your words exactly:
    Addendum:
    I also can't help but notice you haven't addressed your accusations regarding my desire for revenge. I've asked you to provide proof, you haven't, you have instead avoided the issue. Does that mean we're free to assume that you withdraw the allegation?
     
    Last edited: Feb 23, 2010
  23. S.A.M. uniquely dreadful Valued Senior Member

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    I used to think like that, but I was disabused of that notion here. Apparently some things require mockery and derision to make their point. Unfortunately since all my attempts meet with warnings, I have yet to discover how that works.
     

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