Reasons for Ban

[Oopsy]

Omega being Trans could be true or false hard to say, Never asked Omega for its opinion on the matter.
But if you rush in to a raid and say something negative about Omega paired with calling them a transsexual. Or if you imply the reason you are killing them is because they are transsexual. I'm sure that will offend a good number of people. Some people would think it means nothing while others would find it highly offensive. If some one accused Kefka of being homosexual and said lets kill him, would it not be offensive? Sure not to some... but does that make it right? If some one said titan was the N word and that we should kill him, wouldn't most people find it offensive? Transgender does have derogatory terms, though not all know or feel the same way. Though LTGBQ+ acceptance and understanding is still growing many people falsely believe they are using the correct terms. And awareness is not yet to a point where people fully understand. I am not part of this community, though when I was described as A-Sexual in the past I found it offensive. I don't need a label and don't believe love or gender is as simple as one or the other or even directly related. If you want to look into some information on Transsexual terms and what some consider politically correct and not here is a link to an article I believe is useful: https://www.plannedparenthood.org/le...rms-and-labels

I would say if you are going to say something that is funny but touches a topic that can be sensitive it is best to make sure all parties are people who share your tastes in humor or keep it out of the game altogether, discord, ventrilo, mumble, team speak, and/or PS Chat? There are a good number of places where you can be as raunchy as you want.

I admit a lot of jokes, sarcasm, and jesting can easily be taken the wrong way. Banning everyone over everly little dumb blonde joke or your momma joke may be too far, but there is a time and place. FFXIV hopes to be a safe place for all including some minors. The age cut off of 13 still leaves a number of impressionable minds who need protection. The variety of people who play who are of different nationalities, heritages, religions, genders, sexuality, and other classification/labels. The punishment should match the crime and awareness should be spread.

I once worked for Xbox support. They had a shift in policy while I was working there. When players were banned they used to be able to get an explanation from the enforcement team. They would post in the forums and they would get a response with a short explanation. This was not working out, Some of the responses were comical like the blue smurf racism post (Like 3 page story the enforcement team wrote about a historical smurf book, after a user was angry they were banned for modding their characters skin color)... but other just were well straight forward. This took a lot of enforcement teams resources and to simplify they switch to a generic response. When a player got banned they would just reply with the section of the TOS that was violated. This was easier and had a template that could be used. This isn't to say the investigation process changed. They still investigate each claim, some even involve sitting and watching the player or playing with them... They do not ban for no reason but they give a very generic response now. I have known a GM here and they have tools and they do investigate claims. Chat logs and other forms of proof can easily be obtained in most situations. A generic response does not mean there is not a reason or a weak reason. Not that one is required, silly EUA.

We could come up with a dozen reasons to tell people the full reason they were banned and to present evidence of the reason and allow for an appeal or to mount a defense. We could also come up with a ton of reasons to justify vague or template based responses. I do love to debate and feel if I reported some one I would rather they not know, at the same time if I were banned for insulting someone I would have a fair understanding as to why, I do not say much to offend, nor much at all... well okay... maybe Lalafell Master Race may have been said a few times... And I do often say other races are inferior to lalafells and highly recommend people change their race to improve their lives. I am only looking out for their best interests. So If I insult someone I would have some thought as to why, If I was only told I offended someone I would know that I need to tip toe a bit more in the future. If you or others have a hard time raining things in because your beliefs often clash or you have a dark sense of humor or because you are an extremely religious person, or strongly opinionated it might be easier to offend. You may be best keeping to FC private, and linkshells. Though that does not mean you can go above and beyond you are less likely to offend.

[Iscah]

I get you Iscah, and thanks. I have been shifting the terminology I use in the FFXIV community because like you said, people use it differently. Honestly I'd also much rather have the kinds of extremists I'm referencing unheard of here to the point of being considered strawmen than the alternative, it's just been a sort of weird adapting process. From my perspective you guys seem like you're stuck in 2009 haha.

[...]

I'll keep trying to substitute extremist for SJW or SJ stuff here, but I do want to let you know--in non-videogame and anime communities, SJ will commonly mean left-wing identitarianism. [...] I mention this because the extremists are seriously dangerous and I don't want an FFXIV player to run into problems elsewhere because there's a different connotation!

I feel like you might also be biased (in the inevitable way that a person sees what's around them as "normal") about what the correct usage of the term is. Perhaps SJW strictly means those more extreme examples in whatever experience you have, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's the correct or even common usage of the term elsewhere.

I'm not speaking from a little bubble of nothing but FFXIV-ness. I see the term used in discussions on the comments of news sites or other communities. It's not a backwards ten-years-ago thing for people to understand "SJW" as a petty insult and not a serious issue. It continues to get used loosely, and holds no value for describing specific degrees of activism unless you're certain your audience have the same understanding.

Prior to the rise of it as an insult, I understood the term "social justice" as a positive one - and this seems to be supported by the Wikipedia article on that term. It also defines social justice warrior primarily in terms of it being used as an insult - but also that it only began to be used that way around 2011, and was previously considered a "neutral or complimentary phrase".

So no, we're not stuck in 2009 if we think it's a catch-all insult for views that the writer doesn't like.

[Oopsy]

I feel like you might also be biased (in the inevitable way that you see what's around you as "normal") about what the correct usage of the term is. Perhaps SJW strictly means those more extreme examples in whatever experience you have, but I don't necessarily think that means it's the widespread meaning.

I'm not speaking from a little bubble of nothing but FFXIV-ness. I see the term used in discussions on the comments of news sites or other communities. It's not a backwards ten-years-ago thing for people to understand "SJW" as a petty insult and not a serious issue. It continues to get used loosely, and holds no value for describing specific degrees of activism unless you're certain your audience have the same understanding.

Prior to the rise of it as an insult, I understood the term "social justice" as a positive one - and this seems to be supported by the Wikipedia article on that term. It also defines social justice warrior primarily in terms of it being used as an insult - but also that it only began to be used that way around 2011, and was previously considered a "neutral or complimentary phrase".

So no, we're not stuck in 2009 if we think it's a catch-all insult for views that the writer doesn't like.

Social justice has a negative light in an of itself. You can say it has a positive side and has helped some cases, but social justice does not follow any due process and can be founded upon a lie. It is like vigilantes, sure they are trying to do good but should they be the judge, jury, and executioners? Social justice warriors are vigilantes, in some light they are good, but their actions can cause collateral damage and they are not held accountable for their actions. So we should do what they did in The Incredibles and outlaw all super heroes!

In general Social Justic is mostly like Instant Karma. You do something bad, other people hear about it and they treat you with less respect. Do bad things and bad things will happen.

Social Justice Warriors are people who look for injustices (their perspective) and are more verbal and outgoing about trying to put things right by means of public shaming, Excessive and even at time redundant reporting, organizing others to act out against the person(s), or chewing them out.

My definition is also more of the modern ones I think, I did look up information on it (Hate wiki's they are not a reasonable source, please quote original sources from wiki if you use wiki). I found a rather interesting historical take on it: Michael Novak, "Justice: Not What You Think It Is" The Heritage Foundation, December 29, 2009 ruffly a 30 min read. Very different from what we use it for today. Amazing how much a few years can change a phrase.

[Jaywalker]

--Snip for length--

Honestly idek on the bias thing or not. Initially I was going to answer saying "yeah that's probably fair" because my experience has been unbelievably horrible and that'll definitely color opinion, but thing is part of the reason it was so horrible is because I used to be an SJW. My time in SJ basically started off by playing to good intentions, then it took all of my anxieties and worst fears and weaponized those as a way to control my thinking and behavior. "If you don't believe or behave X way you're an unforgivable monster" type stuff. "Intent doesn't matter if someone is offended."

...when I was in it, I remember having a horrific experience essentially kept as an open wound so I would be next level afraid in mundane situations. SJ kept me assuming the worst of people and situations all the time, often using false or dishonestly presented stats. I also remember the movement encouraging me to form a wedge with my family, who got really worried about me and commented that I seemed brainwashed. At the time I thought I wasn't, but in hindsight I absolutely was. I got manipulated and the ideology + social environment of SJ eventually drove me to a really dark place before I got out of it.

I've since lost a relative because of this ideology (one member disowned the rest of my family based on false assumptions of where we stand politically) and a religious community that couldn't resist pushing politics from the pulpit. The religious community handled everything from births, coming of age, and funerals in my family so that was hugely painful for all of us. And the field I dreamed of going into professionally, that I've been training for on a more or less daily basis for over a decade, I've given up on because it hosts a good chunk of the horrifying illegal, extremist activity I mentioned.

The whole thing really has broken my heart on a number of levels, and hurt me in really personal ways multiple times. I've also seen it hurt friends badly. The ones who got out of it (not necessarily going to the right or quitting activism, just leaving SJ) tend to feel WAY better afterward.

Sorry this stuff is heavy and personal and all. Frankly most people when I try to talk about this tend to accuse me of being a straight white guy because I don't like going into too many identifying specifics (my group is considered an acceptable target for extremists on both sides) and they can't imagine someone like me honestly having a problem with SJ. The one time someone put together what my group is I literally got called a slur and accused of being a traitor.

So at this point I have no idea how to evaluate my level of bias. I've caught news stories doing spin and lying about stuff before and am confident about being able to objectively prove that. I also do know there are well-intended people on the fringes of SJ, and I truly worry about them getting exploited and manipulated based on my own experiences. I try to be fair, but idek.

Both sides get so extreme these days though, and criticizing either one tends to result in being pigeonholed in the opposite extreme. Feels like there's not really any place for people like me stuck in the middle just wanting to be left alone. I've put a lot of thought into where I stand on various points, but my opinions really don't fit in neatly to either side. I don't want to infringe on anyone else's life or force them to believe the same things I do (if someone doesn't want to be friends with me or advocate my demographic at this point I don't care as long as they don't make my life harder), but I don't want to be forced to conform either.

Circling back to FFXIV, I guess that's a big part of why I feel the way I do about rule systems though and thinking it's important for OP to get a fair shake. Just don't want bad experiences elsewhere to come here. For what it's worth, I didn't mean the stuck in 2009 thing as an insult or condescending. I meant that things have been so awful for years pretty much everywhere I've been, and I haven't had a community in-general where most people are basically decent like this. Even the way people ague and insult each other is way less threatening and personal overall. I just estimated the last time I saw people being kind the way you guys are en masse to be 2009 or so. This is basically the first time I've gotten a break and it's felt kind of trippy and surreal for me.

I don't mind if people disagree with my positions and all, and to you Iscah in particular I want to let you know from what I've seen of your commenting you seem like a pretty cool and thoughtful person. Like I said, this is a super different environment compared to what I'm used to and idk how graceful I've been with adjusting. But there's no bad-will from me with any of the stuff I post, just getting used to people being more chill without some "gotcha" moment being around the corner.