Board Thread:General Wiki Discussion/@comment-24881871-20141004223618/@comment-25226524-20141005013238

I'm on the fence with this. On one hand, I'm all about freedom. I also feel like sometimes being so protective can almost come off as being condescending, as if the person or group is too weak to protect or take care of themselves.

On the other hand, I realize life sucks quite a bit for most of us, and having to see or hear a term that applies to us used in a derogatory way can add to the pain. Also, perception is reality to the individual, so we can't really just decide that a word is or isn't offensive to others. I think by allowing these words to be used, we could be removing a teaching mechanism. People do need to learn how to interact civilly with others of different beliefs and backgrounds, but at the same time they shouldn't have to constantly tiptoe around any word that might be considered offensive.

As you can see, I have a lot of cognitive dissonance going on when it comes to this topic. I think if the moderators use common sense and a little empathy, everything will be ok. I don't see the harm in having these standards, as long as the mods act responsibly, instead of extremely heavy handed.

Just to be clear, I think anything intended to be offensive should not be allowed, but there should be some wiggle room depending on the context. The mods will have to use their best judgement, and I will reiterate, please use empathy. Lack of empathy is the biggest problem mankind has, and it's always been that way.