Fist of Jesus
- Thread starter MetalSoup
- Start date
Graal
New member
An observation you make every single time a religious thread happens on MyGaming. You've been crying that this thread is going to turn into a PD thread right from the start. Just keep it to yourself. The only thing posts like that do is stir folks up.
We can't have any religious threads on MyGaming without half the forum saying it needs to be closed or that MyBB has a PD section for that kind of thread. It's a little odd, considering participation in threads is entirely optional. Really man, we don't need the running commentary.
Censorship is never a good idea. The idea that MyGaming should not run certain articles because it might be offensive to a certain subset of their community is, quite frankly, insulting. Publications like MyGaming exist to serve a community, not individuals.
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I believe that there is some room for censorship - not really the right word for this paragraph, perhaps content wall/door would be a better name - when it comes to obviously offensive material, adult content to minors and disturbing visuals. All three of these categories can be overcome with a proper functioning warning / age verification system without actually having to deny those who really want to access the content.
The only time that I wouldn't mind a complete censorship is when somebody says or does something that is clearly only aimed at making the most controversial statement possible. Some utterances from Julius Malema and this game come to mind.
Fivel
New member
An observation you make every single time a religious thread happens on MyGaming. You've been crying that this thread is going to turn into a PD thread right from the start. Just keep it to yourself. The only thing posts like that do is stir folks up.
We can't have any religious threads on MyGaming without half the forum saying it needs to be closed or that MyBB has a PD section for that kind of thread. It's a little odd, considering participation in threads is entirely optional. Really man, we don't need the running commentary.
And my worry is that this can turn into a free for all filled with personal attacks. You have been part of many of these threads where the end result is not constructive at all, but hey if you believe that this can end well, then fantastic, let me not ruin your fun.
Jan
Grand Poobah
NOW we're having a conversation.
Currently I'm wholly against censorship of any kind, but for the kind of age-gate/warning measures Wyzak suggests. I recently had an interview with FPB dudes at rAge on this very issue which I'll hopefully get to edit and write up soon.
That said, I have also often wondered if early/ANCYL Julius Malema would have been nearly as big a deal if we the media didn't report every word that came out of his mouth.
On the flip side, if we did collectively decide to self-censor (LOL, will never happen - too competitive a field) and for whatever reason Malema came into greater power in the ANC and did end up nationalising mines and farms and whatever else he wanted to "appropriate", would the public not be correct to say: "Where were the media to warn us about this youth leader's crazy ideas so we could stop him before it was too late?"
It's an interesting conundrum we face, and I don't think it's as easy to make the calls we make on a daily basis as some people make it out to be.
Mister 44
New member
What I expect from the media is to report the news regardless of the content. Journalists shouldn't make the news and neither should they ignore it. Malema may have received more exposure than a painted spear but what he did and said was (and is) news-worthy. Self-censorship by the media may sound like a wonderfully mature ideal to achieve but, like Jan point out, what if he -Malema, not Jan- was allowed to just carry on from a position of power within the ANC? Wouldn't the media then be to blame for withholding the facts?
The same goes for articles on MyGaming. It is still journalism even though it is usually presented with a healthy dose of humour. This article was presented in that way, consistent with the character of the website. If I opened it and it read like the emotionless business section of the daily paper I would have immediately called shenanigans. So I am glad it was published and I am glad it was done in a manner consistent with other MyGaming articles.
We live in a hypocritical society where explicit violence is fine and fine boobies are explicit. Adults should be allowed to choose for themselves what they want or don't want and children should have parents that are mature enough to realise that censorship of the big four (SNVL) is essential in the lives of their youngsters. But we live in a very big and very imperfect world and applying a type of blanket censorship will not have the desired result and may even turn out to be counter productive.
On the matter of whether a Christian should or shouldn't be offended by this game, I can't answer even though I am a Christian myself. That is for each person to decide for themselves, isn't it? What I can tell you, regardless of what some may say, you DO have the right to be offended if that is the emotion you feel. You also have the right to be vocal about being offended. But there is also a right you don't have: the right to force your views on others or expect your views to be enforced via censorship. And this is true for everybody. It doesn't matter whether you're so rigidly atheist you refer to your dog as a canine or you're so fundamentally religious the Westboro Baptists have to clear their Sunday sermons with you first, your view isn't the only one that matters.
tl;dr
Respect the believes and views of others, regardless of what you believe yourself because if you don't, you can't expect others to return the favour. All of the above is just my opinion and you may not agree. But do you know what? That's also fine.
#tolerance&understanding
The same goes for articles on MyGaming. It is still journalism even though it is usually presented with a healthy dose of humour. This article was presented in that way, consistent with the character of the website. If I opened it and it read like the emotionless business section of the daily paper I would have immediately called shenanigans. So I am glad it was published and I am glad it was done in a manner consistent with other MyGaming articles.
We live in a hypocritical society where explicit violence is fine and fine boobies are explicit. Adults should be allowed to choose for themselves what they want or don't want and children should have parents that are mature enough to realise that censorship of the big four (SNVL) is essential in the lives of their youngsters. But we live in a very big and very imperfect world and applying a type of blanket censorship will not have the desired result and may even turn out to be counter productive.
On the matter of whether a Christian should or shouldn't be offended by this game, I can't answer even though I am a Christian myself. That is for each person to decide for themselves, isn't it? What I can tell you, regardless of what some may say, you DO have the right to be offended if that is the emotion you feel. You also have the right to be vocal about being offended. But there is also a right you don't have: the right to force your views on others or expect your views to be enforced via censorship. And this is true for everybody. It doesn't matter whether you're so rigidly atheist you refer to your dog as a canine or you're so fundamentally religious the Westboro Baptists have to clear their Sunday sermons with you first, your view isn't the only one that matters.
tl;dr
Respect the believes and views of others, regardless of what you believe yourself because if you don't, you can't expect others to return the favour. All of the above is just my opinion and you may not agree. But do you know what? That's also fine.
#tolerance&understanding
Fivel
New member
This is sums it up so well - thankyou.
StaggerLee
New member
Thanks Mister44. This is a good comment. Especially the comments on censorship. It echoes my feelings in general.
XbatousaiX
New member
I think Mister 44 deserves +15000 rep for that post.
Agreed, but is it too much to ask for a notification that the following content might be offensive to certain users? Or to expect some sensitivity from MyGaming when it comes to an article which some members may find offensive?
Mister 44
New member
If some sort of warning is possible, I'll support that. But I don't think MyGaming should dodge controversial subjects or handle it differently just because it is controversial.
There's a difference between controversial and offensive to certain community members.
Avatar
New member
What is potentially offensive to me might not be to you.. In the end the warning label would have to be applied to every single article, if you want to go down that road.
MyG is an adult oriented site, so presumably we're all adults here. While it's entirely a person's prerogative to say something if they're offended, it's also his/her prerogative to not consume the subject matter; they're an adult, and have to take some of the responsibility themselves.
Again, by all means, if you feel you have to tell the MyG staff and forum members that you found a piece offensive, do so. But should everyone bend because a single member found it offensive? Or should we only start at 10 members? Or a hundred?
We aren't all alike. That's the reality of life at large, not just of MyG. (MyG even caters to console gamers...) The fact that a person is offended should not be ignored or marginalised.. But it should also not be made the be all and end all.
Dragonic
New member
I lol'd a little there. Thanks, I've been avoiding this thread but that made me lol.
I'm sorry but I don't buy that argument for this article. The fact that this is page 24 and it hasn't been about the game for probably the last 20 pages says that this isn't just something experienced by one or two members. A significant portion of the community is offended by this game.
EDIT: Your post seems to imply that it would have been impossible for MyGaming to foresee that this article could cause offence or that enough members of the community might find it offensive. I simply don't agree with that. Religion is one of the sensitive topics where people can very easily take offense, same goes for sexual preference, and race.
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Mister 44
New member
I'm sure MyG doesn't want to offend and alienate their community. That would be bad for business if nothing else. I also understand your point completely but I am worried that if self-censorship gets applied important news may not reach the public.
Sure, one can argue that it is not that big a deal on a site that is mainly focused on gaming and digital entertainment but if we start to allow it here who knows where it will end? However, while I didn't read every single post in this thread, I don't think you're calling for censorship (or maybe calling it "selective publishing" in this situation may be more accurate) but I think you want the articles to take into account the beliefs and views of the readers and be more sensitive to it. Personally I didn't have a problem with the article and I felt that it was consistent with what I came to expect (and enjoy) from MyGaming. I'd rather take the chance that I may get offended than having to read a website filled with articles that's all been run through "Microsoft Office Political Correctness Checker".
Avatar
New member
That isn't nearly what my post implied.. I literally wrote it out:
It's not MyG's role to decide what people might find offensive, nor to protect it's readers from being offended. Every article will have something that can potentially offend people. Why try to 1984 people?
Mister 44
New member
You make a very good point here. If an article is obviously trolling people it is one thing but offence will be taken from time to time regardless of what is published.