RFC: #ubuntu op misuse or not?

[Valorie Zimmerman]

Inline, below.

On Sat, May 17, 2014 at 12:36 AM, Rohan Dhruva <rohandhruva at gmail.com> wrote:
> On Sat, May 17, 2014 at 12:17 AM, Brian Burger <blurdesign at gmail.com> wrote:
>> On Fri, May 16, 2014 at 11:58 PM, Valorie Zimmerman
>> <valorie.zimmerman at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>> On Fri, May 16, 2014 at 5:14 PM, Rohan Dhruva <rohandhruva at gmail.com>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>> > * ops basing ban decisions based on personal prejudice (e.g. towards
>>> > words like blitzkrieg and dictator, drawing conclusions of World War
>>> > II and Hitler)
>>>
>>> Such language is not welcome in an *buntu space. In fact, it is not
>>> welcome anywhere on the Internet, IMO.
>>
>>
>> Based on the IRC log excerpts posted elsewhere in this thread, our original
>> poster basically called one of our chanops a Nazi and expected to get away
>> with it.
>>
>> Really?
>>
>> No. Just, no.
>>
>
> No. Seriously, no. *Nothing* in the words "dictator" or "blitzkrieg"
> implies *anything* related to Nazism. I can completely understand how
> personal background can lead someone to think that way, but
> immediately jumping to such conclusion is completely hyperbolic. The
> only person originally drawing parallels with anything remotely
> related to German history were the two ops on the channel. Also, I did
> not expect to get away with anything -- if that was my intention, I
> wouldn't have stayed around to discuss or reply here.
>
> There have been dictators before the particular person in question,
> and dictators after him. There are good dictators, and there are bad
> ones. There are people calling themselves benevolent dictators.
>
> A simple search on Google news (http://bit.ly/S2hFaD) shows the word
> "blitzkrieg" being used in many non-offensive contexts. Similarly, the
> word "swastika" can evoke bitter feelings for people in Europe, but
> signifies a religious symbol for Hindus around the world.
>
> Did I use the word Nazi? Sure -- but only after the ops had drawn
> parallels to it. Was I remotely thinking of Germany (or anything
> related to Germany) when using "blitzkrieg"? An emphatic no. The user
> "adamcunnington" and myself tried to explain that dictator does not
> have a Nazi implication in it at all. It is personal choice to be
> offended by those words.

Here is where you are completely off-base. The personal choice was
using these explosive words.

Gasoline powers my car, and I have no problem buying gasoline every
time my gas tank runs low. However, I will never choose to throw any
of that gasoline on a flame of any sort.

This is what you both did.

> In an international community, you have to understand that words don't
> always mean what you think they mean.

Right, from the other side.

Valorie


>> Brian
>> (on IRC I'm "Madpilot". Not on much the last few years, but an Ubuntu chanop
>> since 2006. I guess that makes me something like one of the Great Old Ones
>> of Ubuntu's IRC setup?)