RFC: #ubuntu op misuse or not?

[Rohan Dhruva]

On Sat, May 17, 2014 at 12:54 AM, Phillip Sz <phillip.szelat at gmail.com> wrote:
> hi,
>
>
>> In an international community, you have to understand that words don't
>> always mean what you think they mean.
>
> sure, but you also know that these word are problematic, so there is no need
> to use them.
>
> Phillip

No, I honestly did not know they would evoke this kind of a reaction.
Please understand that I don't have a historical perspective to
understand why these words would be as offensive to someone as they
seem to have been.

I would like to say that while inexcusable, there was no intention to
evoke any kind of inference to historical events by use of those
words. As I seem to have, I apologise for that and will be more
careful about it.

>
> Am 17.05.2014 09:37 schrieb "Rohan Dhruva" <rohandhruva at gmail.com>:
>
>
>>
>> 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.
>>
>> In an international community, you have to understand that words don't
>> always mean what you think they mean.
>>
>>
>> > 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?)
>> >
>> > --
>> > Ubuntu-irc mailing list
>> > Ubuntu-irc at lists.ubuntu.com
>> > https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-irc
>> >
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Rohan Dhruva
>>
>> --
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>
>
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>



-- 
Rohan Dhruva