[committee] Language and moderation in UCC spaces

[Dylan Hicks]

Hi All,

I just wanted to weigh-in on the heated discussion that transpired on the UCC IRC/Discord over the last 24h, and offer another perspective on the issue of slurs and censorship, and how both the general UCC userbase and admins could approach self-moderation and moderation, respectively, in future.

Firstly, I don't believe that thinking in black-and-white about words (or specific uses/senses of those words) being slurs (or not) is the right approach, as it's an intrinsically subjective matter, and whether or not something is considered a slur will depend on who you ask, and when in history you ask them.
To be clear, I'm not advocating for free and unrestrained use of language either (in UCC spaces and more broadly), but I think there's a slightly different lens we could all look at this through.
Instead, it's clear that different words, phrases, and even ideas will upset/offend different people, and yes, there are obviously some that are more consistently offensive across larger groups of people.
 
For example, discussions of war might bring back vivid and traumatic memories for some veterans, and discussions of domestic violence might deeply distress those who have experienced it.
In both cases, these can be completely valid things to discuss in the right space with the right people, but if someone politely asks not to talk about that because it upsets them, one - out of care and respect - shoiuld probably stop discussing the topic around them.
If there's a pressing desire to continue discussing the topic to get closure (understandable), it's probably a good idea to take the discussion somewhere else where that person isn't present.
I'm sure we all have things like this where it deeply upsets us, irritates us, or is even just annoying, etc., and in such cases, we’d expect the other person to respectfully not do it whilst we're around them - even something as benign as someone chewing with their mouth open is an example of this that I deal with at work!
A little bit of empathy in this regard goes a long way!

Secondly, in the specific case of physical and virtual spaces at UCC, I think what we need to do is this:
(1) If someone says a word, phrase, or discusses a topic that someone else finds distressing, offensive, or even just straight-up annoying; and
(2) If that someone else (or multiple other people) politely ask them not to mention or talk about that because it upsets them; then
(3) Out of respect for the other people upset by it, the person/people mentioning/discussing it should refrain from further discussion of it in that space where the upset people are, and instead discuss it elsewhere.
(4) If they do not cease discussion of it in that space, despite being asked nicely by people whom it bothers, then I think in the case of the UCC Discord server, muting them for a set amount of time (and advising them as such beforehand) is reasonable.
(5) Nonetheless, for the sake of integrity, *I feel that messages should NOT be censored/deleted in cases like this*, however, unless in extreme circumstances (e.g. server raids, directly insulting people [not their ideas], doxing, etc.).
(6) I don't think it's reasonable for us to have an explicit banned word/topic list, but a little bit of intuition goes a long way: if there are multiple instances (at different times) of people asking for a certain thing to not be discussed or mentioned because it upsets them, then (i) don't keep bringing it up in spaces where they are, and (ii) it's reasonable for admins to the people talking about it, if they continue to do so.
(7) Likewise, on the intuition front, there are definitely still certain words and topics that I'd wager most people in our society (or at least in UCC spaces) might find offensive by default, even without them explicitly asking for these to not be discussed: I think we should all avoid such words/topics in the main forums like #ucc, and reserve discussion of them for places where only people who are prepared and okay for sensitive topics to be discussed (or language to be used) will be present, and even then, that might not be the right place!

Finally, I think we could consider adding a public channel for debate (e.g. #debate, complete with disclaimers and a @role-based opt-in), where issues like this can still be discussed (within reason), rather than getting repeatedly shut down on channels like #ucc when people try to defend their viewpoint (regardless of whether we agree with that viewpoint or not).
This will also avoid places like #ucc getting flooded by the occasional long-running debate, which I know I've definitely been a party to at times.

The debate around the “R-word” and slurs never should have become as heated as it did, and I believe - in part - it became that way because the people trying to defend their viewpoint were being told by others they weren't even allowed discuss it, rather than being given a more appropriate space to continue discussing it with the people who were willing to keep doing so (vs. #ucc where others just wanted it to stop).

Cheers,
Dylan Hicks [333]

Bootnote(s):
- I was personally subjected to the "R-word" a lot when I was bullied as a kid, and I'm still not too fond of it as a result. Nonetheless, I don't think it's the objectively-evil slur that others find it to be, and I'm completely hypocritical in that I do use the word every now and again. Still, I know first-hand how upsetting I used to find it (and probably how upsetting it still is for some people), and at the end of the day, per point (3), I think moving forward, it's best we avoid the word in UCC, out of respect for the people whom it upsets (in the same way that you'd avoid talking about war to a veteran with PTSD).
- To the people on both sides hurling metaphorical faeces at one another and stirring the pot, that isn't constructive, and sure you might have been wronged (both sides), but getting revenge and throwing pot-shots doesn't help resolve the situation. Debate should always remain respectful and focus on the issue being debated, not the people debating it. This whole drama could have been much smaller if everyone involved tried to discuss this in a civil and respectful manner, without trying to wind each other up (incl. by deleting messages and reactions). Debate around what is and isn’t a slur, censorship, etc. itself is not childish and is perfectly reasonable to discuss (in the right space, however) - this is why we have a whole branch of philosophy called ethics. All the other stuff was pretty silly.
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