this post was submitted on 27 Dec 2024
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cross-posted from: https://lemmy.blahaj.zone/post/20091173

I've been waiting until after Christmas day to make this post, but some of our communities recently have had a lot of noise and upset over someone that uses neopronouns that most people are unfamiliar with.

So I want to make this clear. A persons pronouns are to be respected. This is true when the user is using neopronouns that you're unfamiliar with. It's true even if you think someone is trolling. Pronouns are not rewards for good behaviour. They aren't only to be respected when you like the person you're interacting with, or if their pronouns "make sense" to you. Trolls, spammers, twitter users, it doesn't matter who they are, your options are to respect their pronouns, or to not engage with them.

I really want to re-iterate the importance of this. Gender diverse folk are undermined, invalidated and questioned at every step of our lives. As a community, we need to be working to undo that, not creating more of it, and that means there is no space for treating pronouns (including neopronouns) as a reward for good behaviour.

This isn't a free reign for trolls and spammers. The rules still apply. Trolling, spamming, etc will continue to be dealt with, but it's not an excuse to act as if respecting someones pronouns is optional.

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[–] lepinkainen@lemmy.world 6 points 6 days ago

Thank fuck my native language doesn’t have gendered pronouns. I just use they for everything, much simpler that way.

[–] Jumuta@sh.itjust.works 26 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

i don't mind what people call themselves and I'll use it to refer to them if I notice it, but they shouldn't expect their pronoun to be understood if it's something obscure

[–] pack_of_racoons@sh.itjust.works 19 points 1 week ago (2 children)

Is it safe to asume that this is why the mods have

...been planning on moving 196 to lemmy.world ASAP…

per https://lemmy.world/comment/14170082

[–] yuri@pawb.social 5 points 6 days ago (1 children)

i have .world straight up blocked. when the man or bear thing happened EVERY shitty post/poster came from there. and watching pugjesus throw their little shitfit has only cemented that decision.

hilariously i’ve had way better interactions with .ml users, so i guess if the migration does happen i’ll just hang out there. i’d much rather dodge politics than thinly-veiled-to-outright misogyny and casual transphobia lmao

I promise I'm not stalking you, I think we're just following the same journey and comment progression!

I block/unblock .world as I appreciate the content but the drama:person ratio can get really high. It's mostly thanks to a small number of chronically online people who enjoy throwing fuel on the fire and leading a crusade to defederate and/or brigade whichever instance whenever there's a hot button topic. This seems to gather and focus otherwise aimless "not nice people", á la the man vs bear scenario.

[–] yessikg@lemmy.blahaj.zone 9 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Eh, I don't see that as a good idea... also there's already a 196 in lemmy.ml

[–] pack_of_racoons@sh.itjust.works 12 points 6 days ago

I don't like the idea either. If true, it seems like the mods/community are upset they can't feed trolls, or bully people who aren't the "right" type of queer.

[–] Deestan@lemmy.world 18 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (11 children)

When talking about someone, is using the commonly accepted neutral "they" allowed, or is it considered non-tolerable misgendering?

[–] qaz@lemmy.world 19 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

It's fine by me, but I'm not sure how other moderators (or admins) feel about it

[–] Deestan@lemmy.world 35 points 1 week ago (3 children)

Not personally affected, but I saw someone instantly permabanned with reason "misgendering" for a comment talking about "drag"'s behavior but using "they".

Not warned. Not comment deleted with "please use pronoun at all times". Just bam.

If the general stance is that reaction can be "up to the admin", that's a bit... minefield-y.

[–] qaz@lemmy.world 19 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (3 children)

If the general stance is that reaction can be “up to the admin”, that’s a bit… minefield-y.

I understand that this might seem problematic. We (the mods of 196) are only partially in control of what is removed and who is banned, due it being hosted on blahaj.zone.

[–] Deestan@lemmy.world 11 points 1 week ago

All good, thanks for explaining. :)

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[–] JackbyDev@programming.dev 3 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) (1 children)

I'd have to see the comment and context to pass judgement, but I can see how a mod might see using "they" to refer to someone who doesn't use "they" in a context about how that person doesn't use "they" as intentional misgendering instead of accidental misgendering.

[–] Deestan@lemmy.world 1 points 6 days ago

Thanks. It was surprising to see it interpreted that way, especially given the context (talking about, not to, an obvious troll), but not a difficult rule to adhere to once it's clear.

[–] ada@lemmy.blahaj.zone 0 points 6 days ago (1 children)

but I saw someone instantly permabanned with reason "misgendering" for a comment talking about "drag"'s behavior but using "they".

No you didn't

[–] Deestan@lemmy.world 2 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) (1 children)

Why are you saying that?

Just shitting on a discussion like that adds nothing.

Or if you do know the comment in question I was referring to and I missed some context that wasn't visible in the modlog, please let me know.

[–] ada@lemmy.blahaj.zone 6 points 6 days ago

I'm saying that, because I'm the instance admin, and I don't permanently instance ban people for a singular comment using "they" in regards to someone who is explicitly ok with they...

I have no idea which comment you were referring to, but I do know that your representation of what you saw is not what actually happened...

[–] ada@lemmy.blahaj.zone 4 points 6 days ago

It depends on the person. If the pronouns you are using for someone is upsetting them and they make that clear, don't keep using them. If the only pronouns you can use make you uncomfortable, then simply don't interact with the person in question. And if the person in question is trolling or otherwise misbehaving, report them without doing so in a way that ignores their pronouns.

[–] missingno@fedia.io 23 points 1 week ago (1 children)

It's a useful feature of language for 'they' to be a valid default you should always be able to fall back on.

I don't even know who any of you are on Lemmy, and I don't care to. I'm rarely ever even paying attention to your names to begin with.

[–] klemptor@startrek.website 22 points 1 week ago

This is a big part of it, to be honest. Dragonfucker eagerly takes offense when people don't use the "drag" pronoun, but most of the time users aren't even looking at handles, and just defaulting to "they" as a general-use pronoun.

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[–] CreatingMachines@fedia.io 16 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Wow...looking at these comments, i realise I still have a lot to think about regarding my exact stance on all this...the fact that I have have zero irl exp in this is not helping...

[–] MareOfNights@discuss.tchncs.de 18 points 1 week ago (2 children)

Because nobody IRL uses neo-pronouns XD

[–] Beegzoidberg@beehaw.org 19 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Nope, never, except for all the times they do:

https://www.thetrevorproject.org/research-briefs/pronouns-usage-among-lgbtq-youth/

Even if you think it's a weird thing to do you could just choose not to engage, which is advice written in the post you commented on.

[–] shani66@ani.social 1 points 6 days ago

I mean, 4% is basically never. Unless you want to argue literally cannot be used metaphorically.

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[–] herinaceus@sh.itjust.works 14 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I did not realize that typing exclusively in third-person, and pushing something that is obviously kink-related onto internet strangers was umm... not trolling?

I feel like the troll that does this gives people who fantasize about dragons a bad name, not to mention people who use neopronouns, for various non-trolling reasons, that usually hold some kind of personal meaning. Expression is complicated, but holy goddamn bollucks, third-person shitposting to try to bait people who didn't read a bio into "misgendering" bans is asinine and takes validity from people who could use it. I don't see how any mods have gone along with this "muh third-person antagonistic ranting means victimhood" shit.

Whatever tho, I guess every individual user is supposed to independently block an asshat who tells people to commit suicide, because they are so very super-special.... I hope this place doesn't get tossed into dot world over this, ugh.

Tap for spoilerI'm going to go consume alcohol and definitely ~~not~~ look at cute/sexy kobalds to cope. Feel free to DM me for info on the nature of creatures outside the scope of waking reality, if you are brave enough.

[–] ada@lemmy.blahaj.zone 14 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Whatever tho, I guess every individual user is supposed to independently block an asshat who tells people to commit suicide,

The message clearly and categorically states the rules still apply, and that behaviour is what gets actioned. Literally nothing about the post says that someone using neopronouns is otherwise exempt from the rules. If someone is telling someone to kill themselves, report it or DM it to a community mod.

[–] Deestan@lemmy.world 12 points 1 week ago

Opinions aside, thanks for clarifying this.

Most of the time I don't ask people their pronouns in public I just tend to use "they/them" until I overhear someone saying their actual pronouns then'll use them.

As for here on Lemmy I just look at their pronouns in the bio or just don't use pronouns at all in my comments.

I respect everyone and if I make a mistake that's okay and I'll refer to them with the correct pronouns.

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