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.

  • mindbleach@sh.itjust.works
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    22 days ago

    If gender means anything then some things are not gender. That’s not “gatekeeping.” It’s a tautology. A word with no meaning is meaningless.

  • apotheotic (she/her)@beehaw.org
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    22 days ago

    Love this, Ada. So nice to see another instance run by caring, respectful folk. Love from beehaw!

    Before I curse my worst enemy I will ask their pronouns. Their right to identity is not based on my respect for them.

  • nikki@lemmy.blahaj.zone
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    22 days ago

    i don’t get why its so hard for people to use the block function and move on, i was sick of hearing about dragonfucker the second i saw dragonfucker crying victim in every thread on my feed. other comments have outlined my feelings on neopronouns so i wont get knto that

    it felt trolly and disingenuous the way that dragonfucker was going about it, so i used the block function because it was exhausting to look at. shouldn’t be more complicated than that

  • pixeltree@lemmy.blahaj.zone
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    22 days ago

    I don’t care for neopronouns, but it also doesn’t matter what I think. If it’s REALLY a problem for me, like that person who’s gender identity is divinity and the pronouns that person uses are capitalized, I just won’t refer to that person. (Seriously, that does bother me, not that person’s gender in general but referring to anyone, fictional or not, Like This.)

    • gmtom@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      0
      ·
      22 days ago

      Your last point raises a good question.

      Mods, if someone says Their pronouns are supposed to be capitalised, will we be called for it if we don’t capitalise Them?

      • Feathercrown@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        0
        ·
        edit-2
        22 days ago

        Me omw to make all of my pronouns the full transcript of the Bee Movie

        Actually, would that be covered under this rule? Like I would be trolling if I did that, but under a true all-acceptance policy you couldn’t selectively not use those pronouns

    • Fénix (they/he)@lemmy.blahaj.zone
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      0
      ·
      22 days ago

      I see that case as an anomalous one because the tension I personally have there is: a person may be a god, but that doesn’t make that person my god, and I shouldn’t be required to behave worshipfully towards a god I don’t follow. I may choose to follow other religions’ conventions around how they refer to their gods and/or prophets in some contexts, but the idea of not having a choice in matters of religion makes me deeply uncomfortable. Respect between equals, which is what using a person’s pronouns generally is, should be automatic, but deference to authority should be earned in my book.

      • Grail (capitalised)@aussie.zone
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        0
        ·
        22 days ago

        I don’t think using someone’s preferred pronoun capitalisation is a worship thing. On My antirealist discord server, capitalised pronouns are the default. If you want lowercase pronouns, you have to pick a role that says so.

        I’ve met people who thought capitalised pronouns were a matter of religion. But I’ve also met people who think “he” and “she” pronouns are a matter of religion. They think their gender identities are handed down to them by Elohim, and refusing to use someone’s god-given pronouns is a form of disrespect against their god. They say “My god doesn’t make mistakes”, and think their religious beliefs are a reason to misgender people. I think that if treating people decently means decoupling pronouns from religion, then everyone should decouple pronouns from religion.

  • kittenzrulz123@lemmy.blahaj.zone
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    21 days ago

    My problem is the intense amount of trolls and the harm that they’ve caused. Ive seen this instance devolve into trolls, counter trolls (trolls), alt accounts (trolls), mods (myself included) not being able to keep up, and admins not doing enough (imo).

    • Draconic NEO@lemmy.blahaj.zone
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      0
      ·
      edit-2
      21 days ago

      I’m in agreement with this, but I think people should complain about the trolling behavior and the abusive behavior, and not about the pronouns, because the trolling and abusive behavior is the real problem. Not people using different pronouns or having non-standard identities.

    • Rhoeri@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      0
      ·
      21 days ago

      And now, a lot of those trolls that use pronouns to troll lemmy are a protected class. It’ll only get worse from here.

    • Ada@lemmy.blahaj.zoneOPM
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      0
      ·
      21 days ago

      The alternative, is an queer instance that is built from the ground up with gatekeeping baked in to its core. You may be ok with that. I am not. This instance will never be that.

  • DingDongDitch@lemmy.blahaj.zone
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    22 days ago

    Without ever making a post on the Lemmy, I have donated to this instance every month for well over a year, amounting to hundreds. Your principled moderation is why I am here. I will forever be grateful for the space you’ve given us

  • Sir_Premiumhengst@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    edit-2
    23 days ago

    How Can Pronous Be Real If Our Eyes Aren’t Real? /s

    But actually, s/he & they are pronouns I’ll use in everyday speech. Anything else and I tend to favor a person’s name; it’s just… You know, easier to facilitate a conversation that way.

    Edit: oh I see this is from blåhaj. Nvm. I stand by my comment but I see I’m not the target audience.

  • koper@feddit.nl
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    22 days ago

    Very true. I do hope that the one or two trolls who instigated this post stop getting free rein to start drama. Pronouns should be respected, narcissism should not.

  • JokeDeity@lemm.ee
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    23 days ago

    Thankfully I am not from this neck of the woods so when the mod deletes my comment and bans me without a single word, it won’t be a big deal.

    These people talking in 3rd person are absolutely and undeniably trolling and they’re doing it to mock these communities. If they’re generally civil, I guess who cares, they’re just making fun of you, but a lot of them are just trolls who want to create division and upset people.

  • Squorlple@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    22 days ago

    Your intentions are valiant. Can I ask for clarification with one section to ensure I don’t error within this instance’s rules?

    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.

    We’ve probably all seen the “one joke” of transphobes/nonbinaryphobes attempting a parody of preferred pronouns/neopronouns by choosing arbitrary or intentionally harmful terms. This link contains some examples of what I’m referring to:

    Content warning: transphobia/nonbinaryphobia/misgendering, annoying visual glitch

    In cases like these in which all contextual signs point to a person being disingenuous about what their pronouns are, are we the users still expected to speak as if that person is genuine and to use the pronouns they list until they state otherwise? As an example from the linked video, if I refer to Ted Cruz on this instance, must I use the neopronouns kiss/my/ass to be within the rules? (assuming Ted Cruz had yet to state a revision of pronouns)

    In a more extreme case, let’s say somebody named User1 genuinely uses [neopronoun 1]/[neopronoun 2]/[neopronoun 3], which we understand to be totally fine. If a troll account named User2 joined this instance with undisclosed malicious intent and stated that their pronouns were [neopronoun 1 isn’t real]/[neopronoun 2 isn’t real]/[neopronoun 3 isn’t real], should the users/admins/mods each take that all on face value and refer to User2 with [neopronoun 1 isn’t real]/[neopronoun 2 isn’t real]/[neopronoun 3 isn’t real]?

    In short, do the rules require that we refer to someone by the neopronouns that they state even if the surrounding context strongly suggests that they are a transphobic/nonbinaryphobic troll and that their statement of their pronouns is disingenuous and intended to be a harmful ridicule to transgender and nonbinary people?

    When I see that somebody uses neopronouns and they appear to be in earnest, I respect and adhere to that and I appreciate that you do too. I do worry that there may arise some trolls who misuse our benevolent intentions and who attempt to mock and insult us by taking advantage of generous good faith and ultimately make things worse for all of us. Thanks for taking the time to address this and watching out for everybody.

    • Ada@lemmy.blahaj.zoneOPM
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      0
      ·
      22 days ago

      In cases like these in which all contextual signs point to a person being disingenuous about what their pronouns are, are we the users still expected to speak as if that person is genuine and to use the pronouns they list until they state otherwise?

      If that person is trolling, then report their behaviour, not their pronouns. The contextual behaviour you refer to is the real issue, and what will get them banned. And don’t interact with them in the mean time. If their goal is invalidating the idea of neopronouns, the correct response isn’t for you to invalidate the use of neopronouns as a result of their actions.

      But even “attack helicopter” and the like… If you’re not familiar with it, look up the story of Isabel Fall. She was almost driven to suicide, she changed her name, and may even have detransitioned as a result of the fallout she received from a story she wrote about the attack helicopter pronouns. Her intentions were good, it was an honest act of reclamation, but people were so upset at the mere idea of her story, that her own community turned on her. Her story looked like the story a troll might have written. But critically, it wasn’t a story written by a troll, it was a story written by a trans person trying to find power in a slur that had been levelled against her community.

      So until I can sense peoples intentions with unerring accuracy, the only thing we can act on is actions. And using neopronouns, even unusual and challenging ones, isn’t a trolling action by itself. If someone with challenging neopronouns is trolling, their actions will make that clear, independent of their pronouns.

      • Squorlple@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        0
        ·
        22 days ago

        The contextual behaviour you refer to is the real issue, and what will get them banned. If someone with challenging neopronouns is trolling, their actions will make that clear, independent of their pronouns.

        Here are 3 users’ comments just on this post concerning the contextual behavior of a specific user whom I presume to be the impetus of this whole discussion. I obviously cannot source other comments that may have been deleted or removed:

        “it felt trolly and disingenuous the way that dragonfucker was going about it”

        “My only concern is that people (or one person in particular) aren’t genuine, but are doing to to discredit trans people, and the concept of gender fluidity in general… I’ve read some of their comments that set off some red flags for me that maybe this person isn’t being genuine.” Continued “(also some other red flags like about how there is clearly some sort of kink aspect to this for them and their dragon partner), and gets people banned for questioning it.”

        “The reason people say these one or two users are trolling is not because of their pronouns. It’s because they demand accommodations that go well beyond pronouns and most of their posts are playing the victim.”

        And here are 10 modlog remarks by your instance’s mods pertaining to the contextual behavior of the same user. There are additional modlog remarks by mods of other instances to similar effect. Please do take a look through them all:

        2x: Banned: reason: Trolling

        Banned: reason: history of misgendering and encouraging suicide

        4x Banned: reason: Encouraging suicide, bad faith accusations, moderator harassment. Not Appealable

        Banned: reason: encouraging suicide

        Banned: reason: History of encouraging suicide

        Removed Comment: reason: Advocating violence, encouraging suicide

        Many users and mods alike believe that the user’s actions have made it clear that they are trolling and intend harm upon the community, yet they remain unbanned. As admin, have you scrutinized your users’ and mods’ listed concerns over this apparent repeat offender prior to now? Does the admin team have a direct line for users to report bad actor users and their actions? I do not expect you to “sense peoples intentions with unerring accuracy”, but do you distrust the acuity of your userbase and modteams over and over again? If the user is a troll, you are doing exactly what they want you to do; if the user is not a troll, many people have taken measures to avoid hostility from them. Even if this user were genuine with their gender expression/identity/etc., is the rest of their behavior acceptable and undeserving of an instance ban?

        You will get trolls on this instance. You will get trolls anywhere online. It’s naïve to assume genuineness as the default online; don’t wait for a troll to break character. If you want this instance to be hospitable and to live up to the protectiveness, the anti-bigotry, the empathy, and the inclusion that it prides itself on, the instance needs admins who take less iffiness to guess when a user is trying to take them for a ride.

        I had already blocked this user who knows how long ago. Their behavior doesn’t affect me anymore. I’m also not part of a demographic that needs this instance. Go ahead and ban me for speaking out for those who do need this instance. But this user —and any other users whom the admin team shies away from calling trolls— they will affect the new people who come to this instance who do need a safe place, and those new users will be deterred from here by the hostility and unfettered trolls that are tolerated.

        • Ada@lemmy.blahaj.zoneOPM
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          0
          ·
          22 days ago

          Here are 3 users’ comments just on this post concerning the contextual behavior of a specific user whom I presume to be the impetus of this whole discussion.

          None of that is “contextual behaviour”. It’s literally just people upset by pronouns they find discomforting. Once you remove “Using pronouns I don’t like” as a reason, there is nothing else to those posts.

          Many users and mods alike believe that the user’s actions have made it clear that they are trolling and intend harm upon the community, yet they remain unbanned.

          Drag was banned from 196 by community mods

          Does the admin team have a direct line for users to report bad actor users and their actions?

          We have reports, a matrix channel and DMs.

          Even if this user were genuine with their gender expression/identity/etc., is the rest of their behavior acceptable and undeserving of an instance ban?

          I haven’t seen evidence of other bad behaviour that warrants an instance ban. Drag has stirred up drama, deliberately so, and has received community bans as a result, and I support the rights of the community mods to make that choice. But I’ve seen no evidence of genuine attempts to encourage others to suicide, or ongoing deliberate misgendering, or anything else that warrants an instance ban. I’ve seen many accusations of such, but I’ve not seen any evidence behind the accusations.

          If I’m missing some, please drop me a DM or the like.

          It’s naïve to assume genuineness as the default online; don’t wait for a troll to break character. If you want this instance to be hospitable and to live up to the protectiveness, the anti-bigotry, the empathy, and the inclusion that it prides itself on, the instance needs admins who take less iffiness to guess when a user is trying to take them for a ride.

          A queer instance that gatekeeps queer folk isn’t hospitable, protective or empathic.

          I am well aware that trolls can slip through and try and stir up drama. I believe that it’s worth the risk, because the cost of gatekeeping gender diverse folks self expression isn’t a price I’m willing to pay to be troll free. I’d rather the odd troll slip through the cracks and get dealt with than default to gatekeeping.

          • Squorlple@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            0
            ·
            22 days ago

            None of that is “contextual behaviour”. It’s literally just people upset by pronouns they find discomforting. Once you remove “Using pronouns I don’t like” as a reason, there is nothing else to those posts.

            No. Your paragraph is wholly false and you are making these claims in bad faith. I cannot read you the user comments and spell out their meanings. You act with a prejudice that people can only take umbrage with this user because they use neopronouns and you willfully and selectively reject any claims of impropriety that the user may have committed elsewhere.

            yet they remain unbanned.

            Drag was banned from 196 by community mods

            I meant from unbanned from the instance. I’ve edited my comment for clarity.

            I’ve seen no evidence of genuine attempts to encourage others to suicide, or ongoing deliberate misgendering, or anything else that warrants an instance ban. I’ve seen many accusations of such, but I’ve not seen any evidence behind the accusations.

            So those are instance bannable offenses? Is there a full list beyond just in the instance sidebar? Here are some removed comments from the modlog by the user:

            Advocating for suicide/murder: “If you’re planning on killing yourself, go buy a gun and take a red hat with you. Drag is serious.”

            Explicitly advocating for murder/violence: “Buy a gun. Shoot a red hat. Violence is the answer.”

            After cyberstalking and harassing a lemmy.world mod to disrespect the mod’s daughter’s pronouns: “You previously said that you always use gender neutral pronouns to refer to other people. In order to help you with that goal, drag would like to point out that you just used a “she” pronoun, so that you can edit it to a “they” and maintain the standard you set for yourself.“

            Racism: “Drag thinks Germans just like genocide in general.”

            Advocating for bestiality: “Drag likes dragon dick and doesn’t have a problem with anybody who does. That’s clearly some kind of non-dragon-fucking person. Whoever they are, they suck. Love is love and loving dragons is okay. Drag doesn’t have a problem with sucking any kind of cock, as long as it’s consensual.”

            Some mods also believe this user to be a new account by a troll named droneright. I’m not going to link to every comment and post that still stands that points to the gestalt of the troll’s deception. It’s not gatekeeping to scrutinize somebody’s actions and determine that they are spitting in your face and telling you that it’s raining.

            You are being trolled. The user has carefully curated elements of absurdity and inanity separate from a gender identity/expression with the intent to form a mocking caricature of queer and queer-inclusive people and to ruin their safe spaces. Read the comments and read between the lines elsewhere. A server admin needs to have the reading literacy and internet literacy to see this miles before it has gotten to this point.

            I’d rather the odd troll slip through the cracks and get dealt with than default to gatekeeping.

            You will find your instance overrun with trolls that make the experience intolerable. Other instances will defederate from your instance to avoid the abundance of trolls that you will host. The people who need an inclusive community will lose it.

            • Ada@lemmy.blahaj.zoneOPM
              link
              fedilink
              arrow-up
              0
              ·
              22 days ago

              You act with a prejudice that people can only take umbrage with this user because they use neopronouns and you willfully and selectively reject any claims of impropriety that the user may have committed elsewhere.

              I have explicitly acknowledged drag deliberately created drama in 196, was banned by the 196 mods, and I support the mods right to make such bans.

              What I’ve said is that I haven’t seen evidence of anything warranting an entire instance ban. I’ve seen people talk about it a lot, but I’ve not actually seen the evidence myself, and given the ire that drag has stirred up in people, I’m going to need to see it before I act on it.

              Other instances will defederate from your instance to avoid the abundance of trolls that you will host.

              drag is not based on blahaj zone…

              • Squorlple@lemmy.world
                link
                fedilink
                English
                arrow-up
                0
                ·
                22 days ago

                I’ve not actually seen the evidence myself

                That’s why I said to read through the user’s history and critically consider why the profile expresses the particular things it expresses. Look at the gestalt, not just individual incidences.

                drag is not based on blahaj zone…

                I know. But other trolls can copy this behavior and infiltrate safe spaces by being hosted on your instance.

            • Draconic NEO@lemmy.blahaj.zone
              link
              fedilink
              arrow-up
              0
              ·
              21 days ago

              I will share that dragonfucker has significantly harassed me and sent death threats toward my way, it was through an alt account so I guess one could say that it could’ve not been drag, but the circumstances surrounding it were suspicious enough that I’m almost certain that this alt was the same person/dragon as dragonfucker. The community that was created to harass and target me !fuckdraconicneo@discuss.online along with the alt is gone but since I was pinged on every account and I have email notifications enabled I still do have all the messages I received, as well as screenshots of DMs from the user account, none of them are pretty.

              I’m not a fan of gatekeeping people’s identities and I REALLY don’t think we should do that. I do think we should understand the kind of person drag is though, and acknowledge that these types of things like the death threats, the harassment, and encouragement of suicide have no place here, in a safe space no less.

        • Dragon Rider (drag)@lemmy.nz
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          0
          ·
          22 days ago

          Hello, drag can clarify the modlog claims.

          Mods think drag is a troll because drag uses neopronouns.

          Mods think drag encouraged suicide because after Donald Trump was elected, drag told suicidal trans people it’s better to die in battle than to do the fascists’ job for them.

          Mods think drag misgendered because Flying Squid’s daughter wants to use she/they pronouns but he accuses anyone who calls her ‘they’ of misgendering because he’s not a good parent.

          You know anyone can create a community on Lemmy and use curl commands to create fake modlogs, right?

            • Draconic NEO@lemmy.blahaj.zone
              link
              fedilink
              arrow-up
              0
              ·
              21 days ago

              I think drag is talking about using the API or network tab in browser to create bans when a person hasn’t posted in a community before, as far as I know there’s no way to create fake modlog entries, other than doctoring screenshots of the modlog (something you’ll be busted on very quickly) or possibly by screwing with the database as an admin (something that you’ll also be busted on since it won’t federate).

  • Lumisal@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    edit-2
    21 days ago

    I feel like a lot of people here have forgotten what Titles are and are just lumping in gender in there now.

    Titles are what people used to use to describe what they are (muse, philosopher, dilettante for example) and wasn’t restricted to work.

    So as one commenter here pointed out, goth, jock, etc would be titles, if used.

    Gender was always meant to help identify where in the spectrum of sex one is. Whether that be male, female, both, neither, slightly female, etc.

    Y’all are free to say your gender is goth, or as one user on Lemmy is becoming infamous for, Dragon; but you’ll likely not be taken seriously, and ultimately you’ll be setting back both progression for oppressed minorities as well as already existing accomplishments.

    PS: op should say what neopronouns are for those who may not know.

  • WillStealYourUsername@lemmy.blahaj.zone
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    23 days ago

    For everyone confused about neopronouns I would like you to consider what we could and could not do about them.

    We could:

    1. Not respect them and let people bully neopronoun users
    2. Respect them and not let people bully neopronoun users

    Doesn’t really matter if you want to use the pronouns or not, clearly respecting neopronouns is the only good way to deal with the situation unless you want to give people free reign to just talk down to, misgender, and harass a group of users.

    • WoodScientist@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      0
      ·
      22 days ago

      The problem I have with neopronouns is that they’re not pronouns. Pronouns are rough descriptors or large groups of people, to be shorthand. If you go by “he,” “she,” or “they,” people can understand that and get the general gist of how you identify and want to be treated. They are useful tools of communication.

      Neopronouns generally completely lack that utility. If I create my own unique pronoun, I’m forcing everyone to learn an entirely new set of words that apply only to me. Functionally, what is the difference between that and just learning your name and personality?

      Pronouns are only useful because they are rough shorthands for broad groups of people. If a “pronoun” only applies to one out of 10 million people, it is no longer a pronoun, it is simply a name.

      • Grail (capitalised)@aussie.zone
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        0
        ·
        22 days ago

        So you’re saying neopronouns have to be learned every time, and they’re bad because they’re confusing and effortful. But My neopronouns don’t have to be explained, on a basic level at least. Most people are familiar with capitalised pronouns, often from reading texts like the Bible. Given that My pronouns are a few hundred years old and somewhat familiar to most people, would you say My pronouns aren’t neopronouns at all, but instead perfectly fine regular pronouns?

        • WoodScientist@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          0
          ·
          22 days ago

          Also, my pronouns are “neopronouns are abused and often idiotic.” If you refer to me as anything other than this, you’re misgendering me.

          • Grail (capitalised)@aussie.zone
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            0
            ·
            22 days ago

            Absolutely, I understand. I’ll make an effort to always refer to neopronouns are abused and often idiotic by neopronouns are abused and often idiotic’s preferred pronouns.

            • WoodScientist@lemmy.world
              link
              fedilink
              arrow-up
              0
              ·
              edit-2
              22 days ago

              And you don’t see how that makes communication completely impossible? Just read that sentence, it make no sense at all. The purpose of having a trans community is to have just that - a community. “Communication” shares the same root. If you cannot effectively communicate, you cannot have a community.

              • Grail (capitalised)@aussie.zone
                link
                fedilink
                English
                arrow-up
                0
                ·
                22 days ago

                I use capitalised pronouns. If we’re going to have this discussion, I’d rather that neopronouns are abused and often idiotic used My preferred pronouns.

        • Iceblade@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          0
          ·
          edit-2
          22 days ago

          Well, Grail, there had to be an explanation for them.

          Besides that, some of us reject the notion of importance that is associated with capitalized pronouns. Everything indicates that there are no gods, only humanity. As such I personally tend to give every human the same basic respect, which also includes not elevating anybody above their peers as it by proxy would indicate others being lesser.

          If a person were to attempt to elevate themselves above others by demanding special treatment & associating themselves with the notion of godhood by demanding capitalization, I would not oblige. Now, “god” is very clearly incapable of noticing any disrespect when referred to as he/she/it and nobody is hurt by that. However, a human might be.

          The clear consequence being the only way to reconcile non-obligation and non-hurtfulness is referring to such a person by their name or not at all. So, I hope my fellow human now understands why I won’t be capitalizing any pronouns.

          • Grail (capitalised)@aussie.zone
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            0
            ·
            22 days ago

            some of us reject the notion of importance that is associated with capitalized pronouns

            I completely agree. And that’s why I’m confused, because it seems to Me that this line here contradicts the rest of your comment. You and I both agree that capitalisation shouldn’t indicate special treatment. So what’s the problem?

            • Iceblade@lemmy.world
              link
              fedilink
              arrow-up
              0
              ·
              edit-2
              22 days ago

              The mere act of capitalizing pronouns is a special treatment. That special treatment is commonly demanded by religious people for their gods, usually the abrahamic god. Leveraging this, others demand similar special treatment for themselves, to elevate their status above other people. I will refer to neither gods nor them in this manner

      • Iceblade@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        0
        ·
        22 days ago

        My current universal solution in such cases is either directly using names/handles or defaulting to even more general terms such as person/individual/user. Slightly clunkier linguistically and less personal but saves valuable brainspace.

      • WillStealYourUsername@lemmy.blahaj.zone
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        0
        ·
        edit-2
        22 days ago

        There are plenty of neopronouns that are used by lots of people. In scandinavia we’ve adopted a common non-binary neopronoun f.ex, and english has lots of different ones that are very commonly used

        Edit: Also not relevant, this post is about moderating misgendering. You’ve conveyed your problem, but you’ve not actually responded to anything in the post or in my comment.

        • WoodScientist@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          0
          ·
          22 days ago

          My post was a response to yours arguing to always respect neopronouns. My problem with it is that this rule untenable. Your f.ex example is fine, as it’s used by a large number of people, it’s something that can actually be learned and applied.

          The problem is that you cannot simply always respect neopronouns, as whenever you establish a zero-tolerance, zero-though principle like “always respect neo-pronouns, full stop,” there will be bullies that take advantage of that. There will be bad-faith actors who purposefully concoct “pronouns” that they obviously do not use. Like, what do you do if someone says their pronouns are racial slurs? You going to start respecting those pronouns?

          Neo-pronouns have utility when a group of people use them and there is clear understanding around them. Those created by a single deranged or bad-faith individual need not be respected.

          • WillStealYourUsername@lemmy.blahaj.zone
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            0
            ·
            22 days ago

            Some parts of the internet would call what you are doing concern trolling. Let’s assume it isn’t. This hasn’t happened yet at blåhaj, and I haven’t seen it happen elsewhere. Ada makes it clear in the post that this wouldn’t be acceptable and that someone with a slur as their pronoun would simply be removed.

            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.

            Also I would like to note this part in Adas post:

            or to not engage with them.

            Why is it that none of you want to do this? Why do you all come here and lash out against neopronouns? You’ve already said it doesn’t make sense to you, but you are free to just leave and not participate, or to not engage with neopronoun users.