Christian Site's Ban on 'G' Word Sends Homosexual to Olympics

[trollup]

The American Family Association obviously didn't foresee the problems that might arise with its strict policy to always replace the word "gay" with "homosexual" on the Web site of its Christian news outlet, OneNewsNow. The group's automated system for changing the forbidden word wound up publishing a story about a world-class sprinter named "Tyson

Comments

[conflictdswitch]

Second definition of "gay" copied from my computer dictionary: 2 lighthearted and carefree : Nan had a gay disposition and a very pretty face.
• characterized by cheerfulness or pleasure : we had a gay old time.
• brightly colored; showy; brilliant : a gay profusion of purple and pink sweet peas.

I want to ask these people why the idea of being cheerful or brightly colored is so harmful. 8)

[trollup]

*chuckle* Well, we *do* tend to get giddy around each other. :) In fact, I'm sure "gay" started a lot like "fag"... at first a sneer (or inside joke) but later reacquired for general use.

The thing that irks me so damned much about their translation of gay to homosexual is the clinical nature of the term. Sure, it's /accurate/ but it is detached, focused on us as purely sexual beings, and kind of de-humanizes us. I would find it riproaringly funny if someone hacked /their/ site and replaced every pronoun that wasn't the g-word or "homo*" and kept inserting HETEROSEXUAL everywhere. And isn't that the rub? We are constantly pelted with heterosexuality BY DEFAULT. And when we try to throw in just a handful of "gay" they all bent out of shape. Waspholes.

[innerb]

On a geekier note, this is why the automated filtering programs just don't work so well. Too many different meanings for the same words. Remember the Netapp that kept tripping the email profanity filter? :)

[trollup]

Remember the Netapp that kept tripping the email profanity filter?

Oh my yes, because the configuration data included stuff with "xxx". The filter stupidly thought that this meant it was sexual in nature. Mind you, this was brought to us by the people who said "we don't like encryption because we can snoop the traffic." LMAO