LBGTQ Discussion split out of Fun Stuff forum topic

[Iza]

So homosexuality is inappropriate and not family-friendly?

 

[x.Optimistic]

i mean there might have been something i missed in the things i posted but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[Tamacass]

yeah, that caught me a bit off guard - i mean what happens if someone posts a heterosexual meme instead? will that get banned? :/

 

[x.Optimistic]

who knows

 

[hagakrure]

move im gay

 

[x.Optimistic]

relatable

 

[Iza]

bisexual here but ok

 

[x.Optimistic]

 

[TamaMum]

So homosexuality is inappropriate and not family-friendly?

Really...? You can't work it out? Try considering it from a viewpoint other than your own and take some time to refresh your memory regarding the TamaTalk site rules

This is a family friendly community forum open to all ages - including young children (there is no age restriction here, it's not restricted to 13+ yrs members).

As such images and posts have to be appropriate viewing / reading for everyone - anything that might make a young person - or an older person uncomfortable is not appropriate - even if you personally don't find anything wrong with it.

Some subjects are appropriate for a more mature audience and that's why subjects such as homosexuality (for example) are discussed in our Seriously Non TamaTalk forum - not on the Fun Stuff forum.

It doesn't really matter if you agree or disagree. It doesn't matter if I agree or disagree. I'm just here applying the TamaTalk site rules consistently as a site moderator.

There are plenty of forums out there where you can post fun memes referencing yours or others sexual orientation. But not this one please.

You're free to follow any path in life you want but when you're posting on the TamaTalk forums you follow the site rules

 

[hagakrure]

i've debated posting this for a long time and at this point i don't care if it's in the wrong place or whatever rules there are - there is nothing inherently wrong about being lgbt.

and incriminating us by saying that we aren't family friendly is putting lgbt individuals in an inherently sexual light, which is wrong and uncomfortable - it may not have been said, but there are definite implications. there are plenty of kids out there who like the same gender, is that not family friendly?

memes are harmless. memes are meant to be fun. no one is going to get hurt by someone posting a fun meme about their sexuality that they take pride in, and if they get upset then i'm sorry to say but that seems pretty homophobic to me

and yes, i am posting this here. if you're going to delete lgbt memes, then at least delete mine too, not just miri's.

you can't claim this is a forum for lgbt inclusive spaces (with multiple topics regarding,) and then punish people for talking about their sexuality in ways that makes them comfortable. literally noone has had a problem with the memes posted by miri, and there was much worse content posted back in the day.

ban me, take away my posting, i don't care. i've been on these forums for 12 years and there's a line where you have to actually respect lgbt people and their rights, and by repressing us and saying we aren't family friendly, that line has been crossed.

 

[TamaMum]

i've debated posting this for a long time and at this point i don't care if it's in the wrong place or whatever rules there are - there is nothing inherently wrong about being lgbt.

and incriminating us by saying that we aren't family friendly is putting lgbt individuals in an inherently sexual light, which is wrong and uncomfortable - it may not have been said, but there are definite implications. there are plenty of kids out there who like the same gender, is that not family friendly?

memes are harmless. memes are meant to be fun. no one is going to get hurt by someone posting a fun meme about their sexuality that they take pride in, and if they get upset then i'm sorry to say but that seems pretty homophobic to me

and yes, i am posting this here. if you're going to delete lgbt memes, then at least delete mine too, not just miri's.

you can't claim this is a forum for lgbt inclusive spaces (with multiple topics regarding,) and then punish people for talking about their sexuality in ways that makes them comfortable. literally noone has had a problem with the memes posted by miri, and there was much worse content posted back in the day.

ban me, take away my posting, i don't care. i've been on these forums for 12 years and there's a line where you have to actually respect lgbt people and their rights, and by repressing us and saying we aren't family friendly, that line has been crossed.

I'm asking everyone to restrict their posting about sexual orientation to an appropriate TamaTalk sub forum as per site rules.

I've been a member of TamaTalk for a long time too. As a moderator I've always tried to detail why restrictions have been applied to any post - as I did in the previous explanatory post.

I honestly don't know if you guys are willfully misunderstanding things or not, but personally I respect LBGTQ rights and I wish you wouldn't judge me as just another person who you've decided is against being LBGTQ when I'm moderating site rules on a family friendly community forum.

I'm asking you to restrict your posts about your sexuality to an area of TamaTalk for more mature discussion and not one that is accessed by members of all ages.

Even if you can't believe it or have not experienced it yet, there are some people in this world who do feel uncomfortable seeing any type of sexual posts or discussions about *** - and right now, that's why it falls outside the term "family friendly" for me.

Clearly we have a difference of opinion on the definition of "family friendly" - as well as "inherently sexual" in the context of sexual orientation.

My definition of family friendly for TamaTalk moderating is obviously different to yours but I try to consider it to be something that's ok to chat about (or read, or watch) with the family that is universally acceptable and comfortable for everyone regardless of their age. (That's a different thing to the debate on whether it should be universally acceptable and whose rights are being restricted or not - that's not what is being questioned here).

It's unfair of you to judge anyone as homophobic just because - for whatever reason (age, culture, religion, upbringing, etc.) - another member here finds it difficult to deal with or understand.

So please, if you want to talk about anything that can and does make some people uncomfortable, use the right forum area?

It's not something newly introduced to TamaTalk. It's a guideline that's been a part of this site from the beginning and everyone, every member, is encouraged to report any post that they feel falls outside the TamaTalk site rules.

It's also unfair to suggest that I'm singling anyone out in particular. I look at the content of a reported post within the context of the site rules and try to apply my best interpretation as to whether an edit or removal is needed (always with an explanatory note).

There's a suggestion forum for changes in the site rules where pros and cons, agreements and disagreements can be debated.

Please try to remember that we don't all think and feel the same way about everything and that within this community forum we have to consider lots of different points of view and moderate a forum where parents are making a judgement on whether their kids should be allowed to join and chat safely online about tamagotchis with other tamagotchi fans.

For now, I am going to split relevant posts out of this topic and move it to Seriously Non TamaTalk.

 

[Jhud]

You can't even join the forum unless you're over 13 years old, and let me tell you, 13 year olds are aware of what sexualities are. And there's nothing inherently sexual about sexualities. I knew I liked girls since I was 6 years old. Most people figure that out around that age.

There's nothing non family friendly about a topic where you can discuss your sexuality and how you dealt with coming out. There are CARTOONS that deal with this topic already. I'm sure a tamagotchi forum, tamagotchi being a toy that has a mainly adult fanbase anyway (seriously, how many users in here are minors? They're definitely, ekhm... a minority.) won't suddenly become inappropriate just because people are discussing such topics.

If Thor: Ragnarok, a PG-13 movie, where people probably take even 6 year old kids anyway, can have a reference to a ship where people have orgies and nothing more, why can't a 13+ forum have a family-friendly discussion about sexualities?

Younger people have to know that being LGBT is okay and not inappropriate, and that there are people in a community that support them and understand them.

 

[Iza]

So even if we are pro LGBT rights or LGBT ourselves we still have to be careful not to offend homophobic parents who may see this forum and think it's not good for their children? Family friendly = not offensive to homophobic people?

 

[hagakrure]

The issue with the "People are uncomfortable but they can't be homophobic" argument is that it normalizes homophobia. By saying that it's okay to be uncomfortable with LGBT people, it actually allows people to think that's okay. And being uncomfortable with someone for their identity is not a good thing.

Is being uncomfortable with black, asian, latino/latina, native people not racist?

Is being uncomfortable with disabled people not ableist?

 

[TamaMum]

So, I've given this a lot more thought over the past few hours and I think it might be that I just can't explain myself clearly or succinctly enough. Nobody's perfect, right?

I'd like the reasoning to be understood - even if you don't agree with the rationale. This post in the Fun Stuff forum is the one that I think probably triggered things for me:

https://www.tamatalk.com/IB/topic/194507-last-post-wins-2-electric-boogaloo/?p=3352227

Is this a post that suggests members are being invited to break the site rules because the topic is not being monitored?
It's in the Fun Stuff forum so perhaps said in jest, but it was quickly followed by a variety of comments and memes (posted by different members) the content of which I felt were not universally age appropriate for the Fun Stuff forum.

My interpretation of post content that is suitable viewing for all ages in a Fun Stuff forum is one that does not contain images or text referencing sexual orientation and I believe that posts like these belong in our Seriously Non TamaTalk forum. That's my interpretation of the TamaTalk site rules.

I get that several of you disagree with my interpretation and that you will always disagree with me on the way I've interpreted the rules in this particular instance.

I'm sorry that so many of you have misinterpreted my attempts at explaining my moderating decision and I'm sorry that those explanations came across as homophobic towards you.

That wasn't and never will be my intention.

 

[x.Optimistic]

Ah yes, I see the issue in that post, with my opening line - I didn't mean to suggest that at all, it was intended only as a joke, and I'd thought it was a common/well-known enough joke that people would get that

This is all my fault, I suppose, and I apologise - I won't use that particular joke again, and I'll try to be more careful with what I'm posting

 

[TamaMum]

Ah yes, I see the issue in that post, with my opening line - I didn't mean to suggest that at all, it was intended only as a joke, and I'd thought it was a common/well-known enough joke that people would get that

This is all my fault, I suppose, and I apologise - I won't use that particular joke again, and I'll try to be more careful with what I'm posting

I don't think it's your fault. No one's "to blame".

Things got misunderstood, discussion got a bit heated and the Fun Stuff topic went off-track. It happens sometimes.

 

[kuchikid]

I'm curious to know what the meme was. Can it be reposted here?

 

[hagakrure]

I'm curious to know what the meme was. Can it be reposted here?

It's probably best that it isn't...

 

[geckobutts]

I agree that nothing sexual should be posted, but if you mean we can't talk about our sexuality in the sense that i can't talk about my boyfriend, that's definitely not okay unless other people can't talk about their significant others...I've seen this already in the forums so i assume that's not the case :/