So someone in the STO forums made a thread about STO ships that use transphasic torpedoes, the user called them 'tranny boats'. Of course that word is a slur and is completely unacceptable. Someone on page 2 spoke out against it, but swiftly got swamped by people who felt cutting one word out of their vocabulary would just make life feel empty and meaningless. I made a post and thanked the person for standing up for trans people.
Later another person joined in, developed a dialogue with one or two, and convinced them not to use the word anymore. Suddenly a forum mod swoops in, deletes any posts calling out the use of the word, says it's ok to say 'tranny' and even admits that he uses it himself regularly.
I'm feeling so frustrated right now. Of course they don't mind the use of the word, they're not the ones targeted by it. Anything I say won't make a bit of difference coz they'll write me off as oversensitive(while they are the ones who feel super slighted by being asked to pass on using one single word). Plus it'll just get me a ban by the mod.
Being in the right means bugger all when you're only .2% of society, and it makes you feel so very powerless. It's not just this thread that gets to me like this by the way, I run into this stuff every bloody day in offline life. I just didn't expect it from a moderator, on a Star Trek forums no less.
Anyway I sent this ticket to support:
"
Dear Sir/Madam
In a thread on the STO forums (http://sto-forum.perfectworld.com/showthread.php?t=1111751&page=6), a moderator defended and enabled the repeated usage of a slur. Even the title of the thread itself contains one.
The word 'tranny' has long been a very damaging and offensive word brought to bear against the transgender community. Users in this thread thought they could get away with their cheeky use of it by stating that they simply use it as an abbreviation of 'transphasic'. Of course, if a certain in-game word could be shortened into the n-word, that wouldn't have justified using the n-word, would it?
Multiple people in the thread called out the usage of the word, in polite and respectful ways, and a dialogue even arose that furthered understanding. People seemed to have come to an agreement not to use the word anymore, and then a moderator(askray) jumped in. The moderator deleted all posts that denounced the use of the slur, excused it's use, and even admitted using it himself. This is of course unacceptable, and puts the game and it's owners in a very bad light.
I'd ask you to remove this moderators endorsement of the usage of slurs, and to ask thread users to refrain from using the word any further. That would also remove the need for any further posts on the matter(which'd only derail the thread).
I and friends of mine have had the t-word flung at us many times, often when in danger of violence. It brings up very negative associations for us, and other people in my LGBT fleet were also greatly bothered by the thread. Most non-LGBT people in the thread including the moderator did not seem too bothered, but then they've never been on the receiving end of the word. However, I think whether the usage of a slur is improper is best determined by those targeted by it, wouldn't you agree?
I hope you can do something about this, and make this game's community welcoming to people from all walks of life. After all, isn't diversity what Star Trek is all about?
Kind regards,
Kim"
I already know it's gonna do bugger all, but it's all I could think of. Anyone else got any advice? Sorry for the rant, just frustrated this shit keeps happening everywhere I go.
