WHY ARE THESE SMILIES HERE???!!!

brewerpaul · Post by **brewerpaul** » Sat May 08, 2004 6:40 pm

[quote="richAnd if you can ignore all that because of an emoticon I put there <i>to make fun of myself...if you can't stop and go "Ah, a bunch of people have told me that it's a joke that I'm not in on" -- if you think that the tradition of admins being called Nazis and little Hitlers and of Godwin's law is equivalent to antisemitism -- if you think that avoiding that tradition will have <i>any effect whatsoever</i> in fighting antisemitism -- then yes, you are oversensitive.

I put a lot of effort into minimizing the chilling effects of the threat of censorship on these forums. I don't expect demands for censorship in return.[/quote]

OK Rich-- I mean nothing personal to you, Dale, or anyone else who works their butts off for this excellent forum. I truly appreciate your efforts, speaking as a whistle player and maker. I guess I don't see it as a matter of censorship as much as a matter of dubious taste. The Admin/Nazi in-joke explanation clears things up, but sometimes in-jokes are best kept "in".

When I first saw the emoticons I find so offensive, btw, I just figured they were something that came along with the hosting of this board, and were not put there by our admins at all.

Walden · Post by **Walden** » Sat May 08, 2004 7:21 pm

brewerpaul wrote:[We hear about the 9 million Jews that were slaughtered due the unrelenting efforts of organizations dedicated to getting the word out and refusing to let the world forget. However, over 3 million other souls were lost simply because they were different. Gypsies, homosexuals, the list goes on and on.

My family background is Pentecostal, and I wish to point out that Pentecostals were another faith community targeted by Nazism. I know a man still living, in this area, with whom we worshipped regularly, whose family fled the Nazis who were out to destroy them for this.

I concur with Dr. Busman's opposition to the Adolf smilies.

Chuck_Clark · Post by **Chuck_Clark** » Sat May 08, 2004 7:51 pm

Although I seriously respect the opinions of some of the people who have stated their opposition to these stupid little things, this is a ridiculous tempest in a teapot.

Four things:

1. Last time I looked it's RICH's board. It is not a democracy. Expressing opinions is one thing - acting as if its something you're entitled to a vote on is ludicrous.

2. Much as I hate using a term so near and dear to the heart of the reactionary right, how does censorship in the name of political correctness differ from censorship in the name of suppressing dissent? Herr Schickelgruber would have loved this!

3. I've never seen these things, much less seen them used. If you guys hadn't set out to make a cause celebre of them, 99.9% of our members wouldn't have even known the dumbassed things were THERE!

4. ALL SMILIES SUCK! If you want to banish any, then I say banish ALL!

raindog1970 · Post by **raindog1970** » Sat May 08, 2004 8:00 pm

Walden wrote:My family background is Pentecostal...

Then shouldn't you be more offended by this emoticon?

Satan is far worse than Hitler, and nobody seems to object to the cute little emoticon bearing his most widely recognized likeness!
The reason nobody is offended is because that little 'devil' emoticon has absolutely no connection to satan or satanism... just like the little 'admin' emoticons have absolutely no connection to Hitler or nazism.
It is, as Rich has already pointed out, an inside joke that system administrators are like little dictators... and when you think 'dictator', who first comes to mind?
Let's not make a big deal over nothing, OK?

TelegramSam · Post by **TelegramSam** » Sat May 08, 2004 8:08 pm

Have I ever mentioned that I totally %@#$ing despise the doctrine of political correctness and all its trappings?

Well, if not, now I have. So now you all know.

:adminok:

P.S. Useless bit of trivia for the day: The person who first coined the phrase "Politically Correct" was Lenin, if I remember correctly...

vomitbunny · Post by **vomitbunny** » Sat May 08, 2004 8:18 pm

Ya know, right after 911 happened they asked us all to wear some kind of patriotic shirt to work one day. As you remember, they were hard to come by because of the rush to buy them at the time. I asked Gail to pick me up one at the mall when she went. I told her if she didn't find one, just find me something. Anything. She brought me back a shirt that read "I am a dirty communist."

antstastegood · Post by **antstastegood** » Sat May 08, 2004 9:31 pm

You guys are all on the wrong track. A google search will definitively show that Hitler parted his hair on the other side, therefore these emoticons do not represent Hitler.

Walden · Post by **Walden** » Sat May 08, 2004 9:45 pm

raindog1970 wrote:Then shouldn't you be more offended by this emoticon?
Satan is far worse than Hitler, and nobody seems to object to the cute little emoticon bearing his most widely recognized likeness!

I had indeed contemplated that very thing before I posted, but, as a spiritual being, references to Satan are more abstract than references to Hitler, a man whose very name invokes dread, whose actions, and moral teachings, were so often aligned with the aforementioned Archfiend.

BTW, I'm not advocating taking a vote, etc., but don't personally like the Hitler emoticons, or find them especially amusing.

Duckrasta · Post by **Duckrasta** » Sat May 08, 2004 10:47 pm

Hitler does not approve of this thread.
:adminno:

snotjello · Post by **snotjello** » Sat May 08, 2004 11:40 pm

- as a Christian, this one offends me.

- as an insomniac, this one offends me

- as a vegetarian, this one offends me

- as a heterosexual... mostly, this one offends me

- as a bipolar, this one offends me half the time

- as a schizophrenic, this one offends me

- I can't remember why this one offends me

But I'll get over it. I think people should be allowed to speak their minds whether by word, emoticon, etc. (and I'll burn any book that says otherwise). The advantage is that it's easier to identify the people you don't want to associate with. Words don't hurt, actions do. Words preceed actions, so others' ill words can work to your advantage.

I think the Hitler thing all depends on the context. The emoticons can be used in an offensive way, but so can a banana... or the symbol we've come to know as the swastika. The emoticons can also be used in a way that is critical of Hitler-esque behavior. Funny that someone mentioned Chaplin. One of my favorite movies is "The Great Dictator" in which Chaplin lampooned Hitler by playing Hitler. It was a poweful statement, especially when he dances this playful little ballet with a large balloon painted to look like the earth. It was funny, it was whimsical, it was light, but it was also a searing commentary. Some people got it and some didn't.

Anyway, I think people are often offended because they choose to be.

vomitbunny · Post by **vomitbunny** » Sat May 08, 2004 11:46 pm

It seems that in a Southpark episode it was stated that somethings that are really terrible now will be funny in some and such years from now. 23.3 or something like that. From that perspective, Hitler passed the Statue of Limitations years ago.

Jack · Post by **Jack** » Sat May 08, 2004 11:54 pm

snotjello wrote:
- as a heterosexual... mostly, this one offends me

I don't understand that. Can you please explain? Do heterosexual people not wink? Or do they not smile?

BTW, Bipolar isn't a noun. The word bipolar describes someone who has one of the few Bipolar Disorders. You can't be "a bipolar" any more than you can be "a cancerous".

I never realised that the emoticons were Hitler. If it was my board I'd remove them. I'd probably remove them all.

snotjello · Post by **snotjello** » Sun May 09, 2004 12:00 am

Cranberry wrote:
snotjello wrote: - as a heterosexual... mostly, this one offends me
I don't understand that. Can you please explain?

Yes you do, and no.

Cranberry wrote: BTW, Bipolar isn't a noun. The word bipolar describes someone who has one of the Bipolar Disorders. You can't be "a bipolar" any more than you can be a "cancerous".

It was a joke. :roll: I was trying to keep the cadence of the other statements. Bipolar also isn't capitalized, or "disorders", but I deduced your meaning anyway.

Jack · Post by **Jack** » Sun May 09, 2004 12:11 am

If I understood what you meant, I wouldn't have asked.

I can understand the Hitler face, the tomatoe face and the sleepy face; they're all clear. But the winky face is just a wink and a smile on a yellow circle. I don't get why heterosexual people would be offended.

snotjello · Post by **snotjello** » Sun May 09, 2004 12:16 am

Cranberry wrote:If I understood what you meant, I wouldn't have asked.

I can understand the Hitler face, the tomatoe face and the sleepy face; they're all clear. But the winky face is just a wink and a smile on a yellow circle. I don't get why heterosexual people would be offended.

Neither do I. Ask one.