Town of Salem Game Forums

I know the developers have a no-tolerance policy on pedophilia, and I agree that the exploitation (sexual, in this case) of minors is unacceptable. However, I feel as if the rules might be going a little off-track. For example, I would definitely get banned if I used the IGN "Pedophile". I'm fine with this, but it's just that it can be the only thing to give you a permanent ban. The word "Pedophile" doesn't inherently refer to anything wrong, but does have a direct correlation with pedophilia. Pedophile does not refer to someone who exploits or does anything negative based on their sexual attraction, just like how heterosexual doesn't refer to someone who exploits or does anything negative to the opposite sex. In short, "Pedophile" is not to "child exploiter" as "Heterosexual" is not to "opposite-sex exploiter". The real problem comes in when people with the IGN "Pedophile" start to act as a child molester, and start describing unacceptable acts. It enforces the stereotype that all pedophiles exploit children for their sexual content, while also directly referring to child exploitation. Simply banning people just because the have the IGN "Pedophile" is setting a bad example, since it implies that Pedophiles are inherently bad since they are related to pedophilia. I feel that bans on pedophilia should be more directed, instead of having a perma-ban. The IGN "Pedophile" should get a suspention, as a way of saying "your IGN might have been taken the wrong way by multiple individuals", rather than the perma-ban that states "anything related to pedophilia is unacceptable". Once any player crosses the line into "child exploitation", however, they definitely deserve a perma-ban.

In short, is there a reason why the IGN "Pedophile" is immediately perma-bannable?
Also, what is everyone's stance on this topic?

that's what zero-tolerance means, isn't it

WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK

You do realize that children can't consent, right?

This argument is just as retarded as the Hebephile one

Well there you have it.

I've made similar arguments to the OP a few times in the past, and I have gotten agreement from a few others, but the moral panic tends to drown everything out.

There's not much you can do when people respond with abject horror at the idea that people who remind you of pedophiles should be treated a little more kindly.

Do you not fucking realize that Pedophile nowadays has lost it's original meaning and is now just a buzzword for all child-related sexual acts
By it's definition, of course even kids can be pedophiles, but like no one fucking cares because all the terms have been jumbled up together so much that the term has been permanently etched in the explicit definition and there's no right way of fixing this without receiving mountains of misunderstandings
tl;dr fuck outta here with your technical bs

OP, have you seen this related thread already?: Anime Community (¨Loli¨)

Anything related to Pedophilia is strictly enforced because BMG does not want to be associated with its contents and implications.
It would give ToS a bad image, or negatively impact the overall community, game, and company.

cob709 wrote:Anything related to Pedophilia is strictly enforced because BMG does not want to be associated with its contents and implications.
It would give ToS a bad image, or negatively impact the overall community, game, and company.

This goes well beyond that.

why is this a thread

Flake wrote:Do you not fucking realize that Pedophile nowadays has lost it's original meaning and is now just a buzzword for all child-related sexual acts
By it's definition, of course even kids can be pedophiles, but like no one fucking cares because all the terms have been jumbled up together so much that the term has been permanently etched in the explicit definition and there's no right way of fixing this without receiving mountains of misunderstandings
tl;dr fuck outta here with your technical bs

Okay, okay. I'll stop then. Still, people have to realize the same thing was done with homosexuals a few decades back. I still think BMG shouldn't enforce the stereotype, though, and just simplify the rule to anything related to the exploitation of minors, so it's not just the sexual part of it. That includes, but is not restricted to, forcing a child to do criminal acts, forcing them to do labour, and being used by physically and psychologically abusive individuals. To be honest, it doesn't matter if you dislike pedophilia, it's better if the rules directly cover all those unacceptable topics.

Brilliand wrote:OP, have you seen this related thread already?: Anime Community (¨Loli¨)

Yes, but that is a bit more controversial, even more than this. The main reason why this is not accepted is because "Pedophile" has a bad stereotype, and references unacceptable things. The term "Loli", on the other hand, officially means multiple things. The term "Lolita" is technically not related to the exploitation of children, since it says it is "without connotations of victimization". However, the sexualization of children definitely is exploitation when done on a public, or even private, scale, especially when it affects society's view on the topic. "Lolicon", is a bit more controversial, but it still is the sexualization of children, so it also is unacceptable. "Lolita fashion", on the other hand, has nearly nothing to do with the exploitation of children, and is, quite literally, a culture. This term, however, is generally less popular than the other two. Overall, I think the term "Loli" is definitely more controversial than the term "Pedophilia".

The reason I bring this topic up is because the stereotype is especially harmful, not only to pedophiles, but to society themselves. The ongoing sexualization of children (especially young girls) is definitely not because of pedophiles, and blaming it on the term "pedophile" is not only harmful to pedophiles themselves, but also for society, which has a hard time actually fixing the problem because of this.

Harryyoshi wrote:

Flake wrote:Do you not fucking realize that Pedophile nowadays has lost it's original meaning and is now just a buzzword for all child-related sexual acts
By it's definition, of course even kids can be pedophiles, but like no one fucking cares because all the terms have been jumbled up together so much that the term has been permanently etched in the explicit definition and there's no right way of fixing this without receiving mountains of misunderstandings
tl;dr fuck outta here with your technical bs

Okay, okay. I'll stop then. Still, people have to realize the same thing was done with homosexuals a few decades back. I still think BMG shouldn't enforce the stereotype, though, and just simplify the rule to anything related to the exploitation of minors, so it's not just the sexual part of it. That includes, but is not restricted to, forcing a child to do criminal acts, forcing them to do labour, and being used by physically and psychologically abusive individuals. To be honest, it doesn't matter if you dislike pedophilia, it's better if the rules directly cover all those unacceptable topics.

Homosexuality is a completely fucking different thing from pedophilia. Are you implying you fucking WANT pedophilia to be normalized?

I'm not gonna post anything else because this thread makes me fucking sick.