14 Oct 10, 11:09AM
Politics aside (things like freedom of speech, etc), the question of whether a name such as "God_isn't_Real" should be viewed with tolerance or not, is considerably more complicated than one may think.
For example, if someone's name is "I_Love_Buddha", he would not be blacklisted. He is merely expressing his religious belief and his love for Buddha. In such a case, almost everyone would find it acceptable.
Interestingly, a name such as "Dawkins_is_Awesome" would likely draw no offense either. This is because it is a 'positive' statement rather than a 'negative' one.
People are more offended about negativities than positives (eg, you can say "Allah sucks" and people will be offended, but say "Vishnu is awesome" and no one would really mind, or "Asians pwn" and "Asians suck" with the latter drawing some controversy). Why? Because when it is 'positive', it does not seem targeted, and it probably is not.
But, a name like "God_isn't_Real" is not positive or negative. The simple fact that it does not appear positive (it is not saying "ILOVEATHEISM") leads people to believe it is negative, and therefore feel offended. The reality is that it is a neutral statement. It does not support atheism and does not denounce religion--and therefore, not deserving of being blacklisted or kicked.
For example, if someone's name is "I_Love_Buddha", he would not be blacklisted. He is merely expressing his religious belief and his love for Buddha. In such a case, almost everyone would find it acceptable.
Interestingly, a name such as "Dawkins_is_Awesome" would likely draw no offense either. This is because it is a 'positive' statement rather than a 'negative' one.
People are more offended about negativities than positives (eg, you can say "Allah sucks" and people will be offended, but say "Vishnu is awesome" and no one would really mind, or "Asians pwn" and "Asians suck" with the latter drawing some controversy). Why? Because when it is 'positive', it does not seem targeted, and it probably is not.
But, a name like "God_isn't_Real" is not positive or negative. The simple fact that it does not appear positive (it is not saying "ILOVEATHEISM") leads people to believe it is negative, and therefore feel offended. The reality is that it is a neutral statement. It does not support atheism and does not denounce religion--and therefore, not deserving of being blacklisted or kicked.