
Official FAQ on CoC Changes and Pronouns - ronsor
https://meta.stackexchange.com/questions/334900/official-faq-on-gender-pronouns-and-code-of-conduct-changes
======
Freak_NL
> Q9: Do I have to use pronouns I’m unfamiliar or uncomfortable with (e.g.,
> neopronouns like xe, zir, ne... )? > > Yes, if those are stated by the
> individual.

Am I reading this right that if a user states their pronouns in their profile,
and those pronouns are neopronouns such as bun/buns/bunself, that the only
accepted way to refer to that person is via those pronouns?

~~~
Traster
>If people are requesting things in bad faith, you are welcome to escalate to
mods and mods can contact us CMs when in doubt too. - Cesar M

So yeah, if you think the pronouns are just trolling you're welcome to report
it.

~~~
breakingcups
The first few responses to that:

"The unfamiliar cases, rather than trolls, could be troublesome."

"@CesarM How does one know if something is requested in bad faith, especially
if it's a "neopronoun" they've never seen before? Who says that one pronoun is
any less legitimate than another?"

"@CesarM How do we determine what is requested in bad faith? What, exactly, is
a pronoun? If a user requests "qwfg" and "poiu" as pronouns are those bad
faith or just new neo-pronouns? I know that's kind of a trolling question but
as a moderator I need to know how to respond when a troll tries that."

"@CesarM but how in the world would you moderate if someone is doing it in bad
faith or not? Wouldn't simply saying 'no one would choose a pronoun like
attack-helicopter' be invalidating an individual's feelings, especially if
they're being genuine."

"I've actually seen a case, in general discussion around neopronouns, where
someone mentioned an example and someone else said "please keep this
discussion to real pronouns, it's not helpful to use made-up ones as an
example" only to realise that those were actually real (accepted)
neopronouns."

"@CesarM that's a whole can of worms you're opening there. The Church of the
Flying Spaghetti Monster is the embodiment of this. Court cases by members of
them have been won in lots of (Western) countries, precisely because a judge
cannot determine whether something is bad-faith or a religion. If I state my
religion requires you to address me as "attack-helicopter", you have to. Who
are you to judge my religion? This is why pastafarians have managed to go on
passport photos in most Western countries with a sieve on their heads."

"This could easily be weaponized by trolls. VERY easily."

"@CesarM I think many people would like to hear an answer on what your
definition of "bad faith" is. How do you determine this, and is your
definition the same as all the other mods? How do you know someone's
intentions and feelings over the internet? Are you going to question the
person about it? Do you grill them until they break and have them use whatever
pronouns you deem "acceptable"? Do you have a master list of "accepted"
pronouns and rejected ones? Although the intentions are good, I think policing
language in this way is a slippery slope."

~~~
Freak_NL
The comparison with the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster seems apt and
sprang to my mind as well reading that FAQ.

------
dang
We changed the URL from that of a comment
([https://meta.stackexchange.com/questions/334900/official-
faq...](https://meta.stackexchange.com/questions/334900/official-faq-on-
gender-pronouns-and-code-of-conduct-changes#comment1099863_334909)) to that of
the page.

