User blog comment:EvergeenMapping/ogodplsno/@comment-8-20150828171929

Hi,

I've been asked to comment on this from the perspective of the Wikia Terms of Use. Sorry I couldn't get here yesterday, but let's see if I can clarify.

As someone has quoted, the Terms of Use say that you must not "''Post or transmit any [...] content that contains homophobia, ethnic slurs [or] religious intolerance".

I should note that just because a group is not listed in that section, it doesn't mean you can discriminate against them. Discrimination on the basis of gender or gender identity are a problem too. Look up California protected groups for a good overview of what we consider out of bounds (although, obviously, if you get extremely nasty to anyone Wikia staff may choose to intervene).

Next, to this wikia. As I understand it, you are creating fictional/speculative countries based on a future vision on Europe. So the basics of where the line should be are: there can be discrimination within the world, but not by the author.

The line between opinion and prejudiced hate-speech can be a hard one to see. It's okay to say "gay people should not be allowed to get married". It's not okay to say "gay people are evil and dirty so should not be allowed to get married". I don't care if the latter is your opinion, but I care if you bring that to Wikia.

Basically, if you express homophobic or other hateful views, we are no longer interested in having you as part of the Wikia community. What your private views are, and what you express elsewhere, is obviously none of our business.

However, if you use your writing to express those views, then there is really no difference from you expressing them directly. That does not mean that all mentions or scenarios containing discrimination etc. are automatically "hate", but it certainly means they can be. It's possible to write a valid piece with prejudiced characters/laws, it's also possible to write propaganda.

So as general guidelines:


 * It's okay for the country to have discriminatory laws,
 * It's okay for a character to be prejudiced or say prejudiced things,
 * It's not okay for those laws or attitudes to be glorified or used as a way of promoting discrimination.
 * It's okay for a user to be prejudiced, but not okay for them to bring that prejudice to Wikia (i.e not okay to use Wikia to express views that are hateful to others).

One last point. There are certain words, some of which have been used in this thread, that are in themselves offensive slurs. Those are not allowed on Wikia, even in the mouths of characters rather than expressed directly. Please keep all racist and homophobic slurs off this wikia. Thank you.