Topic: Microsoft Confirms "Gaywood" Is An Offensive Surname, Mr. Gaywood Responds

[Chozo Ghost]

http://consumerist.com/2008/05/microsoft-confirms-gaywood-is-an-offensive-surname-mr-gaywood-responds.html

Microsoft has confirmed to Richard that   his name is, in fact, offensively sexual and will not be reinstated   as his gamertag. (Kotaku posted   their rationale, if you care to read it.) We've got Mr. Gaywood's   response, inside.                 Richard says:
I have swapped several emails with Stephen Toulouse, the   Microsoft staffer who seems to be responsible for the press briefings on   this (he was the one who gave the followup story to Kotaku). Firstly,   he confirmed my enforced change was /not/ because my tag is the same as   my name and /was/ because my tag is deemed to be offensive. I've sent   him the following as an email querying a few more details.
Ah, good. Thank you for clearing that up. I also noticed last   night that I cannot enter my last name in the Real Name field of my Xbox   profile, although I can put it in the Bio section -- does it become   less offensive a few inches further down the screen? I tried Heterowood   and Homowood too (both were barred) but Straightwood was allowed, oddly.   Even the words "Unix" and "Linux" seem to be barred from the Real Name   field, which I find rather bizarre. I also note that this was a system   generated response, and not the result of a complaint about me

WTF?! This man can't use Xbox Live just because his Surname is "Gaywood"?! That's what he was born with!

[GearBoxClock]

Richard Gaywood?

That

Wow

I

I don't have anything to say besides uproarious laughter

[nickmitch]

Epic lolz.

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

Dick Homotree

my gosh

[Chozo Ghost]

Well, I really shouldn't say this but if you shorten the name Richard it becomes Dick. So he could be called Dick Gaywood...

[Chozo Ghost]

Dick Homotree

my gosh

Once upon a time the word Gay meant Happy or Merry instead of Homosexual.

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

Happy Trees are not allowed in Xbox World.  They are too green and too happy.

Better you were a rock, miserable, and grey.

[ShyGuy]

I'm no fan of frivolous lawsuits, but he should sue Microsoft.

[Chozo Ghost]

I also find it hilarious that MS claims they do it because it is offensive to other gamers, when in fact the XBOX LIVE thing is about the most offensive and least family-friendly thing in all of the world. When you have a bunch of teenagers and 20-somethings playing online with voice chat you can't expect it to be a kid friendly environment, so banning the word GAY in people's names is just ridiculous, because other gamers use that and far worse words all the time in voice chat.

[Ian Sane]

Word bans should be limited to obvious swearwords.  Someone can have a real name with "gay" in it.  "Gaylord" is a first name.  "Gaye" is a last name.  "Dick" can be an offensive term but it's also a name.  "Sexsmith" is a name (and the coolest one ever, is that like being a blacksmith of gettin' it on?)
 
On the Sportsnet forums the word "black" is banned, because of concerns of racism.  So describing something that is literally the colour black is a challenge.  Worst censorship overkill I've ever encountered.
 
Save this stuff for words like "****" where there isn't really any legitimate use for the word.
 
Though I have a feeling Richard Gaywood goes by "Rick".  Seriously though what sort of horrible parents are so cruel or oblivious to come up with that name?  Should it not be obvious when coming up with a name to try to think of obvious teases one could use and try to avoid them?  I swear some people completely forget what it was like to be a child.

[UncleBob]

What a really old story... weird.

[ThePerm]

at least i don't have a gay surname

[BlackNMild2k1]

What a really old story... weird.

May 2008

I wonder how someone would run across it now.
I actually remember this story from almost 2 years ago..... is there some sort of update to it or something?

[Chozo Ghost]

What a really old story... weird.

May 2008

I wonder how someone would run across it now.
I actually remember this story from almost 2 years ago..... is there some sort of update to it or something?

I was researching the slimbox360 and this came up. It may be an old article but it was new to me and I don't think it was ever posted here so I figured why not?

[KDR_11k]

Happy Trees are not allowed in Xbox World.  They are too green and too happy.

Better you were a rock, miserable, and grey.

Happy Tree Friends are allowed though.

[BranDonk Kong]

This is a very old story, and Microsoft has actually changed their policy. Now, names like this will *not* get you banned, and you are also allowed to express your sexual "preference" in your motto, etc., without getting in any trouble. Very old and misleading story (since the policy was changed).

[Stratos]

Remember the time when 'Celda' was considered a banned word and people were forbidden to post it on forums because it incited flame wars about Wind Waker and Zelda in general?

[ThePerm]

lol, and then Celda became one of the most beloved Zelda games in recent times

[Ian Sane]

  Remember the time when 'Celda' was considered a banned word and people were forbidden to post it on forums because it incited flame wars about Wind Waker and Zelda in general? 

Yeah, I didn't like that.  "Gimmick" and "kiddy" have been banned words before as well.  I'm surprised "waggle" hasn't been.
 
I prefer if banned words were limited to offensive terms.  I see the desire to prevent flame wars through censorship to be an overreaction.  Legitimate discussion ends up getting censored and discouraged.  This just makes things worse as it creates a rift between the two sides of the topic, as one group feels they are not getting a fair chance to share their opinion.  These "forbidden" topics always pop up anyway.  Without discussion a forum is just a bunch of fanboy-gushing nonsense.  What is important is that these remain as civil discussions, instead of petty arguments.

[Plugabugz]

On the Sportsnet forums the word "black" is banned,

Refer to it as midnight sunset. And seeing as you're being obtuse, refer to every other colour as lengthy as possible. White is now daytime glaze!

[Mop it up]

With a name like Richard Gaywood, this person has worse problems than being banned from XBox Live.

[Chozo Ghost]

Banning the names of colors is about as retarded as you can get. So what do we call that new black Wii that comes out in May if its racist to use the word black?

[BlackNMild2k1]

The New African American Wii.....

we've been through this before.

[Stratos]

Is there anything wrong with calling a person 'white' or 'black'? I mean, I'm the first 'white boy' my gf has dated and I have no problem with that term. And I've not met a black person who has been bothered by the term 'black'. In fact, some of them seem to be bothered when they hear the term 'African-American'. The term seems kinda funny if they are born in America and their family has been American for generations. Am I a Scottish/Dutch/whatever-else-American? Is my girlfriend a Guatemalan-American? It feels rather silly to me.

[Chozo Ghost]

You're supposed to call whites "Chalkasians", because of their Chalky complexion.