As we continue to work towards making Hexbear safe and enjoyable for all comrades, we need to address several issues brought to our attention by members of marginalized communities. Starting now, we are clarifying and fully enforcing the following policies.
Misogyny and Gendered Insults
Terms rooted in misogyny are and always have been against Hexbear Code of Conduct. This includes terms such as: ‘bitch’, ‘c**t’, ‘pussy’. Despite the pervasiveness of these terms in the modern vernacular, they are alienating and unwelcoming to femme comrades and are unacceptable to use, even against men.
Terms like ‘Karen’ are also problematic, as they’re often used to shut down valid concerns of women entirely. Instead of labeling someone a Karen, be more specific about your concerns. Talk about how the capitalist master/slave dichotomy is used by privileged people to get their treats faster. Talk about white fragility and weaponizing the police against the marginalized and impoverished. An ounce of material analysis is worth a metric ton of buzzwords.
Ableist Language
Terms rooted in ableism are and always have been against Hexbear Code of Conduct. This includes terms such as: the ‘REEEE’ meme, ‘schizo’, ‘NEET’, [insert any others here]. Again, these terms are common in internet/meme culture and are often used outside the explicit context of punching down on ND people, but they are still rooted in ableism and unacceptable in a leftist space.
Racist Language
‘Spook’ is a frequently used term for feds and other imperialist ghouls, but historically it is also a racist slur against black people. In the interest of keeping this space as welcoming as possible for POC comrades, ‘spook’ is not acceptable language for Hexbear. This also includes use of ‘glowies’, ‘w*gger’ (a shockingly common occurance here for some reason), and their variants.
Appearance Based Insults
The biggest example is le_pol_face, fatphobic, “neckbeard” and other jokes or insults that rely upon a physical attribute of the person. Utilize a material analysis or ideological critique of the person being dunked upon rather than physical characteristics, this is to aid comrades who may share these physical characteristics. Shifting to an ideological or materialist critique not only allows us to engage in meaningful discussion but also prevents comrades from being alienated. (As an aside, we’ll go through the emoji compendium to remove relevant images there, such as the pol face, once the devs are free to do so)
We’re adding these clarifications at the behest of many community members and moderators who have pointed out reactionary rhetoric and attitudes still present here. In all honesty, this should have been done sooner, and we’re sincerely sorry to any comrades who’ve felt their concerns haven’t been acted upon. We appreciate and encourage the feedback as we keep working to make Hexbear a safer place for everyone.
Any further concerns or good-faith discussion regarding these updated policies can be posted in /c/feedback.
