#Draft of notice re: disparaging popular terms from Black English

168 messages · Page 1 of 1 (latest)

dull valley
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Hi everyone, mods have been discussing some concerns raised about how our community sometimes talks about language trends, especially those from Black English. We decided it would be good to post a community-wide message about it to promote a more inclusive environment. I wanted to share a draft here first to get your thoughts. We don't want to police language, just encourage more thoughtful discussions and prevent any potential harm. Please share your feedback!

Friendly reminder: Let's be mindful of how we discuss language trends, especially those originating from Black English. Using terms like "brainrot" to describe words like "rizz" can be problematic, as it may unintentionally devalue African American Vernacular English (AAVE) and Black culture. Many popular terms have rich cultural histories we might not be aware of. Instead of disparaging these words, let's appreciate the diversity and evolution of language. If you have concerns about certain terms, consider discussing their impact respectfully rather than using dismissive language.

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CC: @wise gale @weak hamlet @zenith lantern

rose dagger
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the term "brainrot" also feels ableist to me as it derives from the idea that in order to use these words, you would have to be so stupid that you must have a disease that destroys your brain cells

zenith lantern
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lon

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jan Suko o toki sina li pona tawa mi

dull valley
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Thanks! There is also the question of where to put this

dark furnace
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we should make this into a note

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taso, @dull valley , did rizz come from AAVE?

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i know that gyatt did

dull valley
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It’s hard to confirm but it sounds like it did

dark furnace
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ok

dull valley
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Wikipedia is suspiciously silent on it despite having an etymology section

steady masonBOT
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Successfully created note brainrot with ID #32c203!

brainrot

Let's be mindful of how we discuss language trends, especially those originating from Black English. Using terms like "brainrot" to describe words like "gyatt" can be problematic, as it may unintentionally devalue African American Vernacular English (AAVE) and Black culture. Many popular terms have rich cultural histories we might not be aware of. Instead of disparaging these words, let's appreciate the diversity and evolution of language. If you have concerns about certain terms, consider discussing their impact respectfully rather than using dismissive language.

#32c203
dull valley
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They just attribute it to a single person

zenith lantern
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wikipedia says

The phrase was made popular outside the African American community by American YouTuber and Twitch streamer Kai Cenat in mid-2021

dull valley
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Oh, huh, I somehow missed that

dark furnace
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that's why i chose to make the note "gyatt"

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because we know for sure about that one

dull valley
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I think we can say for sure about "rizz"

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It's also the one more commonly found in the same sentence with "brainrot" on this server

dark furnace
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oh no i'm part of the problem

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well i am saying it serves a purpose but

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still

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using "brainrot" to describe it

dull valley
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(I wouldn't normally call people out like this but I figured you wouldn't mind a little friendly payback for the headnoun thing ehehe)

dark furnace
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a a a

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yeah

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i've gotten 15 people

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i deserve some payback

dull valley
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Oh nice you already edited it in, thanks!

dark furnace
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useful if so

dull valley
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yes, I have edited a great deal of 'em at this point

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mostly cleaning up spam

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I even stirred up the developer of the note bot to make improvements, which you may have seen get posted as updates in wile kulupu

dark furnace
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ah pona

raw flicker
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So uh

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I think for this

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we'd need to like

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Make this REALLY common knowledge

dull valley
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Right, which is why I feel like a kose kata note is not sufficient

raw flicker
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I had absolutely no clue it was AFRICAN AMERICAN slang

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I though Gen Alpha just invented something

dark furnace
dull valley
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But also I don't think it should be posted in this state, this is just a draft

dark furnace
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but gyatt is

raw flicker
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Maybe it's common knowledge in the west but

dark furnace
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gyatt comes from "gyatt damn" < "god damn"

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rizz has

raw flicker
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I would never have guessed this had anything to do with African American communities

dark furnace
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unknown origins

raw flicker
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That's the origin, right

dark furnace
raw flicker
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Wait what

dark furnace
raw flicker
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Oh

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Wow

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I never knew

dark furnace
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this part

dull valley
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It was definitely popularized by Black culture, regardless of whether it is a word that is "officially" in Black English (whatever that might mean) or not

dark furnace
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yeah

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for sure

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many modern day slang words come from that

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not "skibidi" though

dull valley
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right

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so describing usage of the word "rizz" with the term "brainrot" is racist in that sense

dark furnace
dull valley
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Oh I missed this msg, one sec

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Yeah, that seems like a good idea

raw flicker
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If they are aware

dull valley
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You're using a stale definition of the term "racist"

raw flicker
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Then they might be racist

dark furnace
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and why hate on an entire generation?

dull valley
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I'm using it like this: it hurts Black people

raw flicker
dull valley
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That is a racist action whether the person is doing it intentionally or not

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And we don't need to judge the person

dark furnace
dull valley
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We just identify that the action is racist and try to eliminate it

raw flicker
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I'll personally try to make some of my friends aware of this but

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I'd say that education about this is important

dark furnace
dull valley
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"Brain rot" or "brainrot" is an internet slang term used to describe jokes about an individual's mental decline from consuming mindless or low-quality content online.
This definition is already showing how the term perpetuates stereotypes of mental ilness.

raw flicker
dull valley
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We can just say something like:

"Brain rot" or "brainrot" is an internet slang term used to describe jokes about an individual's mental decline from consuming mindless or low-quality content online. This perpetuates stereotypes about the causes of mental illness, so we should avoid it.

dark furnace
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ok

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jan Suko is AI

dull valley
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Haha but do you seek to silence me

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Or should I change how I write posts meant for an unknown public?

dark furnace
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no it's just funny

raw flicker
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Specifically, the technology dependence of segments of gen Alpha

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caused by parental neglect

dull valley
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Terms that are kind and compassionate

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not mocking and dismissive

raw flicker
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Ughh

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I wish english was lojban

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Minimal connotations to words

dark furnace
dull valley
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reasonable

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ahaha

raw flicker
raw flicker
dark furnace
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true

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perhaps we should consider changing some things around

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"Brain rot" or "brainrot" is an internet slang term used to describe jokes about an individual's mental decline from consuming mindless or low-quality content online. ⁤⁤This perpetuates stereotypes about the causes of mental illness, so we should avoid it. ⁤⁤Using terms such as "brainrot" to describe words like "rizz" or "gyatt" can also be problematic in other ways., as it could unintentionally devalue African American Vernacular English (also known as AAVE) and Black culture. ⁤Please be mindful of how we discuss language trends, especially those originating from Black English. ⁤⁤ ⁤⁤Many popular terms could have rich cultural histories we might not be aware of. ⁤⁤Instead of disparaging these words, we should appreciate the diversity and evolution of language. ⁤⁤If you have concerns about certain words, consider discussing their impact respectfully rather than using dismissive language.

dull valley
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Well I'm 34 and I was in customer support / tech support for like a decade

dark furnace
raw flicker
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Lemme try to write it out

dark furnace
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still what do you think

dull valley
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Paragraph break at "… Black culture. // Please be mindful …"

dark furnace
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ok

dull valley
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⁤⁤Instead of disparaging these words, we should appreciate the diversity and evolution of language.
This sounds dumb now that I'm looking at it after some time has passed

dark furnace
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⁤"Brainrot" is an internet slang term used to describe jokes about an individual's mental decline from consuming "mindless" or low-quality content online. ⁤⁤However, this perpetuates stereotypes about the causes of mental illness, so we should avoid using it. ⁤⁤Using terms such as "brainrot" to describe words like "rizz" or "gyatt" (modern day slang) can also be problematic in other ways, as it could unintentionally devalue African American Vernacular English (also known as AAVE) and Black culture, where some of these words originate from. ⁤

⁤Please be mindful of how we discuss language trends, especially those coming from Black English. ⁤⁤Many popular terms could have rich cultural histories we might not be aware of. ⁤⁤If you have concerns about certain words, consider discussing their impact respectfully rather than using dismissive language, such as what has been mentioned above.

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woohoo

image.png
dull valley
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Oh yeah I guess it can just be deleted, that seems good! I was thinking too hard on trying to reword it haha

dark furnace
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humans finally sound human 🎊

dull valley
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Ha, it must have been that sentence

dark furnace
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yes chatgpt does seem to often try to have sentences that inspire

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even if it's already been said

dull valley
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Interesting point

raw flicker
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Rate this:
Brainrot is a slang word used to describe "Mental decline from consuming 'low quality'" content. It has ableist connotations, so it's better to avoid it. Using "brainrot" to describe "gen alpha" terms like "rizz" and "gyatt" is also problematic in another way, as those words derive from Black slang, so it's (mostly unintentionally) racist.

When discussing language, it's best to analyze how it came about before thinking about it. Moreover, be kind and compassionate when discussing children with technology dependence! Please don't be rude, and think about what you're saying before you say something.

dark furnace
raw flicker
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Yeah

dark furnace
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"children with technology dependence due to parental neglect!"

raw flicker
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I should try to break it up

dark furnace
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how about "modern day slang"

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we don't need to mention the children at all

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i know some adults who use rizz

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unironically

raw flicker
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Those kids deserve some compassion, which is often forgotten
And in a discussion about the terms "brainrot" and stuff like it, I feel like that's important to give even a passing mention

dull valley
raw flicker
dark furnace
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Brainrot is a slang word used to describe mental decline from consuming "low quality" content. It has ableist connotations, such as maintaining stereotypes about the causes of mental illness. so it's better to avoid it. Using "brainrot" to describe modern slang terms like "rizz" and "gyatt" is also problematic in another way, as those words derive from African American Vernacular English.

When discussing language, it's best to analyze how it came about and what it implies. Be kind and compassionate when discussing modern day slang!

raw flicker
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Is it fine not to capitalise it?

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So uh

dull valley
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Black should be capitalized and white should not 😅

raw flicker
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I reworded that a bit

raw flicker
dark furnace
raw flicker
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I need to educate myself a bit more on this stuff

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I'm pretty well aware when antiracism to do with asians but

dark furnace
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i hate how the word "asians" today in the western world refers to the CJK area

raw flicker
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(when I use Asia, I'm reffering to the whole continent. India to Indonesia to Egypt)

dull valley
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It's too bread haha I wish people always at least put cardinal directions next to that word

dark furnace
dull valley
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seems great! And shorter

raw flicker
dark furnace
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relooking at the original, it does seem slightly AI genned

steady masonBOT
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Edited note #32c203!

mijun Niwe (ping reply!) (nerd1729)
brainrot

Brainrot is a slang word used to describe mental decline from consuming "low quality" content. It has ableist connotations, such as maintaining stereotypes about the causes of mental illness. so it's better to avoid it. Using "brainrot" to describe modern slang terms like "rizz" and "gyatt" is also problematic in another way, as those words derive from African American Vernacular English.

When discussing language, it's best to analyze how it came about and what it implies. Be kind and compassionate when discussing modern day slang!

#32c203 | Created on 2024-07-27T00:12:26.599412997Z UTC
dark furnace
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wait grammar issue

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i'll fix in jaki

raw flicker
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Rate this:
Brainrot is a slang word used to describe "Mental decline from consuming 'low quality'" content. It has ableist connotations by supporting certain connotations about mental illness, so it's better to avoid it. Using "brainrot" to describe "gen alpha" terms like "rizz" and "gyatt" is also problematic in another way, as those words derive from Black slang, so it's (mostly unintentionally) racist.

When discussing language, it's best to analyze how it came about before talking about it. Please don't be rude, and think about what you're saying before you say something.

dark furnace
raw flicker
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Oki

dark furnace
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do /peek brainrot

raw flicker
rose dagger
signal nimbus
agile mulch