Because I was waiting for you to school me about it . especially because you didnt even notice about which word is Cliinimuss talking about.

Also I dont believe in censorship. If the word I used is very rude then it should stay there so people see who they're dealing with. And it'll be up to them to share the opinion of Cliinimuss or not.

It’s hard to keep up. I thought handicapped became handicapable. I like the term ‘minimally exceptional’.

I don’t read your posts so only went back to look when I saw the Cliinimuss post.
I try not to engage with childish people as a general rule.

I fully support your demand to allow women to be <r-word>.

No, not <r-word>, <another r-word>.

Perhaps you do . Since you know I'm childish. And probably you are reading them thoroughly so you know I'm childish because you've seen how I'm constant in being either childish or rude or not interesting .

Nope, I stopped reading them a long time ago. I am basing my comment on the assumption that your posts haven’t changed since the time I stopped reading them.
You were neither funny nor entertaining then and I seriously doubt you are now but carry on if you wish and I’ll just continue to ignore you.

I'm touched by your concern (which is actually intended less sarcastically than that sounds), and I may even agree in a general sense. But on this occasion I didn't think it was particularly damaging to be told it was "just friendly stuff".

I used to run a vBulletin forum (like EF) and was quite surprised to find that PMs are visible to anyone with the right privileges, which makes them hardly deserving of their name, "private messages". They're stored in a column in one of the database tables and can be viewed through the back-end interface or through a data export. I'll take FMF's word for it that EF mods don't have access by default but this is just a matter of agreed privileges that could be changed at any time. It's not that I don't trust EF mods but more to protect anyone who has messaged me that I usually give messagers my email address and ask them to contact me offline to avoid them revealing anything confidential.

What's the linguistic term for that effect, where a replacement word is assigned the original's (usually negative) connotation over time?

Fun fact:
In German, retard is used for drug formulas with delayed effect.

Same with the Swiss trains in French & with drugs too.

The question is , from what is written here,

"Quote:fatmanfilms

‘ It was previously used as a medical term. The verb "to retard" means to delay or hold back, and so "retard" became known as a medical term in the late 19th and early 20th centuries to describe children with retarded mental development.[5] Up until around the 1960s, the terms "moron", "idiot", "cretin" and "imbecile" were all genuine, non-offensive terms to refer to people with mental intellectual disabilities and low intelligence. These words were discontinued in that form when concerns arose that they had developed negative meanings, with "retard" and "retarded" replacing them.[6][7] After that, the terms "handicapped" (United States) and "disabled" (United Kingdom) replaced "retard" and "retarded". Disabled is now considered the more polite term in the United States as well.’

We can use retard/retarded in our colloquial speech and usage.. but it would not be acceptable (because those terms have been replaced) to call a ment. disabled person "a retard" , is that right ?

__________________
“Let's just say I was testing the bounds of reality. I was curious to see what would happen. That's all it was: just curiosity.”jm

Is there anyone who can help? Due to my questionable first language credentials, I’m unsure whether I should report post #475 under “pesky” or “buggers”. I’d like to avoid embarrassment and think “pesky” is much more offensive.
BTW: All this new speak about how slang vs. medical terminology evolves isn’t lessening my confusion. I just want to report something!

from https://www.thoughtco.com/semantic-change-words-1692078

But that's generic for semantic shifts. I think there will be something somewhere about PC culture, grammar policing, political taboos linked to lexical fields and counter movements.

This quote is also from the same Wikipedia article

Modern use
"Retard" has transitioned from an impartial term to one that is negatively loaded. For this reason, it is now widely considered degrading even when used in its original context.[8]
Much like today's widely socially acceptable terms idiot and moron, which are also defined as some sort of mental disability, when the term retard is being used in its pejorative form, it is usually not being directed at people with mental disabilities. Instead, people use the term when teasing their friends or as a general insult when in an argument.[9]

And this article might help a bit too ( there are plenty more to choose from if you look.

https://www.aruma.com.au/about-us/bl...ur-vocabulary/

In my opinion it’s about being mindful of people’s feelings and adapting out vocabulary to take them into account. When it was first used ‘retard’ wasn’t used in a negative or perjorative way but it evolved into becoming so and it’s pretty unpleasant for people who have difficulties or disabilities to be mocked in that way.

Some changes are there to make things better and more pleasant for people and this is one example of that, others are just plain ridiculous.

As fmf has already deleted, I won't go back to look. However, I wanted to point out to you that moderators are volunteers. We don't get paid and we're not employees of the company that owns EF. Maybe you didn't know this.

Contrary to what it might seem, we don't all live 24/7 on this forum. Please try to be patient, and don't automatically assume that no action = endorsement of a statement. Particularly when "only" 40 minutes have elapsed on a Saturday.

Happy to help

Wow.

Some of you were clearly dragged up rather than raised. Or as the French say "nourri mais pas élevé" (nourished but not raised/nurtured).

And there is a strong sense of paranoia in the air too. Mind you, just because you're paranoid it doesn't mean they aren't actually out to get you.

It would help if you mentioned what you're referring to. Thanks.

Thank you, I was also wondering, people seem to get outraged very easily without explaining the problem.

I am sure this is a generation thing, I asked my wife about the 'grotesque' pronoun mentioned earlier, her father was a Dr & she has a degree in English. My wife replied it was a medical term. I had to resort to Wikki to realise what the issue was.

Which grotesque pronoun?

To be honest I’m disappointed to read you say that .

I was hoping you might say you had come to see your campaign against MC was mistaken and that was why you were backing down .

I see no reason to say FMF is not being a fair mod .

By the same standards the two mods who were removed were totally out of control, and had been for a long time , and I never saw you complain against them .

So it seems to me you are targeting MC and FMF because you disagree with them. Not because you are concerned about their objectivity.