I'll take it even further, I don't even like the use of the word "scum" in games.I'm fine with Scum
Some words I've seen used in place are Elimination, Execution and lesser used Hang.Hang seems too synonyms to me, I probably would take that off the possibility list. Elimination's ambiguity makes it the best choice in general, I think. Flavor specific words are always nice in heavily themed games.
I've been exclusively using lim lolSome words I've seen used in place are Elimination, Execution and lesser used Hang.Hang seems too synonyms to me, I probably would take that off the possibility list. Elimination's ambiguity makes it the best choice in general, I think. Flavor specific words are always nice in heavily themed games.
So I looked up how often the words "scum" and "lynch" are used in our games.It's Werewolf Moot. No matter how hard you try people are going to have tense emotions. It's the game not the words being used.
There's not much rhyme or reasons for how often "lynch" has been used in our games, though there's some interesting variation between games. I suspect that a lot of it may do with the "No lynch" vote, which became a requirement to use with the new Werewolf system in recent games. An easy way to reduce our usage of that word would be to change this option to something else. I can see both sides of the argument...on one hand, the word's use by itself isn't racist, but on the other hand in certain communities it is heavily associated with racist motivations.
At the end of the day there's other words that can be used that don't change how the game is played. If there are people that are uncomfortable with the use of that word in Wintreath, then it would be courteous to at least discourage its use.Percentage of Posts with the Word "Lynch" in Werewolf Games2021 - Werewolf 24: Attack on Titan: 34.8%
2018 - Werewolf 14-2: A Werewolf of Ice and Fire (The Wall): 34.4%
2019 - Werewolf 18: Wintreath's Got Talent! - Champions Edition: 33.3%
2015 - Werewolf 3: Yu Gi Oh Abridged: 26.7%
2021 - Lil' Wolf I: Party On, Wolves: 24.8%
2018 - Werewolf 17: Santa's Apprentice: 24.5%
2020 - Werewolf 21: The Beginning of the End - 23.7%
2022 - Werewolf 28: Just Desserts: 22.8%
2016 - Werewolf 7: Star Wars - The Battle Forgotten: 22.9%
2020 - Werewolf 23: A Lord of the Rings Adventure: 20.9%
2022 - Werewolf 26: A New Adventure in Old London: 20.5%
2020 - Werewolf 22: Of Cores and...Turrets? (Take 2): 19.8%
2020 - Werewolf 22: Of Cores and Turrets: 14.2%
2022 - Werewolf 25: When Worlds Collide: 11.8%
2016 - Werewolf 6: Until Dawn - New Chapter: 6.9%
*All other games had fewer than 50 posts with the word lynch
**Includes words made up from lynch
But I'm more concerned with the use of the word "scum". In a community that's supposed to be warm and friendly, and in a Werewolf scene that traditionally saw very friendly games, it's never set right with me that players call each other scum, even in the context of a game...it makes me wonder if it's contributed to the tense emotions that the games sometimes have. And it's only become prominent in our games in the last few years.Percentage of Posts with the Word "Scum" in Werewolf Games2021 - Werewolf 24: Attack on Titan: 40.4%
2021 - Lil' Wolf I: Party On, Wolves: 36.5%
2022 - Werewolf 27: A Golden Affair: 24.4%
2020 - Werewolf 23: A Lord of the Rings Adventure: 21.5%
2020 - Werewolf 22: Of Cores and Turrets: 21.2%
2022 - Werewolf 25: When Worlds Collide: 20.4%
2020 - Werewolf 22-2: Of Cores and... Turrets? (Take 2): 18.2%
2022 - Werewolf 26: A New Adventure in Old London: 14.1%
2022 - Werewolf 28: Just Desserts: 11.4%
2019 - Werewolf 18: Wintreath's Got Talent: 9.9%
2020 - Werewolf 21: The Beginning of the End: 8.9%
2019 - Werewolf 20: Those of No Reflextion: 7.0%
2019 - Werewolf 19: Just a Husk in the Masses: 6.7%
2021 - Botwolf: Welcome to Boneville: 6.0%
2015 - Werewolf 4: Ye Olde Arthurian Legend: 4.1%
*All other games had fewer than 5 posts with the word scum
**Includes words made up from scum such as scumread or scummy
I was against the ban on MU and I am against the ban here. It is a racially charged word in America and nowhere else. The word is short and brutal and has the exact feel it's intended to have: a somewhat unhinged mob engaging in what is essentially a witch hunt. The word scum is also exactly what it sounds like. You think the person might be part of the Mafia. Even this can be a charged term if its intention is not understood in the context of the game. Merriam Webster defines it as a low, vile or worthless person or group of people. It would definitely lend itself to being used in a discrimatory way by some of its users, probably more so than lynch. Lynch is just an action, the same as hang, beheading, execution, etc. And anyone can be hanged, lynched, beheaded, executed, not just people of colour. Banning one word really does call into question a lot of the common vocabulary used in a mafia game. I'm against it in principle, because again, these bans are often reactionary to an Amero-centric worldview.I understand the point you're making but I would argue this is a unique situation. I don't want to go into the history, so I won't, but there is a historical context that makes this particular word unique. I would look at it the same way I would if, instead of 'Lynch', we were using 'Gassed' instead. There is a unique historical context that makes it insensitive to use. The word itself may be neutral, in a vacuum, but there is a context that should be taken into account.
Based on Wikipedia at least, lynchings are still tied to racially-motivated violence across much of the world. And the term also probably originated in the US and is thus inextricably tied to how lynchings were done in the US.Most of the things they list as "lynching" aren't even racially tied.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lynching
A word tied so inextricably to incredible hatred of entire groups of people I'm such a way has absolutely no purpose in a community that is welcoming of people from all over of every background every identity. This is not a US centric word. Lynchings world wide are almost always entangled in hate and violence against a minor peoples. The word was created in the US it was most prominent in KKK Era US. This word is tied and deeply rooted in racism and hate there is no other way to slice it ever.True, it's never used in anything but a hateful context. It's a shitty death reserved for people the mob absolutely despises, but it is not only minority groups it was used against. As you'll see in the part they mention about SA, it was a political tool that some black extremists used to punish traitors to the liberation movement too, or sometimes even against people their leader just didn't like.
I'm cool with anything else being used. Just not that.A word tied so inextricably to incredible hatred of entire groups of people I'm such a way has absolutely no purpose in a community that is welcoming of people from all over of every background every identity. This is not a US centric word. Lynchings world wide are almost always entangled in hate and violence against a minor peoples. The word was created in the US it was most prominent in KKK Era US. This word is tied and deeply rooted in racism and hate there is no other way to slice it ever.True, it's never used in anything but a hateful context. It's a shitty death reserved for people the mob absolutely despises, but it is not only minority groups it was used against. As you'll see in the part they mention about SA, it was a political tool that some black extremists used to punish traitors to the liberation movement too, or sometimes even against people their leader just didn't like.
Which is exactly the point. The vanilla version of this game is a medieval village being terrorised by a shape-shifting monster who eats them. A scenario like that would bring out the worst mob-mentality imaginable.
But yeah, after doing some actual research, it's origins had nothing to do with racism but, similarly to how the swastika became co-opted by the most hateful ideogy imaginable, so too was lynching co-opted by the deep south in racial killings. Source (https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.irishcentral.com/roots/history/irish-origins-lynching.amp)
So yeah, upon reflection, the ban is justified. And as I said, I want a similarly brutal word to replace it.