Over the past couple of weeks there have been some intensive discussions taking place between the staff members here at World Affairs Board (WAB) regarding the use of the term "pure land" when referring to Pakistan. Some of our members (in particular Indian members) believe that there is nothing wrong with using this term because it is not in itself vulgar. Other members however (in particular Pakistani members) believe that this term is an offensive and derogatory way to refer to their nation.
Unfortunately, this matter was not a clean cut moderation issue for us like so many other issues. We did however have to come to a decision one way or the other about how we were going to handle this matter because it appeared to be upsetting a lot of our fellow members and not just those from India or Pakistan. I herby announce that as a privately owned discussion forum the use of the term "pure land" is banned at World Affairs Board (WAB). This decision is not open for debate.
Like I said above, not everyone finds this term offensive or derogatory. I personally don't find it offensive or derogatory but then I am not from Pakistan. I do however think it is only fair that since most of our Pakistani members seem to find this term offensive that it is no longer used to refer to their nation. If anything else this is about extending good manners to your fellow WAB members.
I would also ask that all of our members (not just Indians and Pakistanis) use a polite term when referring to another nation which would be acceptable to citizens of that nation as a whole. The easiest way is simply to refer to countries by their official names. E.g. United States, Germany, United Kingdom, Pakistan, Canada, Japan, India etc. then there won't be any problems.
Please understand that this was a difficult decision for us, but it is one we decided to take in order to protect WAB's integrity as a friendly discussion forum and to ensure that it doesn't go the way of so many other political message boards. I won't name any names here, but I am sure you all know what boards I am referring to.
Thank you for reading and if necessary adjusting your posting style to comply with this new rule to ensure that World Affairs Board (WAB) remains a friendly discussion forum for people of all nations to visit and post at.
- Chris
Unfortunately, this matter was not a clean cut moderation issue for us like so many other issues. We did however have to come to a decision one way or the other about how we were going to handle this matter because it appeared to be upsetting a lot of our fellow members and not just those from India or Pakistan. I herby announce that as a privately owned discussion forum the use of the term "pure land" is banned at World Affairs Board (WAB). This decision is not open for debate.
Like I said above, not everyone finds this term offensive or derogatory. I personally don't find it offensive or derogatory but then I am not from Pakistan. I do however think it is only fair that since most of our Pakistani members seem to find this term offensive that it is no longer used to refer to their nation. If anything else this is about extending good manners to your fellow WAB members.
I would also ask that all of our members (not just Indians and Pakistanis) use a polite term when referring to another nation which would be acceptable to citizens of that nation as a whole. The easiest way is simply to refer to countries by their official names. E.g. United States, Germany, United Kingdom, Pakistan, Canada, Japan, India etc. then there won't be any problems.
Please understand that this was a difficult decision for us, but it is one we decided to take in order to protect WAB's integrity as a friendly discussion forum and to ensure that it doesn't go the way of so many other political message boards. I won't name any names here, but I am sure you all know what boards I am referring to.
Thank you for reading and if necessary adjusting your posting style to comply with this new rule to ensure that World Affairs Board (WAB) remains a friendly discussion forum for people of all nations to visit and post at.
- Chris
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