How Do The Mods Define "Racism"?

So this is GS's policy regarding discriminatory language;

- No personal attacks or use of discriminatory language

Including but not limited to hateful personal attacks against other members, sexism, racism, homophobic slurs or similar statements. Ad hominem and other distracting attacks do not add anything to the conversation.

Okay, fair enough, but what is 'racism' as far as the Mods are concerned?

The reason I ask is because there have been a few members in the OT threads who have promoted views and beliefs, largely based on anecdotal and even unsubstantiated information, that meet the textbook definition of racism in accordance with Webster and Oxford.

One of the definitions by Webster state that racism is;

the belief that some races of people are better than others; http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/racism

Oxford articulates roughly the same meaning;

The belief that all members of each race possess characteristics, abilities, or qualities specific to that race, especially so as to distinguish it as inferior or superior to another race or races: https://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/racism

Now I've flagged a few comments that were made by members whose statements, I believe, meet the standards of racism as defined by Webster and Oxford. That is, certain members have made comments promoting the belief that Blacks, in general, are inferior because of their traits; violence, lack of morals/ethics, criminality etc. So far, none of the statements have been deleted.

Do these comments not meet the requirements of what you all would consider "racist"? If not, then what would?

I've flagged a few comments that were made by members whose statements, I believe, meet the standards of racism as defined by Webster and Oxford. That is, certain members have made comments promoting the belief that Blacks, in general, are inferior because of their traits; violence, lack of morals/ethics, criminality etc. So far, none of the statements have been deleted.

Sorry to hear that there have been some oversights regarding moderation. If you're interested, I would like to invite you to PM myself as well as our Community Manager @DigitalDame with the content in question.

Well I appreciate that and I've submitted my complaints. Generally speaking, however; what is racism? What is the formula for determining whether or not a comment is racist?

Well, I'm sure you all will define it when y'all get a chance. May not be necessary though, as the GS staff saw fit to care of a certain shockingly racist thread. "Hate-filled" was the term they used.

So I guess you've answered my question.

Racism or hate speech includes any gesture or conduct, writing, or display that may incite violence, hostility, or prejudicial action against a protected individual or group. This also includes content that disparages or intimidates a protected individual or group from existing within the community.

A reminder to other users, please ensure you read the rules for this forum here.

"5) Only a member of the moderation staff and the topic creator can reply to a topic. This is done to ensure that any answer given to a topic is as accurate as possible."

Responses from other users will be deleted.

@isturbo1984:

Rule number five of Ask the Mods:

5) Only a member of the moderation staff and the topic creator can reply to a topic. This is done to ensure that any answer given to a topic is as accurate as possible.

To date, there has only been a single exception to this rule and that was a staff decision. Please keep that in mind, moving forward.

Thank you.