Microsoft Suspends Gamer For Being From Fort Gay 490
maclizard writes "The town's name is real. But when Josh Moore tried to tell Seattle-based Microsoft and the enforcement team at Xbox Live that Fort Gay was a real place, they wouldn't take his word for it. Or Google it. Or check the US Postal Service website for a ZIP code. I personally feel for those of you from Big Bone Lick, KY."
Someone on XBL try this... (Score:5, Funny)
"Mais oui! The name of my village in France is indeed Goatse! We even have a... how you say... website! [goatse.fr]"
Re:Someone on XBL try this... (Score:5, Informative)
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Why is it inappropriate?
Re:please change your sig (Score:4, Funny)
You might not realize this, but your sig is hostile and transphobic, even if it is a quote by Carlin.
It's inappropriate to refer to a trans woman as a 'transsexual guy'
What if this guy Carlin is referring too has just made his decision and is not yet living as a woman? I think you are really splitting Harry's here.
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Sheesh. All this trouble from a company founded by Bill Gaytes.
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come on, i'm gay, and it made me chuckle.
uptight much ?
Re:please change your sig (Score:4, Informative)
There's the way that men treat women in general (which has its own share of dismissal, ridicule, and voilence), and then there's the way that transphobes react - its a second knife wound that most people simply don't have to deal with, and have absolutely no concept of how much it cuts to the core. And we all encounter it at some point during our transition. And you hope it doesn't get to the point where you have to call the police because you don't know how THEY are going to react.
Of course, these same people couldn't do what we have to do to be ourselves - not for one day, never mind for a lifetime. Could you picture one of them even pretending to have "the talk" with one of their friends? Heck no! They'd volunteer to have their appendix removed without anesthesia first. That's "manly". Same as not asking for directions, leaving their dirty clothes on the floor, and not changing the toilet paper roll when they finish it - or leaving half a square neatly balanced on the roll so they can say they didn't "really" finish it. Come on you guys reading this, fess up, you do this all the time, and it bugs us that you think we're that stupid. It's 3-ply paper, and you leave a one-ply half square sitting there like an orphan, and you're hoping that when we open the door the draft won't blow away your sorry "excuse" for not changing it. You dissect the toilet paper, and then walk around all day making skid marks in your formerly-tidy-whiteys, rather than change the stupid roll of toilet paper.
In many cases, at some level, at least some of the transphobes know that we have more courage than they do. They don't understand that the real act of courage was confronting the issue and looking at the alternatives, ranging from depressing to grim, and then asking for help and acceptance in an uncertain and sometimes-hostile world.
There are posters on slashdot who are still afraid to "come out" about being trans, simply because they know that someone, somewhere, is going to be an ass. So they stay hidden, same as they do in their personal lives - because they are afraid of the consequences of being "discovered". Been there, done that, traded in the tshirt for a bra and skirt. It's what's right for me, and while I'm willing to discuss it with those who have a problem with it, in the end I'm not the one with the problem.
This is not to imply that slashdot is infested with transphobes - quite the contrary. Most of the slashdot crowd is very supportive, and I owe them for that. At least that's been my experience after I wrote this [slashdot.org] and this [slashdot.org] and people began to ask how I knew so much about the whole "woman trapped in the wrongly-gendered body" experience.
On a final note, I guess I really should see if it's possible to change the account name, because when I post something funny and people who don't know go "Dude! That was great!" I'm caught between laughing at the incongruity and going *sigh*. It makes for some interesting back-and-forth. And this account has great karma and lots of equally-great fans.
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Re:please change your sig (Score:5, Insightful)
I don't care what your gender is or was, but this whole section below marks you strongly as a sexist.
Of course, these same people couldn't do what we have to do to be ourselves - not for one day, never mind for a lifetime. Could you picture one of them even pretending to have "the talk" with one of their friends? Heck no! They'd volunteer to have their appendix removed without anesthesia first. That's "manly". Same as not asking for directions, leaving their dirty clothes on the floor, and not changing the toilet paper roll when they finish it - or leaving half a square neatly balanced on the roll so they can say they didn't "really" finish it. Come on you guys reading this, fess up, you do this all the time, and it bugs us that you think we're that stupid. It's 3-ply paper, and you leave a one-ply half square sitting there like an orphan, and you're hoping that when we open the door the draft won't blow away your sorry "excuse" for not changing it. You dissect the toilet paper, and then walk around all day making skid marks in your formerly-tidy-whiteys, rather than change the stupid roll of toilet paper.
None of those things are inherently male. They are all either signs of not giving a shit, or insecurity. I've know plenty of women that do the same thing.
Re:please change your sig (Score:4, Informative)
I'm transgendered as well... I know it's a bit cliche to those that don't understand what we go through, but I've known my entire life. I've struggled with it my entire life, knowing that I can never be accepted for who I am if I reveal myself, finding myself in the position of either rejecting myself (being forced to be something I know I am not) or being rejected by others if I admit who I am. Even that said, I was in denial for a long time, first thinking I was a bit quirky, then thinking I was a cross dresser, then finally admitting to myself that I don't wear womens clothes for the thrill of wearing womens clothes, I do so because that is when I am at peace with myself.
Looking back, I had started modifying myself in subtle ways to find some alignment with my internal gender. I was scared as hell to pierce my ears even though plenty of guys had done it long before me, since I had feared that it would be a strong indicator of what I was hiding inside and despite having a plethora of holes in my ears today, very few people to this day have still seen me with so much as a diamond stud in my ears. I added more hidden girly things over time for myself to enjoy - more ear holes (pieces of monofilament plastic work well to heal and retain them while barely being noticeable), a belly ring, pierced nostril, and shaved legs. I've become bolder in some other aspects, growing my nails out some, wearing clear nail polish, plucking my eyebrows to give them a little neutral definition, wearing heels hidden by pants in public, etc. I've been debating giving myself a permanent acknowledgment of who I am, considering getting maybe the girliest mark of all, a butterfly tramp stamp, but I'm afraid of the consequences of getting accidentally caught since there will be no denying what it is.
Which gets us back to the struggle between who we are inside and what society expects from us based on the outside. My dad has made enough statements in my life that I know he could never accept me and my mom is such a mess herself, that her entire sanity depends on her perception of me somehow being perfect. If I admitted who I was to her, I have no doubts that she'd have a complete psychological breakdown. I'm afraid my two best friends wouldn't handle it well, though I have begun broaching the subject by mocking myself, showing up to last year's Halloween party as a bad mockery of a tranny hooker. That went over well, but as far as they knew, it was a total mockery, just a costume. I have told a few people, all but one of which is female, most of whom have taken it fairly well. Support has ranged from total (followed by a complete betrayal by the same person, so ultimately, that was a lie), to hesitant with much joking to try to come to terms with it, to mostly somewhere in between.
I've struggled with depression for most of my life, even going on long stretches of suicidal depression... for anyone that thinks we wake up one day, wanting to flip a switch to try the other side out for fun, they simply have no clue what we have to go through. Three of the women I've told have been either ex-girlfriends or potential future ones (yeah, haha, I really am a lesbian stuck in a man's body), including the one who eventually betrayed my friendship to make a new suitor happy, and I've come to the conclusion that, while they're fine with what I am as a friend, a more intimate relationship is pretty much out of the question. That, in turn, has caused more despair, as I realize that, sooner or later, I'll almost certainly eventually die alone with dreams that most people take for granted completely unfulfilled. This type of life is hell and nobody would voluntarily choose it. If pedophiles are the one group everyone is encouraged to hate, transsexuals are the one group everyone is encouraged to mock... largely because people don't and, frankly, don't want to, understand us (and sadly, I know quite a few gay people that dislike transsexuals since they're convinced that we're merely gay and would rather change gender to conform to society than admit to ourselves who we are).
All that said, the George Carlin joke doesn't bother me and neither do the tshirts mocking the lesbian stuck in a man's body thing (hell, my best friend used to wear a shirt that said "100% dyke" across the front). We have to be able to poke a little fun at ourselves... it's already hard enough to deal with the seriousness inside to let some gentile jokes bother us. Hell yeah, I'd like to be Mary. Maybe then, I could like myself, not to mention the bonus of knowing that most people wouldn't hate me just for wanting to be who I am.
For those who still don't get it, imagine being born the most horrible disfigurement you can think of, knowing that you can never fix it completely and, even with radical surgery, people will still stare at you like a freak. I can hide well enough as a guy, pretending to be something I'm not since it is what people expect me to be, but I can't hide from myself... if I try to fix align my body to who I am, it is others that I will no longer be able to hide from, knowing that I'll be mocked, feared and hated by others for the rest of my life. Hate yourself or have others hate you... it's a great life.
Posted anonymously since I'm not ready to go public... some day, maybe, but sadly, probably not likely, as my silent struggle continues... my sympathies to the surprising number of fellow anonymous slashdotters out there who have posted their own struggle over the years, as well as those who are open about it, like you.
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Thank you. Much of society is like you - they may not have a clear understanding of the issues, not having had to confront them up close and personal, but they're willing to at least discuss it. The problem is that some people react very negatively - even violently so - to transsexuals. And then there are the religious peop
Re:please change your sig (Score:4, Informative)
Re:please change your sig (Score:5, Insightful)
Yup, over-sensitive people should just learn to close their eyes rather than force everyone else to conform to their narrow world view.
But I must say, that picture is neither narrow nor a world view :P
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Oh god I believed you and I'm at work.
Thank god I opened a new tab and didn't bother peering inside.
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Oh God, the horrors of Goatse.cx and rickrolling combined. Got me as well :(
Re:Someone on XBL try this... (Score:4, Interesting)
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Their motto should be "Fucking, Austria: Only two bytes away from fucking down under!"
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And they tried to change it a few years back. If they ever did, we'd have to say "there's no more Fucking in Austria".
Re:Someone on XBL try this... (Score:4, Funny)
Didn't mean it as a troll? I think you might be stretching the truth there. I hope no one is sore at you, but some people find it to be quite a big deal. I'm surprised you tried to fit such a reference into this discussion. I mean, I don't want to be a huge ass about it, but your timing stinks.
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I think you might need some Vaseline to go with that dry wit.
--
Toro
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"Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to my vacation at Lake Titicaca. Try to make a joke out of that, Mr. Smart Guy."
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I do my best. :)
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And watch out if you are living on "Gay Road", that can also be a problem.
Or if you refer to Git Gay [wikipedia.org].
"just google it" (Score:2, Funny)
Re:"just google it" (Score:5, Funny)
Not if they have any sense ;)
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I seriously think "zing" would have been a better name for it.
Re:"just google it" (Score:4, Funny)
Re:"just google it" (Score:5, Funny)
Noone's that crazy.
Just today I gave Bing another try, since Google wasn't finding anything (admittedly on an impossibly arcane thing, the searchstring was Elepturabiturcurcurru, which should be the original Mesopotamian name for Noah's ark according to a guy on a talk show many years ago, I never found out if he was serious or a crackpot). Googling yielded 0 results (after this post it'll probably be 1, haha), even when trying to change the spelling a bit or breaking it into 2 words. So I thought, let's give Bing a chance, maybe it magically stopped sucking. The word as a whole returned 0 results as well, but once broken down in 2 ("elepturabitur curcurru") it caused a "Were you looking for: elepturabitur curcuru" clickable link to appear.
Yay! Click. Wait. 0 results. Meh.
Re:"just google it" (Score:5, Interesting)
Quoting myself. 130 seconds after posting, Google has 1 search result for that word. Christ. Guys, you're truly awesome.
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To be fair, bing now finds it too. But I noticed that middle-click paste does not work on bing's input field for me (chrome 6 on openSuse 11.3). Google's does work.
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This topic has died in an Elepturabiturcurcurru accident.
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Try your search again... it now gets result, but its this post.
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That was exactly my point.
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What?!
Oh, I see; zing, er bing CORRECTLY ignores this obviously made up word and google only makes a reference to it as a joke. On us! Bad Google, stop doing the evils! Sheesh.
Seriously, I'm suspending "Microsoft" for this. Enough with this gay stuff, it's like the frickin' Howard Stern Show in Redmond already! Make it stop.
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First of all, it appeared on Bing as well in the last few minutes, so hats off to those guys as well.
Second, It's on a web forum thread now, so I don't expect search engines to CORRECTLY ignore it (emphasis yours).
Third, I was actually looking for the word, and while I wasn't sure about the spelling, I did end up finding what I was looking
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One presenter at DEFCON joked... he said something similar to, "Bing it! Go to bing.com, type in "Google", click search... click on the first link... now type in what you want..."
Summary... (Score:5, Informative)
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They also apologized. http://www.joystiq.com/2010/09/08/microsoft-apologizes-for-suspending-fort-gay-gamer/ [joystiq.com]
Yet another example of Slashdot Sensationalism. This is why nobody should assume they have mastered a topic solely because they read all the Slashdot babble about it.
Re:Summary... (Score:5, Insightful)
That's why we rtfa, but I don't see the relevance of your post. The issue at hand is that they did not even bother checking BEFORE suspending his account, they refused to fix the issue despite multiple attempts to have them check the zip code, and it is extremely questionable whether the inclusion of the word in his profile even violated the code of conduct in any way. The fact that it took a manager to have some common sense and fix the issue a week later is as unacceptable as the rest.
Re:Summary... (Score:4, Interesting)
Ironic that the price of live just went up. ;)
Re:Summary... (Score:5, Insightful)
Just to get it out of the way... (Score:5, Informative)
499 Odd City names: http://www.keepersoflists.org/index.php?lid=3864 [keepersoflists.org]
Now I've just rendered every post after mine redundant. Have at it, mods.
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If they missed it, then how come its #34 on the list?
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It's actually quite hilarious that it is #34, as in rule 34 :)
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It doesn't have Gaylord, Michigan [wikipedia.org]. (It does have Hell, Michigan though)
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I think #9 on that list is my favorite:
North, South Carolina
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Re:Just to get it out of the way... (Score:4, Funny)
I wonder how far it is from Whoosh, North Dakota?
Huh? (Score:5, Insightful)
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I think they think he hates gay people and was calling his lame town gay or something. Also, that if an actual gay person saw his town and thought he was using gay as an insult then they might get offended, and next thing you know, MS will have a color-coordinated protest on their hands. Or something.
The truly sad part is some unemployed guy who plays video games all day ends up getting AP coverage thereby legitimizing his unproductive ways.
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I try not to hold unemployment against anybody right now in this economy, when even minimum wage jobs get more applications than there are openings.
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True, and I suppose the economy in WV was never really the best to begin with, but there's got to be a coal mine or something he can go work in. Pays better than minimum wage, and its exercise.
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ya, go down into that coal mine and get some fresh air!
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I've worked construction, demolition, hay farming, etc, during summers when I was in school. There's nothing wrong with honest work, even if doing it sort of sucks.
I'd rather be a coal miner than be called out in the international press for having no job and bitching about video games.
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my point was that the whole "it's exercise" thing is kinda lost when looked at the big picture. Yes, getting out and moving is good for you, breathing in coal dust for 12h a day for 20 years.... kinda offsets any perks you get from the exercise.
Never ending cycle (Score:2)
Let me see, you worked both construction *and* demolition? Seems like a pretty smart way to keep permanently employed.
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Social change causes corporate insanity (Score:5, Insightful)
That's right - "gay" has been used for "lame" for decades now. The problem is that it is *also* used to indicate homosexuality.
When I was a kid (five decades ago, sigh), "you suck" was specifically meant to say that you performed fellatio. It was a fighting insult. Today, "you suck" or "it sucks" just means generic unwanted badness, perhaps with emotional overtones. Perhaps someone will be able to articulate the present meaning better than I can. But it doesn't mean what it used to mean.
Society changes, And corporations, being by nature psychotic, have a heck of a time trying to keep up. Look at Apple; perfectly happy to have massively violent games, head-shots, guts spilling out... but sex is cause for censorship. Absolutely out of their minds in the American Gothic, Religio-repressive tradition.
I can see Microsoft's position here, in the same way that I can see politicians pretending to be religious. There's no idiotic depth sociopaths will refuse to plumb if they think it will buy them something of value. And corporations, by their very nature, are sociopaths - one consequence being that they typically embrace the values of a pit viper, while trying to present the face of an angel.
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one consequence being that they typically embrace the values of a pit viper
Uh, "if it looks roughly mouse-shaped according to my infra-red sensitive pit, eat it"? "Sunny or shady rocks are good for temperature regulation"? I'm kinda not seeing the connection here.
This is one of those "social changes change the meaning of expressions" things, isn't it?
Re:Social change causes corporate insanity (Score:4, Informative)
While we're at it, let's note that "lame" has been used for "undesirable" for some time. The problem is it is *also* used to indicate physical disability.
It is difficult to keep up with what offends people, indeed.
Re:Social change causes corporate insanity (Score:4, Informative)
That's right - "gay" has been used for "lame" for decades now. The problem is that it is *also* used to indicate homosexuality.
And even before it meant "lame", gay meant happy or enjoyable.
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Re:Huh? (Score:4, Interesting)
I am old enough to remember when "gay" only meant feeling happily excited. As you already know, up until about 40 years ago, the word "gay" did not have anything to do with homosexuality. It also was not a way to describe something as being "lame" either. It was not until the late 1960s or early 1970s, when I first started hearing the word gay being used to imply that someone was a homosexual.
There were many old books with the word "gay" in the title and a old few songs with gay in the lyrics. Below are the titles of several very old books, which are available from Gutenberg.org. Despite the titles, I doubt that any of those books have anything to do with either homosexuality or something being lame.
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If you do the search... (Score:2)
You find mainly articles on this story now.
Crud (Score:4, Funny)
So, umm, how about Bangkok residents? Or folks from Palmer's Head? Or Fort Dix? Morehead? Red Lick? Boone's Blow? Phuk?
Known as the Scunthorpe Problem (Score:5, Informative)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scunthorpe_problem [wikipedia.org]
Oops (Score:5, Funny)
Microsoft sure pulled a boner this time.
They've already restored the account... (Score:3, Interesting)
Imagine the trouble... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Imagine the trouble... (Score:4, Funny)
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Wusch, Oida...
This doesn't bode well (Score:2, Funny)
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Its not even Dildo Run, its just Dildo. In fact there are two Dildos, North Dildo and South Dildo if you want to get particular about it.
Also at the time it was named a Dildo wasn't what it is now, but using the name Dildo for what it is now is very fitting.
Also repeat Playboy Playmate Shannon Tweed is from Dildo, Newfoundland.
Cumming (Score:2, Interesting)
The same happened to my wife on some social network when we lived in Cumming, GA.
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And it was real awkward when she called after work and asked how far I was.
I'm close to Cumming.
Re:Cumming (Score:4, Funny)
My mother once tried to order a gift to be shipped to a friend in New Mexico. She ordered the item, specified all the details, etc, then it came time to set up the shipping address.
The woman on the other end then stated, rather brusquely, that the company did not ship internationally and that their catalog clearly stated that fact.
When my mother reiterated that it was in New Mexico, in the Southern United States, the woman (who worked at a call center in Texas, which happens to share a border with both Mexico (the country) and New Mexico (the US state)) yelled "New Mexico, Old Mexico, what's the difference? Can't you people read? I told you, we don't ship internationally!" and hung up on her.
Seattle? (Score:2, Interesting)
So a location based story about Microsoft can't get right the name of the city Microsoft is in? Ah, what a life being a /. editor must be.
Dildo (Score:2, Funny)
Proudly Canadian (Score:5, Funny)
Dildo and South Dildo can be found in Newfoundland not far from St. John's, hard by Dildo Bay. Sadly, the first church built in Dildo, in 1878, had no tower, though it should be noted that two stoves providing heat shared a long chimney.
South Dildo's claim to fame for many years was a life-size wooden humpback whale head.
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Double Meanings (Score:5, Funny)
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I bet it was a short game.
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Sorry to double post, but I just confirmed that it was over before they knew it, didn't see it coming, and never knew what hit 'em.
Thanks, I'll be here all week.
It could have been worse... (Score:2)
What if he was from here [google.com].
Pennsylvania towns (Score:2, Informative)
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Go down here past Bird-in-Hand, when you get to Intercourse make a right and you'll soon be in Paradise, but if you make a left you'll end up in Blue Ball.
Gay in the UK (Score:2)
I'd like all my British friends to light up a fag in honor of Microsoft.
--
Toro
MS an IT company? (Score:4, Funny)
Doesn't say much about an IT company when they can't even figure out basic information technology tools, including their own:
http://www.bing.com/search?q=fort+gay
The moral of this story? (Score:2)
Don't whip out your punishment too quickly. Oh, and always sleep on your back when you're stopping over in Fort Gay.
The real question (Score:3, Insightful)
Moore apparently wanted to show his Fort Gay pride
Fort Gay has been restored to the ramparts of Medal of Honor and Call of Duty.
Ok, you've got town pride - nothing wrong there. But insisting on displaying it on your Xbox Live profile?? Call of Duty? I mean now you're just asking to get flamed every time someone sees you're from "Fort Gay". It's not exactly the most tolerant community out there. **Note that I don't know if your town is displayed to other people when you're actually playing - but in case it isn't, then it still brings up the question of why care then? If no one gets to see your town in your profile then why care what your display is?
Oblig Beavis and Butthead (Score:4, Funny)
Sergeant: I can get you delayed entry, your own uniforms, grenades, and ammo. I can probably get you stationed over at Fort Dix.
Butthead: Fort Dix? Is that anywhere near Fort Nuts?
even better (Score:2)
Fucking, Austria (Score:4, Interesting)
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