I have a 3 day ban over on Reddit for saying (n word, then homophobic f word). I wasn’t implying anyone was inferior. Reddit lacks a rule expressly saying I can’t use slurs in any context, although they have racism and homophobia banned. Was I being racist and homophobic just by mentioning the word?
Here is the context: I said on /r/monkeyspaw: "Granted. Your username is now “/u/nf.” uncensored. In response to
“I wish I was able to change my username on reddit.”
CW: metalinguistic usage of slurs. Also, bear in mind I’m not black, I’m just some random nobody.
Unless you’re using a slur metalinguistically¹, or quoting someone who used it², you probably won’t be able to erase its negative associations; they’re there by default, you’d need to actively erase/contradict them.
And that’s not what you did. In fact, your comment only works because of that negative connotation; note how silly it would sound like, if you said instead something like “Granted. Your username is now /u/bananapotato”, or “/u/ninjapiratezombierobot”, or whatever.
It would be different, for example, if you were using the word ⟨nigger⟩³ as African-American Vernacular English speakers do; because then the meaning being conveyed is not “a black person, implied to be inferior to other people”; it’s more like “mate, bro, chap”, specially in a positive context.
Same deal with the words ⟨fag⟩ — I don’t think it should be treated as a slur if you’re clearly referring to a cigarette.
So. While I typically criticise Reddit moderation (from mods and admins) as insane, and coming from people and systems with the reading comprehension of a green potato, in this specific case, I think they acted correctly.
Just my two cents.