Manipulation, Bleed, Player-Characters, and the Purpose of Mafia

[AniX]

Well, I think the term gaslighting is a loaded word that isn't simply a generic description for a pattern of behavior but also implicit that that behavior is done in the context of an abusive act. For example, I think most people would object to using "domestic violence" to refer to spouses having a boxing match with one another even though the individual parts (spouse physically hitting spouse) are present because there is something MORE to "domestic violence" than simply the description of the acts, just like there is something MORE to "gaslighting" than a simple description of the acts.

I think there is more room for interpretation because gaslighting is experiencing drift away from its abusive origins. But at the end of the day, if the source of a word is rooted in abuse and a significant portion of people associate it solely with engaging in abuse, we ought to air on the side of not having people accused of abusive manipulation for playing a game.

[AniX]

If we are over-moderating here and the word has truly drifted so significantly it is a general use term, the worst result is users need to utilize a different word to describe mafia game manipulation and there are a few awkward phrasings until we settle on a word. If we were to under-moderate here and allow the term to apply to normal mafia play and the term remains significantly tied to abusive to enough people, the worst result is people are subject to accusations they are engaging in a manipulative and abusive act to which they have no retort or counter until, at best, after the game and even then to only have an academic discussion of whether gaslighting appropriately describes mafia play.

[AniX]

If we are over-moderating here and the word has truly drifted so significantly it is a general use term, the worst result is users need to utilize a different word to describe mafia game manipulation and there are a few awkward phrasings until we settle on a word. If we were to under-moderate here and allow the term to apply to normal mafia play and the term remains significantly tied to abusive to enough people, the worst result is people are subject to accusations they are engaging in a manipulative and abusive act to which they have no retort or counter until, at best, after the game and even then to only have an academic discussion of whether gaslighting appropriately describes mafia play.

Saying it’s under-moderating to consider it a descriptive term is literally insane to me I’m going to be honest. I don’t personally see the link except for the fact that it’s more commonly used to refer to an abusive relationship just because they’re more common which is hardly reason to outright warn or ban for using the word

Regardless of whether you believe the word has now drifted to be more general and simply descriptive, there is little question the word is linked to abuse in origin. The word directly draws from the film Gaslight, which directly depicts someone engaging in domestic abuse towards their spouse and the word was created to specifically describe similar abusive behavior occurring in real life.

[AniX]

Can anyone point me to an instigating incident or incidents for the addition of this rule?

There was no SPECIFIC instigating incident, but rather we received a number of reports on posts where individuals were accusing one another of gaslighting, with the reporting users expressing frustration and upset at being accused of what they view as an abusive act, which we felt was something where enough grey area and genuine points of view on both sides existed it fell to the moderation team to try to sort out the tension, with the policy as a result.

I will say that since that period the number of reports on the subject dropping to literally zero until this most recent one. I don't know if it is a result of the policy or whether there was a particular meta or condition that was making people more likely to accuse others of gaslighting.

I’m not arguing that, I’m arguing it’s simple a descriptive term for the type of manipulation that its referring to even if that’s just in the context of mafia, which from my experience it is not

Sure, but "I no longer believe it is a term for abuse" and "It has no links to abuse" are, to me, very different sentiments. You are not alone in thinking it is now a simple descriptive term, just like others are not alone in seeing it as primarily a term of abuse. But that tension needs to be resolved and it seems to me people who do not want to be accused of what they view as a term of abuse are more likely to be harmed, so to speak, than individuals who do not want to use a different word to describe manipulation (this isn't meant to be dismissive, by the way, absent anything else, avoiding removing a word from a vocabulary is a perfectly valid argument. But if there is a claim of harm in defense of using the word that goes farther than "I don't think it is necessary to do", I am not really grasping it).