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Comment by overgard | Hacker News Reader

Their reply was basically "why do you have a negative impression of us?". That seems like a totally legit question. Why would you punish someone for asking that? Even if you think they're people you dislike, why would you punish someone for an earnest question like that?

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I think the unprofessional nature of that message alone warrants it to be sent straight to the trash. Everyone's all about t-shirts and kegs at the office, but I'm really appreciative of professionalism these days. You can fund something and it still won't develop some fucking class is the lesson at the end of the day.

> Why would you punish someone for asking that?

Well, easy there, this wasn't a physical flogging in public or anything like that, it was just some fun ribbing -- the kind that RG founders themselves are especially fond of indulging in, (like telling Mark to "suck his dick" and saying things like "I'mma rape you in your mouth", etc.).

If we're really serious about have an inclusive and welcoming culture, we as a tech community should stay away from RapGenius. Let them know there are consequences to the things they say. No-one should be rewarded after saying things like "I'mma rape you in your mouth".

It's a fun ribbing when it's in private, sure. It's another thing when it's posted publicly and #1 on hacker news.

The original comment was a public tweet: http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/18xpcvut8ka32png/ku-xlarge.p...

I can't imagine many rape victims would describe this as a "fun ribbing"

World of difference. One was meant in jest that didn't reference anyone in particular, and might have been "insensitive" or something stupid like that. The other was a direct attack on people trying to make their livelihood in a very vicious way. So who is the real victim?

@overgard: The real victims are the rape victims who have to train themselves to endure constant triggers from things "made in jest."

What about cards against humanity? They seem to be well recieved in this community.

Well, it's not Cards for Humanity. The entire point is to be against humanity. Whereas a corporate entity that wants to seem inclusive (at least on the surface) should probably be for humanity...

Let's be inclusive -- except let's exclude those people with a niche (though with the popularity of rap, maybe not so niche) sense of humor that we don't approve of and sternly declare to be not funny at best and completely evil at worst.

How do you resolve the cognitive dissonance between the content on the RapGenius site and the words by the RG founders?

Is the content on the site itself just as offensive? If so, how do you feel about the MCs and the large numbers of album sales etc. that they attract?

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