Gearslutz changed it’s name!?

Do you like the Gearslutz name change?

  • No, it should have stayed the same

    Votes: 14 19.7%
  • Yes, the original wasn’t appropriate

    Votes: 14 19.7%
  • Both names are kinda bad

    Votes: 4 5.6%
  • I don’t care

    Votes: 39 54.9%

  • Total voters
    71
I’d hoped they would have turned on each other by now. Here’s hoping. Then we can tell jokes and have our own opinions again.
Thanks
Pauly

It should have stayed the same, precisely because PC is out-of-control.

I'm not so much talking about politics, but culture. It literally isn't safe to be a standup comedian touring college campuses any more. Outside the campus "safe zones" there is a little more freedom, but there's constantly the threat of someone posting a clip to Facebook that collapses your career. Pushback is required, and that requires riskiness, boldness.

As for the new name: It's bland, homogenized, committee-approved, corporate. You can tell lawyers consulted marketers about it. It's exactly the kind of culture -- beige walls, white bread thinly spread with mayonnaise, nothing but golf on the tele -- that we'll be left with, in every nook and cranny of life, if people don't take opportunities to push back against "The Man."

And, yes, for the purposes of current culture, the censorious, Kafka-esque PC crowd are very much "The Man." The details of their ideological rigidity and pasteurized conformity vary from those expressed in the Salem witch trials, but that same spirit is very much alive in them. Music (especially rock and jazz music with their mix of recognizable structure and improvisational creativity, of honed technique and balls-to-the-wall gutsiness), exists in part to express ideas that supersede and pole-vault over the boundaries established by the Thought Police.

Look, it's just one website name. I get that.

But I think it would have been better if it had remained slightly tacky, slightly off-color: A small sign of restless nonconformity.

Without that...what? I guess someone else will have to show bold nonconformity, on some other occasion. And they'll be that much less likely to be bold, because of all the other folks before now, who weren't.
 
Nothing of value was lost by changing the name, IMO. The name of the site isn't what's most important, it's the content. Call it Ham Sandwich for all I care. At the same time, I don't think there's anything wrong with wanting to broaden your userbase and also be taken more seriously, which surely this move was designed to to.

Reminds me of GNU Image Manipulation Program (GIMP) and the devs refusing to change the name. My god, what a stupid hill to die on.
 
It should have stayed the same, precisely because PC is out-of-control.

I'm not so much talking about politics, but culture. It literally isn't safe to be a standup comedian touring college campuses any more. Outside the campus "safe zones" there is a little more freedom, but there's constantly the threat of someone posting a clip to Facebook that collapses your career. Pushback is required, and that requires riskiness, boldness.

As for the new name: It's bland, homogenized, committee-approved, corporate. You can tell lawyers consulted marketers about it. It's exactly the kind of culture -- beige walls, white bread thinly spread with mayonnaise, nothing but golf on the tele -- that we'll be left with, in every nook and cranny of life, if people don't take opportunities to push back against "The Man."

And, yes, for the purposes of current culture, the censorious, Kafka-esque PC crowd are very much "The Man." The details of their ideological rigidity and pasteurized conformity vary from those expressed in the Salem witch trials, but that same spirit is very much alive in them. Music (especially rock and jazz music with their mix of recognizable structure and improvisational creativity, of honed technique and balls-to-the-wall gutsiness), exists in part to express ideas that supersede and pole-vault over the boundaries established by the Thought Police.

Look, it's just one website name. I get that.

But I think it would have been better if it had remained slightly tacky, slightly off-color: A small sign of restless nonconformity.

Without that...what? I guess someone else will have to show bold nonconformity, on some other occasion. And they'll be that much less likely to be bold, because of all the other folks before now, who weren't.

There are some who fight it. That is how the Fandom Menace was formed, fans who hated what was being done to their favorite scifi franchises all in the name of inclusivity and diversity. Who want people of talent and good stories, not whatever flavor of the Oppression Olympics is in vogue now. But it takes big named people like Gina Carrano to be willing to take a stand. And she was punished heavily for her stand.

Nothing of value was lost by changing the name, IMO. The name of the site isn't what's most important, it's the content. Call it Ham Sandwich for all I care. At the same time, I don't think there's anything wrong with wanting to broaden your userbase and also be taken more seriously, which surely this move was designed to to.

Reminds me of GNU Image Manipulation Program (GIMP) and the devs refusing to change the name. My god, what a stupid hill to die on.
Whenever you give in to the PC crowd you will NEVER broaden the userbase. If anything it will get smaller. Because you can NEVER appease the PC crowd, they will forever and ever demand more and more. And as you do the old crowd will just go away. Either on their own, or when the purges start happening. Which will leave only the crazies and the weirdos. Who then, like locusts, will move on to the next thing to destroy. Because they don't care about gear, guitars, or anything else other then promoting and enforcing their brand of politics. You got to gatekeep these people out, for once they are in they will destroy it. Pray that they will not make it to this forum, because it will be forever destroyed. Then again, these people can't afford a Fractal, not even the cheapest Line 6 Pod.
 
Because you can NEVER appease the PC crowd, they will forever and ever demand more and more. And as you do the old crowd will just go away. Either on their own, or when the purges start happening. Which will leave only the crazies and the weirdos. Who then, like locusts, will move on to the next thing to destroy. Because they don't care about gear, guitars, or anything else other then promoting and enforcing their brand of politics. You got to gatekeep these people out, for once they are in they will destroy it. Pray that they will not make it to this forum, because it will be forever destroyed.
Truth, absolute truth. Like a bunch of 15 year olds... they know everything, and although they love to preach tolerance are the most un-inclusive and intolerant people on the planet. You have to tell these people no. Often.
 
You got to gatekeep these people out, for once they are in they will destroy it. Pray that they will not make it to this forum, because it will be forever destroyed. Then again, these people can't afford a Fractal, not even the cheapest Line 6 Pod.
I think the website name gearslutz.com stinks - lord help me if that opinion puts me into the "these people" group and I get gatekeep'd - where do I find the exact rules of membership in the "these people" group?; for that matter, I wonder: who's writing these membership rules?, is membership automatic?, how do the rules deal with someone like me who dislikes the name Gearslutz but yet happily watches reruns of All in the Family? None of this seemed to matter in the 70s - wish I could go back there.

Ironically, I have a feeling this thread may be locked soon.
 
I seriously doubt anyone went to or stayed away from the site because of its name, ditto the new one, but stupid hill indeed.
 
Nothing of value was lost by changing the name, IMO. The name of the site isn't what's most important, it's the content. Call it Ham Sandwich for all I care. At the same time, I don't think there's anything wrong with wanting to broaden your userbase and also be taken more seriously, which surely this move was designed to to.

Agreed. The content is why I ignored the original name to begin with.

Reminds me of GNU Image Manipulation Program (GIMP) and the devs refusing to change the name. My god, what a stupid hill to die on.

Another program with a really dumb name. I never made the connection to any slurs though.

I think the website name gearslutz.com stinks - lord help me if that opinion puts me into the "these people" group and I get gatekeep'd - where do I find the exact rules of membership in the "these people" group?; for that matter, I wonder: who's writing these membership rules?, is membership automatic?, how do the rules deal with someone like me who dislikes the name Gearslutz but yet happily watches reruns of All in the Family? None of this seemed to matter in the 70s - wish I could go back there.

Yeah, the PC stuff is a sickness, but if you become so anti-PC that you categorically reject any idea/individual that you associate with it you’re essentially canceling people too, just from a slightly different perspective.

Ironically, I have a feeling this thread may be locked soon.

I’m getting that feeling too.
 
Yeah, the PC stuff is a sickness, but if you become so anti-PC that you categorically reject any idea/individual that you associate with it you’re essentially canceling people too, just from a slightly different perspective.

I think there needs to be a a balance. While I absolutely can't stand what I perceive to be "recreational outrage", I feel like if you're someone who's automatically dismissive of someone's concerns, you come off as a real jerk to put it lightly. I think it just boils down to a matter of empathy or lack thereof.
 
I think there needs to be a a balance. While I absolutely can't stand what I perceive to be "recreational outrage", I feel like if you're someone who's automatically dismissive of someone's concerns, you come off as a real jerk to put it lightly. I think it just boils down to a matter of empathy or lack thereof.

“Recreational outrage”. Perfect description. 😆

Totally agree.
 
Yeah, the PC stuff is a sickness, but if you become so anti-PC that you categorically reject any idea/individual that you associate with it you’re essentially canceling people too, just from a slightly different perspective.
This ^^^^

People can be oversensitive to words, but on the other hand, words can hurt, too. It is a delicate balance, which means that society's usual ham-handed, reactionary way of doing pretty much everything ever is probably not going to make it better anytime soon. People are stupid and lazy, and will not change willingly unless staying the same is sufficiently uncomfortable....
 
I've never visited that place and don't ever expect to. Sorry if it's been asked before, but why are we talking about this?
 
I've never visited that place and don't ever expect to. Sorry if it's been asked before, but why are we talking about this?

I've always found it to be a reliable source for information on high end studio gear and related tech, such a studio design, acoustics, and even microphone and preamp modding. The site's been around forever.

I only ever post over there to ask tech questions. Thought it would be interesting to gossip about the name change over here. I wasn't disappointed.
 
Every once in a while, I have to scroll to the top of the page to make sure I didn't inadvertently switch to TGP(the gear page).

Nope, I guess not...
 
Never visited but saw it referenced here and there on various forums I frequented over the years. Always just figured it was your average lowbrow gear page. Suppose I fall into the “I don’t care” category. If the goal is attracting a broader user base changing the name seems like a no brainer.
 
Another program with a really dumb name. I never made the connection to any slurs though.

https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=gimp

I'm pretty sure the acronym for the application was also intentional.

I'm not part of the PC Police, but I also think this is partially about people trying to be "better people" by not being intentionally offensive.

It's great to be able to laugh at yourself and to give others the ability to laugh with you, while hopefully not laughing AT you... But not everyone has the ability.

When I was younger, I didn't think twice about using the word "retarded". It was part of my vernacular... Today, as the father of a kid on the autism spectrum, and with a granddaughter that is seriously impacted by autism and a grandson with Asperger Syndrome, I personally find the term offensive. It's insulting to people i love in a disparaging away.

But the bottom line is that (at least in my opinion) telling people they shouldn't say or use these types of expressions, or preventing them from doing so, doesn't really help anyone.

Educating people to the facts is probably the best we can do...

And also, I try not to be offended on behalf of someone else...
 
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