RETARDED.COM - Should this domain be auctioned in the largest domain industry convention?

Retarded.com - Should this domain be auctioned in the largest domain industry convention?

The term RETARDED is defined as "offensive" on Dictionary.com, Merriam-Webster.com, Vocabulary.com and Wikipedia.org. The latter one describes it: "The word retard was widely accepted in the late-1900s to refer to people with mental disabilities; however it is now more commonly used as an INSULT. The word has gained notoriety for causing a growing number of mentally disabled people to feel unfairly stereotyped."...

This insulting and offensive domain should not be part of the the largest domain industry convention. This reflects on sponsors and attendees alike. The auction has been advertised as "Super Premium" and there is nothing "SUPER PREMIUM" about offending and insulting mentally and physically challenged individuals. As a person who knows and works with autistic children I kindly ask for this domain to be removed from the sponsored industry event immediately. This domain does not and should not reflect on the entire domain industry, but at this point it does reflect, and it is insulting.... Here is a list of of the top sponsors for the convention that is promoting the auction with the offensive and insulting term to those that are physically and mentally challenged, through no fault of their own.

Uniregistry
RightOfTheDot
Namejet
Rightside
Verisign
Radix
InternetX
Affilias
GoDaddy
Escrow.com
101Domain
DomainSponsor
.WS
Donuts
CentralNic
.Blog

 

IMO There are far more insulting, defamatory and harmful web site names than this. If this name were allowed to be censored, it would lead to more and more names being censored, and a bigger can of worms. There are many ccTLDs that censor already. Who would want this name anyway with the horrific nightmare of potential public backlash for using it?

I Disapprove of What You Say, But I Will Defend to the Death Your Right to Say It
http://quoteinvestigator.com/2015/06/01/defend-say/

That being said, in cases like these I like the idea of donating it to a charity group for awareness.

 

There is no word more insulting to the autistic community and those that have similar medical issues.

 

I think this is the wrong place for a domain name like this to be sold, totally agree with the OP.

 

Thank you @mad409!

 

For those that want to learn more please visit http://www.r-word.org

 

And: https://twitter.com/endtheword

 

That's true but this is bad too. Murdering is worse than stealing but it does not mean the latter should be taken lightly or condoned.

 

I totally agree that when the word is used in that context then yes it is highly offensive and should not at all be tolerated.

The thing is tough the actual word itself is not solely in reference to any particular group of people, I get that it is commonly used by insensitive and uneducated idiots to refer to autistic people. However, the word itself can be used for many other uses...

For Example:

Physics and engineering

• Retardation factor, in chromatography, the fraction of an analyte in the mobile phase of a chromatographic system
• Retarded potential, in electrodynamics, electromagnetic potentials generated by time-varying electric current or charge distributions in the past
• Retarded time, time when an electromagnetic field began to propagate from a point in a charge distribution to an observer
• Retardation time

I guess it's almost like a domain like FAG.com (this is an offensive term for Gay people in many countries however in the UK it's a slang for a cigarette)

Even a name like Dick.com (It's offensive because we all know what it can mean but it's also a popular first name)

I think if there is merit to show that the domain name can be used for other purposes other than the blatant offensive purpose then it should be allowed...

Just my 2 cents though....

 

I don't use twitter, or any SM but I bet if this auction were tweeted on their site this would cause a landslide of negative press. I could even see sponsors pulling from the auction. Bad move ROTD, IMO..

 

Sponsors will pay dearly for the negative press. Especially GoDaddy, a public company. Hoping @Joe Styler can make a comment about sponsoring this auction with this domain?

 

I understand that it's a derogatory term, but business is business. The convention, or its sponsors, should not be held morally responsible for it IMO.

Do you know how derogatory the terms "cunt" and "bitch" are towards women? Yet, look at the sales:

https://namebio.com/?s=gMwMzN3cTO
https://namebio.com/?s=gMyMzN3cTO

I actually think this domain would be a stellar buy for groups and associations related to Autism. They could make a defensive purchase, and redirect the domain to a page that informs the public about its negative connotations. A move like that could have a significant impact on furthering their efforts, raising awareness, and increasing their following.

At any rate, it would be much better than something like this: (*N-Word*.com). There's a link on there for "Funny Black Jokes"... *sigh*

 

There is a moral responsibility for the convention, its sponsors and even the attendees....Please visit R-Word.org to learn more.

 

Well this attitude is the clearest explanation of why this industry and the world are what they are.
Business is business but being a decent human being comes first at least for me that's why I would choose it over whatever amount of money coming from something disrespectful, derogatory or, worse, that implies, suggests, fosters violence, rape, pedophilia underage sex etc.

Not going over this anymore, some people should simply be ashamed.

 

www.R-Word.org

Take a stand...Spread the Word to End the Word.

 

Theoretically, there are ways to develop this domain in a non-offensive manner. The most straightforward way is to make a humane website that explains why this word makes some people sad and asks to think twice before using it in everyday conversations. So, a domain is not really something to fight against. Similarly, domains like nazi.com and the like: they could become nazi websites, academic history websites, or even websites that teach specifically why what nazi did was deeply wrong.

 

It depends on the context it's used in...

If I used the term to describe someone (specifically the person) as "retarded", it's offensive- no doubt.

Now if I described a situation, event, or action as being "retarded", it would have a different meaning in this context, and could actually add emphasis to what I'm saying. If someone did something bad and I said: "What you did is totally retarded", am I being offensive or am I just adding emphasis to my frank statement?

It's the same as the term "f*ck".. it can be viewed as negative if it's used in a negative way, yet it can be used in a non-negative way, or even in a positive way, to add emphasis to what is being said, e.g. "You did a great f*cking" job, congrats". See what I mean?

I think the older generation would be more likely to view this as a negative term in any context.

Nonetheless, when we are talking about a domain name as it is, there is no context; and to me it does not come across as positive at all. Now, depending on what someone might develop on it, the site would not necessarily have to considered negative at all.

Autism is not the only the reference for the term in todays times.

 

I know well what the "R-Word" means for autistic and mentally disabled people, but the fact remains: The moral responsibility lies in the hands of the person who decides to purchase the domain, and furthermore, on how he/she decides to actually use the domain. The purchase and sale of the 8 letter keyword that can potentially be used as a derogatory term, has little to do with the moral views of the convention, its sponsors, or attendees.

My attitude is simply a positive one.

The world is a shitty place. Granted. However, you can choose to make the best or worst out of it. That much lies in your hands.

Let's take one of the words you just brought up, for example. "Rape". Care to visit "Rape.com"?

 

Obviously many are not reading and following the entire thread. There's a huge push, I mean huge to do away with this term and NOT to be used as an informative site either.

 

Once the censorship of domains starts, there will be no way back. Please do not open this Pandora box, even having in mind the best possible considarations.

 

Problem is where did the term derive from? You left that out.

 

I mean, this creates a precedent. Do we want various social organizations to come to our domaining world, scare investors and shame auctioneers? Today it is autism-related, tomorrow it will be marijuana, then tobacco, then sex, then politics, then religious views against new tech. There will be no end to shaming strategy if we let it in and let it succeed once. I say: do not let censorship start, ever.

 

I'll agree it's at NamesCon 2017.

 

Generally speaking, negative domains are not best selling items anyway.
I think the selection is not draconian enough.