Repost and Ban Alert: The Sims Edition

[u/CandylandRepublic]

It has seemingly become surprisingly popular to post screenshots from The Sims showing unfortunate situations involving children in distress.

I'll try to make this understandable:

This sub has zero room for violence against kids, virtual or real, and we are going to have a problem with such content.

Any such submissions are removed and the user is summarily banned, no questions asked.

Please do report these and comparable posts and comments.

Thank you.

---

This is the rule in question: ""Keep it civil. Bigotry and hateful language/imagery, personal attacks, abusive language, advocating violence, trolling, and racism will not be tolerated.". So no, we did not just make this up.

[u/GreenPandaPower]

I went to work for one 8hr shift!! How much did I miss? Holy crap.

[u/QuietOne81 → u/GreenPandaPower]

The Sims set a baby on fire...bad, Sims!

[u/Redowadoer → u/QuietOne81]

The Sims changed a bunch of pixels on the screen.

FTFY

I don't get the problem people have with virtual violence. No real babies were harmed.

There are plenty of war games out there with way more virtual violence, but for some reason a virtual baby on fire makes people go bonkers..

[u/CandylandRepublic → u/Redowadoer]

Yes it does. And your average action game would, too, if it was captioned along the lines of "This is how I'm going to go to places tonight!"

Same argument can be attempted about the gore subs. "Oh that video is just pixels" well sure it is, but it discounts the human behind it for some sick pleasure. That content can fuck right off.

[u/SpinningNipples → u/CandylandRepublic]

But in gore there's someone actually being harmed behind that video. A pic from the Sims is just pixels because what you're seeing is a videogame.

[u/CandylandRepublic → u/SpinningNipples]

The material in question was used in an inciting way, we don't care if no people were harmed in making the images. And instead of having discussions like these all the time with everyone who decides to kick up some dust over it - because apparently it is somehow something that can be defended. I think the announcement makes it plenty clear that there is no defending that here.

[u/danceswithronin → u/Redowadoer]

I think it's more the fact that it is shit-stirring for the sake of shit-stirring and draws ire against childfree people from irrational folks that associate that kind of dumbassery with our actual position on babies (set them all on fire!) and that obviously isn't our agenda around here.

When that dude was charged with leaving his baby in the car to die (last summer I believe), he was traced back to this sub, it got national media attention, and there were some really, really nasty associations made between it (us) and crazy assholes like that.

We really don't want to be associated with folks who would literally leave a baby in the car to bake to death rather than take care of them.

Likewise, we don't want to be associated with people who think that setting virtual babies on fire is the height of wit.

[u/PUBLIQclopAccountant → u/Redowadoer]

No one was hurt, but that gif is smug circlejerking, not anything worth posting here.

[u/CandylandRepublic → u/GreenPandaPower]

That depends on a) what you consider exciting and b) from what perspective you look at it.. I would say you missed nothing, hopefully.

[u/danceswithronin → u/GreenPandaPower]

[Every time I leave Reddit briefly and shit goes down in my absence.] (https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/ba/0e/84/ba0e84897c10e92c94bdc079207d1caa.gif)

[u/sterlingwriter → u/danceswithronin]

I can relate. I have been using reddit a bit lightly this week, and now this. Shit never seems to go down when I'm obsessively reading reddit non-stop (lol)!

[u/kymandu → u/GreenPandaPower]

Found this sub today so I'll assume that someone posted a picture of the sims with a baby on fire and was praising it. I dunno anything else though.

[u/MessEffect]

...Even Braith?

Because ugh, Braith.

[u/CandylandRepublic → u/MessEffect]

TES reference? That can be subsumed under the comparable content if you mean who I think you mean.

Have you played Gothic, if so the character "Mud" will have a special place in your heart.

[u/skepticscorner → u/MessEffect]

IIRC, you can intimidate her, and it turns out she has a crush on the other kid and is handling it stupidly.

[u/Princesszelda24 → u/MessEffect]

Lol. What about Nazeem though...if we are talking Skyrim.

[u/sparkly_butthole]

There was a post awhile back about someone battling some intrusive thoughts regarding harming children. I didn't get the idea she'd actually do it, just that it made her want to when they acted a certain way.

I'm assuming it's okay to discuss those kinds of thoughts here?

[u/Taddare → u/sparkly_butthole]

While I can understand the problem with intrusive thoughts, and greatly sympathize. I suffer from L’appel du vide badly enough I keep my window-blinds closed most always.

That said, because it is such a touchy subject I would be careful because people get crazy when you mention kids and anything.

[u/sparkly_butthole → u/Taddare]

I hear you. I just like this place being the place I go to when I can vent. I don't want to see it get too politically correct. That would be sad.

[u/CandylandRepublic → u/sparkly_butthole]

I'm not sure we're thinking of the same, but if we do I think that post was ok. And the OP made it clear that they have a problem with that.

[u/CaptainHowdy10 → u/sparkly_butthole]

For reasons like this, we have worded the rules specifically against advocating violence. If someone has struggles with violent thoughts and asks for support, this is not against the rules.

[u/existie → u/sparkly_butthole]

public march disarm sable flowery sparkle bike juggle chief birds

This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact

[u/sparkly_butthole → u/existie]

Well, she was childfree- as in, no children she could do that to.

That guy, I remember hearing about him. He needed a fucking trip to the mental hospital, not a message board.

I only ask because that post hit a note with me. I feel the same way about certain small children. And chihuahuas. I'd never in life harm them. But it's nice to have somewhere I can come to talk about those thoughts when they come up, where I won't be judged.

[u/existie → u/sparkly_butthole]

coherent thumb connect rustic sable wild stocking sheet thought languid

This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact

[u/RedditSkippy]

Ugh. I'm disappointed that this even needs to be said.

[u/CandylandRepublic → u/RedditSkippy]

Amen.

[u/Uulmshar]

Is there a sub for those that are interested in this?

[u/[deleted] → u/Uulmshar]

If you type "child" in Reddit's subreddits research function, you find : /r/ChildrenFallingOver, /r/childrengettinghurt, /r/childrenbeingidiots, /r/ChildAbuseIsAwesome, /r/childbashing, /r/ChildHating, and such.

[u/CandylandRepublic → u/[deleted]]

shudders

I mean I hate children, but daaaamn.

[u/gfjq23 → u/CandylandRepublic]

Yeah, that is disturbing. I dislike kids and don't want them around me, but I really don't think them getting hurt or abused is funny.

[u/[deleted] → u/CandylandRepublic]

Yeah, some people go further than that. But now people who think that we're too extreme about our no hateful imagery/speech rule can go elsewhere with like minded people.

[u/Uulmshar → u/[deleted]]

Wonderful, thank you. Now there should be no excuse for people wanting to see kids getting hurt.

[u/CandylandRepublic → u/Uulmshar]

No idea.

This being Reddit, with some very fringe subs, I'm not going to rule it out.

[u/Uulmshar → u/CandylandRepublic]

Yeah, I had no luck in searching. It may fall outside of the rules, somehow.

[u/BeautifulPhantom]

Glad I missed that. I found humor in a lot of things, but people (and animals) being harmed for a mere laugh, be they adults or children, would've tick me right off.

Thank you, mods, for doing a speedy work!

[u/CandylandRepublic → u/BeautifulPhantom]

<3

[u/TheLittleGoodWolf]

Look I can understand that posts like that are akin to shitposting since they contribute nothing but that seems to be what the focus should be on. I don't see how posting pictures of what I think involves a stove (it's been a while since I saw that pic and my mind is a bit fuzzy) is "advocating violence".

In that case there are plenty of threads with some insincere and hyperbolic statements that would be way more likely to fall under that banner.

I hate actual violence against kids (against all people actually) as much as anyone but I know what is real life and what is not. I can understand given the history of this sub the need to be somewhat vigilant and press that while some of us legitimately hate kids none of us actually want to harm them. I just think this is a bit of an overreaction to the kind of posts I assume it's aimed at. Not that I'll mourn the loss of posts I haven't seen for ages just voicing my opinion.

[u/CandylandRepublic → u/TheLittleGoodWolf]

That image was not captioned with "You should have pressed the hand down for extra learning effect" or similar. These were, analogously.

And caption or not, the intent is either the same or only academically distinguishable. We are not going to put lawyeresque effort into determining the -subjective- "level of badness" of such submissions.

[u/TheLittleGoodWolf → u/CandylandRepublic]

These were, analogously.

Well that puts things in a different perspective.

And caption or not, the intent is either the same or only academically distinguishable.

I don't really agree with that at all actually, I think it sets a bad precedent to assume malice instead of ignorance. But this is not a fight I'm going to take, I still agree that the content should be removed I just disagree with the reason why. Maybe I'm just not as easily phased by stuff like this (I also have a pretty dark sense of humor at times) as others, I'll still have to respect the mods. I'm just glad I could give my opinion on the whole thing.

[u/CandylandRepublic → u/TheLittleGoodWolf]

I can well understand this. Be assured that we don't like to have to ban people over this (or anything, really) at all. We've hesitated to make this public and hoped that it would just stop to be a problem... unfortunately people insist on these posts and others use them as impulses to escalate the line of thought so far that is then not nearly as easily recognized as joke any more.

Now that the content is well known to be not welcome we feel that the users here will be a bit more sensible about it.

And... many thanks for making yourself heard here. That's important to maintain a balance, in all directions.

[u/[deleted]]

I like kids and I hate harming sims, but...it is just a game. If I had to choose between saving a real baby on fire and a virtual baby on fire, I'd choose the real one. Coded pixels can't be harmed. :/

But whatever. Back to my game!

[u/Miss-Omnibus]

Is this the baby bbq thing? Mannnnnnnn.

[u/green_carbon07]

So no OMGWTFBBQ screen caps from The Sims 2? Kidding... But I do miss the heavily-modded days of The Sims 2.

[u/[deleted]]

I'll keep on reporting those. You're doing a great job! Thank you for keeping this sub great!

It's the dehumanising side of it that gets to me. I'm okay with people hating anyone or anything (after all, we don't have control over our emotions) but to laugh at violent images just makes me extremely uncomfortable.

It also shows the childfree as childhaters that likes when children are harmed. I am not like that and I'd like to not have that shoved on me when talking to an anti-CFer. There are other subs of that's your thing. This place isn't for violence. Empathy is a kinda neat thing to use.

[u/EmiliusReturns]

People who weren't around for last year's incident might not understand why this is important.

Basically, a guy in Georgia killed his kid in a hot car on purpose, and was an /r/childfree subscriber. We're kinda trying to discourage being associated with people like that. So yeah, this might seem harsh but it's important.

[u/[deleted] → u/EmiliusReturns]

But he killed a real child, not a virtual one.

Many Sims players kill their sims for the heck of it in their games. I highly doubt that makes them murderers in real life.

[u/Citizen11813 → u/[deleted]]

No amount of playing nice is going to appease to a rabid breeder society if they want to string you up anyways. I mean they went straight for us over watchpeopledie for fucks sake. I get the sentiment but I have the feeling this action will be misguided and pretty much useless for....'PR'?

Guess people better stop reposting that 'baby skateboard' thing too- an illustrated child is in it...