Reminder: Character Nicknames

by Scott Novick , New York, Wednesday, December 10, 2008, 11:56 (635 days ago)

After seeing some posts about the subject, I thought I had to post a little reminder. My stance on this was well known on the old board, but from some things I saw posted here, I decided to repeat it.

Calling characters by nicknames that reflect a poster's opinion of that character is and always has been acceptable on any board I owned. This goes back to the days where some people objected to use of terms like "slut" and "tramp" to refer to Brooke and I said that it was OK. The key to that is that the references in question refer to characters on the show and not real people.

For starters, consider this: terms like that are used on the show constantly. How many times has Stephanie called Brooke a slut, tramp, whore or some combination of those terms? Hasn't Felicia called Donna a "hoochie-mama" time and again? And just a few weeks ago, when talking to Taylor about their issues with their respective Logan women, Stephanie called Brooke and Donna "the slut sisters," right there on the air. So if the characters in this fictional reality can use terms like that, isn't it hypocritical of me to say posters can't if it fits their opinions?

On top of that, the thing is that this is TV show and the intent of the writers is for everyone to have their own opinion. That's part of what watching a soap is all about. I've been watching soaps for 30+ years since I was a kid, and I can't think of a time when I didn't have one character I branded as the villain and another who I always rooted for. The same was true of my mom, who got me into soaps. And the very reason for this board and others like it existing is to share opinions. So how do I draw the line and say, "No nicknames allowed if they offend anyone?" The only exception to that is if a name blurs the line between actor and character. For instance, calling a character a name that constitutes actor bashing is wrong. I don't even want to cite examples, but I'm sure you can think of about what I mean.

I'm going to lock this thread down to avoid having replies. While we no longer have the old Hotboards 700 post limit since this board exists in its own server space, I still don't want to have the board taken up by admin minutiae. So if you have a question for me, email me using the link at the bottom of the board or through your favorite email program at webmaster@worldofbb.com. Thanks.

And to quote my old closing line in posts like this on the old board, I'm getting off my soapbox now.