[WikiEN-l] Re: The Style Oppressors

[Toby Bartels]

Jimmy Wales wrote:

>Tannin wrote:

>>My characterisation of the obsessive
>>urge to micro-manage things which could perfectly well be left alone as
>>being something "the Style Nazis" would do is an accurate one. If the
>>cap fits ...

>Please, I really must object strenuously to this use of the word
>"Nazi".  We are working _together_, _co-operatively_, with reason, and
>kindness, and love.  There's just no reason to use such hateful
>language.

I doubt that Tannin realises how the term "Nazi" sounds to some people.
Where I come from (Nebraska), people say "X Nazi" fairly often
simply to mean somebody that is unreasonably controlling about X.
It's not intended as a *serious* comparison to the National Socialists.
Tannin's characterisation is a fair use of the word in this sense.
The problem is that this sense is inherently offensive to some people,
so we'd all be well advised to not use the word in this jocular way.


-- Toby