I have been thinking about this for a while and did not know if I should speak about it...
Personally I don't take offense from the usage of that word anymore - but that's only because I understand it's being used to sting a certain category of forum users, and I am aware of and accustomed to the PvP nature of this forum. Also I'm not the kind of guy to get "triggered" - in fact I would like it if people were less sensitive to trivial name calling and more considerate towards issues that truly matter.
But I can't help thinking that it's in poor taste that people use the name of a great affliction, which has caused mankind great pain throughout history, for such silly forum activities.
To explain better what I'm trying to say, if FDEV tomorrow announces the name of the new expansion: Nefarious Intergalactic Guardians, and all the forumites flock to preorder it, cuz it's such a great expansion, would it be ok for me to call all these customers "NIG-gers"? Would it feel right to all of you, or would it leave a bad taste in the mouth? Would I be braking forum rule 3: "no discriminatory, racist, sexist, or offensive content"?
Food for thought.
I miss my youth. For all sorts of reasons, but partly because it was a time when the intent of a remark and the context of a word's use actually mattered. We could use extraordinarily 'offensive' words on each other with great affection and zero malice and we all knew when someone had crossed the line. Offence used to be taken, not given.
Your throwing the n word into the mix is particularly depressing. In the Anglosphere, it used to mean something deeply offensive to citizens of the US for historical reasons and mean very dark skinned person everywhere else. The British offensive term was (colour)(illegitimate son). It's why a contraction of Pakistani is considered so offensive today- it's hardly an insult to suggest that someone's ancestry can be traced to the Himalayan foothills, but as verbal shorthand for (country)(illegitimate son) it was a very different matter.
Sadly, the intent and context of our language no longer matters, instead we constantly self censor, terrified of offending each other with the use of a Haram word or phrase, while vile and truly despicable remarks are uttered by persons adept at doubleplusgood duckspeak and goodthink.
I've used 'leper' many times, well aware of it's miserable connotations (that was the whole point). I'm Scottish, I've never even heard the n word used in casual conversation. I haven't used 'leper' in years, along with a dictionary's worth of similar words. What was once banter is now wrongthink.
I don't think our culture is enriched by our verbal cowardice. I think it emboldens and empowers otherwise weak people willing to play on ever more convoluted victim narratives. The future belongs to them; a bleak, repressive back to front and upside down future where excellence in any sphere will be a very real handicap to whatever poor fool fails to hide their natural flair or talent. [sad]
Sooo... yeah. Gotcha! 
