erinja:People can certainly call things by different names. And someone might accidentally, without ill will, call a trans man "she", but once informed that the trans man's preferred pronoun is "he", such a person should start calling him "he", otherwise that person is being gratuitously offensive.

My preferred pronoun is "you" for the second person in English, and "vi" in Esperanto. Anyone who is aware of this preference but disregards it and chooses a different pronoun to refer to me is being willfully offensive.

I guess if thee chooses to be offended by something so inconsequential in the Grand Scheme of Things, I can't do much about it. But what I can and will do is continue to follow the will of God as I understand it. "As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD"

I'm a bit surprised to see you make such a statement, given your previous complaints about material on this forum being offensive toward religion.

I don't believe in absolute free speech, actually - and neither does Western law - look at the exceptions made for hate speech (e.g., neo-Nazism as in Germany and Austria), public nuisance (e.g. vandalism), defamation, and harassment.

"I think you're a [insert slur or expletive here]. But hey, you don't have to interpret that as offensive - you can also feel not offended."

Tempodivalse:I'm a bit surprised to see you make such a statement, given your previous complaints about material on this forum being offensive toward religion.

I don't believe in absolute free speech, actually - and neither does Western law - look at the exceptions made for hate speech (e.g., neo-Nazism as in Germany and Austria), public nuisance (e.g. vandalism), defamation, and harassment.

nice try, but no dice.
Calling someone by a pronoun they don't like (when such use is honestly felt by the speaker to be a religious obligation) is nothing like being called a.......well, a derogatory term referring to one's race, gender, sexuality, or religion. (and for the record, I don't believe in the idea of "hate speech" being illegal.)

Tempodivalse:"I think you're a [insert slur or expletive here]. But hey, you don't have to interpret that as offensive - you can also feel not offended."

Thee can call me a fag (for example) if thee wishes. I'll just chalk it up to well, something....but I won't be offended. it's not worth it. I'll save my offense for things like the homeless guy under the bridge up the street being treated like dirt by passers-by and other things that actually matter.

I just hope that if we ever should happen to meet up at an event, she refrains from speaking to me at all. I'd hate to have to choose between offending by calling her "ci" and offending by turning and walking away without speaking.

Tempodivalse, or like this:
"I think you're a [insert slur or expletive here]. But it's what my religion says, so please don't interpret that as offensive because no offense was meant, it's just that my religion tells me this thing and I felt the need to share it with you. But like I said, you shouldn't be offended because no offense was meant"

Well, we can change the context -

"Oh, you're gay? [insert homophobic insult here]. That's my sincerely held religious belief."

"You're an atheist? Then you're a [insert expletive here]. That's a sincerely held religious belief."

etc. The gist is the same, though.

In general, it seems quite callous to not care about negative repercussions of your actions, especially when they are easily avoidable (such as using a different consonant before "e" when addressing a person).

Nobody, of course, can compel you to use your interlocutor's preferred pronoun, but in refusing to do so, you will simply betray small-mindedness. That's all.

erinja:Tempodivalse, or like this:
"I think you're a [insert slur or expletive here]. But it's what my religion says, so please don't interpret that as offensive because no offense was meant, it's just that my religion tells me this thing and I felt the need to share it with you. But like I said, you shouldn't be offended because no offense was meant"

I like the new pic, by the way.

Welcome to Esperanto, the language which Zamenhoff spent a large portion of his life developing in hopes of reducing disharmony in the world, and in which people now seem to actively seek excuses to offend, or be offended by, others.

erinja:Tempodivalse, or like this:
"I think you're a [insert slur or expletive here]. But it's what my religion says, so please don't interpret that as offensive because no offense was meant, it's just that my religion tells me this thing and I felt the need to share it with you. But like I said, you shouldn't be offended because no offense was meant"

But there's a big difference between this and my pronoun use that was ignored: one can very easily speak to others without saying things like the above. Use of the 2nd person pronouns is another story. Or is it preferable to be called by name instead of the pronoun/position? If the admin really is offended by being called "thee" I can say "the admin" or something else that suits her fancy.

But there's a big difference between this and my pronoun use that was ignored: one can very easily speak to others without saying things like the above.

I don't see how frequency is relevant vis a vis offensiveness.

You can continue to (incorrectly) use thee and ci, or refuse to acknowledge a person's preferred pronoun, - but be aware that this will cause you to be perceived, in most circles, as small-minded. This may or may not be important to you, but it shouldn't come as a surprise.

So, in other words, some people use "ci" and some don't. It is not a standard usage, however. You are permitted to speak in whichever way you like, of course, but if you choose not to follow the standard, you must be prepared for people to react accordingly, as your manner of speaking will distract from what you say.

The rest is simply an excellent illustration of what can and often does happen when that decision is made...one that is threatening to derail this thread into yet another heated diatribe whose last four pages will have to be deleted by an admin in a couple days.