EBAY going PC?

[SiouxMeNow]

I routinely sell UND Fighting Sioux items on Ebay - (with pretty good success, especially in the Twin Cities) but I recently received a "notice" from Ebay announcing they would be "curtailing" auctions for college items with "blatantly" offensive nicknames like the Seminoles, Indians, Warriors, et al or schools that use "offensive imagery" to promote their sports. I replied saying I was protesting the new policy and challenged them to point out ANYTHING offensive about the Fighting Sioux nickname...2 days and they haven't replied...too bad the PC movement has moved to this forum...just curious what you guys thought...

CURRENT UND Fighting Sioux items on Ebay....

[CoteauRinkRat]

I routinely sell UND Fighting Sioux items on Ebay - (with pretty good success, especially in the Twin Cities) but I recently received a "notice" from Ebay announcing they would be "curtailing" auctions for college items with "blatantly" offensive nicknames like the Seminoles, Indians, Warriors, et al or schools that use "offensive imagery" to promote their sports.  I replied saying I was protesting the new policy and challenged them to point out ANYTHING offensive about the Fighting Sioux nickname...2 days and they haven't replied...too bad the PC movement has moved to this forum...just curious what you guys thought...

CURRENT UND Fighting Sioux items on Ebay....

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

They sell everything a person can think of on Ebay, including porn related items, but are thinking about "curtailing" items with offensive names? Wow, I really get tired of the overly PC crowd in this country.

[The Sicatoka]

Which branch of their Thought Police defines offensive words? That branch must have different standards than the branch that allows images that may offend some (i.e. pornography).

Start hammering them with email asking them how much money they're willing to lose in this venture when people start going to other auction sites. (Remind them of the change in stance Barnes and Noble took when they saw how much they were going to lose.)

And ask them if they are aware of this:

"Asked if high school and college teams should stop using Indian nicknames, 81% of Native American respondents said no."

Source: Peter Harris Research Group, Inc., as reported in Sports Illustrated, March 4, 2002, page 69.

Methodology: The pollsters interviewed 351 Native Americans (217 living on reservations, 134 living off). The responses were weighted according to US census figures for age, race, gender, and the distribution of Native Americans living on and off reservations.

Margin of error: Plus or minus 4 percent.

[jimdahl]

The whole ebay empire is pretty thuggishly PC. Paypal, which originally used to bill itself as a great way to make payments for your office pool, now outright bans any sort of payment to a settle a wager or "mature" content payment. I think the former was fear of government crackdown, but I suspect ebay would also love to do the latter if they weren't making big $$$ off it.

This move, though, sure disagrees with their stated policy on offensive material, which begins:

eBay's community is a diverse, international group of users with varied backgrounds and beliefs, and it's easy to imagine how some items listed on eBay might be offensive to at least some of our users somewhere in the world. But one of eBay's great strengths is the diversity of its membership and the items they trade, and eBay believes that it's important to respect (and learn from) that diversity. That's why eBay generally permits listings of "practically anything on earth," even items which most of us find offensive.

[ScottM]

This from a site that routinely allows the sale of counterfeit books, CDs and DVDs? Sorry, but wrapped "Sorpanos" DVDs are not going to sell anywhere for $30, unless they are phonies, and Ebay is getting a cut of the action.

Maybe a RICO suit from DOJ or the FTC would be in order.

[jloos]

This from a site that routinely allows the sale of counterfeit books, CDs and DVDs?  Sorry, but wrapped "Sorpanos" DVDs are not going to sell anywhere for $30, unless they are phonies, and Ebay is getting a cut of the action. 

Maybe a RICO suit from DOJ or the FTC would be in order.   

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Ebay replaced the shady van selling electronics in the alley. I don't think they can dictate what is considered "offensive".

They have no problem having over 8,000 items listed under "nazi" .

Ebay Nazi

[SiouxMeNow]

[SiouxMeNow]

NOW THIS IS HILARIOUS!! I e-mailed one of the guys selling NAZI memorabila on Ebay and asked if he had ever been questioned by Ebay about his "merchandise". He said the only time was when he was posting auctions on Yahoo - they banned Nazi items because they sell in France and the Frogs complained...that's why he switched to Ebay. NO COMPLAINTS FROM THEM!!! I think that's major ammo if they ever do enforce a ban on "offensive" logos...

[Riverman]

I routinely sell UND Fighting Sioux items on Ebay - (with pretty good success, especially in the Twin Cities) but I recently received a "notice" from Ebay announcing they would be "curtailing" auctions for college items with "blatantly" offensive nicknames like the Seminoles, Indians, Warriors, et al or schools that use "offensive imagery" to promote their sports.

[JESUS,family,rutgers]

I am scared to death our Constitutional right to freedom of religion and free speech are dwindling little by little every day. There are already certain parts of The Bible which are not to be preached in some European countries and soon in Canada. Just because someone is offended by certain beliefs does not mean they are not true, but the politically correct thought police are going to try to intrude on more and more of peoples convictions.