Someone was telling me my username will get restricted if I use one that praises the IS (Islamic State). I personally don’t see a problem with doing so. Could someone provide clarification?
you will probably get renamed to something fluffy and furry if you get reported. but i don’t think that you will get banned or sandboxed.
I cannot provide an official answer for this, but I would personally think that as long as it was not aggressive, discriminatory, or otherwise offensive, it should be fine.
I suppose I’ll be the one to ask…why would you WANT to?
I’d put it in the same category as a name that praised the KKK or Hitler. I’d personally report it, I’d personally change it if I was working for D3. If a group wants to be treated as a “normal” national or religious group, not a cartoonishly evil organization, they shouldn’t be sending out videos of beheading journalists. They’re the bad guys, and D3 is within their rights not wanting to give people a platform for them.
Seriously? Someone puts the word “R4PE” in their name and it gets banned, but we’re cool with someone who wants to endorse folks who behead children?
An Islamic State is not the same thing as ISIS/ISIL. If that was what OP was referring to, that is another issue, but again, it does really come down to what the name was exactly.
He didn’t say an islamic state, he said THE islamic state. It’s the same thing
I can’t be the only one thinking this, what’s the name?
THE Islamic State could be many things.
The Islamic State of Pakistan. The Islamic State of Iran. The Islamic State of Afghanistan.
Jumping to the conclusion that OP wants to change his username to praise a radical terrorist group, maybe not the best. Let’s let him clarify.
Kratos has been right an all points. IS does not equate to ISIS/IL or any other radical or extremist group. IS can refer to any individual sovereign nation that is primarily Islamic or (and I use it in this context) the body of all Muslims worldwide.
Overall, Muslims are a peaceful people and the teachings of Islam are peaceful teachings. Assuming otherwise, based on a small selection of extremists who misinterpret (and deliberately so) the teachings of Islam is…well, discrimination and racism. Much like the radical groups that were referenced by an earlier poster.
I’ve never seen it used in that context without something clearly indicating who it was referring to - e.g., an article about Pakistan might refer to it as “The Islamic State” in passing just to break up the repetition, in a situation where it might be clear. That was not the case in the question as originally asked. As the question was asked, nothing indicated it was intended to be read as referring to something other than ISIS/ISIL, and, furthermore, nothing could reasonably be construed as even potentially offensive unless it was.
Based on that statement, I will assume that you live in either the UK or The States, because, yeah, we don’t tend to called them that because nobody wants to identify them that way (for a lot of reasons). I dunno if you pay attention to the people around you, because, especially here in The States, the majority of people look kind of sideways at people that “look” Middle Eastern, simply because Islam is something that has been deemed evil on a massive scale.
Here’s a blurb from Wikipedia;
An Islamic state (Arabic: الدولة الإسلامية ad-dawlah al-islamīyah) is a type of government, in which the primary basis for government is Islamic religious law (sharia). From the early years of Islam, numerous governments have been founded as “Islamic”, beginning most notably with the caliphate established by the Islamic prophet Muhammad and including subsequent governments ruled under the direction of a caliph (meaning “successor” to Muhammad).
However, the term “Islamic state” has taken on a more specific modern connotation since the 20th century. The concept of the modern Islamic state has been articulated and promoted by ideologues such as Abul A’la Maududi, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, Israr Ahmed, and Sayyid Qutb. Like the earlier notion of the caliphate, the modern Islamic state is rooted in Islamic law. It is modeled after the rule of Muhammad. However, unlike caliph-led governments which were imperial despotisms or monarchies (Arabic: malik), a modern Islamic state can incorporate modern political institutions such as elections, parliamentary rule, judicial review, and popular sovereignty.
Today, many Muslim countries have incorporated Islamic law, wholly or in part, into their legal systems. Certain Muslim states have declared Islam to be their state religion in their constitutions, but do not apply Islamic law in their courts. Islamic states which are not Islamic monarchies are usually referred to as Islamic republics.
Additionally;
Today, many Muslim countries have incorporated Islamic law, wholly or in part, into their legal systems. Certain Muslim states have declared Islam to be their state religion in their constitutions, but do not apply Islamic law in their courts. Islamic states which are not Islamic monarchies are usually referred to as Islamic republics,[8] including the Islamic Republics of Pakistan, Iran[9] and Afghanistan.[10] Pakistan adopted the title under the constitution of 1956. Mauritania adopted it on 28 November 1958. Iran adopted it after the 1979 Revolution that overthrew the Pahlavi dynasty. In Iran, the form of government is known as “Guardianship of the Islamic Jurists”. Afghanistan was run as an Islamic state (“Islamic State of Afghanistan”) in the post-communist era since 1992 but then de facto by the Taliban (“Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan”) in areas controlled by them since 1996, and after the 2001 overthrow of the Taliban the country is still known as the “Islamic Republic of Afghanistan”. Despite the similar name, the countries differ greatly in their governments and laws.
Bottom line, it doesn’t matter what we call them. It matters what they call themselves.
To be not so political about it, it’s about the same as how most people don’t say “The United States of America”, but simply “The States” or “America” (or “US”). Shorthand is the way of the work.
Also, “The Islamic State” is definitely used to refer to the nations of Islam as a whole, in the same vein of “The Jewish State”.
I am in disagreement with those individuals who are attempting to argue that IS means anything outside of ISIS/ISIL in current day and age, and here’s my argument why:
There is a very negative word used to describe homosexuals, that I will not repeat on here for fear of censorship/deletion, but starts with the letter “f” - this word’s original meaning was “a bundle of wood” - now if someone were to use this word in today’s society (knowing what it means to many), others would likely see this as offensive, whether it was meant to be or not. Same thing with (previous to it being repatriated by the LGBTQ community) the word “gay,” a word formerly used to mean “happy.” I don’t think we would be pretending that the author of a name containing either word was saying it in any other context, other than the context of modern society.
In this day and age, with ISIS/ISIL being in the news daily, and often referred to as “IS” (and they have also self referred as such), I think it is foolhardy to pretend that this OP is using it in any other context. While this is not against the law, and I would defend this person’s right to free speech, I think we ought to at least call a spade a spade. So he wants to use “IS” in his name, feel free under free speech. However, the company whom you represent solely by playing their game, may in fact see this as trolling. I know I do. It’s a name that is obviously going to stir up some controversial arguments, and knowing this, should, in my opinion, not be used. Not because it is against the law, but because it brings ideals and views into a game where they really do not belong.
my 2 cents (or now, 5 cents, as we have abolished the penny coin in Canada 
)
What exactly is the username? Isn’t it possible that the user’s initials are IS or that it stands for something completely benign?
Is there still an actual discussion at this point? Or are people simply trying to make an off-topic political point?
Ah, my mistake for not clarifying that I was using the most common usage of the term.
So off-topic political point it is.
If you could bottle self-satisfaction, Arondite, you’d be a billionaire.
Why is this a discussion topic, much less one under General Discussion?
Simply contact cs, ask them. If they it’s fine, ask they change it. If not, you got your answer.
Well, that might be debatable. Either way, it causes me no discomfort so it’s all quite well.