Thread:The S/@comment-995426-20170503155900

I know works of fiction can have stuff in it that can be offensive to groups of people, and sometimes it's used in a literary fashion for affect&mdash;like a fictional character doing something really offensive. Adults can process these kinds of things and not take personal offense. Also, users can have differences of opinion on works of fiction, and stuff like that.

But what about something potentially derogatory said by other users in conversations amongst themselves? I generally support the idea that people can have two-way discussions in their talk pages about all sorts of off-topic stuff. But at the same time, every update of those conversations are very publicly visible on the Recent Wiki Activity for all to see.

So, for example, if two other people in their own message wall discussion say something insensitive or offensive (or even simply ignorant) about gay people, what is the appropriate course of action? A polite interjection? (Is there such an interjection that is polite?) For the most part, I would just want to clear up any honest misconceptions (as part of assuming good faith) or remind people that their conversations may be highly visible to other users. And if I make that interjection and another user deletes my comment without further acknowledgment...? To be honest, I have no idea what the proper course of action may be. I don't necessarily want conflict or for anyone to get in trouble or anything like that. 