• @angrystego
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      617 hours ago

      Or they might be just a sign of playfulness. They can present a barrier for those who don’t know, but I doubt it’s intentional, so I wouldn’t call it gatekeeping.

      Also, it’s just a playful first half of the title. The other half explains the important stuf in a traditional way, so noone gets harmed, right?

    • @[email protected]
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      7 hours ago

      This is true. As an old non-techie woman on Lemmy, I miss a lot of them.

      However, “Who gon check me, boo?” was comprehensible (and funny) to me even though I have no reference for it. Combined with the rest of the title, especially adding the profile images, her point is abundantly clear. I don’t need to know where it came from to chuckle at it.

      Edit: looking it up, it’s very apt! Although I’m still not going to start watching any Real Housewives.

      • @[email protected]
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        171 day ago

        I think they’re referring to the implicit exclusion, since it amounts to an “inside joke” which lends to cliquish social dynamics. Gatekeeping proper usually connotes more intentional and targeted action, but I think that’s what they mean. Personally I try to be more selective than I once was, when using references in groups, for that very reason.

      • @Duamerthrax
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        121 day ago

        Not everyone watches or even can watch the same media. It assumes a lot of commonality between the writer and the reader. Is some Indian researcher going to know about some joke from The Office?

        • @angrystego
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          416 hours ago

          Getting the joke is not necessary for understanding the article and even the title has the explanatory other half, right? The joke is just a bonus, not gatekeeping.

          • @[email protected]
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            3 hours ago

            If you dont understand the refrence you probably wont be able to tell if it’s necessary for understanding the rest though. Sure youll understand the second line on its own but that doesn’t necessarily mean the part you dont understand isn’t important. For all the out of the loop reader knows, that’s info is pertinent to the title too, how could they even evaluate if it is or isn’t if they don’t understand it. Less than half of English speakers had English as a first language, its still built up on needless pretense for the sake of what?