Microsoft banned the word 'Microslop' in its Copilot Discord server, then began restricting access after users started posting 'Microsl0p' and other funnies
I'm sure I'm not the first person to tell you that "Microslop" is rapidly becoming internet vernacular for Microsoft's Copilot-based, AI efforts. Some would say that the appropriate MS response to this term would be to simply ignore it.
However, according to Windows Latest, Microsoft has instead been fighting what looks suspiciously like a losing battle with the community in its official Microsoft Copilot Discord server.
The opening salvos were fired when Windows Latest noticed that the term was being actively filtered in the server, resulting in blocked messages with a "your message contains a phrase that is inappropriate" flag. No great surprise there.
However, users began attempting to find clever ways around the filter. Or not so clever, in the case of "Microsl0p", which initially was able to beat Microsoft's seemingly-hasty choice of banned words.
The MS response appears to have been rather extreme. Rather than simply adding the latest variations to the banned word list, Windows Latest reports that MS instead began locking off access to certain parts of the server, with the message history hidden and posting permissions disabled for some users.
I logged into the Microsoft Copilot Discord server myself to see if things were still in a state of lockdown, and it appears that free posting is back on the menu. In my brief 10-minute check of what topics users were talking about, I recorded the following messages:
"How about we say Sloppysoft instead", suggests one user. "I'm slopping on that beat", says another, in response to a post about filter bypassing.
"How goes it, my fellow sloppers", cheerily announces another. "I'm just here to say Microslop."
So, it appears the filter and posting ban has now passed, and Microsoft has resigned itself to its Microslop-based fate. "Did Microslop ban the word Microslop?" asks Discord user Punch the Monkey. "PR and marketing never were amongst Microslop's strengths" comes the response. I couldn't possibly comment.