Microsoft locks Discord server shortly after banning one nine-letter word

Despite the rapidly growing user numbers for many of the biggest AI platforms, the emergent technology has long been a target for wider social media with many deriding its proliferation in modern tech.

Wider concerns have involved the effect that artificial intelligence will have on employment, alongside the impact that it's already having on the environment in a growing climate crisis, yet on the micro level AI simply just isn't it for a lot of people.

Between the generic sounding messaging with tell-tale signs of AI use and the growing number of people turning to AI to generate photos and videos – many of which are ethically dubious – many people are simply fed up.

One thing that's brought people together is the umbrella term of 'slop' for AI content, and it was made the 'word of the year' for a reason.

AI slop isn't necessarily anything in particular, and doesn't always refer to anything that's been generated using AI, but you'll certainly know it when you see it and it's often hard to escape if you spend any time online.

Part of the 'sloppification' brought on by AI is caused by Microsoft's repeated attempts to shove its own model, Copilot, down everyone's throat, and it's earned the company the rather slanderous name of 'Microslop'.

It's catching on a little too well in Microsoft's eyes, and people have discovered that the word was recently banned within the official Microsoft Copilot Discord server — presumably after people were spamming it constantly in protest.

The discovery was initially made by Windows Latest, as it appears to trigger an automated moderator response that prevents messages including the banned word from being sent as it's deemed to be 'inappropriate'.

Microsoft has gone one step further following this discovery, as it has now completely locked off the entire server and hidden all message history within, effectively putting an end to what was meant to be a space to discuss Copilot features and updates.

Windows Latest notes that the blocking the word likely did more harm than good for Microsoft, as the server had very little activity within it beforehand and the ban will have only encouraged people to join and flood the channels as a protest.

"Microslop ain't gonna stop me [from continuing] to call it Microslop," wrote one user on Reddit in response to the ban, with another writing that "the fact they're so triggered only makes it more hilarious."

Another called it a "classic Streisand effect," adding that "the only thing more effective at spreading a meme than trying to ban it is... trying to ban it. Microsoft just ensured 'Microslop' will be the default term for the next decade. Well played."