It also sounds like you can’t reject a challenge as easily as an invitation (or at least it’s not honourable to refuse a challenge, right?)
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I might actually say or hear that, likely because it’s the actual wording on the site as opposed to preference.
I think challenge makes sense for rated games because it has that competitiveness built into the wording.
I’m not opposed to it being changed to invitation or anything else. I don’t think it will impact me at all and it has the chance to make others happier.
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yebellz’s post translates my feeling much better than me. I’m usually on the side of keeping established language even if arguably offensive. I don’t care much if somebody gets offended by “challenge”, it’s more that I now realise how strange it sounds when I’d never say something similar in real life. I understand it’s used a lot for online video games, which I assume is where it comes from.
However it is really not a big deal and something I’ll gladly forget if it takes a lot of work and triggers a whole thread of people complaining about how everybody is PC nowadays, like what happened in the other thread I’d like to forget.
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@S_Alexander, many of those examples appear to come from chess websites or other inferior Go servers. What else would one expect from such brutes and savages? Should we not transcend such behavior and adopt more civilized language?
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I don’t even think it’s PC category. For example, in my mind I would only challenge someone stronger than me, and only ask for a game someone weaker than me. I’d be baffled if I were 9d and was supposed to “challenge” a 25k. It seems unnatural. Me personally I understand what it means, because games, but others might not.
For me, it’s a bit of the usual “everyone came to OGS from chess and probably already familiar with Go”, which is not always the case…
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I guess, I would even only “challenge” someone who is in my rank range (maybe ± 2 kyu) and kindly ask everyone weaker or stronger if they are in the mood for a game. Especially those much stronger than me.
I like to have a game with someone much stronger every now and then, by “challenging” them on the ladder, but after sending the “challenge”, I basically excuse for “challenging” them and ask if they are okay with playing against me even though I am so much weaker.
So, yes, also from that point of view, I completely agree with @trohde 's suggestion. “Invitation” sounds so much better and just fits well into the Go community.
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Too exhausted to read all answers thoroughly and to write much, only this:
TBH, I feel a bit insulted—and to prevent a dementi: OK, maybe just misunderstood, either accidentally or deliberately—by the “politically correct” assumption.
My OP has NOTHING whatsoever to do with “political correctness”, it has to do with … kindness, with being friendly. Because that’s what the planet needs more than anything else.
My background: all of my adult life (which means 45 years now; age: 63) I’ve been into language, psychology, social psychology, humanimal (and other animal) communication, semiotics and zoosemiotics, etc.
“Challenge”, for me, means something like, “play with me, or else …” (“… you‘re a snowflake” or something). Or, maybe, “I challenge you to prove how strong you really are”.
For me, “challenge” carries somewhat of … aggression. And it’s totally OK to be aggressive on the board against the other colour (if that’s how you like it or what the situation needs), but IMHO not between players.
I admit these are all just my personal feelings about it. I’m definitely an emotional person, and I acknowledge that we all have emotions, even those who try hard to hide their emotions—which usually is what we men are taught.
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Most of us accepted your invitation to discuss the pros & contras of your plea. A few approached it as a challenge.
No winners unfortunately.
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I don’t know why exactly, but I feel like some toggle button in the air “hangout mode vs competition mode”.
Same time as opting for wordings, we could have some new cosmetic effects, like a shower of roses vs some thunders/burning meteors across the screen.
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I completely agree with Trohde’s proposition.
Absolutely. Yes.
I previously had the same thought myself and am grateful to Trohde for raising it.
I think it’s worth remembering that OGS can be a complicated and confusing site for new users (thanks to its awesome array of options and features). The word ‘Challenge’ has a very formal and combative tone which may leave a newly challenged user feeling bullied into accepting for fear of imagined site mechanics that they don’t yet understand.
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Remind me - what would we put on buttons for creating a game? Where the button says “Challenge”, what is the new proposal?
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I think top contenders are Game Invite or Ask to Play
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Or just “play”?
Surely the key thing is more that in the dialog for game settings, the button at the bottom should say “send invitation” and when the invitee receives it the question should be “xxx has invited you to play”
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Yeah, I guess that’s fair enough…
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or combining with the previous post:
“Play Game” or “Play a Game”
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Should make a poll perhaps, so people may just say Yes or No without having to explain reasons, if they don’t want to. I personally disagree.
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I totally agree with the suggested change. Challenge sounds weird, like trying to be grandiose or epic or something…
And as a first timer in the site for me it was “scary” to see “challenge” everywhere when I just wanted to “peacefully play” 
“Play a game”
“Game invitation/request/petition”
“Wanna play?” XDD I don’t know
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Lets change Game Challenge into Game Invitation!
- I am for it.
- I am against it.
- I have no opinion.
- I am okay with both options.
0 voters
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To be fair, Foxy uses “someone invites you to play.” On the receiver’s end, still scary, heart attack every time.
Invite - unranked
Challenge - ranked
Fight to the death - double or nothing golden capture betting game
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