Given that the owners and mods on this site set the rules - which is as it should be, of course (they own the site) - I nevertheless have a couple of observations about the language filters which I hope might be helpful to TPTB...

1) I understand that this is a "family friendly" site, but I think it's unrealistic - given the proliferation of stuff on the web that anyone can access - to think that young people visiting this site haven't heard low-grade swear words. I can certainly understand the more egregious profanity being blocked, but words like "p!ss", c'mon, are we really that uptight? Being polite is fine, but there is such a thing as proportionality.

2) The above point is particularly driven home when we have reached the stage of feeling as though a person's first name has shrunk below the level of its profane usage. I refer here to the NAME (not the swear word), "D!ck". First, this was a person's name long before it was ever used as profanity. So it's OK for me to say ***** Cheney, but not that "other" word? When the language filter prevents one from using a long established and given Christian name (a shortened form for Richard), PCness is out of control, IMO. Moreover, it just simply isn't that egregious of a swear word to begin with. Finally, once again, assuming that young people don't hear worse swearing almost every day, denotes a Pollyannish view of the world.

 

i dont mind the blocking, but i must say the other forums i am on have no filters whatsoever....

 

I don't mind the filters either. But it's a slippery slope. Who decides which words are offensive and which are not? And what criteria do they use? What qualifications do they have to determine what is profane and what is not?

Case in point: You can say "screw" on this board, but not "d-a-m-n".

Can someone around here explain to me in a coherent and meaningful way what makes "d-a-m-n" offensive, yet "screw" acceptable?

Personally, I find neither offensive in the slightest.

 

I like the censorship personally. I am not saying that I don't cuss in real life situations, but it is nice to go on forums that don't have profanity in every other post. It seems more...professional, if you can relate to what I am talking about.

 

Hey Hollywood,

We had a discussion a while back and you said Dick Cheney, and dick was edited, and so you used ***** cheney which I thought was funny. I was like Dick is wrong but ***** is OK, WTF. So I say d-i-c-k is in (whoops), d-a-m-n is in, f*ck is out, sh*t, is out, and c*nt, is definitely out. I guess we could ask George Carlin, or we could consider people who post in this forum are at least 16, able to drive. Personally it doesn't bother me either, but I'll live by the rules as I don't want to take my toys and start a new playground.

 

I agree the most offensive words should be blocked.

What I am talking about is proportionality. Re-read what I said.

 

Yeah, I did that intentionally to make the point that blanket language filters - hastily thought through - are stupid.

 

Yes i agree with a certain level of "adult language" being allowed

 

Thanks for the feedback guys. The filters that are in place now are standard with vBulletin installation. We haven't added or removed anything. I'll get around to it one of these days, but as you can see, there are other matters to attend to this morning.

 

and those that bypass the filters on purpose typically get a warning. I don't make the rules either, I just follow them which is what everyone should do. I can't believe people get that upset over the fact that the can't swear on the forum.

 

I'll second that and yes, I cuss at times too. It's kind of nice to be able to communicate without the vulgarities. They're a major turn off to me. JMHO.

 

Hey I'm not upset I can't cuss, but sometimes the filter works a little funny in context. There's nothing worse than these other forums where its 7 profanities followed by exclamation points. Lets just agree that some words are not acceptable and the marginal ones might be OK because sometimes in context they work.

 

well poop LOL

 

"Screw" has multiple meanings. "D-a-m-n" has one meaning. I'll let you draw the conclusions as to why screw is OK and "D-a-m-n" is not.

 

AAARGH, MY VIRGIN EYES - Please don't bypass the filters!

 

I actually nice that the forum has filters. I do cuss, but on the otherhand when I go to other forums the swearing that I read is a major turnoff. Can't anyone write or speak anymore without every other word being "bad". Yes I know that we've become desensitized to it and they are used as adjectives in common lexicon today. Maybe we should follow George Carlins' rules !

A computer program that filters cannot decipher context of many words we deem "acceptable" .that should be left for us to decide.

just my .02 cents

 

D-A-M-N being filtered is ridiculous, Ive always been annoyed with being offended by that word. It is such a mild word, especially in todays society. Yeah ok some Christians will claim its offensive to them, but you know what we are not all Christians, and even then how can a term that simply describes what could happen or should happen, ie. d a m nation or d a m n, Be considered vulgarity. Many people have many views, Different cultures and religions coexist in todays socirty, but no is running to censor other words they be found vulgar in someone elses language, culture, or religion. I just find for this word to be censored, or people who find the word H E L L vulgar also, to be very unrealistic about todays socities, and unresonable in allowing people to express themselves in the manner they choose.

 

Yes they are! Take a good look at what the Rev. Jackson and others from the Rainbow Coalition are doing with common words and phrases. Did you happen to read about what is being done at Harvard regarding specialized workout times for Muslim women? It's not hard to find examples of this in today's media.

So by your reasoning we should all be allowed to do whatever we want; which would include showing up naked to your child's school play? I know my analogy is a little extreme because it goes against good common sense, but claiming that you are "expressing" yourself doesn't make it right or proper in any company or situation.

Ladies and Gentlemen, vulgarity (in the terms of profanity) is used for two reasons: to degrade yourself or others, and to degrade something (like and idea or item). It's a very "motherly" view to say "be nice to others" but when vulgarity has only two uses and both aren't nice then why shouldn't be restricted? Are there ways to speak badly about something/someone without being vulgar, sure there are. Is it OK to do so? Depends on the situation. Keep in mind that TMS and these forums strive to be a little different then the rest of the "cookie cutter" internet. We would like our website and forums to be browseable by anyone from any walk of life. How many times do you think someone left a site offended just because they didn't see any profanity?

The ownership of this forum and website has decided that vulgarity has no place here. You are allowed to express yourself anyway you choose since it is a free country. But, since this forum isn't public "property" it must be within the rules set forth by the staff. Now if anyone can bring a good argument to the table that would sway our minds on the usefulness of profanity then we are all ears.

[OPINION]
But considering the caliber of our average member, plus the national (and international) attention we receive on a daily basis, seeing a profanity laced post smack dab on the front page of an intellegent conversation is about like taking a dump on a Picaso.
[/OPINION]

 

One more datapoint; if your company uses WebSense and we "opened the floodgates" so to speak, guess how long it would take before you'd lose the ability to access TMS at work?

 

honestly swearing does not offend me at all, i am in the military after all.....

what offends me is when swearing is used to purposefully offend someone, or used in offensive manner... its all in the context of the word, and the seriousness of the matter