Mini Rant

[Tom]

To give my opinion, I think the pendulum has swung too far to the censorship side. I've been here a couple of years now and casual swearing used to be allowed as long as not directed at anyone. Something like common vulgarity was acceptable and I regret it no longer seems to be. We live in a time of a very over-used 'I am offended' clause. Getting your posts edited or getting warnings is just as bad when it comes to driving people away - for common language use.

 

[SusanLR]

And I see his point about Rule #6! "Excessive" implies that some is allowed and an arbitrary line needs to be drawn at which point the amount becomes "excessive".

That is how I understood that rule also. I've seen swearing in asterisks or abbreviations ever since I've
been here. How would anyone know excessive equals no?
If no swearing is allowed shouldn't it read "No swearing, or obscenity allowed."? Period.
Excessive is like some is allowed, but not a lot. It's always been masked that I've seen.

PG-13 (parental guidance-13): Some material may not be suitable for children under 13. Any nudity has to be nonsexual, and any swear words have to be used sparingly. Violence in PG-13 films may be intense, but must be bloodless.

Definition in movie ratings. "Swear words used sparingly."
I'm not for removing rule #6, but, if it is upsetting, I feel personally it should be clearly defined.

 

[Monachopia]

Hmm.. Some threads have got me down over the last few weeks here, when someone is feeling bad, you end up feeling bad with them somehow. It does rub off. But, having said that, this forum is a safe space we should all be able to express how we feel, no matter how dark and distorted. As Aspies, we don't get to talk like this in the real world and this is the first place I felt I was able to do so without judgement.

I try not to swear here as I was aware this was a 'Family Friendly' space, but, I'm sure it does slip out a few of us at times, because swear words by definition are an outwardly expression of excitement or distaste, when something really affects us. Even PG films have some mild swearing as exclamations.

As my English teacher back in highschool liked to point out, that swearing has a time and a place, when used excessively it loses meaning, but when used at the right time, it really can drive the point home. I don't see anything wrong with it on occasion, we're human and so long as it's not directed at anyone, it should be ok to do so with the milder ones?

... Though, sometimes, I do find it hilarious when words are substituted. A while ago I read a post by @Autistamatic where he colourfully used the phrase ... "what an utter load of ... balalaikas".

 

[Nitro]

It is probably time to step in and set the record straight.

We are doing our best to appease our advertisers whose revenues are needed to support this forum.

They say keep it clean, and we try to listen.



There is a lot of work that goes into running this place, and to lose it over a few that feel the need to properly "express" themselves in the end would probably be our demise for everyone, not just the few that decided to turn tail and run because they got called on the table for using foul language that generally just gets edited.

The rules were written long ago, and at this stage of the game, I get it, they don't reflect the direction we have been headed.
I will do my best to see that they are changed, so they do say what we mean, and not open for interpretation.

If the few that think they need the modifiers in order to get their points across want to step up to the plate and provide the lost revenues, then be my guest, but bear in mind, it will get expensive after you consider just how much server space it takes to keep us going.

I don't think you really want to pay out the nose just to swear a little, but I could be wrong.

Trust me, IRL, I have a mouth on me that would make a trucker blush from time to time, but I would never cut loose with it in public unless it was about to get very ugly.
By very ugly, I mean my person would have to be threatened with bodily harm, and trust me, the bad words would only be the good parts on what the rest of the event would turn into.

Safe spaces are just that, safe spaces, and some don't feel safe when their safe space gets violated, so keep that in mind too.

Like has already been said, there is a time and a place for it, and right now, this isn't the time or place.

 

[Isadoorian]

It is probably time to step in and set the record straight.

We are doing our best to appease our advertisers whose revenues are needed to support this forum.

They say keep it clean, and we try to listen.



There is a lot of work that goes into running this place, and to lose it over a few that feel the need to properly "express" themselves in the end would probably be our demise for everyone, not just the few that decided to turn tail and run because they got called on the table for using foul language that generally just gets edited.

The rules were written long ago, and at this stage of the game, I get it, they don't reflect the direction we have been headed.
I will do my best to see that they are changed, so they do say what we mean, and not open for interpretation.

If the few that think they need the modifiers in order to get their points across want to step up to the plate and provide the lost revenues, then be my guest, but bear in mind, it will get expensive after you consider just how much server space it takes to keep us going.

I don't think you really want to pay out the nose just to swear a little, but I could be wrong.

Trust me, IRL, I have a mouth on me that would make a trucker blush from time to time, but I would never cut loose with it in public unless it was about to get very ugly.
By very ugly, I mean my person would have to be threatened with bodily harm, and trust me, the bad words would only be the good parts on what the rest of the event would turn into.

Safe spaces are just that, safe spaces, and some don't feel safe when their safe space gets violated, so keep that in mind too.

Like has already been said, there is a time and a place for it, and right now, this isn't the time or place.

Well said Nitro, thank you

 

[Autistamatic]

Swearing is good. It's an amazing way of releasing tension or of emphasing an important point. I don't like it when people can't think of any adjective other than "the f word" (try spending a day in Glasgow!) but there are times when it's appropriate. Sometimes "Fiddlesticks" just isn't enough.
Now we know that there are people who don't like the use of substitute characters like asterisks we can all respect that and if the rules are to be amended to address the possibility of misinterpretation then all the better.
As long as this forum remains a place for open, honest debate whilst minimising conflict and open hostility between members, I'm sure all of us can find alternative ways to express ourselves.
Or am I talking

 

[GrownupGirl]

Since when is PG-13 family friendly? The whole reason The PG-13 rating was made up was because a PG rating was too family friendly for some movies.

 

[Nitro]

This is not a topic up for debate.

 

[Nervous Rex]

This is not a topic up for debate.

I take it as people just venting. There are other sites they can go to if they want different rules.

There are two reasons I find the PG-13 rule to be a relief:

1) Whenever I hear profanity, the literal definition of the word pops into my mind. Drop an S-bomb and I now have an image of excrement in my head. After I get past that reflex, I can consciously process it as the meaningless intensifier it's meant to be. But every instance of profanity automatically comes with an unpleasant image.

2) During the day, I have enough going on to keep my mind busy and occupied. When I try to go to sleep at night, and all the mental noise stops, the most vulgar, shocking, or explicit thing I saw or heard that day pops into my head and demands to be processed, explained, and understood. My only two defenses are to be so tired that I fall asleep immediately, or to avoid that kind of content in the first place. Many of my daily decisions are based on, "If I do this, will I be able to sleep tonight?"

It's getting harder and harder to avoid that. Vulgarity is in the media, the news, on T-shirts and bumper stickers, and in so-called "professional" workplaces. To me, this website is an oasis in the desert.

 

[Mr Allen]

If you want to use bad words, there's literally a myriad of "Anything goes" forums on the whole Internet.