Someone want to explain this?

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Five DAYS? That's a needless waste of time.


And why can't we swear? I know the site's supposed to be "family friendly", but I work on a very popular board that's aimed towards kids (it's a Pokémon board--I'd link you but the above point makes that impossible, so look up Bulbagarden), and we can say anything we want on there as long as it's not flaming another user. And that hasn't hampered our popularity or our kiddie base one bit.

And what's up with not being able to discuss locked threads or banned members? It seems to me facilitating conversation would be key in keeping a board running, and makes it seem less dictatorial.


Seriously, this board looks stricter than any other board I've ever been at, and that's not encouraging.

You think this is strict, go visit the INTJ forum. I saw several posts in my first thread summarily deleted with no warning or indication that something was being done wrong despite there being nothing really wrong with them.

It makes sense to me, as it keeps the "Post-And-Dash" spammers down to a manageable number ... like, zero.


Well then, if swearing is so important to you, I'm sure that the Pokémon site will welcome your input.


Is WP still running? Yes? Then Alex and the mods must be doing something right. As for being dictatorial ... who said this was a democracy ... or even an anarcho-syndicalistic collective?


The encouragement comes from our fine members who support each other's emotional needs and offer friendly advice. WrongPlanet is a great website, and I have found none better in regards to its coverage of the interest of those with Autistic Spectrum Disorders.

By the way ... Welcome Aboard!

Is swearing automatically filtered? I'm sure I've done it a few times on WP.

s**t piss f**k c**t cocksucker Motherf***er tits

To a limited extent.

(Interesting, the filter capitalizes the "M")

b***h hell ass n****r damn

It lets some things through that I would have predicted would not get through.

Damn it, Fnord... I get to a thread today and you've already got it nailed. Seconded.

Wow, that is a pretty selective filter - might want to expand it, save that depending on how it works, it could start filtering snippets within other words if added... For example, if it does not take spaces into account, 'assess' would be 'a**ess', etc. However, there are a couple I can see being added w/o issue.

MrMark - Thank you for today's Carlin... the world is a less laughable place in his absence.


M.

But as I asked in the chat last night, how can we properly communicate if we're forced to censor ourselves? Why choose words other than what we want to use? It's illogical to expect us to select words other than what we would use in real life. We're writing as ourselves, not as characters.

Chat and Forums are two different critters entirely, though coming through the same portal. When communicating, you select words that best express what you are trying to say - in terms that the listener will best understand. It's a challenging precept, but the purpose is not to communicate the concept to yourself, but to another person. While we may seek logic, it rarely exists in social interaction. To be a part of any community, there are rules that each member accepts - this applies to being a citizen of a nation, joining the military, going to a church, etc. If you want to be a member here, then the rules are expressly written and there are members and moderators here to answer questions you may have. Your call, but I find it a little strange and unfair that you are complaining about this the day you sign up without any experience here. Just a thought.


M.

Proper communication does not rely on profanity, but in the creative use of a non-profane vocabulary.


Other than the fact that we're required to, it means that members can communicate more effectively and efficiently with those for whom the use of profane language is an offensive practice.


There is no less logic in refraining from profanity as there is in refraining from posting in all caps. It's something that you just do.

And as for writing as yourself; is it safe to assume that the name on your birth certificate is indeed "BlackjackGabbiani"?

I "complain" about it when I see it on the rules, and when better than immediately?

And I find that anyone who thinks "profanity" is unnecessary isn't a writer and doesn't appreciate the value of words. All words are used to convey thoughts, and I fail to see how thoughts professed using words of varying strengths are valid.

Using a different name doesn't somehow make me a different person and I don't have the faintest idea what you were trying to "prove" with that line.

I think you will be happier at intensity squared or zomg aspies. Interested in those sites, I will be gladly to PM you the links but you need to be 18 or older for the intensity one.

What was your other name?

Someone already PMed me about those sites.

And the name thing is because I said I write as myself on boards and someone very snidely asked if BlackjackGabbiani is the name on my birth certificate, which is completely irrelevant. Using a different name has nothing to do with acting as someone else. For instance, I very much doubt that Fnord is their real name, but since this isn't a role-playing forum, why would they be anything but themselves?

I am a writer - a published writer - and I see profane language as the final refuge of the uncreative mind, such as those comedians and rappers who string a series of epithets together and call it "humor" or "art."


Every thought is valid, each within its own context. History's greatest lyricists, poets, and writers produced their best works without even a single profane word, yet the world is overrun with talentless hacks insisting that profanity is necessary for the consumate expression of their art. This is unfortunate, as it encourages those whose sole talent is the utterance of Carlin's "Seven Words You Can't Say On Television" at every opportunity, and solely for the shock value it imparts to their sorry excuses for "performance."

Profanity is not necessary, unless a person can think of nothing else to say.

(Wait ... is this thread in The Haven? No? Then 'Submit' it is!)

Last edited by Fnord on 10 Dec 2008, 6:04 pm, edited 1 time in total.

You complain without experience, which makes the basis for your complaint questionable. As for vocabulary, it is your own - but in this context, you are asked to place it within constraints. Given that this is a support site, and not a forum for sports fan or other interests, the expectation here -is- going to be different. It is your choice whether you can handle that. If, after spending some time here, you felt that you were being unfairly censored, then I would be interested in what you have to say, but the point is relatively moot.

I write, and I teach. I appreciate the power of words, and of semantics, and use them to appropriate effect. I've never claimed to have abstained from profanity on here, although I do consciously work to keep it from popping up in my posts - it simply works to no advantage for anyone to do so indiscriminately, and I've not received any negative feedback on those occasions when something colourful has peppered my speech. Perhaps if you spent some time exploring first, you would see how this support forum and its membership functions. It comes down to what is more important - the community or an unedited vocabulary, and in this instance it appears that the community wins out.


M.