Is the acceptance of profanity into our language good?

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Naughty, naughty.

I recommend looking up George Carlin's routine on 7 words on youtube.

As moderators we have no choice in the matter for three reasons: (1) the auto-censor (that which replaces certain letter combinations with asterisks) is part of the forum software and (2) it is enabled site-wide by the owner and provider of this website and (3) the site rules say "no swearing" - Supreme Court or not.

That's your opinion, which you're entirely free to hold - as are others entirely free to disagree with you, and implement site rules based upon their belief.

What does "no swearing" mean, exactly? Are we not allowed to take solemn oaths on the forum?

Are there specific words that are prohibited? Apparently, certain words that have to do with the act of coitus or with reproductive organs are prohibited. Possibly words that mean excrement or excretion. But, what about references to the deity, when such references are in vain?

Is it the same words that are prohibited on television in the USA? Apparently, you can't say the word "fart" on television, yet we've had something lengthy discussions on farting.

the easiest way to tell if a word is censored is to preview a sample post and see if the word is censored out.

Ah. So "swearing" is defined as using a word that is censored out.

So, I am permitted to swear an oath? To pledge allegiance?

It does seem a bit odd. I am permitted to write about coitus, so long as I do not use the familiar monosyllabic word that begins with an f.

I can call Mitt Romney a fornicating fool, a copulating chrysanthemum, or an individual who engages in sexual intercourse. But, I cannot use the monosyllabic word that means the same thing.

Thanks for your suggestion but members have been approached by the use of words that were inappropriate yet not censored by the swear filter in the past.

I even had a nice discussion with Gedrene about wether fornicating should be accepted at the public sections or just in adult.

What you and hyperlexian were speaking of is words that are already censored by the website coding and now we are speaking of words that are censored by mods.

Im sure you know what kind of words arent acceptable outside adult(if its not related to sex not even there) and which arent.

Im now recalling a time when members started using jackhole as a swearword, members that are interested could try to look into doing something similar provided that its less obvious

*consults online dictionary*
Ah yes, here we are -I'm going out on a limb here and making a really wild guess, but I reckon "swearing" in the context of posts made to WP would refer to definition (1) above.

Well, given that we are discussing politics, philosophy, and religion, it could mean that we must not commit to telling the truth.

As an adjective, profane simply means


Obscene means


So, if we are to go with Definition 1 of "Swear", then we must only use words that are sacred or biblical, that do not offend accepted standards of modesty, and that do not incite lustful feelings.

I get a stiffy every time that I see the words "online dictionary." We'll have to find a synonym that does not incite these lustful feelings. Otherwise, a rule has been violated.

Well, I guess there is that...

It's really quite simple, and I'm pretty sure hair-splitting and endless dictionary consultations are not required.
We're all aware of certain words that are generally referred to as "swearwords", or "cusswords" and similar.
According to the rules, those words are unacceptable on WP.

That's about the size of it.

An interesting case is the verb "to shag", which, in the USA, prior to Austin Powers, would have meant to chase someone down. When one American, sitting at a restaurant table with 2-3 Australians, said "I'll shag a waitress", he came to understand that this verb possessed an entirely different connotation for Australians. Since Austin Powers, the verb "to shag" has become a cute and endearing way of saying "to have coitus."

So I guess that it would be acceptable to call Mitt Romney a "Shagging Shrew", as this would not be caught by the censor.

Saying 'WOULD' isn't considered profane, are we allowed to say it about someone?

I guess mods agree with censorship, or else they wouldn't have signed up to mod a community that practices it. Am I right?

mmmm not necessarily. it's possible to agree be a moderator for other reasons and thus agree to enforce the rules even if they are not really rules that the moderator would choose. so a person might agree to be a moderator because they want to help WP to be a place that is supportive and spam-free (for example), yet not personally care about the swearing.

for me, IRL i curse like a sailor and i think that profanity has an important role in communication, but my job here is to enforce the rules... so i do. it's just one rule of several, but i don't get to cherrypick which ones i think are important.

I dislike swearing (even though I do swear sometimes lol) for aesthetic reasons. The same reason I dislike most modern art. I just find profanity to be ugly.

Does anybody have the "keep-up" cards? Why are we talking about the application of public standards to private space?

Inside WP, the rules mean what Alex says they mean.

In public, the First Amendment means what the Supreme Court says it means.

The two are not now, and never have been equivalent propositions.

In principle no, I don't agree with many forms of censorship - but I also don't consider WP's rules on swearing or anything else as any sort of serious hindrance to expressing myself here and so I had no issue with accepting the rules as a member.
How I feel as a moderator about WP's censorship of swearing is irrelevant because it's just one rule of many I've agreed to help enforce.


Bun, I'll answer your question with a question: why would you consider use of the word "would" in relation to a person worthy of questioning?
And here's another one for you: what is the purpose of the swearwords in your current signature? (below)
"'Indie kid' is just another word for outcast, an emotional f**k up, lonely, scared, but madly arrogant Motherf***er. The young Oscar Wilde was an indie kid and so was Jesus, before he turned into f***ing Bono."