Word Censor.
 

"May I ask what are you perusing good sir?"
"Certainly Sir William, some text I found myself at a certain place called ToS"
"For Chrissake! Here it says... sh*t!"
"OH GOD!"
*posh guy throws the computer away, swoons and buys a new one several minutes later*

Honestly, I think none of us will faint after seeing f*ck or sh*t written properly.

Why the censor?

You know, I never really thought about it. Good point...

http://www.extensiveenterprisesonlin...censorship.jpg

I'm sorry, I just had to post this here, seeing how befitting it is.

I have said this somewhere in the forum (I bet you noticed it :P)
It is for the modesty of some users. Some may be offended by the word. It is general policy on forums to do it, so that is why we have it. I honestly don't see the need for swearing on a civil Avatar forum though, so it shouldn't be too much of an issue.

It's still clear most of the time what is being said. I don't think it's appropriate, or necessary, to have these words spelled out all the way. There is a huge range of ages, backgrounds, and viewpoints here, and I am sure some people are offended by it. While I am not offended by it, it does bother me when I see it, because I think it cheapens the discussion unless there is a very specific point to the words being used.

I like the censors and think they serve a good purpose. Now, if you are finding a particular censor is cutting out legitimate words (which sometimes happens) point it out and we will try to fix it.

I had one nail "Coke" (drop the "e") on a different forum. I also "****" myself so I don't ever trip the censors. Personally, I don't care one way or the other unless it mucks with my fanfic ;)

****.......... did it work? yep

I don't mind the censor. Because I really don't see the need to curse outlandishly on these forums. No enemies or fierce arguments that call for them, at least none that I have seen.

I'd personally be glad to see the censor lifted. I'd like to think we're all mature enough here to understand that words should not be our concern - the meanings they carry should be. In my opinion, calling somebody a "Moronic Imbecile" instead of a "F*cking Idiot" equates to the same amount of disrespect and vulgarity. The hate and contempt being expressed is the same, only the vessel through which they are being communicated has changed. Profanity shouldn't hold any weight in what mature adults find offensive. "Profane" words often have useful and relevant application in language as, due to the power that society has bestowed upon them, they allow people to express feelings in a much more stronger way. They can often be used to emphasise a positive experience. For example, "I had a f*cking good time" illustrates how enjoyable an evening was with much greater effect than "I had a rudy good time".

Personally, I feel it can disrupt the flow and effect of a person's writing when somebody is expressing a heartfelt opinion and their emotions wind up being "censored".

Just my two cents! I don't expect it to change anything... just thought I'd put across the opposite side of the argument :gsmile:.

I personally don't mind the censor.

However, when writing certain texts, swearing can be needed for dramatic effect. Seeing the word with an asterisk removes the 'shock value' as it were. Also it can be quite irritating for words such as "c ockroaches" which are genuine words, but get censored because of the system.

Overall, I get by with the censorship in place though. As Sacred said, what may not carry any offence to one person may be outrageous to another.

I'd still like to see the censor lifted. It doesn't seem as if this issue was ever seriously considered. I think it's pretty appalling that it's still in place.

Is there a vB mod where the censor is optional per user?

The word censor should convert words into Na'vi equivalents where possible. That would be hilarious.

Sad thing that everyone always has to swear around here.

But then, teens will be teens, and people up to 30 will remain adolescents...

Sad. Am I the only 20 y/o on ToS who's against swearing?

I actually replaced "*****" with "Ninat" for a while - in other words, saying for instance "You f*cking c*cksucker" would result in "You ninating ninat". :D
(I had to remove that though when fanfic authors complained their fiction suddenly made no sense whatsoever... :rolleyes:)

As for disabling it entirely, I'll talk it through with the other admins and see what can be done.

Stretch the definitions of these to include some of the most common English language swears and they would be great as world filter alternatives

wiya [ˈwi.ja] intj. Expression of warning or frustration, 'damn!'

tsahey [ˈt͡sa.ˈhɛj] intj. Expression of warning or frustration, 'crap!', 'ah, hell!'

skxawng [sk'awŋ] n. Moron, idiot

pxasìk [ˈp'a.sɪk̚] intj. Screw that!, no way! (vulgar)

I'm completely against the filter being removed. Maybe I'm under the wrong impression, but I thought this site was pretty much safe for all ages--and while I'd never freak out if I saw f*** spelled out without stars, it gives the forum a level of vulgarity that I think is unnecessary. Why would swears have to be shown? So people can express their opinions more strongly when they want to say something? I'm sorry, but I see no reason for that. Maybe this place isn't family friendly, but I don't think it's unlikely that there are younger people with parents that wouldn't allow them to come if they saw the level that people here were willing to go to.

In my opinion, there's a lot less to be gained from lifting the filter than leaving it in. Swear words will, in most cases, be used in an angry way (whether that anger is aimed toward other members or life off the forum) and I don't see why people need to make their anger even stronger. I've seen the "conflicts" on this forum, and without a censor it'd give them an even nastier tone.

Just my two cents. I'd really rather the filter wasn't lifted.

:gtongue:I think it's pretty patronising to presume using profanity is an age-based activity... as if that somehow has implications concerning the person's maturity. I think it's sad that some people continue to find the vessel for emotion offensive, rather than the actual message itself. Disrespect is disrespect, whether it comes in the form of "You utter moron" or "You f*cking moron". I'd hope that in a community like this we'd be able to treat each other with mutual respect. Profanity is simply an emotional intensifier. It can be used for good or for bad, but so can many other words. Why not "ban" those, whilst we're at it?

All a censor does is limit our freedom of expression. That's never a good thing.

I agree with both of Leequilibrium's main posts, here. There is an option on mmorpgs (for example) to choose to edit out other people's profanity in chat. If there are members on this forum who feel strongly enough to do this, I think they should have the option to not see words spelt out in full... however for the majority, as Leequilibrium has said, filtering someone's self-expression is never a good thing.

I think it's a bit "ruddy" rich to put oneself up on a pedestal and claim that you are ABOVE swearing... Very few people swear to try and big themselves up, but more as we have already outlined, to express how extreme a certain point they are making is.

I don't really agree with swearing directly at someone, but again as Leequilibrium has said, I see no difference between calling someone an "utter moron" and a "****ing moron"... both are used to belittle and offend.

At the end of the day, I believe the filter should be removed, but that there should still be an option for members to re-implement it for their personal viewing of the forums.

Profanity is a way of showing how your lack of vocabulary and sense of refinement have replaced rational methods of speaking. If even the most intelligent person in the world reverts to using the F word, that person is, by definition, an idiot.

A similar analogy comes to mind on how I think of those who constantly swear (or at least swear like it doesn't mean anything serious). Like how Bill Mahr thinks all religious people are mentally ill, I think those who swear like I've described are intellectually challenged.

There isn't an option to enable it on a user basis, unfortunately. To be honest, I never gave the matter that much consideration either way. It's not abut being 'above' anything though. Anyway, I'm fine with disabling it if people are in agreement.

Made a poll - moving the discussion here:

http://www.tree-of-souls.com/feedbac...ng_filter.html

As am I.