Censorship Petition

[Darken]

Well, after my famous Samuel L. Jackson quote from "Jackie Brown" was deleted from my profile because of apparent censorship bypassing, I have created this topic in protest. Apparently the word "mother******" is not allowed even with all the letters of the latter part replaced with *s. (I may even be banned for placing it in this topic)

This is to gage the support for a change to remove this censorship to allow for swear words to be placed in quotes with the respected **** in place.

Apparently someone is offended by this, but I honestly don't understand to what effect. I do not petition to make this board wide, but merely in the quotes where the true meaning of the quote can be expressed without this apparent tyranny over the board.

Darken

[SenaxFlatulus]

I agree with you in a lot of ways, but you need to understand that this board is viewable to the entire world. We want to attract as many people as possible, and the admin has gotten complaints such as:

"I visited your site with my child since we surf the web together. While we liked it for the most part with all the varied views and political debates, we did come across material (bad words and words with symbols that leave nothing to the imagination) that I object to having my child read. We won't be visiting in the future. Sorry"

This is an example, not an actual complaint, but it goes to show you that things that you don't find objectionable can very well be objected to by others. While you can only bend so far before drawing a limit, is it too much to ask? I know you're a smart guy, and you have a lot to add. Are you willing to let this be the stumbling block to others who could otherwise see your political views?

[Darken]

...I guess this is going nowhere. Apparently too many Christians and Puritans peruse the boards, and having censored language is offending to many of them.

There really should be a close topic option...

Darken

[SenaxFlatulus]

Originally Posted by Darken";p=&quot

...I guess this is going nowhere. Apparently too many Christians and Puritans peruse the boards, and having censored language is offending to many of them.

There's also devout Jews, and Muslim people who visit too. This is equally as offensive to them. I asked PF a long time ago about this, and here are some of his comments:

Remember, the main reasons for not allowing such language is (1) it makes the site more appealing to a wider audience, (2) using dirty words tends to get people using even more dirty words, and (3) political discussions rarely need an actual curse words to express a political opinions (although I completely understand the desire to curse), and (4) its very easy to use different words in place of dirty words.

Again, try to see it through a perspective other than your own.

[SenaxFlatulus]

Originally Posted by DBG";p=&quot

Why would that parental unit surf the POLITICAL FORUM with her child?
If said child is old enough to understand and participate in political debate, said child has seen/heard and probably said the words alluded to by the parental unit.

Sounds to me like one of those religious extremists objecting to bad words and, as they often do, using "my child" as a bludgeon to remake the web, the media and schools to their liking.

Well DBG you're certainly entitled to your opinion.

Just think of it this way... If future generations get involved at an earlier age than you think necessary, maybe there'll be fewer "sheeples" on the "short bus" for you to make fun of.

[redneck]

... Let me say first, that when I am a guest, either here or anywhere else, I will abide by the owner's rules and respect his wishes.

But that said, I do have opinions, and I believe things here are a little too strict. I also don't believe this is a place for young children. Plus nowadays I could almost guarantee they've already seen or heard more at school or on cable TV than they would ever find here.

I'd say this forum compares to some movies, like when you see a good movie and it has some "salty" language, then you see the same movie that has been edited for prime-time network TV, often it doesn't even seem like the same movie. I'm not talking about non-stop swearing just for the sake of swearing, but some "colorful" language sometimes makes a character seem more natural.

OK, I'm finished.

[PoliticalForum]

You might search this site, there have been many threads discussing this before.

To not allow some words does seem a little crazy to the typical American or European. Believe me, I made the rules and I'm not a extreme right winger, religious zealot, puritanical, or anything like that. But I can see reality, and when people did in the first month of this site post dirtly words like crazy, I received lots of complains from those people that wanted to participate but thought this degraded the site. There are also other websites that will not link to us if we allow rampant profanity. A decent political discussion doesn't really require profanity. Profanity alienates other cultures, cultures that probably should feel free to discuss politics with westerners. Think of the big picture here and hopefully you get that this helps the overall quality and diversity of the forum. I do not want a forum where its the "preaching to the choir" situation, and not that profanity itself would do that, but its one factor that tends to limit our audience. Even with the ***** people hear in the heads what it says and still causes some problems.

[Darken]

...I said before, I don't condone senseless profanity in political discussion.

I merely wish to place my quote accurately in the quote area of my profile. If it is necessary to censor that specific word...then so be it.

Darken

[PoliticalForum]

I personally liked your quote quite a bit but it gets posted everywhere you've ever posted and not only was there but was highly visible on the whole site. I'm sorry I can't allow it, but before opening this site we set out certain rules and not allowing such profanity is just a rule we made, not matter where it shows up (in the post or in the sig).