Board filtering question

[Lord Seth]

Over here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=11219156) I noticed that ever writing "****" gets censored out, even though it's a legitimate name, such as "**** Grayson" (if you don't know what's getting censored out, look up "Robin"). At first I thought "oh, well, it's just slang for a particular body part, and they don't want us talking about that." But then you can write "penis" without it being censored at all, so that's apparently fine after all. The filtering of it doesn't make sense to me, especially considering the completely legitimate usage of it in terms of it being a name.

[Kobold-Bard]

Over here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=11219156) I noticed that ever writing "****" gets censored out, even though it's a legitimate name, such as "**** Grayson" (if you don't know what's getting censored out, look up "Robin"). At first I thought "oh, well, it's just slang for a particular body part, and they don't want us talking about that." But then you can write "penis" without it being censored at all, so that's apparently fine after all. The filtering of it doesn't make sense to me, especially considering the completely legitimate usage of it in terms of it being a name.

If you're using it in a legitimate context & the term isn't inherently offensive (assorted swear words, even if used in a legitimate context such as an album title for example), such as your example or Moby ****, you're allowed to evade the filter. Careful doing this though, as if you judge it wrong then you could wake up with a load of warning points under your avatar.


Sheriff: As always, 1) no we're not changing or abandoning the word filter and 2) you may use work-arounds to post non-profane, non-pejorative, entirely appropriate uses of filtered works.

Penis isn't inherently offensive, it's a medical term at it's heart, so isn't filtered. Using it in place of a censored term as a way to be a smart alek and evade the filter will likely result in a moderator smacking you with a warning.

[Zeb The Troll]

We are aware that the word filters are imperfect in both directions. For some words there are legitimate uses that are unfortunately blocked, as your example, and there are otherwise fine words with inappropriate uses that do not get blocked. If you use a word that is not blocked in an inappropriate manner, we'll probably give you a heads up that you shouldn't be using that word that way here, once. On the other hand, if you use any of the now well known tricks to bypass the filters in order to use the word in a legitimate way, i.e. **** Grayson, you won't here from us about it. Just make absolutely sure it's legitimate and not just something you feel should be legitimate. Names are typically okay.

[happyturtle]

The mods here use a common sense approach, not a rules lawyer approach. If I wanted, I could insult the heck out of someone without going anywhere near a proscribed word, but that wouldn't keep me from getting into trouble. All the filter does is to save people who slip up and use a swear out of habit from getting in trouble, and save the mods from having to issue lots and lots of profanity warnings / infractions.

[NerfTW]

All the filter does is to save people who slip up and use a swear out of habit from getting in trouble, and save the mods from having to issue lots and lots of profanity warnings / infractions.

Well, no. If you write something that comes out as "*** you, you **** **** **** ***** ***** ***** ****", you're still going to get a warning or infraction as the case merits. Insulting someone with **** is no different than an actual swear, given that you know one is being used. If you're consistently having "****" in your posts, you're still probably going to receive a note from the mods.

Blanking them out means the board stays PG-13 even in the midst of a trouble maker who can't post without swearing. It just makes it easier to clean up. It also acts as an immediate response for the poster, who should be able to figure out from it that this type of language isn't allowed, and should probably go back and edit their post.

[happyturtle]

I'm talking about the accidental swear words that people say during conversations, not actually cursing at someone. The filters take care of the former. The mods take care of the latter.

[Serpentine]

Penis isn't inherently offensive, it's a medical term at it's heart, so isn't filtered.Not at it's heart, it is a... well, just a term. It's a body part. Vagina too, nowai! (meant to be generally silly, not a jab at you :smalltongue:) Although, might be worth mentioning, any conversation where the words "penis" and "vagina" are likely to come up frequently quite possibly isn't forum appropriate anyway :smallwink:

[skywalker]

The mods here use a common sense approach, not a rules lawyer approach. If I wanted, I could insult the heck out of someone without going anywhere near a proscribed word, but that wouldn't keep me from getting into trouble.

Depends how you do it. The forum rules outlaw flaming. There are a variety of other ways to make someone feel inferior to you, however, which are perfectly legal. Even though there is some scrubbing in there, take a look at all the totally allowed discussions in the gaming forums to see what I mean.


All the filter does is to save people who slip up and use a swear out of habit from getting in trouble, and save the mods from having to issue lots and lots of profanity warnings / infractions.

It makes sense, since even in PG movies you can get away with saying "oh, ****e," and most people won't bat an eye if you drop it as an interjection of surprise once in a conversation. Usually, I use the term (or something similar) in an otherwise totally kosher post. Then, I see the asterisks in what I've just posted, use the word (and a few more) again, and edit it into something like "crap" or similar.