This should be self explanatory, but ami posted some links for us

i hope this not too big of an ask. and i hope it's not controversial

It could be argued that it is a pretty big ask because unlike most, if not all other censored words, it has legitimate uses that have nothing to do with insults. And people who can't find a better way to express themselves than using insults will just switch to something else offensive. Next we'll have to censor autist, autistic, and whatever else people feel the need to use.

Seems to me that you should instead be asking that it not be allowed to be used pejoratively. Do you report posts of people doing so? If so, and action isn't being taken, perhaps you should raise your concern with the mod(s) of the forum(s) in question.

The fact that those words are acceptable insults around here is absolutely disgusting.

If hurtful stuff like the N-word is censored, there’s no good reason not to censor the R-word. I’d be interested to see examples of legitimate uses of that word on this forum. Can you please provide a couple? It’s not like we have a booming physics subforum where people frequently discuss things like ******ation time.

no decision has been made, but when searching for ****** on this site i found no examples where it wasn't used as an insult.

thanks for the consideration guys. i appreciate it.


the mods of the subforum are very aware and have taken action. but a lot of people think it makes sense to also have a site wide censor on the word.

By adding this word to the profanity filter you could hoist insult comics on their own ******.

I prefer Shakespeare’s - Thou lump of foul deformity! [from Richard III]

Let us not ****** language with unnecessary censorship.

this thread has ******ed potential

I'm certainly no fan of it.

Um, yes, there is - that was my whole point. To start with, the N-word is on its own tier of unacceptability, at least here in North America. And there is no legitimate use of the N-word in normal conversation beyond hate. ****** has many legitimate uses - it's what was once a perfectly acceptable word that has only become unacceptable because it was/is used so frequently as a pejorative. The N-word's origins are in hate. Apples and oranges IMO.

That's an important distinction IMO. Do we lose anything by censoring it? Possibly not.

My thinking is that if there are places where that word is being thrown around on a regular basis, censoring the word is treating the symptom, not the problem. That said, I understand that things get heated and people throw around insults once in a while, and not every thread or forum is going to be modded so tightly that this never happens. So there are some merits to censoring the word. But there is a downside. As you have pointed out, and Mat has backed up with a search, that downside may be minimal.

i believe there is an f word that is censored that used to be used to describe a bundle of sticks, and is still really commonly used in english to describe a cigarette.

if what you are saying above was a good argument, then that f word would never have been censored(i'm assuming it's censored)

******!

Yep - it is censored. Not a big loss or big deal mine you, IMO.

*** it.

Appears all forms are censored, even the two word form. Damn censors, you should be able to circumvent them. The Old ****** folks that they are.

so yeah the precedent is there. good job on censoring f*****. seems to me that the r word is in the exact same category. both words were once used to mean something else, then became insults/slurs that demean an entire community

Or censor nothing and hit the report button when you think a post doesn't belong in the forums. Automatic censors suck.

No, that word would belong in the place of the one you're wanting to censor, and the argument would remain the same. The N-word is a completely different thing from either of those words. That doesn't mean other words shouldn't (or should) be censored; I was simply taking issue with the false equivalence.

That said, this argument is an excellent one IMO:

But I would still suggest that in some cases we would just be treating the symptom and not the problem. If the word is censored, and then is just replaced by "autistic", the conversation is no better for it. Whether the word is censored or not, this still needs to be dealt with.

Meh. I've heard this argument before, but don't give it a lot of credence. If site management/ownership doesn't want certain words posted on their site, an automatic censor saves a lot of time and trouble. We all have plenty of ways to express ourselves; we're not that put out having to come up with a different word now and then, are we? I think it should be used very selectively (which is why I've been trying to discuss pros and cons), but it's effective in very specific instances.

I like the freedom it gives me; I don't have to feel that bad if I want to call you a ****ing mother****ing *******.

Yes.

Well, probably not, but I sure as **** don't.

.

if i was truly running things this is the way we'd go. the real man in charge feels the auto censor is preferable.

it really doesn't ****ing matter and if you piece of **** **** pussy mother****er ****** **** shitface whore ***** need another word censored. **** it i'll do it right now.

******ed ****** ******s

i just came.

Thanks Mat.