"bad word" censorship on/off option?

[Blobbenstein]

Maybe this is a subject that I should post in the vBulletin maker's forum but:

wouldn't it be good if individual members could switch off the censorship function, for just themselves?
If someone types a "bad" word, then I personally would rather read it than have a bunch of asterisks.
I don't see why people should be dictated to as to how they send/receive information on the internet.
If someone IS offended by "bad" language then they would be able to switch on a censorship function JUST for themselves and leave other people out of it.

Is there anything wrong with this idea?


Censorship, if admin want, could be automatically switched on for non-members.

[isowish]

Is there anything wrong with this idea?

only that it is technically difficult for not a lot of gain :/

and yeah, I think you should tell vBulletin if you want it done. It's my understanding that Michael doesn't write any of the 'features' for VB. And he's a very busy man. :)

[Blobbenstein]

I just thought I'd get some thoughts here first.



here is some information about swearing and the brain.
http://people.howstuffworks.com/swearing4.htm


Many studies suggest that the brain processes swearing in the lower regions, along with emotion and instinct. Scientists theorize that instead of processing a swearword as a series of phonemes, or units of sound that must be combined to form a word, the brain stores swear words as whole units [ref]. So, the brain doesn't need the left hemisphere's help to process them.

[karenlovessnow]

Are we talking about the entire internet or VB specifically?

[Blobbenstein]

well, I ment, as an option for bulletin boards generally.


maybe it isn't such a good idea. it might just lead to confusion.

[karenlovessnow]

I wouldn't give up just yet...I'm easily confused anyway so don't go by me! :) I don't know enough about BB or the internet to make a judgement call right now. I would be interested to see what others think.

[Sevenseas]

1. Select a text with cursewords
2. Copy the ****ing thing
3. Open a text editor of some kind and use paste
4. Replace the filtered words with some ****ing nasty words of your choice, and voila.

[Blobbenstein]

I take it you're ****ing against the idea then Seveseas? :-D


well, you're probably right, but it does annoy me when I have to start working out what the word that was deleted was.
In some cases a word might be nasty but in others it is a word that is just part of everyday speach.

[isowish]

well, I think someone mentioned that there are only two words censored on VB? so it should be pretty obvious what they said from context.


In some cases a word might be nasty but in others it is a word that is just part of everyday speach.
The problem with that is ... it varies between people. I never thought I swore a lot, but my friends are recently moving away and stuff and I am making new friends, and I realised that my swearing just blended in because ALL my friends swore all the ****ing time. Now that I have some new friends, they think I swear A LOT.

[vigilant20]

I wish it was expanded. This place isn't adult only. It's also a veg*n board...what possible reason is there for foul language?

[Pixelle]

I wish it was expanded. This place isn't adult only. It's also a veg*n board...what possible reason is there for foul language?

cause sometimes there's stuff that ****s us off :)

[Diana]

Can the word "meat" be put in the filter please? That word is really really offensive.

[Bof]

Can the word "meat" be put in the filter please? That word is really really offensive.

Except when it's used for the edible part of fruits or nuts. :)

[Washoe]

There are quite a few potentially offensive words that make it through, like [mod note: removed].
Yes, but **** and **** are the two primary offenders in the English language—they are the only two which are routinely filtered in material intended for public presentation.

only that it is technically difficult for not a lot of gain :/
I’m sure somebody somewhere has already written the code for this. For Michael it will be a simple matter of pasting a few lines of code into the software. Shouldn’t take more than a minute if somebody has already written it. Seek and ye will most likely find. I’ll check myself later.

[Washoe]

Hmmm…maybe I’m wrong. I can’t seem to find any pre-written code for this. I'll keep looking when I have more time. However, somebody on the vBulletin Community Forum ( http://www.vbulletin.com/forum/) pointed out the filter can be bypassed by changing the color of one letter of the offending word. Let's try it and see: MOD EDIT: SORRY, NOT GONNA FLY HERE Yep, on preview it seems that he's right. I'm not suggesting that everybody do this; I'm just pointing out an interesting bug in the vBulletin code.

[Washoe]

It also works if you bold one letter: MOD EDIT AGAIN

[Chrysalis]

i think there's a rule against trying to work your way around the swear word filter...for example, by typing $hit instead of ****. I wouldn't mind having the filter as optional. I sometimes am not sure which word is supposed to be there, but I don't care enough to do the copy paste thing. I guess I could get around it by using more creative swear words that aren't filtered, like asshole or bitch, but i don't swear with the intention of insulting anyone, so...meh...

[froggythefrog]

It also works if you bold one letter: NOPE. NOT GONNA PLAY THAT...

Good find, Washoe. :guitar: Guys, if you do this, you are considered to be bypassing the swear filter, and may possibly get an infraction. I don't recommend doing it.

[Tofu-N-Sprouts]

I really see no reason for it. And Michael does enough around here already!!
We don't "need" swear words to understand a person's point. There are plenty of creative and more intelligent words that could be used instead of two common, offensive and horribly over-used four-letter ones.

[Chrysalis]

I really see no reason for it. And Michael does enough around here already!!
We don't "need" swear words to understand a person's point. There are plenty of creative and more intelligent words that could be used instead of two common, offensive and horribly over-used four-letter ones.
:nod: I find that shakespeare always has wonderful insults in his plays that just crack me up. i always did mean to memorize some of them. like sop, i think that's one of them.

[WonderRandy]

MOD POST:

Bypassing the profanity filter, in the methods Washoe described, or in any other way (substituting letters and symbols, misspelling, etc.) is specifically prohibited in the rules here. Don't do it. The only official way to use any of the THREE words on the profanity filter list is to use ****. We'll usually overlook the occasional f***, s***, or c***. Anything else puts you at risk of disciplinary action.

As for the issue at hand, one of the primary reasons those three words are banned here, is that many workplaces have blocking filters in place that will block the entire website if it has those particular words. Personally, I frequently access VB from my job at a public school. The filters we have in place there would most likely block VB if those words were present.

The other main reason those words are blocked is, as someone mentioned, we have a LOT of minors as members. The last thing we need is for a 14 year old, who is already having a tough time convincing his/her parents to let them go veggie, then have the parent see a bunch of F-bombs on our site.

I understand that the adults on this site want to be treated like adults and be able to speak freely, using whatever language they see fit. Unfortunately, if we want VB to continue to grow, we are going to have to keep some of these rules in place. There are several other websites out there where you can use those THREE words. It doesn't have to be such a big deal here.

[Vegan Joe]

There are quite a few potentially offensive words that make it through, like [mod note: Inappropriate language removed].

Now how about fairness. If I used the N word in any context it would be deleted and I would be suspended. So how about deleting that word as it is not necessary to get the point accross. MOD Bias Big time right here.

[rapt]

The other main reason those words are blocked is, as someone mentioned, we have a LOT of minors as members. The last thing we need is for a 14 year old, who is already having a tough time convincing his/her parents to let them go veggie, then have the parent see a bunch of F-bombs on our site.

Why bother when the same 14 year old can come here and read signatures about sex workers and other assorted comments about women with big t***. A pg 13 rule should be consistent.

[isowish]

Hmmm…maybe I’m wrong. I can’t seem to find any pre-written code for this. I'll keep looking when I have more time. However, somebody on the vBulletin Community Forum ( http://www.vbulletin.com/forum/) pointed out the filter can be bypassed by changing the color of one letter of the offending word. Let's try it and see: MOD EDIT: SORRY, NOT GONNA FLY HERE Yep, on preview it seems that he's right. I'm not suggesting that everybody do this; I'm just pointing out an interesting bug in the vBulletin code.

there's unlinkely to be any pre-written code.
I don't know for sure, but I suspect that words are filtered out as they are saved to the database, so stored at the moment is just **** every time there's a swear word, not the word itself, with no way to tell what the word originally was. So it would involve some pretty major redesign for this feature.

eta: scrap that. that would mean that you couldn't add/remove words from the censor. that can't be right.

[Michael]

There will be no on/off filter option. It's not built into the software.

I don't plan on expanding the language filter to include more words. It's something the mods need to be aware of when it happens. As others have pointed out it's easy enough to bypass the censor.

Our policy on language is:

We have children as young as 13 here. All language should be suitable for children of that age. If something is not acceptable on network television it probably isn't acceptable here.

If you see something that you feel violates the rules report the post and the moderators will check into it.