Autocensor Changes

[DJ Bonebraker]

Personally, I'm all for this: I've been a member of forums where swearing was allowed to run rampant, and I eventually left due to the extreme amounts of abusive language being tossed around.

One of the reasons I hang around here is because this site is, well, more Civilized than most.

.....However I DO have an issue with the autocensor: the aforementioned censoring of the word "ch ink".

that word, by definition is "1. a weak point in ones armor or defences, 2. a gap in the wall between two boards or beams, esp in log cabins, 3. onomonopeia for the sound of metal tapping mettal" The use of the word as a derogatory for Chinese and Asians in general doesn't come in until the bottom of the list, and furthermore, it's been a good 15 years since I've ever heard anybody use this word in that connotation, and I live in an area where other racial slurs are fairly commonly heard! This is especially egregious in a forum dedicated to historical strategic simulation, where the first three dictionary definitions of that word will be FAR more likely to come up than the potentially racist one!

Furthermore, it is extremely ironic since the autocensor does NOT work on blatantly racist terms that have no other meaning than a means to deride people of certain nationalities, e.g. "Jap" and "Spic"!

Other than that, I have no particular problems: The moderators have enough problems dealing with a forum this size without having to monitor every single post for naughty words.

 

[Jester Fool]

Jester Fool, however, is clearly a dirty commie, since he drags political considerations into how a private forum should be run, just like the liberal, America-hating left is prone to do.

Thank you for the laughs. "Dirty commie" - I love it.

 

[Valkrionn]

EXACTLY. Well said. In context, you are one of the most polite debaters on the forums. I DO wish you would release the next RiFE patch though. (good natured ribbing)

Thank you. I try.

I would avoid any political arguments, though, unless it's actually helpful.

I just have to post this. Just because Americans thinks freedom of speech is their way of life, it does not make it the best way of life for everyone on earth. I've lived 13 years in the states, and I always hated that when someone thinks that Americans's way of life and thinking is the best and should be adopted by the rest of the world. Freedom is ability to choose that you do the right thing and not to offend others. If you don't have ability to restrain yourself from offending others, you just lost the freedom yourself. If your freedom is being destructive to others, it's not freedom anymore, it's anarchy.

The US, as well as Canada, stood by UK, in WW2 not because of freedom of speech issue, but threat of being invaded by Nazi.

I completely agree with the bolded statement.

If everyone is free, then your freedoms only extend insofar as they do not damage the freedoms of anyone else.

 

[spryllino]

I agree with the new system, but I think that this should be complemented by a revision of the autocensor list to add any swearwords that aren't on it, and to remove absurdities like that dent in one's armour and even the female dog, because they have perfectly honourable uses; it is misuses of them, and misuses of them alone that should be prohibited and infracted.

 

[ParadigmShifter]

I had a look over the autocensor list, it seemed fairly ok to me. I only suggested 2 more words, and one was to avoid the S****horpe problem.

I don't think some of the rules are working though, someone posted f-able the other day and that didn't get caught even although the f-word is supposed to trigger it even as a substring.

 

[DJ Bonebraker]

I agree with the new system, but I think that this should be complemented by a revision of the autocensor list to add any swearwords that aren't on it, and to remove absurdities like that dent in one's armour and even the female dog, because they have perfectly honourable uses; it is misuses of them, and misuses of them alone that should be prohibited and infracted.

I agree with you perfectly, although I'm not so sure about the female dog one (or for that matter another "b-word" that can mean "illegitimate offspring"), due to the fact that those words are rarely used for their original, non-profane reasons....

One thing that some of the people I've seen on this thread complaining most loudly about "censorship" and "freedom of speech" seem to be forgetting one important thing: This is Thunderfall's private club, he pays the bills and, like real-life private clubs, he can set the rules for membership and/or the conduct of said members, regardless of what the law of the land says. After all, if you don't LIKE the rules, you are free to leave.

I mean, if you think this is strict, I belong to forums where any discussion of religion, politics or modern firearms is banned and any such posts are usually deleted immediately, as well as a forum where swearing will not only likely result in a perm-ban on the second or third offense, but using "AoLish"/TxT-Speak is guaranteed to have the same results.

...And after seeing the constant trolling/flame wars in OT, I'd say those forums are much better for those rules!

 

[Birdjaguar]

...And after seeing the constant trolling/flame wars in OT, I'd say those forums are much better for those rules!

We are working on that too.

 

[craig123]

Talk of autocensors always reminds me of the S****horpe problem

 

[ParadigmShifter]

I mentioned the S****horpe problem 3 posts above you!

at the article which replaced references to sprinter Tyson Gay with Tyson Homosexual though

 

[craig123]

I mentioned the S****horpe problem 3 posts above you!

at the article which replaced references to sprinter Tyson Gay with Tyson Homosexual though

Lol, sorry. I only read the first page of the thread - couldn't be bothered going through the other 11. Good old Tyson Homosexual - don't you love the law of unintended consequences

 

[Bucephalus]

I mentioned the S****horpe problem 3 posts above you!

And I mentioned it 96 posts before you.

 

[Hygro]

It's not an internet forum until people take personally how their ancestors fought Nazis.

 

[Takhisis]

But we don't have to do it in every thread, right?

 

[Hygro]

When the moderators start doing it, it's fair game.

My Grandpa switched from the cavalry* to the navy prior to WW2 and by golly he didn't serve in the military so that someone could swear on an internet forum. He'd be pretty miffed about the whole thing really. By golly.


*yes he literally fbananas rode horses and had a sword. It was the 1930s, and in his words they spent their time riding around busting communist meetings.

 

[Takhisis]

What's 'fbananas riding horses'?

Ahem, back to the topic at hand… it's amazing how many people hadn't even noticed the autocensor's existence until today and now they complain about not being able to use the same words they weren't allowed to use before anyway.

 

[Arakhor]

I don't generally swear and I don't like the look of swearwords on the page, so in that regard, the auto-filter is fine by me (except for words which are apparently offensive across the pond and are thus filtered).

I don't think it's fine when some people start accusing others of being childish, selfish or other such things, especially if said people are responsible for stopping other people flaming.

 

[GhostWriter16]

My only major problem with this is because of private messenging, because for whatever reason, you can have an infinite amount of smiles in a PM (Or just more.) Can this be edited by any chance so that the swearword has to be removed from the PM?

I don't care if people swear or not, I don't care if they are allowed to swear or not, that's Thunderfalls decicion, but getting 50 smiles in a PM is irritating.

 

[os79]

Reading through 11 pages would be tiring as I can maybe predict the majority of posts' content.

To summarize my opinion in addition to others: Censorship is bad, period. Reason: To swear is to be human. Granted there are people who abuse the language for their stupid entertainment, but at the same time there are genuine people who cuss to express their feelings with cogency. You may not believe this, and this is within your right as USA citizen (not sure about other countries ). However, that doesn't give you the right to take away others' right to express themselves. Words are way we show ourselves, good AND BAD (as perceived by others).

Caveat: I understand this site is owned by a certain group and it is within their rights to make up rules concerning this. However, I'm saying that this power to make rules in this case is jarring, to say the least.

My piece is said . Credited to Afforess for sending me here to say my piece . No hard feelings one way or other. Still coming here because I'm Civ FANATIC!

 

[Valka D'Ur]

My only major problem with this is because of private messenging, because for whatever reason, you can have an infinite amount of smiles in a PM (Or just more.) Can this be edited by any chance so that the swearword has to be removed from the PM?

I don't care if people swear or not, I don't care if they are allowed to swear or not, that's Thunderfalls decicion, but getting 50 smiles in a PM is irritating.

I don't think it's possible to get 50 smileys in a PM, since the upper limit for images in a single post is 30. If this doesn't apply to PMs, could an admin please address this?

Domination3000: If anybody swears at you in PM or sends annoying images, you have the right to report the message and ask a moderator to look into the matter.

 

[Monkeyfinger]

While we're on the subject of things that shouldn't be on the autocensor list, what are alt codes (like alt+0173) doing there?