Swear filter question

[Hammer Rabbi]

Thanks.


Yeah - the swear filter, on the SMF software my forum uses, sux pretty bad, but I can (and did) use a different substitution for each forbidden term, thus my bracketed translations comedy - Uno said just the other day that he sometimes trips on purpose because they make him smile. (I know the management here thinks that's counter-productive, but different strokes and all, and that's why I want CFC healthy, to provide 4x TBS gamers a selection of styles/cultures/atmospheres.)

vBulletin forum software, like here, is better in a lot of ways, but not so much with the flexibility on the filter.

I've only witnessed other's systems casually. I frequent Fark a lot and they are much less moderated regarding tone than here, but they have full word replacement systems. In the early days people used to just blindly post 'FIRST POST' (along with many variations) in every thread like a game but it never had any real relation to the article link. they shut that down by changing them to either 'weeners' or something slightly embarrassing. it worked. no one does that anymore (except for the ones innocently caught actually addressing someone's first post in the forums, haha). and it translates that way to actual curse words too, albeit totally obvious to the kids who might be skimming Fark. (the name Fark was just it's own filter for the obvious word it replaces.) over the years they've upgrades their systems and i couldn't tell you what filter code they use now, but they still use the word replace system.

sry, end threadjack, i swear. carry on hopefully with more productive banter than mine, haha.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

I'd forgotten about this 'first post' nonsense. Some people used to do that at the forum where the Fuzzy Knights webcomic was posted, and it was kind of a game among some of the regulars to be the first or second person to comment on the new ones as soon as possible after they were posted. It always seemed a bit silly to me.

Funny thing about the word "fark." I first saw it in one of my English classes in college. The meaning at that time was simply the overuse of convoluted words and phrases intended to impress readers or listeners, whether to shore up the writer/speaker's own ego or to try to divert attention from that person's not really being as knowledgeable on the subject as they were pretending to be.

I guess nowadays, we'd call it "technobabble."

 

[Buster's Uncle]

Speaking as the OP, I don't think it's any sort threadjack to discuss things that can be done with a swear filter in a swear filter thread. That's not even thread drift.

If I'd ever much seen that "First Post" rot at AC2, it'd be in there, I reckon. I've only seen it on things like article comment threads and YouTube, fortunately...

 

[Nares]

If I'd ever much seen that "First Post" rot at AC2, it'd be in there, I reckon. I've only seen it on things like article comment threads and YouTube, fortunately...

I can't imagine you would see it. It's largely an attempt at achieving some form of minor posterity. I never noticed it as a fad, but assuming the fad is over, you'll still see it in the first few responses to a thread perceived or expected to have some longevity, often either in response to a thread started by a developer, or a thread which is outlandish to the point of being humorous, especially if the original poster is perceived as being serious.

I wouldn't be too concered about it, unless your forum consists of an especially insulated community, or is required to maintain some level of professionalism, the latter of which really shouldn't be the case in a game forum.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

I wouldn't be too concered about it, unless your forum consists of an especially insulated community, or is required to maintain some level of professionalism, the latter of which really shouldn't be the case in a game forum.

Speaking generally, the degree of professionalism one should expect on a game forum depends on whether the forum owner is selling a product to the public or is closely affiliated with a commercial company/product. I've seen this run the gamut from professional to extremely unprofessional, all on the same forum (as a result of their lack of professionalism, the company/forum owners lost me as a customer, after over 13 years of previous customer loyalty).

 

[Buster's Uncle]

Hmm. As I've already mentioned in this thread, it's a 'What-would-embarrass-Mom' rule of thumb standard of public behavior for me, and by extension, the place I run. I actually let a lot I don't much care for pass - the members have to own/shape their own community and all, and I try to never use my janitor powers on people when a word here and there will do. My position comes with the power of Leadership, if only I know how to leverage my mod/admin/owner status causing me to be listened to.

So, on reflection I think if First Post had ever been a problem, there'd be a lot of second replies asking them to append some on-topic remark or at least come up with a joke that's funny. No high-handed swear filter action after all...

 

[Nares]

it's a 'What-would-embarrass-Mom' rule of thumb standard of public behavior for me

In the post "50 Shades" era, that rule might need to be modified.

 

[Buster's Uncle]

Buster's Gramma is a nice church/teacher lady, but not w/ stick inserted. She's honestly a good standard.