A little word about profanity

twyg

twyg

Back to Mac Baby!
Hello everyone!

I just wanted to address the use of profanity on the boards. I have noticed a slight increase in the use of profanity over the course of my volunteer status here. So...

Remember that these boards are to be considered "professional" and since in most offices, schools, religious institutions, etc. we don't hear a whole bunch of swearing I would ask that we bring it to a halt.

By all means, first amendment ho! Say what is on your mind, and express yourself! However, be considerate of those who would rather not come to a board full of cusses.

Many of you have noticed that your four letter cuss words have suddenly changed from duck to d**k overnight. This isn't some script that is run, that's me coming in and cleaning up...

So, I trust we can all be cool and stop with the swearing. ;)
 
I never used profanity on a forum until I came to this one - after seeing so much I thought it was acceptable here and that was my mistake. From now on I will be profanity free.
 
but the minors are the ones doing most (not all) of the cussing:p

but your point is taken and well made. i try to do the star thing whenever i cuss outside certain threads anyway. there are times when the use of such words just comes so naturally as a way to express what i want to express that leaving them out only complicates the meaning or understates my emotions (as in complaining about some bad experience with somebody's tech support). the context of swearing is often the most important part in whether it is appropriate or not. telling someone to f**k off is not the same as declaring a situation or product to be f**ked up. nor does swearing make its intended impact when it is in every other post a person makes. the problem with censoring is deciding what is what. eg - is it better to say "that's screwed" then it is to say "that's f**ked"? both have the same meaning and even the same symbolism. should i be typing that 'scr*wed'? is SNAFU cussing?

but then if you don't agree, you can just fsck my.....:D

(last sentence intended entirely as geek humor, and not to be taken seriously)

no really i agree, a little self monitoring wouldn't hurt any of us.:)
 
twyg you shock me :eek:
cross posting... tsk tsk tsk :p thats just wrong ;)

as for profanity...blame it on nummi lol ;)

(with the exception of the cus thread, we all share a little blame in that ;) )


Admiral
 
... my mother always says there are so many more elegant ways to express such feelings in the Enlish language that simply resorting to the four letter arsenal is a shame ;-)))
 
That's a ridiculous statement, the sort of thing mums come out with all the time... along with that other one about profuse swearing only coming from those who have limited imaginations and / or vocabularies.

;)

Agreed though. No need for such profanity half the time, although I note it often comes from the minors on this board!

Occasionally, there's nothing wrong with well-placed profanity. Some of these words are true old English, not to mention that scene in Trains, Planes & Automobiles. It wouldn't be as nearly funny without the quiet effing and blinding...
 
... b4 discounting my mums statement as ridiculous you should hear some of the things she comes out with ;-)

I agree that a wee bit of profanity here and there in films and the like *can* make them funnier, but there are as many examples of films where the four letter words are over used and just get in the way of dialogue.

I furthermore agree that simply because you use a four letter word now and again (you should hear some of the things I call my computer at work sometimes ;-)) doesn't mean that you have ltd. imagination / vocab (for the former you just have to listen to just about any of the 'Rock Greats' and then listen to some interviews with them; and for the latter simply watch some Stephen Fry ;-)))

But like my mum says: there are many other ways to express emotions in the Enlish language than constantly resorting to the four letter words ;-))

C
 
I liked the way Admin states it best...

"use some common sense... its one of the tickets to being a member here."

twyg I have the utmost respect for you but feel you're being a tad puritanical. I will respect your wishes and make a conscious effort to do so when I'm in your threads or your moderated forums, but please come to the realization a very large portion of peoples communicate in this way. Knowing this offends you, I will use my common senses when around you.

Ironical note: The professional offices, schools, religious institutions, etc. are some of the best places for materials of this sort. Profanity is a vast language set that goes far beyond the "7 dirty words".
 
While the use of profanity in every day situations may be the 'norm' to some of you, it is not for the 'not so normal' rest of us. We don't need to be known as a bunch of !@#@#$ idiots at MacOSX.com whose vernacular needs to be cleaned up for us to be taken seriously.
 
Originally posted by twyg


Remember that these boards are to be considered "professional" and since in most offices, schools, religious institutions, etc. we don't hear a whole bunch of swearing I would ask that we bring it to a halt.
Click to expand...

Clearly you haven't spent much time in my employer's data center. ;)

What do religious institutions have to do with professionalism? If you can ask me not swear (which I generally don't in this context) I feel more than justified in asking you to keep your overgrown volcano god to yourself, and out of my office.
 
Specifically, I was referring to Yahweh, Jah, the Father, Allah or whichever permutation of the Judeo-Christian-Islamic deity he was pondering when he brought up religion. However, the same goes for your Hinyana(Therevada)/Mahayana Buddhas, Shinto kami, Great Spirit or whatever. I think it is unprofessional to promote religion in this forum. Not just a specific religion, but religion in general. "Religious institutions" have nothing to do with professionalism in the sense that he described, why bring them up?

Anyway, it was a joke. It referred to the P.K. Dick book "The Divine Invasion," in which "God" lives in exile on Mars (IIRC) as a semi-retired local volcano deity. It is one of Dicks best works. If you are interested in western theology and sci-fi, you should read the whole Valis trilogy, of which TDI is the third volume. Ursula K. LeGuin called Dick "our own home grown Borges."

Sorry if I offended you. BTW, I really liked your response regarding context.
 
Almost forgot, it was also a reference to the theory that Yahweh was a member of the Mesopotamian (IIRC) pantheon who broke off and went solo. Essentially, just your run of the mill god who outgrew his roots.
 
as for YHVH being a volcano God, I would never have figured that one. sounds like an interesting story. I remember reading a very obscure mystical text when i was younger that posited him as more middle management than supreme leader. which makes more sense to me when you take all that vengeful fear stuff into consideration. not following a judeo/christian/muslim branch of worship, i was hardly offended. rather i was curious about a volcano God that i couldn't find anywhere in the thread up to that point.

so i am wondering, have we had this sticky message up here long enough to get the intended results? it seems to me that having to have these warning messages makes the site seem less attractive and professional all by themselves. Maybe we could all just do a little better job of monitoring each other and move on now.:)
 
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