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[planeswalker]

So true, goddammit, so true.

While image is very funny, the languages is not family friendly, sorry - admin

OK, I'll put a link instead, but I'll voice my opinion that we are getting absurdly prudish lately.

'Ere: http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2010/10/22/[Strong language]

[Akatskimilan]

Indeed.

[kirara]

Did you notice that in the news section they linked to Soda Pop? (that's Cipher-made stuff!)

[Auroth]

They speak Wisdom

[Gimp]

I thought the cartoon was funny, but can't understand how wanting discretion when it drops the f-bomb would be considered 'absurdly prudish.'
 
I'm an ex-army sergeant, and I still find it rude when people use that language in public.  Bring it to an open forum, and it's in even worse taste.

[Cathar the Great]

OK, I'll put a link instead, but I'll voice my opinion that we are getting absurdly prudish lately.

Not only absurdly prudish, but also spending time on correcting language while allowing thousands (and I'm not exaggerating) of spambots to join this forum and post their ads for whatever they want.

I'm okay with tuning down my usual language, I just wish they'd get their priorities right.

[Gimp]

The priorities are also governed by their ability to deal with the situation.
 
Asking posters to use common courtesy in posting is quick, easy, and hopefully effective without a major effort.  Reminding one poster can impact every other poster that reads the thread, and spread the reminder quickly.
 
Stopping spambots is a hunt and chase endeavor that has no real end, as the bots simply come back from another source without any worries about community or courtesy.
 
They have the thankless job of trying to protect the forum from outside threats, and also to monitor the forum for inside issues. 
 
If all they did was go after the spambots, they'd lose people on the forum because of other issues they didn't pay attention to.
 
Thousandsof spambots are thousands of issues.  One poster starting a trend allowing inappropriate language is just one to start.  Each single issue takes one effort to correct, and both outside and internal threat issues are important.

[Waddledoo812]

Not that I'm eager to debate, but I would like to voice my opinion as well:

Honestly, curse words anger and galvanize people only because they train themselves to do so. People who shudder at the sight or sound of those words being uttered should later recognize that, in essence, they scowl at one word and adore another. Except, the difference between the two could be just one letter.

The general public needs to look deeper than the word itself; the "f" word is only a combination of f, u, c, and k in said order. What is actually "crass and offensive" is how a curse word is used; at someone or around someone. If used at someone, it offensive and rude and the equivalent of disparaging someone; fairly indisputable. Around someone, I find it as casual as saying "Of course" or "Sure" or "Yeah". If casual usage irritates you, you need to lighten up. Caring too much about what happens around you, I find, often leads to unnecessary contempt and intervention.

The difference between the two cases makes for very unreasonable scenarios, such as parents banning their children from using a curse word but allowing them to use a word like "fudge" or "dang" in its place. In the same exact usage. At someone, it is actually insignificant if I yell harshly or whisper coldly "F*** you" or "Fudge you". I still desired for you to feel hate, and I was probably successful; it's how you say it. 

It is the anger and crassness itself we should be combating, not the means that they are expressed in.

 

[Cathar the Great]

Couldn't agree more with Waddledoo on the foul language.

My real problem with the Spambots is that it makes the forum look so unprofessional. Small forums created through some cheap, free forum creation website have problems like this.

The official forum for an international game like Anima shouldn't have them.

And it's not a matter of seperately deleting every spambot. There has to be some way to prevent them from joining the forum, otherwise every other forum on the net would have these bots all over the place.

[Gimp]

I have to disagree with Waddledoo.
 
Usage can matter with language, but terminology can be equally offensive.
 
I find the allowance of 'sanitized substitutes' childish and ridiculous sometimes, but not as offensive as some words.  It would make more sense to use a word that is actually appropriately descriptive, but that takes more effort than some people want to use.
 
Whether the 'f' word is used with its literal meaning, or as a catch all adjective, it's still a word many find offensive because of its literal meaning.  Whether some people are willing to accept it in casual conversation or not does not reduce the offensiveness for other people with more consideration for other people.
 
If you walk into a room of people, and start using the 'n' word for every black person in the room, people would also have justification for being upset.  It would be rude.  Whether you meant it as an insult, or because you felt it shouldn't offend anyone, would be irrelevant. 
 
Describing all woman based on either their genitalia or by refering to them as prostitutes would be equally offensive.
 
Caring about what happens around you, and how people treat each other, is what makes us civilized.
 
I don't agree with the PC crowd, who push all bounds of reason to avoid offense, but treating people with respect, and refraining from language that is obviously offensive, is simple common courtesy. 
 
Common courtesy will do far more to prevent contempt and anger than telling people to lighten up while you offend them.

[spacemonkey]

Well said, Gimp. I agree completely.

The admins have repeatedly encouraged and have largely trusted us as community members to do the courteous thing by not using language that is obviously offensive while posting so as to maintain a "family friendly" forum. As such, Anima enthusiasts of all ages and sensibilities can feel comfortable using this forum. I find this forum to be a fantastic resource for all things Anima due entirely to the energy, insight, and general respect that members like planeswalker, Gimp, and really everyone (short of the spambots) use on a day-to-day basis when posting. Personally I'm happy with that and hope this the trend continues.  

[Cathar the Great]

I'm okay with not using language like that on the forum. Most forums have rules like this, because it is easier to say no foul language, than saying no foul language directed at someone else.

My real argument was that skimming threads for the f-word is a less useful use of Admin-time than trying to get the spam problem under control.

I do have to say that the examples you used are not that good, Gimp. Both the "n-word" and anything concerning the treatment of women have actual historic background and are offensive because of this.

The f-word on the other hand is used mainly as an exaggeration and has little to do with its actual meaning.

I do fear that this is one of the subjects where we can never agree because of the age difference, Gimp.

[Waddledoo812]

I agree with Cathar the Great; the 'n' word and the 'p' word, for women, were specifically geared to offend their respective social groups upon utterance. Both the creation and the usage are contemptuous and hateful.

The 'F' word does not suffer such huge blows as the two words above. Literally, it can be taken offensively; I do not take it as such, but I realize many people do. I just find it odd that people usually take more offense to somebody casually uttering 'F' than to somebody yelling vehemently at another person from across the room. People take offense to both, but I see scowls in the first situation where looks of fear meet the second.

As Cathar said, we will never reach an agreement because of differences in age; our sub-cultures and ways of thinking are far too different to reach an internal compromise; one of us will not end up thinking like the other.

That said, I suppose "caring about your surroundings" is an aspect that fluctuates with age. I find there is an immense beauty to apathy and inaction, which is why with each passing day I gravitate towards Daoism. I think most problems with today's society stem from caring too much: most people tend to smother and suffocate each other with their feelings and desires and unfair, hasty judgment gets thrown into the mix.

If neither the speaker nor the listener cared, nobody would take offense to curse words. Instead, the speaker utters curse words and the listener inadvertently casts judgment upon the speaker while scorning him or her. If the listener ever tries to make the speaker feel inferior due to his or her usage in "bad words", the speaker grows contemptuous of the listener; it becomes a swirling mess of judgment and contempt.

However, I don't argue that the forum change its entire policy; too much arguing would have to occur and the age difference between members on the forum act as a barrier. Unfortunately we will never agree.

[Gimp]

For the original action by the moderators, they probably don't skim the forum for problems.  The community has a good track record for keeping things clean.
 
I'd lay stronger odds that the thread was reported by another forum member, so the mod simply had to verify and post.  I don't know there are no moderators watching, but I find the other scenario more likely.  I didn't report it, and nobody else has laid claim to doing so, but multiple readers vs a few moderators stacks the odds.
 
I don't think the issue on language has as much to do with age differences as it does with where people are from.  Cultural norms vary quite a bit across America, much less across the world.
 
Where I've been, the 'f' word ranks up with the 'n' word, the 'c' word (what I meant for offensive to women) and others.  The 'f' word is something you use during sex with a partner that doesn't mind, but otherwise is used with hookers and other low lifes, rather than anywhere a lady or children might hear. 
 
It's accepted in high testosterone environments like locker rooms, but even there it's because it creates an exclusive, no women appropriate mind set.  Sometimes it comes into conversation among people who want to feel they are rebels, or more mature than they are.
 
I've known people older than I am who have no issue with using the word anywhere, and people younger than I am who find it offensive in public.  In the military, it was accepted when just men were around, but clamped down on if any women were nearby.
 
If you want to go toward Daoism, remember that Daoism teaches that three important tenets are compassion, moderation, and humility.  People should be kind to one another.
 
That doesn't suggest an attitude of simply letting things slide off your back with apathy.  The sincere Daoists I've met believe in treating people with courtesy and respect, and trying not to offend others.  Daoists don't ignore the world, because they are part of it.
 
That compassion and courtesy allows them to pass through life without causing others problems that might interfere with their development. 
 
Don't get offended when others are rude, but don't act in ways others might consider rude.  Hold yourself to the highest standard, because by doing so, you improve yourself and your surroundings.
 
A lot of Westerners look at Daoism as simply meaning they don't need to care or shouldn't take responsibility, but instead you are the only being responsible for your actions, which places the full burden on your shoulders.

[Waddledoo812]

I suppose it is a matter of cultural difference then; I don't use it that often in public, and when I do, it is almost always casual or playful.

I don't intend to use any curse word on the forum here, so there shouldn't be any literal problems in the future. I don't make the case for usage of curse words for myself; I make the case for the language and voice of English.

I find that men tend to be more traditionally "inappropriate" than women, so curse words are their projectors of how they act and feel. For me, vulgarity lies in their actions and meanings, not the words. But reception and reaction are ultimately rooted in culture and upbringing, and that can never be uniform across America, so I accept that while I don't take offense, others do. It is a sacrifice of language and freedom that I have naturally attested to.

However, our interpretations of Daoism must indeed differ. I agree Daoism preaches the tenets of harmony, moderation, and modesty. But these tenets fall nicely in line with a very huge tent of Daoism that I have repeatedly learned: passivity.

I've learned that Daoism preaches to step out of the way of unnecessary action and conflict and to abolish use of unnecessary energy. They find that the world lacks any real meaning or morality.

Most Daoists try not to offend others because kindness and compassion are birthed in them by Daoism's foundation. If they lived strictly by the tenets of Daoism, they shouldn't care that others use curse words around them. I find it is more of an apathy and indifference to what goes on around them, not apathy as in lack of responsibility for their own actions.

In any case, I will probably gravitate towards my own version of Daoism; I won't use curse words uncontrollably in public, but I won't be offended if others do.