Boy Scouts board?

In the "rules..." thread, Jeff asked if I "had to" use profanity when I asked if it was allowed. Come on! That rather pissed me off. If we have to behave like June Cleaver, I doubt I'll spent much/any time here. I'm not asking to be allowed to riddle my text with "the f word" for no reason, but there are plenty of times when profanity is as good a way as any, if not better, to express something. If we have to abide by the Cowboy Goody Two Shoes Way, I'm outta here.

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>^,,^<
"Cluemobile? You've got a pickup..."
The Teeming Millions Homepage: http://fathom.org/teemingmillions

One of the things you can do on this board is have a RoboCensor automatically put in stars every time somebody writes **** or ****. We thought this looked kind of silly, so we have it switched off. (I typed those stars in manually just now.) I mean, Cecil wrote an entire column on the etymology of the F word. On the other hand, let's face it, there's a fine line between your creative and mature use of the F word and the vulgar and offensive usage of [name your favorite twit]. So the board moderators will judge things on a case by case basis. At this point all I'd care to say is, use some restraint.

Oh come on, Opal. Don't NOT post here just because you can't say some little cuss words. We want to see you post here. :o)

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~Shane (Formerly StrTrekNut)
http://www.fortunecity.com/meltingpot/sandringham/241/index.html

My $0.02 (with apologies to Gus)

I don't think anyone wants to see this turn into a "Boy Scout" board. I mean, after all, our fearless leader Cecil is the eptiome, nay, the paradigm itself of tact and good grace. ;-) But, as I had written elsewhere, sometimes it's best to leave the invective to the professionals.

That being said, overuse of certain profanities can mean death to a well-run board. Someone once said that use of profanities tends to indicate a failure of communication skills and tend to be used when one has run out of argument. I think it may have been my old Sunday School teacher who said that, but never you mind that. On the other hand, they can also add pepper to a post. But too much pepper can ruin the soup, as they say. Especially a nice onion soup, with melted cheese on top. Nice toasted bread crust. There was this great restaurant in Braintree that used to make this great onion soup ...

Somebody stop me before I wax senile.

Suffice it to say, that we have had discussion about this and have decided that these things should be handled on a case by case basis. If words are used judiciously, we probably won't give it a second thought. When things degenerate to the "fuck you" stage is when we'll probably step in to put a stop to it.

hat being said, overuse of certain profanities can mean death to a
well-run board. Someone once said that use of profanities tends to
indicate a failure of communication skills and tend to be used when
one has run out of argument. I think it may have been my old Sunday
School teacher who said that, but never you mind that. On the other
hand, they can also add pepper to a post. But too much pepper can
ruin the soup, as they say. Especially a nice onion soup, with melted
cheese on top. Nice toasted bread crust. There was this great
restaurant in Braintree that used to make this great onion soup ...

Somebody stop me before I wax senile.

Who's Senile and why do they need waxing?

Sorry. But I DID think the above was funny.

Which is the answer to the question, I think. Wit, style, humor, knowledge, that's what makes postings good, great, memorable, and in pursuit of those standards, pretty much anything goes.

your humble TubaDiva
for the Straight Dope

Does this mean I can now say "shits and giggles"?

But, as I had written elsewhere, sometimes it's best to leave the invective to the professionals.
Pat

Well, in HS, our raving chant went something like:
Fuck damn shit screw
son-of-a-bastard-bitch
whoopdedoo and hullabaloo
an' you can go to hell too.

This is more of a C&P test than a real contribution. Ah, well.


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Tom~

Does this mean I can now say "shits and giggles"?

Yes. Shit and giggle yourself to death. Live it up!

Hey, look, I can type profanities:
Strom Thurmond
Ken Starr
Bill Clinton...

Hey, look, I can type profanities:
Strom Thurmond
Ken Starr
Bill Clinton...


You forgot Newt Gingrich

OMG! I need to go wash my mouth out with soap now


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Shadowfox
"Brought to you by the Ministry of Silly Walks

no Shadowfox! You march straight into that bathroom, and wash your fingers with Listerine, right now! And Lysol your keyboard, afterwards!

Melis-- Kiltmommy

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Wench #407, IWG
Wenchmommy extraordionaire
Goddess of Typos, Dark Chocolate and Fyne Ale

I note that one advantage of this new system is that one needn't C&P so much... since people see all the prior posts, it's easier to follow the conversation without the need for C&P.

amen and the pun threads should be more bearable without the C&P

Not only more bearable, but easier to read than the otter way.

And they don't get Minked up either. <--3¼¢

So, was profanity limited, or not allowed on the AOL Straight Dope Message Board?

OpalCat: What do you think of the name
misc.info.straightdope

I think it goes well with mpsims, as in
mis.mpsims Kinda like we fucked up when spelling "Mississippi"

Profanity, even "masked" profanity (such as F**k) is against AOL's Terms of Service and can get your account cancelled.

As for the ng, I've submitted a revised RFD with the name rec.arts.books.cecil-adams and a new charter.

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&gt;^,,^&lt;
"Cluemobile? You've got a pickup..."
The Teeming Millions Homepage: http://fathom.org/teemingmillions

[[Profanity, even "masked" profanity (such as F**k) is against AOL's Terms of Service and can get your account cancelled.]]

Technically, even here, AOL members are bound by TOS, and can get terminated for profanity. But, someone would have to be a real asshole to alert the TOS police to this board, IMO.

<< Technically, even here, AOL members are bound by TOS, and can get terminated for profanity. But, someone would have to be a real asshole to alert the TOS police to this board, IMO.>>

Umhmm. Or a real mischief-maker. Or just a pain in the arse who gets mad at someone and who doesn't want to visit the BBQ Pit. I mean, it's not like we haven't had our share of folks who were out to hurt feelings or do damage, issit?

Ah me, the more things change the more they stay the same. Years ago we used other euphemisms for profanity along the lines of Ken Starr, Bob Barr, et al. We used to lift the middle finger and cry "Get Agnewed!" Or "Kiss my Nixon."

And back in the 1950's (yes, children, I was alive waaaaaay back then, even thouugh I look so young still), I took part in a hoax whereby sound alike words were substituted for critical words in a school play. This trick required two rehersals - one with the faculty advisor and one on the sly. Never uttered a naughty word but it became a blue play. We got in trouble, too. The high point of my high school career.

Using four letter words, in the end, is the sign of an improverished vocabulary. It is so much more satisfying and fulfilling to scream invective at people, or to flame in this forum, without the use of vulgarity and profanity. Over use has killed the impact of the F word, I think. Doesn't even annoy anymore. We need new filth.

Ah me, the more things change the more they stay the same. Years ago we used other euphemisms for profanity along the lines of Ken Starr, Bob Barr, et al. We used to lift the middle finger and cry "Get Agnewed!" Or "Kiss my Nixon."

And back in the 1950's (yes, children, I was alive waaaaaay back then, even thouugh I look so young still), I took part in a hoax whereby sound alike words were substituted for critical words in a school play. This trick required two rehersals - one with the faculty advisor and one on the sly. Never uttered a naughty word but it became a blue play. We got in trouble, too. The high point of my high school career.

Using four letter words, in the end, is the sign of an improverished vocabulary. It is so much more satisfying and fulfilling to scream invective at people, or to flame in this forum, without the use of vulgarity and profanity. Over use has killed the impact of the F word, I think. Doesn't even annoy anymore. We need new filth.

I don't think anyone wants to see this turn into a "Boy Scout" board.

Eutychus
****************
Mmmmmmmmm!!! Boy Scouts! Yum!

Dread Pirate Judy

{{I don't think anyone wants to see this turn into a "Boy Scout" board.
Eutychus
****************
Mmmmmmmmm!!! Boy Scouts! Yum!

Dread Pirate Judy }}

Judy! I thought you weren't allowed in the kitchen any more! What have you been up to NOW?


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Lynn the Packrat

Speaking of profanity, did Cecil ever find the Inuit translation of "Look at all the f@$%ing snow"?

That's a pretty good idea, leaving it up to an actual human to decide when it gets out of hand. Anyway, here's a tip in case you are on any other boards with the RoboCensor: Just slightly misspell the words (fukk, $hit, a$$hole) and they'll usually get through.

And for you AOLers who are worried about the TOS police, just don't display your email in your profile. Believe me, you have reason to worry. There are people on AOL with nothing better to do than get people TOSsed, whether or not they have gotten into a flame war with you or not. Personally, I think it's none of AOL's business what you do on boards like this, and anyway, just because you registered under an AOL account doesn't mean you are posting under an AOL account does it?

Personally, I think it's none of AOL's business what you do on boards like this, and anyway, just because you registered under an AOL account doesn't mean you are posting under an AOL account does it?

Speaking as a board moderator for both this board and AOL, yeah, it IS AOL's business. If someone is making a persistent nuisance of himself/herself, it does reflect on AOL. The staff here have discussed banning whole domains from posting here, simply because some of them are spammers' havens. We've decided not to go that route yet, we're going to see what happens. Basically, as a moderator, I probably won't report anyone for using foul language here...unless it's used to harass someone. I WILL report those "Make Money Fast" pyramid schemes if I see them, or if I see any commercial posts.

I'd also like to point out that not putting your address in your profile will foil TOS police who are members here...but the administrators DO have access to the address that you listed.

Basically, don't post anything unless you are willing to take the consequences.



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Lynn the Packrat

You could just get a hotmail or usa.net or a Yahoo address and put that in the profile and no one will know if the person is on AOL or not. Unless the board posts the IP number of the person posting.

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~Shane (Formerly StrTrekNut)
AIM/AOL screen name: Shane0630
My Homepage: cfm.to/shane/ (http://cfm.to/shane/)