Speaking for myself, I fear a slippery slope. First they ban a few offensive words and phrases. Eventually there are many topics we’re not allowed to discuss and we have to curse like Ned Flanders.
Quite the contrary. You just gave us
An image I will relish as I go to bed for the night. Thanks.
Why is this word so phenomenally important that it must be forbidden?
You’re welcome, Sapo. Sleep well.
Sure. I mean, why not? You can get your own board and ban or not ban whatever you want. Apparently the Chicago Reader can do the same.
May I ask what is the point of the board, then?
There’s no board without posters, and there is only a poor board with poor posters. I don’t think this is about using a certain word; it’s about the arbitrary decisions and failure to respect the values of the community, as it were. Acting like the management is doing us a big favor by running the board is disingenuous. The board obviously provides some benefit beyond the purely financial, whether it’s pride, word-of-mouth, or whatever. If it didn’t, why is it still here?
The analogy of a bar is a poor one; the goods being sought here aren’t fungible, like beer or food. Instead of saying “Fine, I like the place anyway”, you will get more and more people saying “I’m not coming here anymore”, because there is some line for every poster where the cons outweigh the pros. And a lot of the “complainers” are the most interesting folks.
What is Cheers without Sam and Norm and Frazier, et al? You end up with a soulless and boring Planet Hollywood, full of gawking tourists and loudmouthed hicks.
The board is the same way. You can’t mod community, or provide good content by fiat. There has already been a decline in the quality of GQ, just in the last year, with more silly or just plain wrong answers, lesser quality of discussion, and more WAGs and jokey answers.
I think what is getting under a lot of people’s skin is the sort of casual way posters are being ignored or driven away, and the apparent disdain some of the mods (not you) have for the people who actually make this board what it is.
It isn’t that word.
In fact, I’d say it isn’t about any of the words on the prohibited list that gets people irritated. What gets people irritated is the arbitrary nature of the prohibited words. In fact, they aren’t even prohibited words. They are prohibited in a certain specific way in that they can’t be used to describe another poster. I’m free to call another poster a twat in the pit, and I’m free to call some a cunt, unless it’s a poster.
So we’re left scratching our heads as to why this arbitrary and ineffective rule about using those words about another poster were dreamed up in the first place.
The rule doesn’t impose any particular civility, as people are free to use any other word or phrase that doesn’t appear on the list as part of an insult. And it does nothing to make posters be allegedly “more creative” with their insults, as some have suggested in the past. Calling someone a twat isn’t being creative and conveys exactly the same sentiment.
It seems to me that many people who post here want to see logical answers to questions posed. And this one, frankly, defies logic.
This is my own personal opinion, nothing to do with being a mod here.
The word “cunt,” when directed at a person as an epithet, especially a woman, in the U.S. is probably on a par with a white person calling a black person a “nigger.” At least, to the majority of people between the ages of 30-90 in the U.S. I realize it hasn’t the same sting in the UK and other places.
Whether forbidden or not, it just isn’t good form in the U.S. Nor would it be good form to call someone of Japanese descent a “jap.” At least, in the U.S. Calilng Dex a “kike” wouldn’t be good form, probably not in many cultures.
So, why was it forbidden–just because it’s one of those epithets that is in poor taste.
Again, just my observations on the U.S. language.
(Bolding mine)Effectively respond? Right.
But shit, piss, fuck, cocksucker, motherfucker and tits are still good, right?
There are times when “I’m sorry, but I find your views to be erroneous and strongly believe you are misrepresenting a position in a most underhanded way” fails to encapsulate the same thing is “Bullshit, and go fuck yourself for implying anyone ever said that, dickhead”.
I’m not saying it should be OK to throw fuck-related insults around casually, but unless you live in a 1950s TV show or the 19th Century, it’s not the sort of thing that should be causing women to get the vapours and collapse onto their fainting couches anymore.
I agree with this 100%. While I wouldn’t chose to do so myself, it doesn’t astonish me that a board would ban the word “cunt”. So it’s kind of unfortunate that this word has become the symbol of the new Pit rules, when in fact it’s all the rest of the forbidden words list that has really restricted discourse. What’s the point of a Pit where you can’t say “fuck you” to somebody? How dumb is that?
It’s also illogical and pointless – if you want to ban vulgarity and direct personal insults, go all the way. Make it boardwide and be done with it. People can take exception to each other’s posts in the Pit using the same insinuation and needling they use in GD, those who lose their tempers will draw warnings, and life for everyone else will go on the same as before. But the current halfway Pit is just frustrating – speaking plainly and/or in the heat of the moment will likely hit the forbidden word pitfall, but anyone willing to do the legwork can easily be just as vulgar and nasty to someone as they want. So all that’s been done is to put up traps for people, without actually accomplishing anything. It’s just dumb.
Well, here’s the thing. It’s not especially important; it only became important because the ban itselg made it so.
When the word was allowed, it was only used very rarely. Back when it was first banned, and we debated the issue, i did a search of my own posts and found that, out of around 12,000 posts (at the time), i had called someone a cunt on, i think two or three occasions. And this was probably well above average for all Dopers. Most people never, ever used it as a direct insult.
The most retarded thing about the ruling was that it solved a problem that never existed in the first place, and in doing so raised the ire of a whole bunch of members, many of whom never used the word themselves anyway. I’ll bet the word has been used more, in the threads discussing its banning, than it ever would have been used in the absence of a ban.
If you really believe this, all it shows is that you apparently don’t know anything at all about the country you live in. Because it’s complete bullshit.
What we need is a good euphemism for cunt. Everybody knows that when you say, “Oh heck!” you really mean Hell, or “Gosh darn!” is really “God damn!”. By using the substitutes, the same sentiment is expressed, but no one’s soul is endangered.
I propose the word “tuna”. From now on, whenever I call you a “fucking tuna”, you will know what I mean; but since it doesn’t have the magical properties of the word “cunt”, no spines will be curved, or crops blighted.
Is this acceptable?
Tits are always good.
I’ll stand by my opinion.
This issue, more than any other imo, shows clearly the lack of intellect on this board.
Big T’s comment would be laughable if the sentiment wasn’t as common as it is. Where else would someone be making an oblique argument that using the word cunt as part of our common dialogue is intellectually defensible; and those who disagree are practicing a “lack of intellectualism”?
:smack:
The rule changes were never about the word cunt as much as they were about establishing a modicum of civility and intelligence in certain situations. (especially as it related to mods) Early on in the epic thread that had many people up on the virtual ledge the word “cunt” came up, and it has become the symbol for the changes.
The biggest change is that now people have to come to ATMB to call out dubious mod behavior, where they are expected to show a minimum level of civility. (as opposed to the previous approach of opening a Pit thread and calling them sundry vile names, including cunt)
Ed, can’t you see how we’ve suffered intellectually under these restrictions?
The other change includes a [somewhat slight] reduction of the most shrill, banal, witless, sophomoric, juvenile fare.
If we wish to rewrite history so that this was [exclusively] about the word cunt, have at it.
Well, that may be the stated reason, but it doesn’t make much sense when you can call people pretty much whatever vile thing you want to call them, as long as you don’t “cross the line” and use one of the banned words.
Like I said earlier, we’re free to call someone say, a pus filled ballsack, but we can’t just call them a cunt. We can tell someone to take a flying fuck but we can’t just say fuck you.
The rules do not accomplish what they allegedly purport to accomplish.
Well, it would give a whole new meaning to the tuna salad sandwich I’m having for lunch.
And yet, at the time the new rules were introduced, virtually no-one had any objection at all to the rule that criticisms of mod behavior must go in ATMB. This was accepted with very little fuss, and was even considered by many people to be a good idea.
So, you’ve just proved the very point that the critics have been making all along: given that personal insults aren’t allowed in ATMB, this wasn’t going to be a problem regarding members addressing moderators, and banning a few specific insults in the Pit “solved” a problem that never existed in the first place.
Thankyou for your support.