Well, Jesus H. Christ, why don’t we just all number our threads instead of using titles? :rolleyes:
Ooh, it could be like the jokes at the comedian convention!
Well, by gum I thought you couldn’t edit in here. :smack: Some nonsense about not being able to retract your posts to avoid chaos ensuing in GD, or something.
(Also, I needed to add the *, which I had in my infinite wisdom forgotten. And if I’d done that and left the comment, it’d have escalated from stupid to REALLY stupid.)
642!
laughter
221!
uproarious laughter
8892!
dead silence
Dammit, I must have told it wrong!
You always stumble over that punchline, you know! 
Regarding “workplace safe” as an excuse for not using vulgar language in thread titles, well - the words STRAIGHT DOPE in huge-ass orange letters leads most people to believe I like my heroin pure and uncut. So - scratch that concept of work safe for this site, unless you work in a crack house.
It’s a poll, not a vote, and I’m assuming that we’ll only hear from people who favor the change. The question is not absolute but relative numbers: 24 hours later, I’ve had emails from three people saying they agree that thread titles should be G-rated. That’s not a significant enough number to warrant a change, but we’ll let this run a little longer to see what happens.
Wait, you had at least one negative vote by Email yesterday. Twas mine.
Jim
Don’t you think it would reach a greater sample if it were made known in at least one other Forum? Should I/can I post a referral thread elsewhere? I am as interested in a wide sample as any opposition as not to impose a Guideline against majority feeling.
Meanwhile, this thread has had 1,082 views as of this posting since it was submitted two days ago. You do the math.
I think we’re done here.
As you know that refects viewings, not individuals. Could be a lot of viewings by a relative few.
Assuming no one’s sitting here reflexively refreshing the thread every two minutes to see if there are new replies, let’s be generous and assume an average of ten views per person. That’s still a minimum of ~100 unique individuals who have seen this thread.
Is there a policy for ‘rough language’ in usernames ?
In the spirit of “I’m probably not the only person who thinks like me”–I’ll post my thoughts.
I don’t like “rough language” in the titles of threads. I would be very happy if no one ever used rough langauge in threat titles. I have NOT sent Dex an e-mail saying so, and I don’t intend to.
Why? Because I want people to not use rough language in titles and generally voluntarily, as a part of the board climate/community. Not as a mostly arbitrary rule. Especially not as a rule-change caused by someone who claims not to be offended in his/her own right, but concerned for other people, and their children. And who was concerned that maybe no one had thought about this issue before. (If I have misrepresented the OP’s concerns or disclaimers, I’m sorry).
But people have been using rough language in thread titles and elsewhere as long as I’ve been reading this board, and defending vigorously their right to do so. So I choose to put up with it, skimming or skipping as appropriate to balance my sensitivities with the rest of the board. And most of the time, it works.
Not as such, but people have been asked to change their names now and then.
I’m not crazy about the “Claims” part but understand and agree with your opinion. I am able to tolerate as are you. I am by no means a Shrinking Violet. All the same, some words seem much more crass than others. I recall a serious train wreak about the use of the “C” word. Without fail posts with the foul language title seem to run forever and get bumped regularly. I have had this conversation before with others in the past as I mentioned up-thread and don’t consider myself as responsible for “Causing” this to happen. These typically are in the middle of an unrelated thread and it is quickly dropped to avoid a highjack.
I too wish it could be a matter of self-regulation and mentioned this in my email to C K Dexter Haven. Perhaps a recommendation/request to use consideration could be the approach. Perhaps a Sticky to this effect with the Mods having the call to suggest a Title change to the OP but it not being a requirement. In the heat of a Pitting for example, the words just tend to flow. On review the following day perhaps the moment has passed and the OP may, strictly voluntarily, permit the Mod to change the name slightly.
I have noticed a lot fewer Thread Titles with harsh language recently. I have no way of knowing if the topic has influenced this.
I am however a bit surprised at the level of vitriol shown an a ATMB thread concerning a topic for consideration. I am not completely disinterested in the subject. Some words and phrases are a bit jarring, even to me and I’ve heard and seem more than most. If the Board as a whole feels that it is something to be tolerated by those that don’t like it in return for the right to come here for the most intelligent discussions on the web then so be it.
And, again I’M A MAN!!
Voter for the censorship weighing in.
I was taught by my parents that the use of profanity is a sign of low intelligence. Mentally now as an adult this lesson makes me relaize that when I probably sound stupid when I swear. Of course I still do from time to time.
I point people to the SDMB all the time. Friends from work. My wife, relatives etc. So when thread titles appear that have “pig fucker” in them it reflects badly on ME!!
/end subtle confusing semi-sarcasam
Let’s consider the example of a TV guide. In my weekly listings I never need to see profanity in the movie titles, let I know based on the channel type (ala BBQ Pit) and the movie title that I could expect ‘rough language’ within the dialouge. Sometimes I like those shows, sometimes I browse the Pit.
So apparently from the votes I’m in the small minority. Such is life. I’ll get over it. Still the best board around.
(boldingmine)
Shouldn’t this be an indication that The Board doesn’t see the language as a problem? Or at least, not enough to get in the way of a good thread? If we were bothered by it, we’d report it and ask for a name change, or simply not open it. The fact that these are the long-lived threads usually means they’re the popular threads. I know this place isn’t a democracy, but I still don’t get why you opened the thread.
One poster, Keweenaw, finally came in and said that it’s a problem for him (her) personally. You and a couple others aren’t bothered yourself, but think that someone out there must be offended, so we should talk about it. Frankly, in this thread, I have a lot more respect for **Keweenaw **than the rest of you. **Keweenaw **is speaking up about something that means something and impacts him/her. The rest of you are simply falling prey to pre-emptive handwringing of the most irritating political correctness variety. It’s the kind of thinking that gets the handicapped labeled “differently abled” or when the handicapped people themselves were just fine with handicapped, or the black people “African American” even if they’re not of African descent or American. It’s demeaning and patronizing to them - whoever they are - to present yourself as wiser and braver than they. If they have a problem, they should speak up, and I might consider amending my stance. If they remain silent, then I have to assume I’m not hurting anyone by posting like an adult on an adult site.
Keweenaw, I totally get what you’re saying, and I actually agree. I self-censor my thread titles (though there may have been one Pit one that merited an F-bomb, now that I think of it, but I’m not sure). I self-censor, as **Eureka **points out, out of a sense of responsibility to the community, not because it’s a rule. I do like the TV listing analogy, and it’s sort of how I think of it as well. But it just grates me the wrong way to make it a rule. Make it a social custom if you must, but I hate rules that try to fix what ain’t broken. If y’all seriously think you could get away with saying, “Gee, did this title have to have a swear in it?” in every thread with a curse in the title and raising some peer pressure in your favor, go for it. Personally, I think you should don a Haz-mat suit first, because I suspect you’ll get flamed for it. I could be wrong. Perhaps you’re not in the minority that I think you are. It’d be interesting to find out, that’s for sure. It’s worked for L33T speak and spelling.
Did yo even read the entire post of just what serves your position? I said:
One poster, Keweenaw, finally came in and said that it’s a problem for him (her) personally. You and a couple others aren’t bothered yourself, but think that someone out there must be offended, so we should talk about it.
Keweenaw, I totally get what you’re saying, and I actually agree. I self-censor my thread titles (though there may have been one Pit one that merited an F-bomb, now that I think of it, but I’m not sure). I self-censor, as **Eureka **points out, out of a sense of responsibility to the community, not because it’s a rule.
I do like the TV listing analogy, and it’s sort of how I think of it as well. But it just grates me the wrong way to make it a rule. Make it a social custom if you must, but I hate rules that try to fix what ain’t broken. If y’all seriously think you could get away with saying, “Gee, did this title have to have a swear in it?” in every thread with a curse in the title and raising some peer pressure in your favor, go for it. Personally, I think you should don a Haz-mat suit first, because I suspect you’ll get flamed for it. I could be wrong. Perhaps you’re not in the minority that I think you are. It’d be interesting to find out, that’s for sure. <BOLDING MINE>snip
Reading comprehenshion not a strong suit eh?
Fair complaint–my word choice was poor.
Doubt it, be a little surprised if it was. Seems to me that there is a strong tendency towards cyclical behaviour on this board. We go through a period of time where half the Pit threads contain (more or less) gratuitous profanity, then the next month half of them are nice descriptive thread titles starting with “I Pit . . .”, then a cycle of some other sort, etc.
Do you read a lot of threads in ATMB, or a lot of threads where someone says “I’m new here, convince me I ought to spend $15 to post here”? People have a strong tendency to say “This is the way the Board is. Love it or Leave it.”
If the Board as a whole didn’t feel that way, casual obscenity or profanity in thread titles would go the way of Leetspeak.