RE Profanity on DU

[Gringo]

I've notice some posts complaining about; among other things, the profanity lacing some of the threads.

It doesn't bother me one iota, but I wonder what the consensus is?

[Cheswick2.0]

1. voted for choice number *&#@@@#%$%$^&*()()(&&%$%

= )

[Dob Bole]

2. Here's my other....

Censoring profanity should be optional in your profile

[WilliamPitt]

4. Write the code for that one

I'm sure Elad would appreciate it.

[Dob Bole]

22. haha...

I'd love to write the code, but I don't have the time. Elad probably doesn't either, but it would solve the problem by introducing *drumbeat* freedom of choice!

[Gringo]

5. that might not be a bad idea

For those with tender sssenssibilitiessss.

[Rhiannon12866]

33. This is really neat!

I had to reply to your post! We're three Carter avatars in a row! You are now surrounded by like-minded DUers!

I also agree with what you said, BTW, though I don't mind the profanity as long as it isn't directed at anyone else on the board.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

3. I think a swear word here and there is no big deal

Everything in moderation (kind of.)

[LiberalLibra]

19. norhingshocks.....: Ineed, it is the moderation I wish everyone would....

....try for. It seems some actually test themselves to see how much profanity can fit in one post.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

32. I agree. It can be way over the top

and some people can't even cuss very good.

[BushHasGotToGo]

6. Fuck you

Fucker

[Gringo]

9. Like. Oh my God.

If you didn't have such a good screen name, I'd like tgotally hit "ignore".

Potty mouth.

[Terwilliger]

7. oh FUCK!

FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK

SHIT

TWAT

DICK

BUSH <--------- now THERE's a DURTY WURD!

[roughsatori]

8. Being bothered by profanity and voicing it is not anti-free speech

It is healthy group behavior to discuss group norms. And your post and posts stating annoyance with juvenile language are both healthy.

Whenever someone states that they are offended by "bitch" they are called censors. It would only be censorship if they called for posts using that word to be deleted.

As for free speech--this is a member message board--there is no guarantee of free speech. DU censors racist remarks as well as obvious Freeper Freakouts.

[Aidoneus]

10. it doesn't bother me

some of the profoundly stupid ideas occur to me as far more "obscene" than the words usually singled out as such.

[WindRavenX]

11. I'm from NJ- we swear

.....but when every other word is "fuck" or "shit" then it gets irksome to read posts.
But really, profainity can help get a post's emotion across. If done well.

[Gringo]

12. I agree

Profanity is most annoying when used to fill in gaps in a spotty vocabulary.

[WindRavenX]

15. Right

However, if you have a decent vocab, then a few curses stand out and actually are pretty nifty. An example: " Damn that bastard Bush to hell!" Nice, I think :)

[tjdee]

13. This is the one and only time I'll say this myself....

GROW UP, LOL!

I don't like to hear people offline cursing up a storm in front of my little child, but come on, peeps!
Do the curse words reach through the computer screen and accost you? Are they electrically charged and zap your eyes?

I don't mean to make light of anyone's concern over this, but I really don't understand the flip side of this issue.

As long as Skinner, et. al. have no problem, that's how it is.

[ButterflyBlood]

14. I have no fucking problem with it

:)

But I think Dob Bole's idea is the best

[Wonk]

16. It bugs me most when it's in thread titles because that shows up on the

home page, and most of the time it's unnecessary hyperbole.

(ok, flame away, @§š#Ø!!£$ ;-) )

[Feanorcurufinwe]

17. Profanity is fine, morons can be a problem though

[Robin Hood]

18. Isn't it time that we pull our heads out of our puritanic butts?

And accept that curse words are part of the English language. And what expresses emotions better than a good FUCK!!!

Who feels relieved when they say "That makes me angry'? Or Fuck!! That pisses me off to no end. Profanity is used to express and punctuate emotions better than the labeled emotions themselves. It's time that we embrace the English language and all that it entails.


On Edit: In ancient England single people could not have sex unless they had consent of the king. When people wanted to have a baby, they had to get the consent of the king, and the king gave them a placard that they hung on their door while they were having sex. The placard had F. U. C. K. (Fornication Under Consent of the King) on it. Hence that's where the word Fuck came from. Now, aren't you glad you learned something new today?

[REP]

34. Here's The Real Shit on Fuck

That story about fuck being an acronym is totally full of shit. It is derived from "frikken" which means to strike.

Death to bullshit etymologies!

[Rhiannon12866]

35. Thanks for the real deal story on this, REP

I guess you don't put up with any shit from anyone.:-)

BTW, how are the kitties? All recovered, I hope?:hi:

[Robin Hood]

40. Snopes. com thinks otherwise.

http://www.snopes.com/language/acronyms/fuck.htm

Check it out.

[Catherine Vincent]

55. Wow, Thanks!

I always wanted to know where that word came from. I don't know why but I don't like using the word f-u-c-k, although I don't mind typing it. But saying it is different. Any other curse words is okay but the f word always bothered me. I don't know why.

[Bake]

20. Sometimes nothing else will do

I'm as guilty as anybody else (well, maybe not as guilty as some...), but we deal with matters of strong conviction here. Sometimes anger. Sometimes frustration. And sometimes, a well-placed "MOTHER-FUCKER!" or "son-of-a-BITCH!" is the only thing that adequately gets it across.

Bake

[dmr]

21. Freedom of speech all the way

I use to cringe when my son would come to DU and read some of the posts here and the profanity used, but words are words; but in our real life world what is really profane is the idiot White House squatter liar: the lives he has taken from us in his oily war, the economy, job and civil rights losses, and so on and so forth.

[tnlefty]

23. Subject lines bother me when my 13 yr. old is looking over my shoulder

and there it is! He and his younger brothers read with me sometimes, too. I usually just scroll quickly and hope for the best.

[Robin Hood]

24. I'm sure that they have seen worst on the Internet.

Hell, i'm sure that they've seen worst in their e-mail box.

[Dob Bole]

25. not very convincing...

They may have seen porn in their email, but the parent's probably not about to say "Come here honey and look at some porn on DU!! Don't worry, you've seen worse before!"

[Robin Hood]

26. When I was thirteen

I was already enjoying Playboy and Penthouse. I can't imagine that today's kids are any different. I couldn't wait to get laid.

[Dob Bole]

31. They're not

but it somehow looks bad if you're a parent who's not trying to keep your children from getting laid. Standard parent duty, for some reason particularly if your child is a girl. Boys are allowed to get laid.

Anyway, this is off the subject.

[Gemini Cat]

27. Doesn't bother me.

I use enough naughty words especially when discussing this mis-admin. Somehow 'phooey' doesn't quite carry the same emotions (for me) as saying something rude. Ever since the selection of 2000, my language has taken a dive toward the deep end of bad. I suspect a lot of people are the same way.

[Oracle]

28. Looks to be a f**king landslide...

is this better? Does it offened less to use asterisk's? Then I'm all for it. However, a word is just a word and passion reaps the rewards of what is done with it.

[PartyPooper]

29. I try to remember that when I'm posting...I'm in front of all kinds

of folks. Maybe, even people like my grandmother. :-)

So, I tone it down. Geez. Let's all try and be a bit more respectful around here. You never know who is lurking on the front page.

:D

[Trajan]

30. Profanity, ... discreetly placed ....

can have a strong emotional effect ....

I dont like it on the subject line, as already stated by others ... but Freedom of speech IS a dear right, and I would hate to see forced restriction ......

It would be nice if posters would tacitly agree to tone down the subject lines .....

A President Gore would be nice too ......

[jafap]

36. As Vonnegut said

All cursing does is give the (expletive deleted) prudes an excuse to ignore your ideas. Then they will vote for the (expletive deleted) Republicans who are far too refined to use (expletive deleted) swear words.
I think the final stanza of my 1994 poem says what others have said here - sometimes you need the big guns.


Clean words, dirty deeds

I'm not scared to say I don't give a f*ck
for American scheme of chasing a buck.
You think you can win, be nice and get rich.
Some-how you become, a son-of-a-b*tch.

You worked very hard, that makes it all right.
If others have problems, that's personal plight.
You tell G*d-da*ned lies, say you work helping others.
For your salary, most would carry their brothers.

I don't want your mansion, I can't buy your truck.
Not sitting on my a$$, nor my duties do I duck.
I'm fighting for good. I'm keeping fit.
I'm working full time, mopping up your bulls*it.

Like it's all okay to gain from who*ing,
betting stock market tips and NBA scoring,
charge interest and rent, make money from grunts.
We work harder for you, you p*icks and cu*ts.

I'll never be rich, I'm a dumb mother-f*cker,
but my view is, that you're J.P.'s s*cker.
Your caddilac's driving you, straight down to h*ll.
You bought some nice toys, but your soul you did sell.

Now I could have said this, in words that are nicer,
but when truth is harsh, strong words are a slicer.
Don't let such language, get you all p*ssed.
Fight on with me, for love, truth and justice.

[Shanty Oilish]

37. I save mine for election nights

Yeah, ok, it bothers me. Especially in subject lines. If it were my website I'd have a rule against cussing in subject lines. And gender cussing elsewhere. Oh well.

[Chovexani]

38. Voted for the (@#*!)@ option

I think words are words, and the fact that some words are considered taboo is just puritanical horseshit.

I'm a New Yorker with a filthy mouth. I make no apologies for it, it's part of who I am. I think it's asinine to talk about "naughty" words, when far more offensive things are going on: Ken Lay wearing something other than an orange prison jumpsuit, for example.

[stickdog]

39. Oh, shit, did I swear again?

Damn.

Sorry, everybody. I don't mean to be rude or anything. I'm just a bit of a fuck up when it comes to these things.

[sangha]

41. Profanity is the lazy person's

way to communicate anger and disapproval

[Robin Hood]

43. Laziness is the mother of invention.

WTF is wrong with that?
:D

[sangha]

53. Nothing

I think lazy people make the best managers. But laziness can have it's downside. If you'd like to improve your vocabulary and your communication skills, try banning profanity from your speech.

[CWebster]

56. Sometimes I hear

some really creative cursing.

Although, my best friend while I was growing up had a really foul mouth. Like a truckdriver - and she came from this good, upstanding WASP family, in fact, her father was mayor of the town I lived in. It used to embarrass me when she made small talk with just about everybody, shop clerks, neighbors, bank-tellers with a constant string of 4 letter words at age 11.

[Terwilliger]

44. awwwwwwwwwww

aren't you sweet :*

[NewYorkerfromMass]

46. It's true though

you don't need to use those words, sometimes you can't help it.

[sangha]

54. Sweet is my middle name

thanks for noticing

[Blue_Chill]

42. Think of those words as the DU version of 'smurf'

The words that mean anything you want them to.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

45. Used the 'C' word last week

of course we were talking about Ann Coulter, from now on I'll just say: Annthrax IS the 'C' word.

[sangha]

59. Criminal?

Corrupt? Contemptible? Condescending? Caterwauling Conservative Clown? Crude?

[JVS]

47. Obscene language for obscene situations

seems appropriate enough

[Walt Starr]

48. Every now and then you have no choice but to say

Fuck it.

[WhoCountsTheVotes]

49. I have no problem personally, but others might be driven away

That's the only thing that concerns me. I try to keep it clean, but sometimes it happens :)

[jagguy]

50. I don't really care

but I notice that when posts become laced with vulgarities they tend to lose their ability to make a point. thats not just here, of course, tha same thing happens all the time.

[Catherine Vincent]

51. LMAO @ the fifth choice.

[Loonman]

52. What's the big deal?

It's not &#*@&*$ing hurting anybody!

[BuelahWitch]

57. The extreme use of profanity..

...as in, every other word is "fuck", only makes the writer look all the more uneducated and juvenile. I can imagine the Shrub says "fuck" alot...

[Hubert Flottz]

58. I didn't come here to find Gawd!

Just to make friends!

[Festivito]

60. It simply causes us to lose readers who vote against us.

The fundementalists I know would not read beyond the first rotted word they see, especially when reading something that does not already agree with their viewpoint and is not easy to digest.

These are, however, good people, who, if they knew what we know would join us to send Republicans and ilk packing for a thousand years.