Forum Etiquette

[CommRLock78]

It appears that a member (who shall remain unnamed) was recently banished for use of vulgar language. I was actually going to PM this person, and refer him to this episode of One Foot in the Grave, particularly, the scene in the coffee shop where the fire fighter says a curse word when he sees Mr. Meldrew sitting at the table (at 07:38). It can be really funny when potty words are used tactfully and sparingly, but they are just plain rude when they are repeated over and over, and that show is a good case in point. No other episode I've seen of it has this word in it, but used cleverly as it was, it was hysterical .
I know I have had a sailor's mouth in the past, but having a kid really makes you think twice about what you say... too bad some people have difficulties with keeping their posts clean. Anyway, the affair made me think about just what the limits are to language on the board - what do you fellow lads and lasses think?

[Selezen]

No cussing. No cussing but marking it out with stars. Cussing isn't big and it's not clever. My kids read this forum, and I don't want to hear the phrase "But they say it on the Oolite forum".

Damn, bugger, poo, etc are fine in my eyes, but nothing more. It's not needed.

Replace the "C" word with "Henry Kelly". Which may cause problems with the phrase "Henry Kelly - what a Henry Kelly..."

RE: the banned bloke. It's a shame. He had some good ideas and some good opinions. Just not good at mixing. A sad thing.

[maaarcooose]

Poor guy has a lot to deal with.

I tried to give him a little advice but probably he found everything pretty hard to do given what he had told me.

I recommended he write some fiction as I think it would have made a really interesting read.

As for etiquette, I have to admit that the older I get the more I dislike swearing and having a small child that will repeat anything they hear is a mental splash of cold water.
Yes they are just words, but words have power.

!m!

[Smivs]

Like the others have said, this is a sad case. I think the ex-member in question perhaps suffers a condition which makes social interaction difficult for him, but this forum is 'family friendly' and whatever the reason that sort of behaviour is not acceptable here.
By and large this forum is a very civilised place, and without stating a long list of do's and don'ts the best advice is to ask yourself 'Is anybody (child, nun etc) likely to be offended by what I'm writing?" If they might, just don't do it. It's not hard.

[Eric Walch]

this episode[/url] of One Foot in the Grave, particularly, the scene in the coffee shop where the fire fighter says a curse word when he sees Mr. Meldrew sitting at the table (at 07:38).

On television sometimes offending shots are cut out. You never realise until you see the full version. I remember the movie "Blues Brothers" where at the very beginning they are released from prison. There they get back the stuff they possessed when starting jail time. On the television version, you also don't see the full content of their pocket. Apparently an TV editor decided to cut out the '...' part.
Edit: I mean the part at 3:20 of this part of the movie. It was not on Dutch TV.

[CommRLock78]

RE: the banned bloke. It's a shame. He had some good ideas and some good opinions. Just not good at mixing. A sad thing.

Poor guy has a lot to deal with.

I tried to give him a little advice but probably he found everything pretty hard to do given what he had told me.

I recommended he write some fiction as I think it would have made a really interesting read.

Yeah, I was a little sad myself, as I thought the guy was interesting, and even more sad a case if it is (as it appears) something out of his control . I hope he can get the right help.

As for etiquette, I have to admit that the older I get the more I dislike swearing and having a small child that will repeat anything they hear is a mental splash of cold water.
Yes they are just words, but words have power.

I agree completely, but I still think it can be very funny if used sparingly.

On television sometimes offending shots are cut out. You never realise until you see the full version. I remember the movie "Blues Brothers" where at the very beginning they are released from prison. There they get back the stuff they possessed when starting jail time. On the television version, you also don't see the full content of their pocket. Apparently an TV editor decided to cut out the '...' part.
Edit: I mean the part at 3:20 of this part of the movie. It was not on Dutch TV.

I'm surprised that was cut on Dutch TV. You make a good point though, I saw One Foot in the Grave on American public TV (PBS), however that part was complete with swear word, which made me assume that the word must of made it on British TV as well.

...without stating a long list of do's and don'ts the best advice is to ask yourself 'Is anybody (child, nun etc) likely to be offended by what I'm writing?" If they might, just don't do it. It's not hard.

Yeah, I wasn't worried about lists - I think common sense is a good guide, I was more curious how offensive the occasional vulgarity might be, and now that I know kids are reading, I know it is never okay .

[aegidian]

It appears that a member (who shall remain unnamed) was recently banished for use of vulgar language.

No.

No-one will get banned for simply using bad language here. It's a poor communications choice but not something I would ban someone for.

The person in question was banned for being abusive towards other people and for their behaviour towards other members of the forum. They were warned twice.


I deleted the posts that seemed to mostly consist of personal attacks, but they were deleted for that reason rather than for containing swear words.

I do appreciate that other moderators here may be less tolerant of bad language than me, and I fully support their decisions to edit or delete posts that suffer from it.

[maik]

'Is anybody (child, nun etc) likely to be offended by what I'm writing?" If they might, just don't do it. It's not hard.

Uh oh, hope the Missionary OXP is not going to offend the nuns. Or what if the rude talking hatchling boy racers corrupt the kids...

Seriously though, I don't know which incident led to SevenT's kick (I assume we're talking about him), but I thought that after some initial brashness he toned it down quite a bit and I was hopeful that he would further adapt to this board's style. Leaves me with a bad taste that he was kicked.

Edit: aegidian just clarified. No more bad taste, thanks

[Fatleaf]

Just to mention my thoughts that I am very glad that this forum is kept clean from profanity. It creates a feeling of respect and decency that is also carried over to respect for other people and their views. It makes you think twice before posting something that might be deemed controversial. Also vulgar language is a poor substitute for conveying thoughts and ideas. It is a lazy way to express yourself. How much better to take a moment or two and use words to inspire.

But verbosity can also result from such over thinking...

[Commander McLane]

@ aegidian: I was wondering why you chose to delete the account instead of banning the user (like you did with a user in the early years, who is just marked as "banned" (although I notice that he doesn't come up in the memberlist anymore, although the profile is still there)).

To me an account deletion seems a harsher reaction than a ban, one step more than necessary. But this may only be my own perception.

[Yah-Ta-Hey]

The Gents in the UK are far more lenient towards bad behaviour than us Yanks.
He was a Troll, pure and simple. He come on board with an attitude that begged for a response in which he
would then flame the responder and "prove" his superiousness(sp?) and then continue on to belittle anyone else
who would dispute him.

Nope.. the troll is gone.. long live the troll only in our memories.

[Fatleaf]

The Gents in the UK are far more lenient towards bad behaviour than us Yanks.
He was a Troll, pure and simple. He come on board with an attitude that begged for a response in which he
would then flame the responder and "prove" his superiousness(sp?) and then continue on to belittle anyone else
who would dispute him.

Nope.. the troll is gone.. long live the troll only in our memories.

I am a little uneasy about expressing our personal opinion with our feelings as to someone being banned. I just wish a person would learn from his actions and become a contributing member with positivity.

So I'm a little sad over the whole affair.

[Yah-Ta-Hey]

Fatleaf,
I agree with you , in theory.. but he did not want to change. , For that , I will call a spade a spade and the forum is now better for this discussion.
If I have offended anyone, it was not deliberate and I apologize for my emotional stand.

[Fatleaf]

Fatleaf,
I agree with you , in theory.. but he did not want to change. , For that , I will call a spade a spade and the forum is now better for this discussion.
If I have offended anyone, it was not deliberate and I apologize for my emotional stand.

I don't think you would have offended anyone, you are respected around these parts But I understand how you feel. there was an uneasiness about it.

[aegidian]

@ aegidian: I was wondering why you chose to delete the account instead of banning the user (like you did with a user in the early years, who is just marked as "banned" (although I notice that he doesn't come up in the memberlist anymore, although the profile is still there)).

To me an account deletion seems a harsher reaction than a ban, one step more than necessary. But this may only be my own perception.

It was harsh, but it was what I told the user would be the outcome if they didn't respond to my warnings. Their IP address is also banned for a period of a month. After that period if the user wants to re-register for the forum, they'll be as welcome (I hope) as anyone else.