Suggestion: swear censors

[abnegation]

This is the 21st century, people should always have the choice in the content they see. Just have an option to display or hide swears per member (off by default). Always filter derogatory terms and use the "censor bypass" punishment for those who bypass the censor. Continue to infract those who use these terms to insult members. It's literally that simple.

I still maintain that this would be a viable option. If said "worst case scenario" becomes a reality, then revert the change. It's not much of an issue if people really abuse the filter on a grand scale; things like this are easily undone.

 

[obZen]

Is it possible to toggle it on / off based on the user's age?
Turning on by default for ages 12=<

 

[Taemin]

/throws two cents into the fountain

Toggling it in general would be nice, age aside, since you're not even technically allowed to sign up here anymore if you're too young. Maybe by default it it would be on, but you'd have the option of turning it off if you didn't mind seeing / using the words. It's off on EGC, and some other forums that I've seen over the years, and nothing is any worse for the wear. There will always be some people who go overkill with their cursing, but even with it off rules are rules, and there's a warning / infraction button for that.

 

[Sydian]

For what it's worth, the latest update on this is that Audy is working on coding it to test it out.

 

[obZen]

Is there any progress on this?

 

[FlamingRage]

I'm against this. For one thing, we'll see less members under 18. (Though some people may see that as a plus) seeing a bunch of *'s rather then a swear word is no different to many parents. And the fact is, people act immature, get angry, and insult people more when they're allowed to swear. Yes, there are people that use them responsibly, but the vast majority of people just never learned that common sense. Swear words are primarily for extreme emphases. imo, There should never be a situation on an online forum that calls for any that extreme.

That said, as many people above me have pointed out, PC has a much more mature community than others. So this may not be a problem. My main concern is that all those people on the internet that literally have to swear anytime they get slightly flustered will start coming to PC and over time degrade it.

 

[maccrash]

thanks for the bump. a status update would be peachy. ^___^

 

[obZen]

I'm against this. For one thing, we'll see less members under 18. (Though some people may see that as a plus) seeing a bunch of *'s rather then a swear word is no different to many parents. And the fact is, people act immature, get angry, and insult people more when they're allowed to swear. Yes, there are people that use them responsibly, but the vast majority of people just never learned that common sense. Swear words are primarily for extreme emphases. imo, There should never be a situation on an online forum that calls for any that extreme.

That said, as many people above me have pointed out, PC has a much more mature community than others. So this may not be a problem. My main concern is that all those people on the internet that literally have to swear anytime they get slightly flustered will start coming to PC and over time degrade it.

Again,

Is it possible to toggle it on / off based on the user's age?
Turning on by default for ages 12=<

This woud solve that problem, if possible.
Can an admin give input on ^?

 

[FlamingRage]

Again,



This woud solve that problem, if possible.
Can an admin give input on ^?

That's kind of entirely irrelevant to what I said... the issue is that a lot of parents won't care that it's censored. Just like how they won't let their kids watch shows that bleep the words out, it's the suggestion and frequency of it that puts them off. That and it's just the option to swear that makes so many people throw reason out the window in favor of using uncalled for emphases.

 

[Cloudfury]

Honestly, people will find loopholes in the system like spacing out each letter in the swear l i k e t h i s. Or combine them with another word. Or use lowercase L in place of I in some words. Or replace A with @. Or do something like "Pen 15". Some people will just swear to rebel. Some will think it infringes free speech.

Swearing isn't really a problem unless it's used against a person as an insult. Or to suggest something vulgar.

 

[El Héroe Oscuro]

Honestly, people will find loopholes in the system like spacing out each letter in the swear l i k e t h i s. Or combine them with another word. Or use lowercase L in place of I in some words. Or replace A with @. Or do something like "Pen 15". Some people will just swear to rebel. Some will think it infringes free speech.

Swearing isn't really a problem unless it's used against a person as an insult. Or to suggest something vulgar.

If that's the case though, according to our rules, the person will be infracted for trying to bypass the swear censors.

Foul language is unacceptable. (3 pts / 4 mths)
As the PokéCommunity is a place for people of all ages, please do not use words that may be considered vulgar or offensive. Many swear words are automatically filtered, so intentionally bypassing the filter may result in an infraction. Do not use certain words in ways that may offend people. As an example, using words such as "gay" in a derogatory manner can result in an infraction. You may also be infracted if you use a censored term (which will be replaced with asterisks) to provoke or attack someone.

People can do it if they want; however, under the current set up, don't be surprised if a consequence follows the action.

 

[Nihilego]

Is it possible to toggle it on / off based on the user's age?
Turning on by default for ages 12=<

Not sure what "=<" means (≤?) but people 12 and under aren't even legally allowed to register on this forum, haha. That's a technicality though; the filter would be turned on by default for everybody regardless of age.

Anyway, as for updates... I'd like to be able to say something but I know as much as you guys do. I can't code this and I've not heard from Audy for a while. Sorry guys.

 

[maccrash]

the issue you bring up, FlamingRage, has already been addressed in pages prior, but it would not be hard at all to limit this happening if we were to set up a rule against excessive cursing. (0: plus it's only really a huge problem if it's clearly unnecessary -- as far as I'm concerned, you can curse a lot in one post if there's reason enough for it. but I understand it's hard to gauge, so it's totally understandable if rules go up to account for that.

thanks for the update Admin Shenanigans

 

[Urist McHemlock]

I prefer censoring for comedy.

 

[Dedenne1]

Any amount of swearing bothers me a bit just because there may be young people here and they shouldnt have to be blocked from a forum cause if uncensored or high use of swearing ill never swear because i feel its un needed but it doesnt bother me personally much

 

[Morgnarok]

I am for this. My two cents are that first off humans under the age of 13 can't join PC but at the same time I don't believe that it is require to put your age in upon sign up but even it it is after sign up a kid can remove his date of birth. I have in fact seen quite a few kids on here currently active that have admitted one place or another that they are in middle school/elemtary or in some way younger than 13.

Overall though this is just like real life. Kids are going to learn stuff one way or another. I heard my first curse words when I was about 7 years old and cursed my first time at 10. They pick it up from family, parents or even other kids at school. My parents didn't teach me about the birds and the bees. I didn't even need their conversation because by the time they were ready to give it to me I already knew enough and had sex.

In the end it's no use to try to baby children. They will learn sooner or later and from research I can tell you that PC's active and most important user base is all 18 and older. Most of the kids don't use PC enough to even been effected. Same for how Nintendo is noticing that they have a lot more of a adult playerbase now a days because we all grew up compared to the children just starting in past generations.

 

[Oryx]

I am for this. My two cents are that first off humans under the age of 13 can't join PC but at the same time I don't believe that it is require to put your age in upon sign up but even it it is after sign up a kid can remove his date of birth. I have in fact seen quite a few kids on here currently active that have admitted one place or another that they are in middle school/elemtary or in some way younger than 13.

I just want to point out that if you do see signs that someone is under 13 you should report it. It's not just a rule meant to cultivate a certain maturity level, it's based on legalities and therefore is really serious.

 

[VeranithasVI]

I'm against this. For one thing, we'll see less members under 18. (Though some people may see that as a plus) seeing a bunch of *'s rather then a swear word is no different to many parents. And the fact is, people act immature, get angry, and insult people more when they're allowed to swear. Yes, there are people that use them responsibly, but the vast majority of people just never learned that common sense. Swear words are primarily for extreme emphases. imo, There should never be a situation on an online forum that calls for any that extreme.

That said, as many people above me have pointed out, PC has a much more mature community than others. So this may not be a problem. My main concern is that all those people on the internet that literally have to swear anytime they get slightly flustered will start coming to PC and over time degrade it.

But, we already see a bunch of *'s when we swear don't we? I've never really tested it out from fear of getting banned or anything, but I'm pretty sure there IS an auto-filter right now. In fact, let me test that theory.

****.

Yep, auto-filter. Your main concern obviously isn't the fact that there are people who literally have to swear, as you stated it's that parents won't allow their kids onto the forum. To be completely honest, I find this to be a very invalid point, as if your too young to be allowed some form of freedom on the internet during your tenure online, then you shouldn't even be here to begin with. There's already a ton of racy content (sig-pic wise) and even some of the things that are spoken about are very PG13+.

The filter to be able to turn it on and off again would really do nothing more than allow a certain freedom in posts (e.g RP posts will be able to have a bit more context in certain characters dialogue, certain sentences will have more effect, etc) and make it so that there aren't ugly *'s every time I want too use the other word for poo.

I'm for this.

Quick Edit: I'm not going to get banned for testing out the auto-censor theory am I? D:

 

[Nah]

Tbh, I don't get what's with the "oh but there's children on this site" and "but with the ability to toggle the censor off, people will swear too much" arguments.

First of all, everyone on this site has to be at least 13 years of age (and if they lie about their age, well that's their problem, not ours, they should've been honest in the first place or bothered to fill out the COPPA forms). Trust me, 13 year olds are just as capable of swearing as a 23 year old. It's not like there's 6 year olds on this site. It's not like most parents regulate what their kids do on the internet anyway. And I don't see any reason why having the ability to toggle the censor off would make people more inclined to swear. Censor or no, I'd swear the same amount either way. And if somehow putting a censor toggle on does make people swear more, it's just a matter of us staffers cracking down on that, since PC has a rule against excessive swearing or swearing to provoke people or swearing to be deliberately disrespectful.

Just be glad that we do have an auto-censor on and that we're only talking about giving members the ability to turn it off and not just removing it completely.

Quick Edit: I'm not going to get banned for testing out the auto-censor theory am I? D:

Nah, you ain't gonna get banned or infracted for that. You'd only get a yellow card or infraction if you purposely try to bypass the censor.

 

[Morgnarok]

Tbh, I don't get what's with the "oh but there's children on this site" and "but with the ability to toggle the censor off, people will swear too much" arguments.

First of all, everyone on this site has to be at least 13 years of age (and if they lie about their age, well that's their problem, not ours, they should've been honest in the first place or bothered to fill out the COPPA forms). Trust me, 13 year olds are just as capable of swearing as a 23 year old. It's not like there's 6 year olds on this site. It's not like most parents regulate what their kids do on the internet anyway. And I don't see any reason why having the ability to toggle the censor off would make people more inclined to swear. Censor or no, I'd swear the same amount either way. And if somehow putting a censor toggle on does make people swear more, it's just a matter of us staffers cracking down on that, since PC has a rule against excessive swearing or swearing to provoke people or swearing to be deliberately disrespectful.

Just be glad that we do have an auto-censor on and that we're only talking about giving members the ability to turn it off and not just removing it completely.



Nah, you ain't gonna get banned or infracted for that. You'd only get a yellow card or infraction if you purposely try to bypass the censor.

#TheTruthHasBeenSpoken
#GoodJob