I, myself, don't get some censorship. I can understand it on TV, some people don't want themselves or their children to see nudity or hear the worst of profanity. But it oftentimes seems a bit unnecessary, particularly on the internet.

I have always held this belief: What makes d*mn, d***, or d@mn any less offensive then what you want to say? Everyone knows what you meant when things like "Darn it, I hate the 90s." or "I'm going to tick on your mothers grave" {I think the tick-p*ss filter is the worst of them, seeing as the P-WORD has more then one meaning}. But I go off the subject. Why censor what people say here?

Lemme know what you think.

Part of it has to do with the fact that there are a lot of kids on this board. I think the youngest is 11 (if I am not mistaken). I do understand in this day and age most kids probably knows words that I don't even know but still, I think Chucky feels that having the censors eliminates a lot of problems. Also, I think that it makes people think of a few different adjetives besides one that begins with "f". By saying things like "d@mn" or "WTF" even though we all understand the meaning, besides getting around the censors, it just seems less offensive than if we spelled it out. Now, sometimes the censors get a bit much when we are talking about Cheney and it reads his first name as "Dip" (even though he may be one.  ;)) I'm not too sure if I do like the censors on this board but I do understand why it is there. It also makes us think of creative ways to get around it.  :D




Cat

Adding...  As far as censorship (whether auto-censor or manual) goes:

Certain words and/or themes can get a site on the blocked list of school, work, employer and public terminals as well as trigger net-nanny-type software to block the site. 

They may render viewing the site illegal in some other countries -- remember, this is the World Wide Web, not the USA Web. 

They may put a site in violation of sponsorship agreements. 

They may put a site in violation of domain hosting agreements.

They may have an adverse affect on search engine placements and rankings.

But, there doesn't have to be a reason behind any of his rules and it doesn't matter what we think of his rules.  If we don't like Chucky's rules, nobody's forcing us to use Chucky's site.  This is not a public website.  It's a privately owned interactive online publication.  Chucky pays for it.  Chucky also  puts a lot of time and skill into it, both of which have monetary value.  Chucky does not charge us to use the site.  However, he does ask that, if we wish to use the site, we use it only for its intended purposes and that we respect his rules and guidelines.  Pretty standard stuff.   

Using dots and dashes and such isn't exactly respectful of Chucky's rules, but it keeps the words from triggering the autocensor and probably all or most of the bots, spiders, crawlers and nanny-soft programs.  Had we done that, on our own,  BEFORE he installed the autocensor, he may or may not have installed it.



 

Besides the fact that there are younger members of the audience, I think Chuckie wants to maintain
a certain amount of civility.  People can get out of hand when rude language is used and instead of
using critical argument they resort to name calling and spite, which is never helpful in intellectual
dialogue.

I don't like the auto-censors myself, but I understand why Chucky uses it.  On the one hand, profanity and "adult" topics are just part of life.  When we talk about life, it is sometimes awkward to use euphemisms or *** to sanitize what you really mean, or to circumlocute your way around a subject better served by frankness.
If I was a kid, I would feel rather patronized knowing the board used auto-censor on my account.  However, it's more a prophylactic against touchy parents and server operators.
Besides, I belong to other boards where there's no restrictions, and there's always a few obnoxious members using the F-word every other word, making smutty references.  Those people annoy me even more than auto-censor!

Now, sometimes the censors get a bit much when we are talking about Cheney and it reads his first name as "Dip" (even though he may be one.  ;)) I'm not too sure if I do like the censors on this board but I do understand why it is there. It also makes us think of creative ways to get around it.  :D

Cat



Hmm... whenever I make a post about Díck Cheney it does not get censored. ???

LB

Hmm... whenever I make a post about Díck Cheney it does not get censored. ???

LB

Hey, I like to write it as D-I-C-K, you know, just to linger on that first syllable.  Heh heh!
;)

As for the site being censored.  Besides what Cat, MooRocca, Danoota and Max said it is also because more boards will link to this one if all those words aren't used.  Chucky does want this to be a family friendly site.

I see your points, I just find the censors just a bit silly sometimes. In response to the "This may be blocked by school/work filters" post, I have this to say: You sholdn't be accessing this site from your place of occupation. Plus, a lot of filters automatically block forums like this, just to be on the safe side, in case language gets in. They sometimes do not consider the site's filters and block it without cause.

I see your points, I just find the censors just a bit silly sometimes. In response to the "This may be blocked by school/work filters" post, I have this to say: You sholdn't be accessing this site from your place of occupation.
Why not?  Besides, what else could I do?  I work from home!

I, myself, don't get some censorship. I can understand it on TV, some people don't want themselves or their children to see nudity or hear the worst of profanity. But it oftentimes seems a bit unnecessary, particularly on the internet.

I have always held this belief: What makes d*mn, d***, or d@mn any less offensive then what you want to say? Everyone knows what you meant when things like "Darn it, I hate the 90s." or "I'm going to tick on your mothers grave" {I think the tick-p*ss filter is the worst of them, seeing as the P-WORD has more then one meaning}. But I go off the subject. Why censor what people say here?

Lemme know what you think.


because, THAT'S NOT CENSORSHIP.

Censorship is the suppression of ideas.  The idea is not being suppressed.  You're still able to express it, but in a way a filter or an 8 year old kid might not understand.  In most cases, the curse words you mentioned, have NOTHING to do with the point being expressed.  Instead their used as adjectives by people with VERY limited vocabularities. 

If you can show me a case where anyone would be confused by on the words censored on the site, that does not deal with sexual functions (which aren't permitted here), please do so.

I think if you hung out on some sites with zero moderation or "censorship" you'd quickly find them to be quite uninteresting.  I've been on some sites that have minimal moderation and no censorship of topics or language, and I know for a fact they aren't worth the time to read.

I have one question to ponder though: Why do we have eleven year olds on this board? Can't adults have something to themselves? And what, pray tell, can they really contribute to these boards?

Tanya

I have one question to ponder though: Why do we have eleven year olds on this board? Can't adults have something to themselves? And what, pray tell, can they really contribute to these boards?

Tanya

I suppose you could put an age restriction on the board, but there would be a negative trade-off there too.  Chucky is probably the one to speak about this, though.

What would be the negative trade-off?

Tanya

You sholdn't be accessing this site from your place of occupation.



True, unless your job involves accessing sites like this (maybe you write or research for side bar or stop set copy, for example -- someone was paid to find and review all those related websites you see or hear recommended in magazines, on television and on the radio.) 

...Or your employer allows and/or  encourages recreational surfing during your breaks/ lunch because it keeps you at your desk.

...Or your employer encourages a moderate amount of "on the clock" recreational surfing and even provides employees with minimum and maximum surf-time guidelines, knowing that it spurs creativity and increases productivity for employees in certain jobs. 

OR if I own a business and therefore I can do whatever the heck I want to! ;)

OR if I'm the techie who sets up the snooping stuff and knows how to circumvent the logging ;)

Kids can come to this site and see differing points of views from people from all
over using language that is not offensive.  They can also see the people here
agree to differ and still care about each other.(group hug :-*).  In some of their
worlds that may not be going on.

Good point, Danoota.

I often wonder why stations like VH-1 censor out words like @ss but let the "F" word run rampant ::)

What would be the negative trade-off?

Tanya


These messageboards are for the support of the various websites I own/run.  inthe70s,inthe80s, inthe90s, amiright, onlyonfilm.  The decade sites have timelines that a lot of schoolkids find very useful, but sometimes they need more help.  Rather than try and answer all those questions myself, I try and direct them to the messageboards.  amiright is meant to be a general ages thing, it's focus is on music parody, and most people are heavy into music during their teen years, so clearly that target audience skews younger. 

Of course you don't have to be a fan or even know of the other sites I run to like/use the messageboard, but that's more of a side benefit to having split the messageboard off as a seperate entity.  Until about two years ago, the messageboard for inthe80s and amiright were seperate entities, and strongly tied to each site.  Since there was a lot of overlap of users/topics, I figured it made more sense to combine them.  It also made it easier to just places links to inthe00s instead of a longer URL for the board itself. 

I think next year though, will see a change for inthe00s.  The decade will be half over at that point, and it'll be a fine time to start building timelines for the past five years, and maybe make it more like the other decade sites.  We'll see.  I still haven't had time to setup editors for the 70s and 90s sites, so they're way out of date and as interesting as they could be.

Plus if we leave it up to big media, kids will get no positive exposure to the pop culture of their elders.  The elders who are knowledgable about Duran Duran videos need to help spread the message about how superior DD2 is to their current crop of music video stars.

I often wonder why stations like VH-1 censor out words like @ss but let the "F" word run rampant ::)


I've never heard the F-word on VH-1.  They always bleep it out.  :-\\

I have to agree with Chucky here.  While I sometimes use words in class that would be censored, it is very rare, and always for effect or for accuracy (exmpl: "History repeats itself" is a bastardization of what George Santayana really said "Those who are ignorant of history are CONDEMNED to repeat it").  If we adults who follow this board want, as we should, to be role models to the yougsters who also grace us with there presence, then we need to conduct our discussions with intelligence, eloquance, and civility, and not with insults, invictives, and foul mouths.

That said, I don't know how the auto-censon might respond to the following, which COULD be part of any number of serious discussions - penis, breast, virgina, sperm, gonads, intercourse.  I list these sexual words because we have be discussing the origin of the human race in class recently, and they all were used.  Lets see what happens.

My point is that I certainly support civility and oppose the stupidity implied by vulgarity, but find it disquieting that body parts and bodilly functions are always considered obscene.

I often wonder why stations like VH-1 censor out words like @ss but let the "F" word run rampant ::)

I've heard the "F" word slip by on C-Span, but most of their audience is too busy snoring to notice!
;D

That said, I don't know how the auto-censon might respond to the following, which COULD be part of any number of serious discussions - penis, breast, virgina, sperm, gonads, intercourse.  I list these sexual words because we have be discussing the origin of the human race in class recently, and they all were used.  Lets see what happens.


hmm... guess it's time to update ye old filter  >grin<

I often wonder why stations like VH-1 censor out words like @ss but let the "F" word run rampant ::)


I haven't heard the F word, but I notice that they're keen on bleeping out the word "God" and censoring a song by Shinedown called ".45" (for airplay it's called something else, I forget what) and any references to guns. Yet they have NO problem letting people say "ho", "tramp", "b*tch", etc. It's stupid the way television censors stuff, IMO. They're censoring the WRONG things! ::)

hmm... guess it's time to update ye old filter   >grin<


Your >grin< suggests you are joking ;)  Clearly body parts and bodily functions are not in themselves obscene.  It is also clear that they can be used in obscene ways. And therein lies the problem with censorship.  And please reread my post on this.  Profanity is one thing, biology is another.  I doubt that auto-censors can find the difference.  But I do understand the problem.

That said, I don't know how the auto-censon might respond to the following, which COULD be part of any number of serious discussions - ... virgina, ...  I list these sexual words because we have be discussing the origin of the human race in class recently, and they all were used. 

virgina? ???

virgina? ???


Excuse my slooppy tyyping.  I'm a historian, not a secretary.  Cheap shot?

Excuse my slooppy tyyping.  I'm a historian, not a secretary.  Cheap shot?


Well, just because the Commonwealth of Virginia has a Democrat for a governor is no reason to think it is obscene.  ;D :D

Some teen made up a bumper sticker.  It had a picture of bushie with a crown and said "King George,
off with his head"  taped it on his car window.  A week later the FBI is at his house.  The questioned him
longer than they questioned the whole family Bin Laden on 9/11.  Something is not right. >:(

Some teen made up a bumper sticker.  It had a picture of bushie with a crown and said "King George,
off with his head"  taped it on his car window.  A week later the FBI is at his house.  The questioned him
longer than they questioned the whole family Bin Laden on 9/11.  Something is not right. >:(


Uh... Don't you imagine that the entire binLaden family that was present in the USA had already been investigated prior to 9/11 ?  My guess is that they were under initial surveillance and investigation under the Clinton Administration and possibly even under Bush 1.

It is also possible that they could have shed some light on Osama.  In any investigation the family
is questioned, I would think that in this case that would have been an imperative.

I haven't heard the F word, but I notice that they're keen on bleeping out the word "God" and censoring a song by Shinedown called ".45" (for airplay it's called something else, I forget what) and any references to guns. Yet they have NO problem letting people say "ho", "tramp", "b*tch", etc. It's stupid the way television censors stuff, IMO. They're censoring the WRONG things! ::)
Well said, Jess ;)

Some teen made up a bumper sticker. It had a picture of bushie with a crown and said "King George,
off with his head" taped it on his car window. A week later the FBI is at his house. The questioned him
longer than they questioned the whole family Bin Laden on 9/11. Something is not right. >:(


That happened here in Utah.  From the way the story read I thought it was because it could be construed as a threat to the president which is illegal. 

That happened here in Utah.  From the way the story read I thought it was because it could be construed as a threat to the president which is illegal. 


If a teenager with a homemade bumper sticker could be construed as a threat tp the president, the I
am assuming that Massachusetts is going to put on lockdown within a matter of minutes.  ???

The Secret Service didn't see it as a threat.  A neighbor reported it as a threat and they had to follow up.  If they had found it to be a threat he would have been locked up.  I think it is a case of a "Gladys Kravitz" type neighbor that can't mind their own business.

The Secret Service didn't see it as a threat.  A neighbor reported it as a threat and they had to follow up.  If they had found it to be a threat he would have been locked up.  I think it is a case of a "Gladys Kravitz" type neighbor that can't mind their own business.


I think that just as the questioning of older black folks in Florida, it was an attempt to intimadate those who oppose are illustrious pres.  This also is a form of censorship, and much worse than censoring gutter mouths on the board.

The Secret Service didn't see it as a threat.  A neighbor reported it as a threat and they had to follow up.  If they had found it to be a threat he would have been locked up.  I think it is a case of a "Gladys Kravitz" type neighbor that can't mind their own business.


I still think that it  could have been handled better.  Talk to the neighbor and if she/he was a
busybody let it go.  No need to intimidate a kid.  He said he wasn't gonna use the bumper sticker
anymore, and you can believe that his name will remain in the computers as someone who has
been questioned by the FBI.  That's not right.

I still think that it could have been handled better. Talk to the neighbor and if she/he was a
busybody let it go. No need to intimidate a kid. He said he wasn't gonna use the bumper sticker
anymore, and you can believe that his name will remain in the computers as someone who has
been questioned by the FBI. That's not right.


I agree...they probably didn't need to question him for an hour.  He was just a punk kid (I saw him on tv...he was a punk kid).  I think it is like DCFS.  They get a report, they have to investigate even if it is a lie.  They are probably in a catch-22.  Danged if they do, danged if they don't.

I agree...they probably didn't need to question him for an hour.  He was just a punk kid (I saw him on tv...he was a punk kid).  I think it is like DCFS.  They get a report, they have to investigate even if it is a lie.  They are probably in a catch-22.  Danged if they do, danged if they don't.


Yeah, think of the possibilities in that.  I call them on you, you on me,  me on RnR, RnR on Max,
Max on GW, GW on Don Carlos, DonCarlos on...Cat, (hey, she should have done the laundry)
(tongue in cheek, Cat, or is that TIC).  ::)

Yeah, think of the possibilities in that.  I call them on you, you on me,  me on RnR, RnR on Max,
Max on GW, GW on Don Carlos, DonCarlos on...Cat, (hey, she should have done the laundry)
(tongue in cheek, Cat, or is that TIC).  ::)



You know, I could take that as a sexist remark.  ;)

In all seriousness, we can thank the "Patriot Act" for this one. Yeah, let's spy on our neighbors. This reminds of me of another incident that was a thread a while ago.


http://www.inthe00s.com/index.php/topic,227.0.html




Cat

I still think that it  could have been handled better.  Talk to the neighbor and if she/he was a
busybody let it go.  No need to intimidate a kid.  He said he wasn't gonna use the bumper sticker
anymore, and you can believe that his name will remain in the computers as someone who has
been questioned by the FBI.  That's not right.


While I have never been questioned by the FBI they do have a file on me that I got through the freedom of information act.  Actually, I'm both proud that my humble political activities ( all legal) attracted their attention, and dismayed that the justice dept. spent YOUR tax $$$ investigating a humble college professor at a small public college.  I guess I'm a real danger to society, like this kid with  his bumper sticker.  No wonder they couldn't stop 9/11, to busy investigating loyal citizens to focus on the bad guys!  Makes you wonder.

Some teen made up a bumper sticker.  It had a picture of bushie with a crown and said "King George,
off with his head"  taped it on his car window.  A week later the FBI is at his house.  The questioned him
longer than they questioned the whole family Bin Laden on 9/11.  Something is not right. >:(

I wouldn't hav done what that kid did.  All threats against the President, no matter how friviolous, are taken seriously by the FBI.  This is nothing new.  However, Bush is so deeply hated the FBI now extends investigation to implied threats, or even angry suggestions.  Hatred of Bush is much more populist than hatred of Clinton.  The great Clinton hunt was a phenomenon driven by partisan Republican elites and the drooling lapdog media.  Under Clinton, however, life was getting better, not worse.  Your workaday right-wingers thought he was an immoral, liberal lout and wanted to see him impeached, but the Clinton Administration's policies were good for everyone but the very rich and the very poor (I refer to welfare reform regarding the latter). 

Ways in which life is harder under Bush greet Joe Average everywhere from the paycheck to the gas pump.  The Bush Administration has just done away with a 60-year overtime pay regulations.  They are obtuse and vulgar in their war on everybody who makes under six figures a year.  Yes, hatred of Bush is more visceral and more palpable than I have seen against any President.  We liberals despised Reagan, but this is much more severe.  Georgie is an even bigger liar than Reagan, and he's using Reagan's economic policies, which we know are a total bust for anyone who works for a living.

It is hard for me when talking about Bush and his gaggle of fascist goons to pick words that won't get ME investigated by the FBI!

Look at it this way, the Bush people have all but admitted they know how hated Bush is.  Before Bush holds a rally, attendees are prescreened and forced to sign a loyalty oath stating, "I support George Bush for re-election of the United States." (sic.)
:o

This is something I can't understand:

There is The Wrestling Channel on SKY and it continues to show hardcore matches (matches involving weapons not nudity  ;D) and they put blurry marks over the wrestlers bleeding faces,  pan into the crowd when someone hits someone else with a chair and even when a wrestler is thrown into railings (huh?). The way I see it, if it is not fit enough to be shown before 9:00 pm (watershed time over here) then don't show it before 9:00pm.