Poll: Do you Unconditionally or Selectively Censor your Language in forums/online/social networks?

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Pebblig

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Jan 27, 2011
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I tend not to swear on Facebook etc, just 'cos I know the people. On forums I do, but I don't bother with the whole %&$> thing.

The only word I draw the line with is the one beginning with C and ending in T, it just sounds nastier than all the others.
 

Olas

Hello!
Dec 24, 2011
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I swear, though only if the situation calls for it. I don't think I've ever 'censored' myself, that seems really stupid unless the forum you're using specifically requires it.

To quote the academy award winning film The King's Speech.

"fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fucking fuck, fuck, fucking bugger, bugger, bugger, buggiddy, buggidy, buggidy, fuck, fuck, ass, balls, balls, fuckiddy, shit, shit, fucking willy, willy, shit, and fuck, and.... tits."
 

Klumpfot

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Dec 30, 2009
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I hate censor bleeps or asterisks in avenues where the uncensored words are allowed. As in, I will not read your post if you type "f***" instead of "fuck". What words you use is your choice, don't use curse words if you're not FUCKING comfortable using them! The asterisks make look like a child, and I probably won't take you seriously.

That goes for web content in general too. MovieBob in particular. You are on the Escapist, a site famous for hosting Zero Punctuation. I think you can get away with saying "shit" without having to bleep it. Or, if you can't, please leave the word out of the script. Don't try to 'protect' me from harsh words.
 

Tono Makt

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Mar 24, 2012
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CrimsonBlaze said:
My question is that when you are posting comments online, do you censor yourself? As in, do you use these **** or these $#!+ to cover up your vulgarity? If you do, is it unconditional (you do it all the time because it's a 'bad word') or do you do it selectively (within the given context, f*** can be an expression of an emotion and not the act of intercourse)?
I tend to censor myself more and more as I grow older, and I tend to tune out people who use a great deal of profanity more and more. This doesn't mean I abstain, or ignore people who toss out the occasional "Fuck!" or "Shit!", but there are few times where language like that is appropriate.

As an example, there's a guy on the RoosterTeeth podcast who swears in almost every sentence. I don't know who he is even though he's introduced every time because I just tune him out entirely due to the overuse of profanity; maybe he has something interesting to say, maybe he doesn't, but I don't particularly care to find out. (heck, I can't be bothered to even load up one of the podcasts to see if he's on it so I can actually say who it is I'm talking about. He's not one of the voice actors on RVB, though Gus's swearing gets on my nerves at times too)

When I do swear, I tend to use Non-North American swears, like Buggered and Arsed, or I use things like "Boned", or misspell them intentionally like "shiat" or "biatch". Ususally when I'm doing that I'm being light hearted or it's a conversation I don't have much emotional attachment to; a thread where I don't really care to make a serious attempt at getting my point across. It's a light, breezy little post-it note on the internet, not much more.

On posts where I really do want to get my point across, I almost never swear unless it is of vital importance to the thread or to my point. Normally it's quoting someone else, but there are occasions where I'll slip in a swear here and there. Sometimes it's unconscious; I'll be typing out a stream of consciousness, and out will come a string of swears. Sometimes I catch it, sometimes I don't. I tend to go back and edit those later on because I find that the swearing diminishes my post when that happens.


Also the fourth option "First Amendment!" is one of those meaningless things because the First Amendment just covers what the GOVERNMENT can and cannot regulate. The Escapist quite obviously is exempt from the First Amendment, as is nearly every other online forum, or else there couldn't be any moderation on the forums. I could go into a thread about "What fanbase gets on your nerves?", post "Browncoats", and I wouldn't get a "Low Content" warning from a Moderator because "Free Speech, Biatches!" We're on a private server, which is subject to the rules as decided upon by the owners of this space; if they say we can't say something here, then you can put an infinite number of exclamation points after "First Amendment!" and it won't do a single thing. If the Escapist decided that they were no longer going to allow anyone to say "The Original ending to Mass Effect 3 was terrible."... they could do it, and the First Amendment wouldn't apply.
 

ZZoMBiE13

Ate My Neighbors
Oct 10, 2007
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I try to only swear when I'm kidding or joking around, and never in anger or during a debate/argument. It gets easier once you've had kids of course. You don't want to use harsh language around them. Though my kid is a teenager so she probably swears like I did when I was a teen, but out of sight out of mind.
 

Hero of Lime

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Jun 3, 2013
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I don't swear in general. I don't care if others do it of course, but whether online, in real life, with friends, or family, I don't swear. I do like to use the PG versions of everything which people find hilarious. So I wouldn't consider it censorship since I'm not intending the original word, maybe it is, but that is the way I prefer to talk.
 

TheYellowCellPhone

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Sep 26, 2009
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Eh, a bit. I'll say and write 'freaking' in place of 'fucking' because I think that all the humor in swearing is lost when you oversaturate your swearing.

That's probably the only reason I'll hold back, because it isn't that funny when I say 'this fucking controller' compared to 'this freaking controller' or 'this goat-fragging controller'.
 

Kyber

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Oct 14, 2009
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I don't curse extensively, so I don't see the point. I like the escapist forums though, there is no fucking reason to curse, but you fucking can if you fucking want, but it just makes you look like a fucking immature idiot.
 

Nouw

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Mar 18, 2009
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I'd rather drop the swear and/or replace it with another word than post it censored, and I do. I just don't see the point considering whoever reading it is going to know what that word is. I occasionally throw in a swear word here from time to time, been doing it considerably less these recent years, and same goes for Facebook. I know them, they know me and unlike in real life the context may be missed, especially when some random is reading over my comments or something. Some of my friends swear like sailors on Facebook and when I look back on my own I don't really want to see that. I guess I like being more reserved online because in real life, let me tell you, I can and do swear a lot. With the right friends of course, and it's nice to sometimes be around someone that just doesn't give a fuck.
 

Phrozenflame500

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Dec 26, 2012
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Not really. I do sometimes substitute swears with less-offensive counterparts if I think it would be funnier.
 

Jamash

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Jun 25, 2008
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No, I don't censor my language, but if I'm writing on a forum in which swearing is against the TOS (or is allowed but automatically censored with ****), then I'll just phrase my posts differently and express myself in the same way, but without words that are considered vulgar.

I have nothing against swearing and such words are a valuable and expressive part of my vocabulary, but I'd rather not use them at all and express myself differently than have my words censored or even worse, use minced oaths (which in my mind are more offensive than swearing).
 

Something Amyss

Aswyng and Amyss
Dec 3, 2008
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CrimsonBlaze said:
So it's no secret that everyone swears, despite how many people try their best not to, for whatever reason.
That's a damn lie, and you fucking know it!

>.>

I couldn't resist.

I filter myself in any conversation. I tend to adjust my language level to the acceptable level of those around me. Or the rules of the board in question. Though a lot of my profanity is spur of the moment and that doesn't translate into writing as frequently. I say "************" a lot, but I rarely type it, because it's something I generally say in the spur of the moment. Rarely am I typing in the spur of the moment.

To be fair, since the time I could be considered adult I've hung around with people with young children, and as a result I tend to do this habitually out of respect for parents who may or may not actually be there.

Then again, I'm also selectively respectful, so there you have it.
 

Giest4life

The Saucepan Man
Feb 13, 2010
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As far as online forums are concerned, I censor myself only enough to not earn any systemic penalties. I don't mind the use of profanities, and I mind the [em]abuse[/em] of profanities only as much as I mind the abuse of any [em]rhetorical[/em] device--I have a theory that people who excessively use profanities, do so as a modified conjunction to add continuity to their sentences.

Yes, to each his own, but I find people who shy away from profanities for moral reasons or a pretension to decorum as immature. After all, in his second-to-greatest tragedy, Hamlet, I distinctly remember the editor's annotation pointing out Shakespeare's use of the word "country" as a pun for the word "****"--I think it was in a dialogue between Hamlet and Ophelia. And if you think Shakespeare was immature or lacking in good taste, you seriously need to consider your tastes.
 

SoranMBane

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May 24, 2009
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I only try to censor myself if I think a family member might see what I post, and even then, I have little problem occasionally using words like "hell" or "damn" as expletives. Otherwise, I don't actively avoid using the harsher swear words online, although I do try to use them sparingly so that they have more of an impact when I do use them.
 

Chemical Alia

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Feb 1, 2011
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Sure, I censor myself online every single. There's tons of things that I'd love to talk about and communities that I'd love to be a bigger part of. But I won't, because I might just have an opinion on a forum that some people don't like, and people like Jim Sterling might think it's hilarious to post a whole article about it if I were to express it in a way other than COMPLETELY SERIOUSLY and make the internet freak out for a week because "Rude!".

Not that anything like that's ever happened before, but better safe than sorry! ^_^ But yeah, if only the last thing I had to worry about was saying a bad word around my grandmother, that'd be cool.

One time I accidentally took my 85-year-old grandmother to see Funny People. It didn't go well.
 

DarkhoIlow

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Dec 31, 2009
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Depends on my mood really. If I'm giddy about something I might throw in a "holy shit" or if I am pissed I will most probably use "fuck".

Other than that,it really depends if the rules of the forums/sites let me swear. If they don't and I have to censor the words, I usually just use other words that are acceptable to the rules of conduct to get my point across.
 

Asuka Soryu

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Jun 11, 2010
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Depends on the website. If I can get banned for it? Yes. If not, I'll say whatever I Ducking Famn well want to.
 

Julius Terrell

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Feb 27, 2013
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Why should I? It allows me to talk more directly, and it gets my point across. Goody-two-shoes are the only ones I know that censor their language. It's a the way of the world.
 

FPLOON

Your #1 Source for the Dino Porn
Jul 10, 2013
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I usually swear only out of pure excitement (This is the greatest fucking thing I have ever seen, dude!) or out of pure hate (Fuck you, Sonic 06!!), and very rarely within my "middle ground"...

With that said, when it comes to forums or on social networks like facebook, I sometimes take precautions given the circumstances. Although, out of impulse, it usually doesn't become a problem considering I normally talk without actually having to censor myself or apologize for my use of swearing... since I never do anyway...

The closest I would say I swear on a public online social network... is Youtube, however I never categorize Youtube as a "social network", per se...


Overall, I never do have a problem with censoring myself since I never do swear on a regular basis. Even when I do swear, it's usually in the form of quoting... especially during family conversations... (or to make myself look more like who I look like on the outside) I originally thought it was more complicated to explain when and where I do swear, but then again, swearing is not really my thing... I might swear from time to time, but the circumstances (in my opinion) usually explain my reasoning for swearing in the first place... So, to answer the poll question... No... It's just how I am... (Unless I'm not myself...)