Censoring Proposal
Please note: the following is nothing more than suggestions that can be improved upon and nothing that has been written is intended to offend the staff, members, website developers or the creator.
Some of us have agreed that the censoring on this site could be improved further.
I was having a discussion today about the censoring within this website and came up with the following suggestions:
Instead of having asterisks to censor the words, it would be much more simpler and less offending to others if the offensive words were simply withdrawn before posting.
So, as an example, instead of reading as:
"**** this **** I'm out"
It would read as:
"this I'm out"
Why?
More and more people will attempt to work-around the issue at hand but will be less tempted to if no one even knew they were attemtping to cuss and just thought that they were misspelling or left a word out. People would be less offended because they wouldn't even know that someone was attempting to break the rules and (whether intentionally or not) offend others.
But there's another issue.
It's been pointed out on many ocassions that the censor (in some cases) works too well; blocking words that aren't even offensive and leaving you thinking "where is the offensive word that won't allow me to send this message?"
I do believe that an automatic censoring has been implemented as I can't imagine someone inputing a non-offensive word into the system for censoring. If I am correct, I would suggest implementing a manual censoring where you simply input the keywords into the correct field in order to block the words that really are offensive.
Other pro's include:
Quick and easy inclusion.
Human error only so minimal words are accidentally censored.
Can input personalized words such as work-around words. Example: "He-llo" but a cuss word.
More control over the words used.
Eventually, people will get bored of attempting to come up with new ways of working around the system. This will also mean that less moderators will be needed for the over use of words that have been censored with asterisks. Not only will people find the blocked word less offensive because they don't know what they were trying to say, but it also means that it's less annoying and looks much more appealing. This will also descrease the amount of people blocked for abusing the censorship in place.
Might I also add that it's a bit counter-productive showing asterisks for a word that no one wants to see anyway instead of leaving onlookers guessing what the word they were trying to use could be.
This implementation also means less arguing, more of a calm atmosphere and less intended aggravation.
What's also good about this is when someone comes into a chatroom and is upset because of certain circumstances, they aren't met with "please stop cussing" followed by "if you don't stop cussing, you're going to be kicked". Situations such as this just make matters worse. The censorship is supposed to assist people, not barage them further.
One of the other points to make is that some people are just cussing because it's what they do. Not all users but some use cuss words in the heat of the moment to get rid of pent up anger and/or to vent. Simply knowing that you typed out your true emotions is enough for some.
It may also help to decrease the need to use cuss words. If no one can see the words that you know yourself you're using, no one can pick up on the fact that you have been using them all along, unless you state otherwise. If there's no point in using a cuss word, then why would you use it? Most people only use cuss words for effect so if we can intervene an impactful use of a cuss word, do you not think it should be our responsibility to do so?
What are your thoughts on the matter? As Listeners, members and moderators, do you think something like this would be beneficial? Do you have any other suggestions?
I transferred it to a more public forum so members can also share their insights on this! c:
@DipityEnigma In group chats I would rather there just be no censor, or a much more limited use of a censor. The forums don't have one.
I swear in the chat rooms, I'm not getting around the rules by doing so, I'm following the rules.
Some of it can be quite ridiculous. Bloody is censored, blood is not. One time I was talking about coughing up bloody mucus. I could switch it around to say coughing up mucus with blood in it, but people in the room knew what I meant.
@AffyAvo When I said getting around the rules it was reffering to the example I gave when people do things such as "He-llo" but a sewar word. That's what a work around is when talking about this. Following the rules is fine, no one's particularly bothered about except those who still takes offence to knowing that you attempted to cuss.
Yeah, that's the type of issues I see too. So many times have I had one-on-one chats and it states it can't be sent because of something in it that's inappropriate. Although, it would be helpful if they actually stated what the inappropriate word is so that I can inform them of their mistake instead of just a general message.
Don't get me wrong, in reality I swear like a trooper. Haha. But I see some many complaints about people who "abuse" the censoring system and admittedly I have seen some people who write massive messages and it's just filled with asterisks throughout. Makes it hard to read and it's not very pretty. Also comes across as quite aggressive. That's what I meant by abusing the system. Not simply using it, that's not abusing it.
I see mods all the time telling people they're going to get kicked for the over use of cuss words. It's not a nice thing to be told when you literally follow the rules. Personally, I don't think this is abusing the censorship but talking from a moderators point of view, I mentioned it as such because this is what it's become known as. Not all mods are like this, just to say.
Thank you for commenting. The above isn't meant to be offesive in any way at all. I appreciate you taking the time to give your input. :)