h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

The whole entry revolves around the "h2g2 Profanity Filter", but it's really the "DNA Profanity Filter" as it's deployed across all the BBC's communities and message boards. Just referring to its impact on h2g2 sounds a bit parochial.

You could wander a few boards and list the nicknames the filter has acquired - on "The Archers" boards the filter's activities are referred to as "being redded", for example, and I'm sure other boards and communities have different names for it.

The most interesting entries in the filter are rows of asterisks... Three, four, five or six asterisks in a row are automatically blocked, IIRC. So, they want to filter out the fact that you took the trouble to filter out your own profanity?

A reference to George Orwell's "1984" and "Doublespeak" might go down well, too, the idea being that if you want to remove thoughts about something you manipulate the language so it becomes impossible to express it...

Just my .

Thank you very much, Peet. I'm not sure it's worth putting any more work into this, as it's far from sure this will ever be accepted for the edited guide. In case it will, though, I'll make sure to contact the sub-ed to include your suggestions.

However, I really don't know anything about the DNA message boards, so I guess I'd say that the filter affects all DNA message boards, but that this entry is about the reactions on h2g2 only (they're the only ones I experienced).

I've taken it out and deleted now, Pete. Thanks for your input anyway.