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

I once joined a forum that filtered strings of letters instead of actual words... I left and never returned after only 40 minutes because I was told that "sniggering" was a racial slur.

The best filther I've ever come across replaces "bollocks" with "John Wycliffe's Bible (1382), Leviticus xxii, 24", that being the first known use of the word.

BBC News has been known to replace the odd word.

There's the headline here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lancashire-15550458

And the last sentence here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-15234138

I've had that happen to me too Mr Dreadful. Apparently the 'politically correct' term is "snickering".

WTF?

'Snickering'?

That immediately strikes me as being more malicious than 'sniggering'. Or possibly an unsavory practice involving peanut and nougat filled chocolate bars.

At marathon runners.

Deep fried Snickers: the only thing less healthy than deep fried mars bars.

Please please please write the deep fried mars bar nutritional entry one day, Z

Some facts here: http://www.livestrong.com/thedailyplate/nutrition-calories/food/mars/deep-fried-mars-bar/

meh Deep-fried confectionary products are so last Tuesday.

Deep fried fat cakes is where it's at.

http://investmentwatchblog.com/french-fries-and-deep-fried-fat-cakes-for-first-lady-in-botswana/

Mmm...

Washed down with full fat Iron Bru of course.

You've not done deep-fried until you've done a State Fair...

http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2009/09/fair_explores_new_frontier_in.html

B

Full fat Irn Bru you say?

http://news.stv.tv/scotland/211673-irn-bru-sausage-the-perfect-hangover-cure/

Ohhh.....want want want want.

Anyone in Scotland willing to post me some?

B

Peet's in Aberdeen, isn't he?

I don't think they sell it in Embra.

Glasgow ettiquette, as reported in Tom Shield's Diary.

Two guys in the waiting room at the Sheriff Court. One says to the other:

'Haw, gie's a swally of yer Irn Bru'

And the other says,

'Did they no teach yer to say 'goannae'?'


You had to be there, maybe. Or here.

I've enjoyed reading this thread, I like reading well put discussion. Although I do have a point to clarify from an earlier posting by Mu:

"This is the Internet! A place where people should be free to post and express themselves in whatever terms necessary. And if other people don't like it, we provide a nice unsubscribe link at the bottom of each page."

So, is this your internet Mu? Or is this a corner of it that someone else is paying for the hosting, the site, encouraging the volunteers, etc, etc?

I'm all for a free internet. I believe it's the spirit of it that it's very hard to kill. But I also believe that if it's someone else's site (and this is one of those) then you abide by the rules.

If in this case the rules say that if the word is used out of context you'll be modded, then fine, live with it

Just my thoughts there. But I think it's a good point that Mu raises, if a site isn't suited to you, find another

Although..if the site owners (and volunteer-encouragers etc. etc.) have an aspiration that 'Their' site should be a Community...can you see how that sort of My Way Or The Highway attitude might come over as somewhat dictatorial and exclusionary?

I doubt you meant it that way, but that's how it comes across. I imagine that you meant to take a more consensual, conciliatory and community oriented tone but somehow it came out wrong.

As a freeloader myself (just call me 'Freddie'), I can quite see where you're coming from. On the other hand...if you really don't want to see my pretty little face around here, just say the word.

passive aggressive

It's a tricky one.

There have been several times in September when I found myself thinking of the WWI cartoon with two Tommies in a shell-hole, one of them saying to the other "if you knows of a better 'ole, go to it". http://www.gutenberg.org/files/25951/25951-h/images/illus016.jpg I've had to restrain myself though, because that kind of "put up or shut up" isn't really very helpful, and sprang out of tiredness more than anything else.

We cannot be all things to all users, obviously. But I hope we can create a site that is welcoming, accepts diversity and accepts and supports awkward customers, and we should do it out of simple human decency as well as for the sake of the site. (I say this as a user of the site, not a Volunteer, btw. Like Pastey, I am not a Community Editor).

Freedom of speech is there to protect the rights of those we disagree with.

So, fluffy-minded-liberalism aside, in practical terms there are a bunch of behaviours that aren't ok; they come down in the end to "don't be mean", so bullying, trolling, being deliberatively provocative and so on, are none of them ok (and are all of them against the HR).

And the inlcusive and diverse of cultures cannot accomodate everyone, if only because there are people who will find that level of inclusivity and diverstiy too threatening, if for no other reason. And we have the "don't be mean" above.

We need to recognise that we cannot expand h2g2 to accept every kind of behaviour without changing it beyond recognition. But we should not be arrogant or dismissive either. And we absolutely should recognize that cultural differences, different levels of education, and writing in a second language, can all result in misunderstanding, abruptness and insult where none are intended.



Ben