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

Hi, Sea Change.

I just came across this old thread in which you mention a word which offends you. I had no idea you were bothered by such things, and now I'm wondering just how many times I must have pi... upset you with my rampant disregard for the power of certain words.

Oops, forgot the link! Here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/hub/F103790?thread=222958&skip=140&show=20

I read the thread over, and the only thing I specifically said that was offensive was using the name as a nickname pun for shock value. Even so, the pun in question is about a word britishism which still seems more peculiarly silly than offensive to me. I don't think you've ever used the American version without context. Most of my interest in the conversations about bad words was to prevent premoderation from happening again, because at the time that was written, they had just put us on postmoderation but threatened to premoderate again 'if we abused the system' (whatever that means).

There's nothing particularly wrong with childish jokes, but one's nickname is attached to everything you write and it becomes tiresome very quickly and it seems as if the person's intention (if zhe is an adult) is to offend rather than be silly.

I *like* BBCi because it is moderated. There was a huge argument about premoderation when H2G2 got aquired. Digital Village was very free flowing. Chunks of that got lost when the premoderation came about, but it also got rid of a lot of people who I found annoying and not at all interesting. That is to say, they were brilliant, and articulate, and had strong opinions about things, but all of that was to the service of being abstrusely and eruditely offensive. They were "Flowers for Algernon" trolls, and their 'joke' got old. Because of this I was willing to pay the cost of less invention, creativity, and silliness here. It isn't any special Anglophila on my behalf, so much that this is a comfortable place to be.



I think of you as being very careful about words in general, so 'rampant disregard' would never have occurred to me. If you have offended me, I have long since forgotten it. I am quite capable of pressing the Yikes button, and have done so only three times, never in regard to something you have written.



Myself, I was always taught how to express myself to express strong emotions without using words which folk might consider taboo. It took awhile to figure out how to do this, but I don't miss not using them. The only time I have been yikesed was when I made a very dark bloodthirsty joke about 11 September in relation to HE artillery.

"they had just put us on postmoderation"

"Us"?

"I *like* BBCi because it is moderated. There was a huge argument about premoderation when H2G2 got aquired."

I moved my journal away from h2g2 because I didn't want to get to the point where I resented it. I'm very fond of the place and nothing really compares with it (as far as I've seen). Now I feel more like a visitor and less like a resident, and I like that feeling. If I get punished by the mods, I have a 'home' to go to.

Like you, I think moderation and premod are good things, provided the rules are clear and aren't abused. I even think the profanity filter's a good idea in principle; it's just the implementation that bothers me.

I've been transferring all my old journal entries to the new site. While I was doing this, I noticed that SEF appears to have been on premod, continuously, for two years. The moderators say that, if someone hasn't broken any house rules within the premod period, then they're taken off premod; however, there is no stated length of time for premod: it's up to the moderators. It can continue indefinitely, even if someone hasn't broken any rules.



I'm glad my swearing hasn't offended you.



"I was always taught how to express myself to express strong emotions without using words which folk might consider taboo."

I was taught to challenge and question taboos, which have an inherently controlling nature. Since then, I've realised that actually, there's a reason why some taboos exist, in the same way as there are practical reasons behind rituals of ettiquette and superstition.

It amazes and pleases me that words can be imbued with a special power, because it requires such a huge general consensus--a sort of, "we all agree to be offended by these words." As a result, we have a very convenient selection of verbal weapons which are sure to hit home even against people we know nothing about.



The Welsh language contains no expletives.

Us = all of the Researchers. There was no 'moderation' to start with, although some people did manage to get themselves banned or their posts deleted anyways, because the 'Yikes' option was always there. It just took awhile because they were trying to manage a viral site with a fixed amount of paid employees.



It does sound like the profanity filter is being abused, and it's very peculiar and seems unfair that SEF has been on premoderation. I didn't regret the loss of the first batches of Researchers. This recent one which has caused Felonius, you, Terri and Yoda, and Mina to split is alarming. There doesn't seem to be a good way of dealing with this kind of thing in the UK because of the whole 'BBC should be private/public' debate gets in the way. It seems to make mere propositions of small change as wedges for those who would attack and sever a government arm.



All of my sibs are scientists of one sort or another, so we were all taught to examine things, operate independently, and question taboos, too. However we were also taught to be careful of and strategic when you *do* stick your head out because nails that stick out get pounded back in.

It is a peachy keen social contract that allows one to use profane words. But I have found that my training to avoid these words pays off very well because when I really do use those words people who have known me and remember the times that I have expressed myself strongly and extemporaneously in the past without them Sit Up and Take Notice. There's a lot of power to be gained in keeping this socially contracted thing in reserve. Since my German reserve is my natural demeanor, when I get my irish up it's a very enraged postal worker sort of event, and it's good to be able to fire off some verbal warning shots that my testosterone cascade is in peak cycle.



Scots Gaelic is chock full of expletives: http://www.insultmonger.com/swearing/scots_gaelic.htm

It wasn't just the profanity filter that made me leave: I wanted to post pictures and sounds in my journal, and do fancy things with fonts, and edit after posting.

I had a look at the Swearosaurus page on Welsh expletives: http://www.insultmonger.com/swearing/welsh.htm.

I was amazed to see so many--until I read them. Many of them are not expletives when they're said in Welsh. Most of the several-word 'instructions' aren't standard and must have been invented by whomever wrote the page--though I must admit, they have a certain style to them! Several of the expletives are just English ones given Welsh spellings and suffixes. And several do not mean what they're said to mean here--like "cachau bant," which has a lovely ring to it, and might actually be an expletive (I hope so); I think it means the equivalent of 'bullshit', but I'm not sure; it definitely doesn't mean 'F off', though.

"I have found that my training to avoid these words pays off very well because when I really do use those words people who have known me and remember the times that I have expressed myself strongly and extemporaneously in the past without them Sit Up and Take Notice."

I take your point there. Certain types of words do indeed carry a lot more punch when used sparingly. (Isn't language great? )

Oh, and:

"the pun in question is about a word britishism which still seems more peculiarly silly than offensive to me. I don't think you've ever used the American version without context."

Embarrassingly, it had never occurred to me that Americans might consider their version to be an offensive term. I (and many others) tend to think of the American version as a kind of euphemism for the British version. Over here, it's the American version that sounds more peculiarly silly than offensive, and its use frequently leads on to some really bad puns about donkeys.