[rainbow8]

I have a few questions.

1. Who determines what words are unacceptable in posts and PMs?
2. Are PM's read by mods?
3. Or, is there automatic censoring of words in posts and PMs?

A word was changed in a PM I sent; *s were put in. I would like to know how that happened and who read it.

Thank you.

[lynn P.]

Fairly sure its automatic - there's a filter that automatically censors it out. For example if someone puts the a certain male name, that's also referred as a body part...starts with the letter D - its censored out. Hope that helps.

[rainbow8]

Thanks, Lynn! I feel better knowing it's automatic because I felt violated almost, especially since it was a PM. I also think the word was acceptable so I wondered about that too.

[pachyderm]

The censoring software kills some words and leaves others alone. Also, people have learned that if they put a space between the letters of a word it will not get censored. So attempts at censorship are not very effective.

[Rennerenner]

I hate filters like these. They're just words; a series of sounds that we add meaning to. It seems very childish to censor them in my opinion. Curse words can help express specific emotions and relieve stress, they have a function. By censoring the words you don't like, you're just giving more power to them, and controlling what other people can or cannot say in a public forum. People should be allowed to express themselves in any way they want. If you're offended by curse words, you really need to rethink your priorities.

This place has an over-religious vibe to me... idk

End rant.

[amandalouise]

I love the way this site does the censoring words.. even though its just words on a computer screen I know many people who just seeing a certain word will trigger them into having flashbacks or a panic attack example that body part talked about above sends many I know into panic and flashbacks because during their attacks with their abuser they were forced to engage in that body part with their abuser using that very word in a vulgar sentence of what he wanted his victim to do.

this is a mental health website where there are people easily upset, triggered or affected in all kinds of ways by words, thoughts so to me its understandable and not an invasion to me, when I see either the moderators or the automatic system did the censoring for me.

[rainbow8]

It wasn't even a curse word! It was an anatomically correct word, not even slang!

[DocJohn]

Yup, we censor some body part words, and I apologize if you were using one in a descriptive context.

We've never hid that we're not big fans of profanity here, since we have all age groups in our community. It's been a part of our community guidelines and terms of use since day one and will always be a part of them.

DocJohn

[-jimi-]

I'll welcome the time when software can actually know the difference between bad words and other words.... I remember a kind of confusing conversation about the author Philip K ????. Like who is this guy you're talking about? Eh, yea.

[Rennerenner]

Originally Posted by amandalouise

I love the way this site does the censoring words.. even though its just words on a computer screen I know many people who just seeing a certain word will trigger them into having flashbacks or a panic attack example that body part talked about above sends many I know into panic and flashbacks because during their attacks with their abuser they were forced to engage in that body part with their abuser using that very word in a vulgar sentence of what he wanted his victim to do.

this is a mental health website where there are people easily upset, triggered or affected in all kinds of ways by words, thoughts so to me its understandable and not an invasion to me, when I see either the moderators or the automatic system did the censoring for me.

But at the same time, there are plenty of people who feel like these words help them better express their frustration or feelings, what about these people? This is what free speech is about. This system always benefits the people who just don't want to hear it. ALWAYS. I'm sorry, but hearing words and sentiments you don't like is just a part of life, and attempting to shelter yourself off is only counter productive. You don't have to like what someone says, but they should ALWAYS have the right to express themselves verbally in any way they want.

And censoring body parts is just asinine, regardless of their age. That's just anatomy. The word idiot would have been comparable to saying the f word a hundred years ago, but no one seems to care now. It's all so relative, we just decide one day, 'hey, that word offends me! you're not allowed to say it.'

Ridiculous.

[pegasus]

Not ridiculous, you talk about free speech but this I believe is a private website and if DocJohn decided we were no longer allowed to use the words, 'fishfingers' or 'fiddlesticks' then that is what we agree to when we sign up here. Besides that, I don't think that there are that many words censored here and I think the stars that replace words like **** still show very well what the person is trying to express.

[venusss]

Originally Posted by amandalouise

I love the way this site does the censoring words.. even though its just words on a computer screen I know many people who just seeing a certain word will trigger them into having flashbacks or a panic attack example that body part talked about above sends many I know into panic and flashbacks because during their attacks with their abuser they were forced to engage in that body part with their abuser using that very word in a vulgar sentence of what he wanted his victim to do.

this is a mental health website where there are people easily upset, triggered or affected in all kinds of ways by words, thoughts so to me its understandable and not an invasion to me, when I see either the moderators or the automatic system did the censoring for me.

Again, not being able to talk respected authors in chat (it censors Charles Dickens), or political theorics (Fukuyama might have been wrong, but he is not a curse word, and yet he gets censored in chat), or even mention what we had for lunch.... it gets bit ridic.

[Rennerenner]

Originally Posted by pegasus

Not ridiculous, you talk about free speech but this I believe is a private website and if DocJohn decided we were no longer allowed to use the words, 'fishfingers' or 'fiddlesticks' then that is what we agree to when we sign up here. Besides that, I don't think that there are that many words censored here and I think the stars that replace words like **** still show very well what the person is trying to express.

No, it is ridiculous. Of course DocJohn has the right to run his website how he wants, including the employment of censorship. The fact that he chooses to do this is what I'm criticizing, not his right to do so. If he arbitrarily decided that the word 'fiddlesticks' wasn't allowed, yeah I would think that was crazy, and would have a problem with that. I'm not saying he shouldn't be allowed to enforce his own rules on his own site, that WOULD be ridiculous. I'm simply expressing my opinion that the way he chooses to censor certain words he doesn't like for other people IS ridiculous.

I hate the mindset of 'if you don't like it, leave', because it completely dismisses any criticism that might have some value. I obviously appreciate this cite as a place to come deal with and get questions answered about mental illness, I'm just saying I think it would be a step in the right direction to end this seemingly pseudo-morality based censorship.

Not ridiculous, you talk about free speech but this I believe is a private website and if DocJohn decided we were no longer allowed to use the words, 'fishfingers' or 'fiddlesticks' then that is what we agree to when we sign up here.

This is true. Every site draws a line somewhere on words. Political sites, auto enthusiast sites, gaming sites etc.
Anyway, bottom line, I can deal with the *****ing asterisks (yes those are just asterisks) but how good an imagination these supersensitive people have might be a good question. As someone pointed out... it doesn't take a MENSA member to figure out what was censored.
The restrictions on ideas and adult discussions on certain topics are a mystery to me though. I don't see how talking about politics or religion could be any more triggering than talking about a psychotic killer
There are boards here that require membership to post... maybe there could be an adult discussions forum. We make friends here... it's only natural to want to discuss news and such with our friends. For some it's the only community they have.
Either way... it is what it is and I better post this before it's closed.

[unaluna]

well, then I would ask the people against "censorship" as it is done here - do you get triggered by certain words? If you don't, then - how can I say this politely? - please to shut it? You just don't get it. I would have liked a moratorium on the word "drowning" last week, after an incident in the pool the week before. Especially figurative uses of the word. Before that, no, I didn't have much sympathy with people who got "triggered" by words. Now, yeah, I do. Walk a mile in our flip-flops.

[Rennerenner]

It's not like I'm losing any sleep over this, it's just annoying to me. It doesn't really matter that they give asterisks when you post a profanity, the fact that they do just comes of as pretty condescending to me.

Hankster, while I'm sorry to hear that some words trigger negative responses from you, and I don't in any way wish to demean or make light of that, asking to censor words that could be trigger words is just unreasonable.

Literally any word could be a trigger word, so censoring trigger words just becomes impractical. The fact of the matter is, we are going to hear these words in life, and it's up to us with the help of therapists and loved ones to deal with situations and words we don't like. Suppressing others' ability to post words that might bother you or someone else just doesn't make sense.

Not trying to cause a scene, I just don't appreciate being treated like a child.

[rainbow8]

Wow! I thought I just asked a simple question but it seemed like I opened up a can or worms!

DocJohn, thank you for posting and explaining to me. What bothered me, because I didn't know how the system worked, was that I thought a moderator read my thread and bleeped out a word with no explanation to me. I felt like I was being watched! It reassures me that the filtering is done automatically. I don't want to get into what others have responded to, which is the appropriateness of the censoring, though everyone is entitled to his or her opinion. I'm very thankful for PC and the support I get here.

[DocJohn]

While I appreciate the constructive criticism, this isn't like a forum where "anything goes" nor is it primarily for the deep discussion of philosophical theories, politics, or other random topics.

We're at the mercy of the technology we use and, like humans, that technology is imperfect. We live in an imperfect world. We can't fix the filters to understand intent and, unfortunately, the chat filters are more coarse than the forum filters.

Since there's no solution to this issue, the OP's original technical question has been answered, and some people took it as an opportunity to use this thread to vent about their views about profanity filters, I'm going to close this thread. Thank you again for the feedback, both positive and negative.

DocJohn