Posted by IsoM on June 24, 2002, at 14:51:43
In reply to language-squeamish people don't post here, posted by mist on June 24, 2002, at 13:00:49
I'm not a person given to using swear words but I hear them lots. I don't necessarily like them but it doesn't stop me listening to a person except if every third word is one. Then it's not the swearing that stops me but the fact that they're so inarticulate they have little to say really.
So take me as an example of one of those who don't like swear words - one of the people that Dr. Bob would like to protect from being offended. Am I offended when I read swear words in this forum? Not really. It's not the words but the intentions behind them. Some posters are so angry & crude that they would offend me even without swearing, but those are the few that Dr. Bob blocks & everyone appreciates it.
Like I said, I don't swear but I do use the occasional 'shit', 'damn', 'bloody' & 'hell'. None of those words are in themselves swear words.
Shit is feces, an old English peasant term for dung. Also found in Old Norse & Middle Dutch for excrement. Faeces is just a Latin form. What about poop? Or crap? What is the term used in proper company? The whole point is when someone says they feel shitty - it means they feel miserable, low, worthless... definitely not wonderful. The word fits - pure & simple.
Damn isn't even considered swearing in the dictionary but is just slang. Same with bloody & hell - all giving the idea of bad connotations in how one feels.
Dr. Bob, I truly believe that few of us - even the 'proper', sensitive ones, are offended by mild swearing or even the occasional stronger ones. I know I'm not. It's the content of the message, not the packaging it comes in.
Dr. Bob, could you specifically print exactly what words are NOT allowed? Some are obvious to me, but what about words like bloody, hell, shit(ty), damn, bullshit? Or are these words allowed but not in certain contexts like inflammatory posts only? I'm really wanting to know.
poster:IsoM
thread:5720
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/admin/20020510/msgs/5766.html