Swearing and abusive language.to start by quoting the rules
a) Please do not use racist slurs, prejudiced comments, profanity, or derogatory statements.
b) Swearing is censored to the best of our efforts, but your co-operation is of utmost importance in these matters.
c) Evading the censor by adding asterisks, or purposefully misspelling words to evade the censor is considered a higher offence than swearing normally, do not do this.
and
Our community consists of players of all ages and from all walks of life, and that includes teenagers, and even some pre-teens. That said, we would like to see less swearing on our boards, including: @#%$, pissing, tuna melt, Oh Sh*t, F**k the questions, WTF, etc. Sure, these are 'acceptable' words (because they are censored) and some even said on TV, but it doesn't mean they're right.
And to clarify.
This site is for gamers, and gamers come in all sizes. The oldest are really old (geezers) while the youngest have hardly gotten through their first grades in school. This is why we do not allow abusive or offensive language, not to upset anyone. This also includes racial and sexists slurs, as they are aimed at hurting people. Also posting personal attacks is unacceptable. If you disagree with someone; fine. You can disagree as much as you want to, but you can’t resort to personal attacks against the person you are disagreeing with.
It is just not the way to resolve anything.
We want this to be a pleasant place for everyone, but some people resort to abusive language as they run out of proper things to say. This is where we, as a Community, must do something. There are two basic things and a helper for this.
1. Do not use, encourage the use of, or provoke anyone by using abusive language. If anyone is swearing at you it does not grant you leave to do the same back. You are just stooping to a lower level, and your offense will be the same. There is no "But he started it!"-defence here. Just control yoruself.
2. If you see anyone using abusive language, or feel that you have been slurred unjustly (in most cases it is unjustly) then, instead of commenting and biting back, use the "Report to moderator"-button at the bottom of the post. This will notify the moderator on watch, and the offender will be handled according to the severity of the breach of rules he/she/it committed.
The helper is an auto-censor that constantly sweeps the boards looking for abusive language and censoring it. This is not ancroaching on your freedom of speech, as you have agreed to follow the rules when you sign up here, and the rules prohibit the use of abusive language. You will be cencored; it is automatic, and your post will look like utter garbage, since the censor is not a nice thing. It doesn't care if you are swearing because you feel entitled to it, or just flaming away at someone because you have run out of things/arguments/proper comments. It will censor you anyway.
Now you are aware of this, and if you have any questions or comments please feel free to either respond here or PM me, and I will answer as best I can.
Thank you for your time.
Addendum: - Incidentally, to view profanity in all it's glory (i.e turn off the auto-censor for viewing posts) you need to access your Profile (button is at the top of the page) and click on the Look and Layout Preferences option in the left sidebar. Check the 'Leave Words Uncensored' box to turn off the censor. Note this only applies to you viewing posts, other people with the option still off will always see your swear words censored still. This option ensures that if you like swearing, you can have it without upsetting those people who do not like it. - Lom