[ga] The word "shitty" and the issue of censorship

["Richard Henderson" <richardhenderson@ntlworld.com>]

I have to say that I side with Eric on this one. Do we really want to create
a "St Monica's Convent" atmosphere of imposed morality guardians on this
mailing-list?

Personal attacks is one issue. I was unhappy with the unpleasant personal
remarks made about Michael Froomkin's career by Joe Sims. They were not
pertinent to any issues of concern to the GA.

But censorship of language 'per se' is another.

I have to say that I have absolutely no problem with the word "shitty" - I
personally don't have any problem with the word "fuck" either - as in "what
the fuck was going on..." - though others may differ on that.

At the very least I think there should be some kind of consensus amongst the
users of this mailing-list about what constitutes an unacceptable word or an
acceptable word, and that generally very few constraints should be applied.

In Scotland, "shitty weather" has nothing to do with excrement, but
describes bad, murky, windy or rainy conditions - and is perfectly
acceptable, normal usage. So you see, you have to be careful about cultural
context, and it is a risky road trying to set limits on language if you want
freedom of speech.

It would be a shame to exclude whole classes of people just because words
like "fuck" fall outside your own social norm.

I suggest any moderation is limited to content which involves lies, libel or
unreasonable personal attack.

Rather than issuing warnings out of the blue, I suggest you publish a list
of any words you don't regard as acceptable, to see if you get a consensus
on any of them. You can't just say "Because I don't like it, everyone else
is not allowed to use it."

Come on, Alexander and Thomas, don't be a pair of fuckwits!*

Richard Henderson

*fuckwit (noun) - term of good humour and endearment in a Scottish bar,
spoken between friends, as in "It's your round, you fuckwit, I bought the
last one." To which the friend will probably reply, laughing, "Och, ye're so
full o' shite*! Hwat ye havin' then, m'avalloch*?"

*shite (metaphor) - nonsense, talking rubbish, tall-story teller etc.

*m'avalloch (noun) - from gaelic 'mo bhallach' meaning my friend or my
friends (of whom, I number Eric Dierker one).





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