Mike Harding replied:

There is a limit to how much you can control a public forum - despite what you (and I) may prefer. You could always close the forum to all but members?

Mike Harding

Richard Kovac replied:

So as Member we can get our posts deleted by a none member by him swearing on it, boy I'm in trouble.. LOL..:)

Sand Man (SA) replied:

Well, I'm of the opinion that some "colourful" words have a greater impact if used in the right place. Now, I don't mean "hard core" offensive swear words, but the everyday ones that almost all Aussies use in day to day communication.

In fact, I get quite a chuckle when I see some of the formatting used to slip through the swear word monitor. It is just plain old Aussie humour.

Let's face it, "bleep" just does not carry any IMPACT does it. Even if it is in red.

Actually, the most offensive word to me is the one used in place of the good old dunny, thunderbox, crapper, even toilet.
Loo,......what the?......where'd that stupid word come from for Jesus's dad's sake.
(Can't use the common word for Jesus's dad because that would be bleeped out.)

OK, sorry David, we get your point. You are only trying to protect your business interests, but if you make it too squeaky clean, you risk losing all the characterisation that helps make the Forum what it is.

Jimbo replied:

Tough one this David,

Just what is considered swearing in 2007? I'm 45 and well remember when"bloody" was bleeped out on the radio. It is now consisdered to be mainstream language.

The slang for faeces is often spoken on evening TV news broadcasts, and morning radio when used as a quote from a prominent person.

The slang for copulation seems to be allowed on any old TV show or movie after about 9 at night.

The term "Swearing" is a broad and widely encompassing one. One man's foul language may be anoter's oratory.

Very hard to define.

Good luck,

Jim.

Willem replied:

David

I am afraid that many of the words you are referring to make up the content of the Australian Venacular. Most of them are found in the Australian Dictionaries. It is way of self expression to accentuate an event or happening. People walk on the streets with many of these words emblazoned on their T shirts. This is 2007.

I sympathise with you and you have made the 'bleep' word a byword on this forum.

I am not a regular swearer but am guilty of altering the words to make them fit(Soundex; Meaning it sounds like) into the context of the sentence. Other contributors swear openly and get bleeped. One of your words that gets bleeped regularly is Peninsula. Why I don't know.

The short answer is to take time (or delegate) to make up a list of all the words or Soundex words. Other than that I have no answers. Maybe Regular Visitors can be banned for a week and Members can be fined by excluding them from the Forum for a period of time. For example: If you type CHIT(a written note in its real form) to replace **** then you are banned for a day.( I picked this word up from Roachie...lol)

The more one does, the busier it gets....lol

Cheers

The Explorer replied:

Hello Dave - a read of the posts so far suggests some sort of arrogance and/or over inflated ego filter would solve at least half the problem.
Good luck.
Cheers
Greg

lifeisgood replied:

I'm backing you on this one David.
I am sick of hearing bad language in public places including trains, radio stations (some) and TV . I think it got a heck of a lot worse thanks to the Yanks - with movies like Police academy. Kids have watched so many movies with foul mouthed actors / scripts that they have adopted it into there own language. (every 3rd meaningless word )
We had a swear money jar at home for visiting teenagers and older who forgot Mrs X was in the room. It helped them remember next time they visited-- and they were more considerate!
Its mostly just a bad habit --- yes thats just IMHO
Good on you David and thanks for trying

markeaust replied:

Hmmmmmmmmm.......

not even a 'bleep' from Truckie on this one!?!?!?!?!!! 8-)

Cheers,

Mark

John R (SA) replied:

Good to hear David.

Member - Andy Q (VIC) replied:

G'day David,

Come!, Come!, this is Australia we are proud of our stairght forward, straight at it attitude. We don't beat about the bush, not backwards in coming forward when speaking!
Please, Please! do not become so scrutinised that we are gagged by a public forum such as this.
Family site, what the? I have never heared from anyone under 18 as far as I know and as far as wifes, SWMBO or the 'missus' are concerned, I never heard a complaint. My wife can not see anything wrong with any lanuage that I've shown her on this site.

Lets just hope the 'religious right' is not involved or there are any hidden agendas with religious overtones.

Junior replied:

David- I agree with your post, but can't help myself... I have certainly been guilty of doing the whole %@$?* thing on occassion, so NOT having a go, but check this one out.............. Post- 39715. "ExplorOz Team - Michelle posted this followup
yes, and then there is.... "them..." instead of "those" !@#$%&*" Heh heh
:-)))

Member - Barnesy (SA) replied:

Fair enough David. If you can get people to stop saying (verbally not typed) 'like' and 'you know' 3 times every sentence then that will be an achievement.

Member No 1 replied:

if we minimise it guys the boss wont wave his big stick......

Redback replied:

I think this is very amusing.

Some of you blokes will be hard up for something to say.

Baz.

Keith_A (Qld) replied:

I also support David on this issue. In families and schools, all the way up to nations, the rules and example of leadership sets the tone and behaviour.
You can see many examples around today, where people (families/nations) don't have a standard to strive for.
So lets lift the standard of our forum a bit................Keith.
(...climbing down off the soap box....)

RovingOz (QLD) replied:

Agree there's no need for the hard stuff. I wasn't allowed to say bloody growing up.

My wife & I were watching the Sapranos from the video store one night and were totally appalled when a certain word was used. We could not believe it. It has sneaked into other series also from the US.

3 strikes and you're out should be the rule. Humans don't respond to warnings much, only dire consequences.

Member - Michael J (SA) replied:

That's a fair call David,

I do not have a problem with it, and I guess 90% of the regular users will not either.

Does that mean that the 'Friday Funny' will be subject to a lot more scrutiny than it has in the past??

Even if the words are not there, the inuendo is...

Regards
Michael

V8Diesel replied:

I think it's an important part of the Aussie vernacular and on occasion nothing else will do for getting a point across, but it's your show mate so I'll respect the homeowner's rules.

Camoco replied:

I agree with David's ideas.

The world is degenerating for the sake of being lazy. Smarter people swear less. Smart isn't just brains, it includes common sense as well.

Let's think about what we say before our verbal diarrhoea pours out. Most posts inflect the tone without the additional words. The use of STRONG caps would be a better solution if you need to emphasise.

We can still be Aussies without needing to swear. True Blue Aussies never swore in front of anyone other than friends (or unless they were really drunk). And as we are Public, we cannot all be friends even if we think we may be.

Keep up the good work David.

Cheers Cam

Footloose replied:

Stone the flamin crows, strewth, crikey and pluck a duck ! Don't Youse blokes go telling any pork pies. You wouldn't be having a lend of me ?

The English language is always evolving. Today's repugnance might well be tomorrow's commonplace.

Sadly, our own variations are being lost, and foreign expressions abound.
Like Mc Donalds. KFC. Pizza Hut.
Baggy gang clothes, hats worn sideways. 9yo Paris Hiltons.
And who's fault is it ? Yours and mine.

David's stand is admirable, but won't mean much in the long run.

When a society's children are perfectly at home telling their teachers to bleep off, and the school accepts this as a valid form of *self expression* (don't make waves), you know we're in trouble.

A culture of *me* first, and the removal of the word *respect* from the dictionary, have not helped.

Crass commercialism and moral bankrupcy appear to go hand in hand.

All the way with whoever they have.

PhilZD30Patrol replied:

Hi David

Guilty as charged........sorry!

I happen to agree with you. There is no reason why I or anyone else has to use swear words or even conversions to imply an obscenity to get our point across, and as it may be offensive to other users I will in the future refrain from doing so.

Cheers
Phil

Member No 1 replied:

why cant we have wing dings for font type...then no one can understand it till its decoded in word

D-Jack replied:

I agree with Cam, swearing is just the idiot's way of being able to communicate. As for swearing becoming acceptable, you wouldn't say these words in front of a 2 year old learning to talk (well most of you with some sort of moral values wouldn't anyway), that should be the judge of acceptable.

And you know that swearing isn't allowed on this forum, so why try to get around it by adding &%$^&(*^&???

When we joined up we all agreed to the terms and conditions of the site - well this thread is saying abide by them, or have your post or response deleted, or get booted off the forum. Pretty fair request if you ask me.

D-Jack

Wombat replied:

And I just thought it was people who couldn't spell swear words.

Member - Julie P (VIC) replied:

Good for you David - one of the things that make this site so enjoyable is the lack of idiotic banter between posters - some is okay but sometimes it just degenerates into the ridiculous - like the couple a few posts down from yours - I posted recently on this specifically regarding a couple of other sites where there is always some "insite" banter t othe point of name calling, insulting etc(with language included) - and got an earful from one of the below posters - by the way - I can cuss with the best of them - but there is a time and place for everything - and a public forum is not that place in my opinion, it shows a total disregard for other people.
This site has a wealth of information, and it would be a shame if it were restricted because of some peoples rudeness, I think.
David and the site have a right to enforce posting rules if they consider them to be inappropriate or offensive.
jules