This is kinda wrong thing to have on a writer site, ya should probably implement a rating system for ages, so you don't have to star the words. That way you keep people too young out, or at least they've an idea, but you don't limit the writer creative juices. It shouldn't be too hard to change this, just shocks me, this is on a site like this.
A very simple system could be implemented wherein you simply state in the story name (using square brackets or something) if the story contains any words that might offend the reader or risk compromising the sites "family friendly" attitude. The problem with this is that a lot of people (even the majority) lack the judgement on what constitutes a minor, medium or serious swear word - if it is one at all.
Hear hear. I really don't see the point in it. Nowhere on here does it say this is a young writers site. I've actually seen quite a few adults on here, one of them 30 years old. If it was aimed at younger writers and only younger writers, I can see why you would censor. But it's not, and the stars break up the flow of those trying to critique the piece, as well as manipulates and twists the work of the author. Perhaps if authors have language in their writing, they could put a rating or a warning in the title? This way, those who would be offended by the language in the stories (which would be odd on a writer's site) would know not to click the piece.
I'd wager that a large proportion of people on this site are (or claim to be...) minors. But to be honest, censorship really is pointless. Everyone finds out swear words sooner or later...
I disagree. Starring the words (for example, s***) isn't limiting the writer's creative juices, because they, and the reader, both know what the word is. My cousin is 9 and she joined, and she wouldn't have a clue what that word is. At least half of the people I speak to on here are minors. I'm only 13 myself (turned 13 at midnight...21 minutes ago, actually lol). So we can safely say that there are many minors on here. As for 'you'll find out the swear words eventually'; sure you will, but I would NOT be happy if my cousin went around the house saying f*** every three seconds at her age.
That's why I suggested a rating system. Since you could prevent this happening, if ya had it. The minor are safe in naivety and the older people can read and review, and if the minor ignore rating, then we can't say they weren't warned?
I'd also like to point out that minors aren't nearly as ignorant regarding swearwords as a lot of people believe they are. I know when I was 9 I was saying worse than '****.' I just never did it around my parents/other adults, for fear of getting reprimanded. And considering you're only an 'adult' at 18...I'm willing to bet many 17 year olds know more bad language than some of the 50 year olds I know. I'm all for the censor being removed. ~Christian
Censorship of swear words disrupts the flow of the writing as the reader works out what the word actually is. Furthermore, swear words are powerful emotions and when utilised properly can bring a piece of writing to life.
I don't see a problem. If someone types "s***" I have a clear understanding that they mean a feces related word, and not suck. I don't need to see the actual word to know it's a cuss word. It doesn't impede on the story or the flow in any way, nor does it impede on anyones creative output. It would be naive of us to believe that placing *'s in the word is going to stop a younger person from understanding that word, and at the same time it would be naive to think that everybody out there is automatically going to understand regardless. This site has been around for 8 years and has run just fine the way it is. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Well, there are umpti-billion forums where any kind of language is allowed. I doubt that they have membership “quota-maximums.”
I'm of the distinct opinion that there are no bad words, only bad times to use them. That said, we have a certain responsibility to ensure that the youth of our communities know the right time to use said words. Frankly, at the age of nine most children are unable to determine the subtle nuances of life; including when and when not to scream Son of a B**** at the top of your lungs. As such, we are responsible for sheltering them until the time comes that they can, in fact, determine the most oppurtune moment. I agree with the rating system; You can assign a general (G, PG, PG-13, R, etc.) rating system, and then add a disclaimer before the story detailing the reasons for the rating you've given it. Common examples of said reasons would be Strong Language, Violence, Nudity, drug use, etc. Seems fairly straight forward, in my opinion. --ME EDIT: Quick note... If this were true, this part of the forum would not exist. "Suggestions and Feeback," no? Strive for improvement, or at least be open to new ideas.
The censorship is there because this is a family site. We have members of all ages, and we want the site to be suitable for all of them. You might not like it, but I'm afraid that's just how things are. My own feelings on the matter are that profuse use of swearing is a sign of a lack of imagination. I do accept, however, that it can be used to emphasise emotion, but I don't feel that the censorship detracts considerably from that. At any rate, when you joined, you agreed to the rules, and this is one of them. This site is very tolerant, but it has its limits not to censor the opinions of members, but to keep it a suitable and pleasant environment for writers of all ages.
Just so everybody knows, there is already something regarding this on the site. The conclusion was that you keep yourself under control (i.e. no m-f, and such) but be kind enough to include the word "excplicit" if you use any word harsher than hell or damn.
Children of Nine, Ten and Eleven tend to be smart enough to not go around repeating things like f***, that is, any that I know of are smart enough. I agree with the idea of having a rating system, to possibly keep the younger ones away from certain stories. Agreed there.
We were taught not to say bad words in kindergarten. We weren't told specifically what these bad words were, so we learned through trial and error, an adult getting on to us when we actually did say a 'bad word'. By age seven, we pretty much had every popular cuss word down and knew not to say it. If a nine-year-old didn't know the four letter word that begins with 'sh' and ends in 'it', I'd wonder if they've been under a rock their whole lives. Also, just because you know the words doesn't mean you use them. And again, if the rating system would be too hard for the admin to code, we could just do it manually ourselves, putting a (PG) (PG13) and (R) next to the title if it might be unsuitable for minors. We could also put a warning. It appears that every new member who joins gets a message telling them to crit first, post stories later. Since this message is copied and pasted, it shouldn't be too hard to add a line or two telling the new member to be sure to put a warning or rating in the title if the piece contains any cussing at all, or any other content unsuitable for children. We know what the word is, yes, but it breaks the flow and kills the piece. We can have a character who is very calm, doesn't cuss, takes things in stride. Then a few chapters/books later, we have that same character in a tension scene. Everything in the scene builds up and up and up and then finally-- nothing. Four stars in the place of his outburst. Get rid of the censors. We'll put in the warnings, and you can lock our works if we don't.
This was decided over a year ago, and is not going to change. There are only a few words that are automatically censored, but the site content rules are what they are. A few members invariably complain, but there are also many members who are very thankful that we set these limits. The intended age range of the site is approximately age 13 and up, although there are a couple of members below that age. I don't believe it will severely cramp anyone's style to stay within the content restrictions defined for the site. In the real world, you will encounter such restrictions on occasion as well. When you write for publication, you can use whatever language acceptable to that publisher and market. You suggestion has been noted, and Daniel will see it when he is around next. But the arguments for both positions have been presented before, so I'm closing the debate.
