I wasn't suggesting that you did.  The point was that insulting someone directly, regardless of what words you use, isn't going to be a feel-good experience for the target.  In your example, direct hostility to other forumgoers was the problem (and as far as I know, that 'is' moderated around here).  The profanity was just incidental.

And sure, it's not unreasonable to 'ask' for something like this but it'd be silly to expect that a gaming forum, where anyone who can type a mostly coherent sentence is welcome, will actually follow through.  I mean really... context matters and this isn't a Harvard lecture hall.  It's a local bar.  The discussion around here is hardly scientific and most of the posters here aren't actively campaigning to the family values crowd. 

Re so-called bad words, "Guns don't kill people, people kill people." Vocabulary choice is a matter of fitting personal style to a given context. I try not to throw in words that might scare parents or offend religious conservatives--unless it seems like the thread, or especially the OP, is not picky about such things. Sometimes my emotions get the better of me and I end up calling a pile of excrement by a much shorter word.

Re censorship, I'm a minority (gay) and I regularly see folks use words that can get you tangled in hate crime laws if you use them in the wrong context. But I'd rather see even open hatefulness addressed with more and better words and not the hammer of censorship.The way to fight that sort of cruel language is to refuse to let it hurt you.

Re the business of being articulate: one of the single best pieces of clever silliness ever put on the net, fword.wav (yes, it's about indoor sporting...)

It was not a rant, just a statement of truth. It doesn't matter what "curses" might have been, which is why I then changed the word to offensive words although the correct term would be "profanities."

Sorry, but I disagree with you on the "origins" of "profanities" and it seems to me that your understanding of "history" is lacking. Do you honestly believe that there were no profanities uttered before England? Profanities were being uttered thousands of years before England was ever even a notion in someone's mind. Don't try to lecture me with your very biased understanding of the topic. There are many kinds of profanities, many of which are not based in religion at all. Actually, not a single one of the words, of which the original poster was probably referring to, has any basis in religion. The "F" word, "B" word, "S" word, etc. have no basis whatsoever in any kind of religious context. Well, you could argue that the "F" word has some basis in religion because of what the original meaning of what the "F" word was. I am talking about what the original meaning was, which was Fornication under consent of the king, that might have taken a negative connotation because fornication is seen as a sin, but the others do not have that basis. Every language has profanities, some of which may be rooted in religion, some of which may not be, what arrogance you have in thinking it all stems from Old England.

Do you think there are no profanities in Chinese, or Greek, or Latin, or any other language that has ever existed before English was created? Have you ever even lived in another country other then I am assuming the US? I have. I lived in Asia for more then 4 years, not to mention all the other parts of the world I have been to. In Most Asian countries, it is extremely rude to use profanities and very much socially unacceptable. That comes from Old England too? No offense but your comments show you to be foolish in this matter.

Cursing is just poor judgement in all scenarios.  It does not matter if it was intended to be offensive.  Only that it was perceived as offensive.  Think along the same lines as sexual harrassment.  It does not matter that you didn't think it was offensive.

People just need to be civil in all cases, and respect each other.  If you couldn't say it to your mother without feeling a twinge of guilt or shame, you should not say it at all.

Sorry if I am perceived as a prude, but no point has ever been made more clear or concise by the use of words that are generally considered unacceptable in civil speech.

My 2-cents.

Ray

I think you worded it well. This is exactly the case.

Guess i'll leave it to provide people with a laugh and show how pride can lead to the fall.

"Context is everything though, especially with language, and language is one thing that evolves at such a rapid rate it's hard to even keep up with it when you live in it on a daily basis. "

Is a fair point which i fully agree with. However the OP suggested we should out right ban certain words regardless of context.. one doesn't need those words to denote negative or offensive meaning. Nor does the actual use of those words denote negative or offensive intent. If the argument is simply "some people need to be more judicious with their use of words in certain contexts" i would fully agree... not only for the words in question but many overly used misunderstood words i see thrown around.

However the argument has been "You shouldn't use those words cause they offend me". Or alternatively.. "you shouldn't use those words because It offends me and others" Which i personally find ludicrous and offensive in that someone feels their personal opinion should decide the available vocabulary of this forum.

*btw if you track through all my posts I have ever made here you'll find maybe one or 2 profanities if any. I tend to use more culturally acceptable words when possible. So i'm not simply defending my or anyone elses right to go on profane rants. Its simply a matter of principle for me.

Keeping a civil demeanor in public is definitely a good thing. Respecting people in general, however, is not the same thing as feeling obliged to speak respectfully to someone who is a belligerent twit, and if the twit's behavior includes coarse language, I see nothing wrong with responding in kind--especially if you can do it while also showing generally superior language skills.

Your point about mothers has a degree of stand-up comedy logic to it, but it completely ignores the fact that some mothers can startle sailors when they get going with an extended insult. The thing is to be context-sensitive. If the mothers around are prim and proper, of course you should avoid being coarse. But if the only mother in the room is a profanity scholar or has multiple expletives tattooed on her, well...

It is rather amusing that you insist people shouldn't use those words regardless of context yet you personally attack me with acceptable words. Lets see So far you have called me arrogant, foolish.. claimed that my understanding of history is lacking, childish and obstinate. Did I leave anything out? How in the world can you claim your usage of language is any better than someone who slips "ass" into a post? Or that the usage of a profane word is somehow more negative in connotation then the words you have used to personally attack me?

So let me see if I can get this straight. Its okay to offend and attack people as long as I don't use any "bad" words?

That's true, but the person hearing can be offended regardless of what the intent is. And in general, that's the important part when it comes to things like this, don't you think?

With exceptions of course, since sometimes you really need to get a point across.

Edit:

As a side note, can you two please learn to debate without dragging eachother down? Maybe it's just me but it seems there's a lot of hostility in those posts, and that can't be good for eaither of you.

Well one of the things about taboo words is that it's unlikely to be just one person, I think. Certainly the words that are standardly taboo are so because society as a whole doesn't like to speak and/or hear them. Maybe only one speaks up but honestly, judging by how many people have shown up to give some sort of support for the OP, it seems like quite a few people don't like hearing or reading cussing.

But even if it was just one person? Definatly, when that one person is around. Of course it's kind of hard to do in a forum enviroment when you don't know who will read what, but I expect there would still be some times when you could tell.

About the foolish comment? Well that's a case when part of the point was to grab your attention. Like I edited in above, I don't really think it's helpful... but the comment seemed to serve it's intended purpose, anyways.

Hmm interesting. So your rules only apply when you deem something offensive? Intent and context  matter when your using words.. why is it any different for anyone else?

Come on now, you are over analyzing based on one post, look at others. If someone says, hey "Life is a B@@@" I would not be upset by it but I would prefer my child not to hear that. I wouldn't think that person was stupid or ignorant and I wouldn't take it to be offensive but if someone directed it at me and called me a B**** there really isn't any room there for misunderstanding. Of course if my friend calls me that or if a stranger calls me that also has different meaning but I understand these different meanings because of my experience. However, I would still prefer not to hear those kinds of things at all, but I have certainly said things like that in my life but I am trying to cut that out entirely. 

I never said they didn't matter. Perhaps we had a misunderstanding. However, in most cases, the context of the situation will be what most of us dislike and many people will have misunderstandings about this issue because context is very difficult to understand. It may seem easy for you, but I assure you it is not. Living in different cultures really showed me how difficult context and intent is to understand, so best to be as clear as possible, especially when dealing with strangers.