Forum Language Issues

[fandsw]

As I'm no newbie to car-based forums, I am a relative newbie to this forum. This forum has been a great resource to me already to learn about my Mk. V GTI. I'm also not a prude, as I've used more than a few colorful metaphors in my lifetime. However, while I work for a large company that allows some personal use of the internet, it does monitor traffic, including anything offensive in nature.

Reading the forum posting rules it states that "Forums outside of the Off-Topic forums are to maintain a G Rating." I find that this is NOT true in the slightest, nor does this rule seem to be enforced. Just about ANY thread you open outside of Classifieds is has more 4 letter words in it than George Carlin's last special (May God rest his soul.....). It's not just the posts themselves, it is a problem in the avatars and signatures of some members themselves. Avatars you can turn off, which I have. However the other things (posts and signatures) I can't control. Due to this fact I limit my time that I spend at this site during the day, wanting to avoid issues with our IT department's monitor folks.

Like I said, I'm not a prude, and most things don't offend me. However as a business, be it large or small, I would think that this website & it's administrators would be concerned with the possibility of losing website hits, as they could drive away members to other forums that enforce the rules, and, as in my case, keep members away during certain hours, again minimizing hits which can lead to lower ad revenue for the website.

Just a concern I have, I really like this site, but want to help make it a better site for all.

Thanks!

Frank

 

[james.bigouette]

i totaly agree

 

[the1withpaddles]

im not even gunna start

redic.

 

[Lucidity]

Or you could not surf at work and actually do your job. Then when you get home and log on, you won't have to worry about anything.

 

[GTIMKV20]

not surf golfmkv.com at work?????? That's all I do! haha, G-rated language FTW:thumbsup:

 

[fandsw]

Or you could not surf at work and actually do your job. Then when you get home and log on, you won't have to worry about anything.

Do you or anyone you know actually profess to work 8 hours (or however many) straight thru without a break or chance to decompress?? If anyone says they do they are lying. Our company realizes that everyone needs a few minutes during a break or lunch or whenever to get their minds recharged, thus they allow limited personal use of the internet. We cannot do personal outside email of any kind, outside business interest, or various other limitations. However, if I want to have a working lunch at my desk, do a few things and surf CNN or ESPN or this site or any other reasonable website I can. Abuse of this privilege is managerial responsibility and treated as such. However, monitoring is in place to help deal with these issues as well.

My point is there are many (myself included) who are in a similar position as I am and would like to use this site, however feel it could be unsafe to do so. And yes, I'm at work during lunch right now, and pressing my luck that someone's signature that comes up in this thread is okay. I don't think my request to the moderators is unreasonable, all I'm asking them to do is to enforce the rules they have set for this website. We come to this website as auto enthusiasts to learn about the vehicles we are enthusiastic about, something that can be done without the profanity.

 

[fandsw]

not surf golfmkv.com at work?????? That's all I do! haha, G-rated language FTW:thumbsup:

I was waiting for someone to give us that first comment you wrote.... :thumbsup: I have days like that too, but reality, mortgage, and starving kids at home get me back on track....

The "G-rated" part are not my words, they are the words of the administrators of this site.

 

[dpham00]

it has always been a forum policy to allow leeway in sigs and avatars since they can be turned off. You can turn off the signatures as well. Just uncheck the box that says "Show Signatures". With regards to cussing, it is allowed, in moderation, but by no means is this a "leave it to beaver" forum. There is no set limit on this, but if every other word is a cuss word, then obviously, it is too much. The "G Rating" refers to images or sexually explicit content. We apologize if it's not clear on this, but that is the intent. For reference:

6. Nudity of any type is not permitted within the forums. This includes the Off-Topic forums. Threads with adult content are to be posted in the "OFF-TOPIC" forum and must contain "NWS" in the thread title as a courtesy to other members . Forums outside of the Off-Topic forums are to maintain a G Rating.

.

http://www.golfmkv.com/forums/announcement.php?f=2&a=6

 

[Lucidity]

Do you or anyone you know actually profess to work 8 hours (or however many) straight thru without a break or chance to decompress?? If anyone says they do they are lying. Our company realizes that everyone needs a few minutes during a break or lunch or whenever to get their minds recharged, thus they allow limited personal use of the internet. We cannot do personal outside email of any kind, outside business interest, or various other limitations. However, if I want to have a working lunch at my desk, do a few things and surf CNN or ESPN or this site or any other reasonable website I can. Abuse of this privilege is managerial responsibility and treated as such. However, monitoring is in place to help deal with these issues as well.

My point is there are many (myself included) who are in a similar position as I am and would like to use this site, however feel it could be unsafe to do so. And yes, I'm at work during lunch right now, and pressing my luck that someone's signature that comes up in this thread is okay. I don't think my request to the moderators is unreasonable, all I'm asking them to do is to enforce the rules they have set for this website. We come to this website as auto enthusiasts to learn about the vehicles we are enthusiastic about, something that can be done without the profanity.

It is unreasonable, because you are in the minority, and the majority should not and will not change to fit your needs. I don't even get to use a computer that has internet access at work, so really quit whining. I get that you want to take a break from work, but if you can't make it through your work day without going to this specific site, you have problems that the admins won't be able to fix.

 

[dpham00]

Another option is to use a profanity filter, such as this one. I am not recommending this filter by any means, just saying that this is one filter out there. With this filter added, it will replace a majority of the profanity words with "***". You can also add or remove words as you see fit.


http://userscripts.org/scripts/show/4175

 

[Khobin~]

I surf at work sometimes...well that's usually the only time I get to check the forum :wink:

So I can understand his beef. Personnally I like seeing avatars, and sigs so I leave them on, but it would be nice if some of them were toned down a bit, or at least in th case of sigs used a smaller image size (regardless of content). :thumbsup:

The language doesn't bother me...heck I'm probably quite prolific in my non "g" typing, but I do try to self-censor. :biggrin:

 

[DBCPerformance]

Soooo, the long story short, please keep it respectful, have some dignity when typing on the forums. In general, we don't allow bad language anyways.

Dan chooses to look at the forums at its lamest form, no sigs, no avatars, soon enough he will disable the texts too:threadjacked: addle: :wub: :biggrin:

 

[fandsw]

Thanks for all the replies, both pro and con, and a special thanks to one of our moderators, dpham00, for chiming in as well.

Yes, I'm in a minority in this issue, but not alone, as can be seen by other member's replies. I also realize that the majority does not care or have an issue with this. Like I said, not trying to play the role of language gestapo, as I'm as guilty as the next guy, based upon the cussing that Tahoe got for cutting me off this evening, but I digress. However, I do not feel like my request is unreasonable, as none of the issues discussed in this forums (except off-topic) require cussing in order to discuss the issue. I have also been a member of almost a dozen or so auto-specific websites, none of which have profanity allowed. Profanity really does not have a need to be used here. Like I said, I have used profanity, and will continue to use it, but hopefully in moderation and in the right places. Just like I wouldn't use it in front of my children, my grandparents, or strangers I haven't met, there are places it shouldn't or have to be used, which includes this public website.

Lucidity, I don't know why you showing this amount of hostility toward me and my bringing up this issue. However, if your signature (which I'm about to turn off thanks to the tip from dpham00) is your mantra in life that would explain part of it. All I have done is brought up an issue that affects all of us on this forum and hoped for discussion about it, which I have. Change can only be affected by discussions, keeping silent will bring no change. If that qualifies as whining in your book, so be it, although that is not my intent. If my request does not merit a change by the powers-to-be, once again so be it, and I will adjust my work surfing habits to not include this website. One other thing - we ALL have problems that the site admins cannot fix, including yourself.

dpham00 - Thanks for the signature hint, I will implement that shortly. The profanity filter, while a good idea, would not work, as the monitoring software is installed on the IT side around the firewalls, so it would still show up where the monitoring takes place, even if it doesn't show in the browser. However, if you could install that filter as an option on the posts here, such as showing the avatar and/or signature is an option, that would allow individual users to decide on what is displayed. This would be a win-win situation for everyone, as it would allow the user to see or hide all the profanity, as needed. Don't know if this is possible, but it is food for thought in a solution where everyone could have it their way.

Thanks!

 

[Syxx Shotter]

as none of the issues discussed in this forums (except off-topic) require cussing in order to discuss the issue. Profanity really does not have a need to be used here.

I disagree!! There are certain things that need to be said , and sometimes a "sentence enhancer" really gets the point across. Treat this place like your walking down the street; you can't control the actions of others. So instead adapt.

 

[ChiliFrei64]

dpham00 - Thanks for the signature hint, I will implement that shortly. The profanity filter, while a good idea, would not work, as the monitoring software is installed on the IT side around the firewalls, so it would still show up where the monitoring takes place, even if it doesn't show in the browser. However, if you could install that filter as an option on the posts here, such as showing the avatar and/or signature is an option, that would allow individual users to decide on what is displayed. This would be a win-win situation for everyone, as it would allow the user to see or hide all the profanity, as needed. Don't know if this is possible, but it is food for thought in a solution where everyone could have it their way.

Thanks!

Being an IT guy that manages web filters where I work, it does get rather difficult for the end user when web filters are so strict. I get calls all the time of people yelling at me because their site was blocked, and it was because we block by keywords. Sometimes someone will comment on websites and leave a few f bombs or other choice words which then causes the whole page to be blocked. Now.. my work is a little strict, but that is business choice and not my choice
BUT
I know vbulletin has a profanity filter, my question to the moderators, can this somehow be made into a user preference?