The Mod and Admin team have had some very rewarding PM's and we're grateful

[wazzickle]

I was once a mod on one of the MS boards, when they were still alive. We took the decision to go full 'adult', and it was pretty much carnage. People seemed to see the ability to swear as the right to demonstrate every -ism known to man, so we soon went back to 'family' settings... I'm quite happy for there not to be swearing, it does make you pause to find other words, expands the vocab, I suppose...

That may or may not be true for those other boards, but this one seems to me to be filled with a better class of people than your average forum. And in any case, I'd imagine that whether most people prefer either 'enforce strict rules evenly' or 'don't enforce, relaxed rules' to 'enforce strict rules unevenly such that admins get to say what they want but your average hexian paean can't'

[Splash]

Hmm, interesting comment, and one close to my heart.

It isn’t really to do with advertising directly, advertisers won’t really care, but it is about making the forums a place for intelligent and thoughtful discussion, and swearing doesn’t really enhance that.

It may (although I have no direct evidence to support it) shape the demographic of the membership which might affect the perception of advertisers about the likely audience.

A forum where swearing is the norm might also put off a lot of potential new members.

(Of course the stricter approach may also deter some people from joining too, but my - somewhat biased - gut feeling is that on balance lack of swearing is more likely to encourage better debate and increase membership than the other way round.)

I'm 100% for the no swearing rule, I'm quite a fan of a creative term in place of an expletive (and by that I don't mean trying to bypass the swear filter). Hexus isn't 4chan (or whatever it is that the kids are on these days).

I suspect that my message may have been one of those which prompted this thread, and it's important to me that the staffers here (be they paid or volunteers) know that we appreciate their efforts however I'll hang fire on judgement about the issues that prompted said message - there's an elephant in the room, so to speak.

All in all though: I'm trying to keep positive, I've been a member (ok, maybe not as active as I once was but that probably applies to a lot of folks here as things like having a proper job etc come into our lives) here for... 13 or 14 years and I'd like to think that I'll continue to be active for many years going forward - let's see how things work out, eh?

[Smudger]

That may or may not be true for those other boards, but this one seems to me to be filled with a better class of people than your average forum. And in any case, I'd imagine that whether most people prefer either 'enforce strict rules evenly' or 'don't enforce, relaxed rules' to 'enforce strict rules unevenly such that admins get to say what they want but your average hexian paean can't'

I think 'unevenly' may be a bit unfair. The mods are human, and therefore prone to mistakes same as us proles. But how a mod err, 'mods' can depend on what day of the week it is, what they had for breakfast, how the kids are playing up, and various other factors. Also, different people have different thresholds for what is swearing. For me, it's only the main ones, but I remember once my mum slapped me for saying 'heck'. I was just a child, this wasn't last week...

[MrRockliffe]

The best thing about Hexus, for me, is that, on the whole (which is hard to say in this day and age), it's a very civilised forum. We're able to have discussions like adults without resulting to keyboard bashing.

This is, in part, thanks to the mod team here - I've always felt they're fair, honest, and above all else, respectful.

It's what always brings me back :-)

[Zak33]

I'm the only Mod/Admin who wants the swear filters relaxed, partly because I swear like a trooper in real life to everyone, always and people are rarely offended - it's my vocabulary, in the same was as Billy Connolly or Mark Twain. I am capable of throwing an Eff and Geff into nigh on anytihng.

But as only a part of a larger engine room, only one cog in the HEXUS Admin/Mod team, I go with the others choice as the multitude are normally right on choices of atmosphere and Peterb has to slap me monthly and edit the odd post where I dropped a vulgarity in.

But I stick to my other thought :

A) Give less offence
B) Take less offence
C) Pass on less offence

[wazzickle]

I think 'unevenly' may be a bit unfair. The mods are human, and therefore prone to mistakes same as us proles. But how a mod err, 'mods' can depend on what day of the week it is, what they had for breakfast, how the kids are playing up, and various other factors. Also, different people have different thresholds for what is swearing. For me, it's only the main ones, but I remember once my mum slapped me for saying 'heck'. I was just a child, this wasn't last week...

I don't think it's an unfair accusation when my references to swearing - not even swearing itself - are come down upon, whereas in a very public thread, an admin swears, and it's ignored.

[Zak33]

I don't think it's an unfair accusation when my references to swearing - not even swearing itself - are come down upon, whereas in a very public thread, an admin swears, and it's ignored.

he means me.

i do it too often..ie sometimes

and it's not ignored.. I get battered for it every time. Peterb chastisies me, it's often edited out and sometimes he makes me do it myself...and on the odd occassion one of the Forum members sends me a PM and slaps me.

[Splash]

he means me.

i do it too often..ie sometimes

and it's not ignored.. I get battered for it every time. Peterb chastisies me, it's often edited out and sometimes he makes me do it myself...and on the odd occassion one of the Forum members sends me a PM and slaps me.

I wouldn't be too certain of that...

[Moby-Dick]

Doughnut fines for Zak's pottymouth were implemented but the office was under severe diabetes risk as a result, so now we just tell him off...

[Corky34]

I think 'unevenly' may be a bit unfair. The mods are human, and therefore prone to mistakes same as us proles. But how a mod err, 'mods' can depend on what day of the week it is, what they had for breakfast, how the kids are playing up, and various other factors. Also, different people have different thresholds for what is swearing.

Completely agree, everyone has off days, weeks, months, or even years and offense is taken not given so it's in the eye of the beholder IMO, however that doesn't mean we (figuratively) should have no limits or boundaries as they're part of being in a community, the enforcement of those limits or boundaries, whatever they maybe, should also, IMO, be seen as being applied consistently.

[opel80uk]

IMHO, and as someone who wasn’t involved really in the argy bargy of the Brexit thread, I think the issue was less whether swearing is permitted or not, but the perceived double standards of Mod/Admins being allowed to swear (and in that particular thread, not once but twice), and other posters being told that swearing is not allowed by anyone. The usually very public way some Mods deal with infractions and warnings probably didn’t help, and there was no public warning or chastisement from other Mods/Admin when the swearer (is that a word?) was a Mod on the thread in question. Indeed, the Mod doubled down on the swearing, and I believe the posts were not even removed, even after complaints were made. One of the reasons I post far less (Thank God! I hear you cry) in the GD section than I previously used to, is because of what I perceive to be those aforementioned double standards when it comes to things like this. That, I believe, is where the powers that be make a rod for their own back. And it is also disingenuous to imply, as Zak did, that Hexus does not get a tangible (and/or) commercial benefit from having such a strong forum community attached - I myself have directed God knows how many people looking for a Tech site, towards Hexus. The forum was part of my reasoning in doing so.

Which brings me nicely onto my main point. Before anyone thinks I have an axe to grind with Saracen, Hexus, or any other Mod/Admin for that matter, I don’t – and I say that as someone who has experienced (IMO, and god knows how long ago, unfairly) the ban hammer. I, like I’m sure many others on here, have no inclination to be a Mod, so I am aware of how easy it is for me to criticise from a position of comfort and I am very grateful to ALL Mods/Admins who facilitate us being able to post on here – Is it, IMO, perfect? Of course not. But looking around at other forums, Hexus is definitely my favourite – that is in no small part because of how it is run.

[Ttaskmaster]

I don't think it's an unfair accusation when my references to swearing - not even swearing itself - are come down upon, whereas in a very public thread, an admin swears, and it's ignored.

Did you report the admin using the button provided?

Doughnut fines for Zak's pottymouth were implemented but the office was under severe diabetes risk as a result, so now we just tell him off...

Implement monetary fines, and spend the monthly takings on an office-wide order to the local Chinese/Indian/Italian/Chippy/summat.... Or go buy a load of stuff from Waitrose and make yourselves up some of those Cranble delights!!

[SeriousSam]

Is there a list of "non-words" ?

[peterb]

Doughnut fines for Zak's pottymouth were implemented but the office was under severe diabetes risk as a result, so now we just tell him off...

Implement monetary fines, and spend the monthly takings on an office-wide order to the local Chinese/Indian/Italian/Chippy/summat.... Or go buy a load of stuff from Waitrose and make yourselves up some of those Cranble delights!!

Sadly a virtual office, so it would be a virtual fine and a virtual take-away!

Is there a list of "non-words" ?

Yes, but we can't post them!

[g8ina]

rubbishrubbishrubbishrubbish

[g8ina]

I just swore.

Thats what happens to recognised swearing, but there is also twisted swearing, with anagrams, spoonerisms etc, these are also discouraged