Forum Decorum

[Gavin Chipper]

I'll tell you what's out of order on this forum; from my quick maths, 273/483 (56%) of users signed up to this forum have never ever made a post!
I'm genuinely shocked, it would be understandable if it was a private forum and people just wanted to read, but it's not.

If it was under 50% then Charlie would have to change "silent majority" to something else on the user thing, and that's extra effort!

[Gavin Chipper]

Dominated by a clique? I wasn't keen when "outsiders" like Zef and Gevin seemed to be singled out for trivial things, whereas some of the "insiders" had free rein, but that doesn't seem to be an issue these days. So not a problem.

You get the odd classic don't moan moan but overall I think people are more civil nowadays, but that could be due to various factors.

[Charlie Reams]

Which brings me back to the original question, perhaps - why have those people chosen not to stick around?

Pretty much any community (online or not) has a kind of exponential fall off with regards to contribution. A few people contribute the majority of content, then there are various levels down from there, and a long tail of people who contribute basically nothing. It's no bad thing, I'd rather people posted nothing than a load of whingy shite about new presenters they haven't seen or whatever.

[Charlie Reams]

You get the odd classic don't moan moan

What?

[Gavin Chipper]

You get the odd classic don't moan moan

What?

When people moan about other people moaning of course!

[Matt Morrison]

You get the odd classic don't moan moan

What?

When people moan about other people moaning of course!

ah, the old classic moan squared

[Ben Hunter]

We explicitly don't have a policy on swearing and such like (if it's possible to explicitly not do something) because I generally trust people to behave like adults round here. I think being insulting is generally discouraged, profane or otherwise, but occasionally it happens and occasionally it's justified, so we don't need rules in stone. Casual swearing I personally couldn't give a shit about; if it makes you uncomfortable then don't do it, but respect other people's liberty to express themselves however they see fit. If people want to speak more politely to encourage the "over 30s" then that would be great but I don't think a top-down mandate is the way to do it. It's a thin line between disallowing phrases like "I fucking love Susie Dent" and outright censorship, which I try not to be accused of.

Charlie takes a very admirable stance on the issue of censorship, and never is he more benevolent than when a forum member's mode of expression happens to involve fat babies. For example, instead of purging my avatar outright like a true dictator would, Charlie has dedicated to me a custom-made avatar with which I can continue to pursue my penchant for fat babies within a Reamsist framework. I am truly grateful to you, Charlie. Long may your reign continue!

[Charlie Reams]

Charlie takes a very admirable stance on the issue of censorship, and never is he more benevolent than when a forum member's mode of expression happens to involve fat babies. For example, instead of purging my avatar outright like a true dictator would, Charlie has dedicated to me a custom-made avatar with which I can continue to pursue my penchant for fat babies within a Reamsist framework. I am truly grateful to you, Charlie. Long may your reign continue!

Excellent satire, only slightly undermined by the fact that it wasn't me that changed your avatar. Personally I think the new one is even worse than the old one.

[Ben Wilson]

Charlie takes a very admirable stance on the issue of censorship, and never is he more benevolent than when a forum member's mode of expression happens to involve fat babies. For example, instead of purging my avatar outright like a true dictator would, Charlie has dedicated to me a custom-made avatar with which I can continue to pursue my penchant for fat babies within a Reamsist framework. I am truly grateful to you, Charlie. Long may your reign continue!

Excellent satire, only slightly undermined by the fact that it wasn't me that changed your avatar. Personally I think the new one is even worse than the old one.

I dunno, I think the current one is pretty good.

[Jason Larsen]

Matt, thank you for standing up for me!

[Sue Sheldon]

In response to the generalisation that 'older' people might be most offended - I am 50+ (and female) and don't find swearing as offensive as I used to when younger. Maybe that's something to do with the fact that it is generally more acceptable in everyday life these days. Or is that the problem? My Mum always used to say that swearing is an indication of poor vocabulary range but now she swears like a trooper and she's 78!! Bless.

[Ralph Gillions]

Is it wise to categorise or generalise?
Swearing, or being offended by it, is not the prerogative of a particular sex or age group.
Some people like it while others do not like it.
Many people are quite selective about when they swear.

[Oliver Garner]

On Apterous, i recently had SHITTYOIL as a conundrum

[Ian Volante]

On Apterous, i recently had SHITTYOIL as a conundrum

Worth a look at this thread Oliver... http://www.c4countdown.co.uk/viewtopic. ... 043#p22043

[Jason Larsen]

Wow!

[Gavin Chipper]

In response to the generalisation that 'older' people might be most offended - I am 50+ (and female) and don't find swearing as offensive as I used to when younger. Maybe that's something to do with the fact that it is generally more acceptable in everyday life these days. Or is that the problem? My Mum always used to say that swearing is an indication of poor vocabulary range but now she swears like a trooper and she's 78!! Bless.

I think it's strange as well that people think old people need "protecting" from it. I don't really see the connection.

[Ian Volante]

In response to the generalisation that 'older' people might be most offended - I am 50+ (and female) and don't find swearing as offensive as I used to when younger. Maybe that's something to do with the fact that it is generally more acceptable in everyday life these days. Or is that the problem? My Mum always used to say that swearing is an indication of poor vocabulary range but now she swears like a trooper and she's 78!! Bless.

I think it's strange as well that people think old people need "protecting" from it. I don't really see the connection.

A good strong swear-word can cause a prolapse on occasion, you can't be too careful.

[tonywarren]

... because I generally trust people to behave like adults round here.

The triumph of hope over experience.

I used to dream that I would get the letter selection FEUDSHACK on one of my shows. Didn't happen, but goes towards 11 year old octochanps and the vocabulary required to be a winner at Countdown.

And there was never any swearing in the green room.

Unless fucksorrykai is a swearing...

[Jason Larsen]

That's why you call the popular game show, "Family Fortunes" and not "Family Feud" like we do!