#12 Swear Censors

[El Héroe Oscuro]

Question Of The Day #12: Should swearing be censored on PC?

PokeCommunity is home to a wide range of age users. From college graduates to high schoolers to kids barely scraping by past the COPA requirements, PC has quite a unique member base when it comes the characteristic of people's age. As a result, some peoples maturity levels may be higher than others, and as user maccrash pointed out, shouldn't be subjected to some of the more "kid friendly" rules in place like the censoring of swears. So what do you guys think? Should swearing continue to be censored on PokeCommunity, or should users be given the freedom to express themselves in vulgarity if they do choose so? What are your opinions if the current system in place (i.e the asterisks that replace swears)?

Feel free to discuss all entities of this topic down below!​

 

[Salzorrah]

They should have kept the hearts imo.

But, imo they should allow itor atleast make it toggable. Swears somewhat add some emphasis to what you are trying to say I guess and imo, as long as it is still within the rules like just a minimum, I guess it will be okay.

 

[Pendraflare]

Nah, I like them keeping the asterisks better. I found the hearts too cheesy.

But yeah, I think it's something that should have an option to modify it as to whether they want it or not. I've been to other Pokémon forums that have had cursing before, even before I was 16, so it's nothing I couldn't take today.

 

[Sirfetch’d]

I'm indifferent on this. As a person who swears all of the ****ing time it would be great to not see my words blocked out by a star or heart, but on the other hand it could potentially increase the desire to swear by less mature members who would abuse it. Certainly they could just be infracted yes, but it could turn into a really big problem. Honestly after giving it some thought, I think things probably should stay like they are. PC has been fine for 11 years now and I don't see how allowing swearing will automatically improve the place. That said it could be worth a try to try and see how members do, it's not like it can't be simply reversed!

 

[Auraluxe]

If it was toggable, I'm not sure how much of a negative impact would even be had. Those who don't wish to see the profanity would have the censor toggled on, so it wouldn't affect us any, and those who don't care or who enjoy cursing would be able to use and see it used as they like. I don't really see a problem with that unless the default setting was the censor turned off?

 

[Sonata]

I wouldn't mind it, but I don't think we really need it. If you're old enough to think you should be swearing then you can probably tell what people are saying even if it does have some asterisks to replace the word, and if you're not old enough then nbd. I think there's been more discussion on it than is necessary and my final vote would be for don't mess with it because really it doesn't matter that much and if you're so butthurt that you can't see the words that you're trying to say then I kinda feel bad for you.

 

[El Héroe Oscuro]

I wouldn't mind it, but I don't think we really need it. If you're old enough to think you should be swearing then you can probably tell what people are saying even if it does have some asterisks to replace the word, and if you're not old enough then nbd. I think there's been more discussion on it than is necessary and my final vote would be for don't mess with it because really it doesn't matter that much and if you're so butthurt that you can't see the words that you're trying to say then I kinda feel bad for you.

I like this post. I really like this post a lot haha.

 

[Auticorn]

I feel like it's better to keep the censors on. What happens if a kid comes on PC and a mother notices that the vulgarities aren't censored? Parents aren't very smart when it comes to protecting their kids. This could pose a huge threat to PC if for some reason a parent caught one of us swearing and it wasn't censored.

It's just like this Facebook game I used to play. I heard that a teenager got raped by a guy she met on said game. Well, instead of scolding or setting her kid straight, the mother causes the entire game to go bankrupt and shut down over her kid's mistake. By doing that, she ruins the game for everyone and all it's users. To me, that's pretty low and stupid if you ask me. You're not teaching the person you are raising very good skills by forcing a game to shut down just because of what happened to your kid. It wasn't the game's fault that the teenager decided she wanted to meet someone she hardly knew from the internet, it's her own fault.

Anyway, I think the censors are good for that reason alone. It might not even be a parent that sees it, but a kid could blab to their parents about the censors. It could cause a lot of trouble for PC and it's users because, as I said, parents aren't very smart nowadays when it comes to what their kids do and don't do. It's better to be safe than sorry if you ask me.

I do think it should be optional. Like, if you feel you are old enough to see the profanities, than you can select an option to turn them on. However, a good idea for this would that you have to be over eighteen or a certain age in order to turn it on or to show the swear words. That way, PC doesn't get in hot water over letting minors view swear words they aren't supposed to be seeing.

 

[Oryx]

I wouldn't mind it, but I don't think we really need it. If you're old enough to think you should be swearing then you can probably tell what people are saying even if it does have some asterisks to replace the word, and if you're not old enough then nbd. I think there's been more discussion on it than is necessary and my final vote would be for don't mess with it because really it doesn't matter that much and if you're so butthurt that you can't see the words that you're trying to say then I kinda feel bad for you.

I'm like this but in the end I fall on the opposite side - when in doubt, go for more freedom. But I agree in that it doesn't matter that much.

 

[Kotone]

i think it's important to keep the censors on. i don't mind swearing since i'm older, but i know there's smaller children on here. i think it's appropriate we keep them.

 

[Auraluxe]

However, a good idea for this would that you have to be over eighteen or a certain age in order to turn it on or to show the swear words. That way, PC doesn't get in hot water over letting minors view swear words they aren't supposed to be seeing.

This wouldn't necessarily work because you can change your set age at any time. If they wanted to disable the censor, they'd just have to change their age in their profile options.

 

[Auticorn]

This wouldn't necessarily work because you can change your set age at any time. If they wanted to disable the censor, they'd just have to change their age in their profile options.

That's true... I didn't really think of that. D: Not unless they can make the age or birthday so it's fixed when you sign up, but I doubt they can do that either. By fixed, I mean so that you can't change it whenever you want unless by admin approval if you somehow made a mistake in adding your birthdate or something.

 

[Auraluxe]

That's true... I didn't really think of that. D: Not unless they can make the age or birthday so it's fixed when you sign up, but I doubt they can do that either. By fixed, I mean so that you can't change it whenever you want unless by admin approval if you somehow made a mistake in adding your birthdate or something.

Although minors could still sign up saying they were older than they actually were. Hmm. It seems like it would be difficult if not impossible to prove that anyone is 18+ years of age, so I don't know how viable of an option age locking the censor would be. It seems the simplest option would be to leave the censor alone. If it isn't broken, why fix it? xD

 

[Auticorn]

Although minors could still sign up saying they were older than they actually were. Hmm. It seems like it would be difficult if not impossible to prove that anyone is 18+ years of age, so I don't know how viable of an option age locking the censor would be. It seems the simplest option would be to leave the censor alone. If it isn't broken, why fix it? xD

That's so true. XD I think it's better to be safe than sorry. Who knows what could happen if they were turned off suddenly? I still think it'd put PC in some very hot water.

 

[Rosehip]

I...never really notice the censors, to be honest. They have no effect on how I take PC, and how I view things here. The obvious thing is that PC is a Pokemon site which attracts a younger audience, meaning that the censors are appropriate, but at the same time it's counterproductive to the more mature members, who'd probably like more freedom. I'm just "eh". Besides, it isn't hard to tell what someone's saying, even with the censors active.

 

[Radioactive]

**** kids, **** prudes, **** pussies. The world isn't a censor-happy fairytale and once in a while people are going to say some real **** – why are you getting in their way?

 

[Morgnarok]

While I do believe we treat PC too child friendly I do think there should be some boundaries on the type of content and replies we are allowed to give. No, I don't believe we should be able to post porn, discuss porn or discuss sexual intercourse on this site. Yes, I do believe we should have the right to curse or at least have a toggle feature of some sorts. We have more 18-30 year old members that are active daily then we do children.

I can go out in public and find a 14 year old if I want an curse right in front of him and nothing will happen. These kids already most likely have learned about cursing from there parents or from other kids in school. If they haven't they will soon. I don't understand why so many places try to shelter things from kids that sooner or later their going to learn on their own anyways. If they are 13+ then they are old enough to know what a curse word is. I know at that age I knew how to curse.

PC should take the approach that Pokemon & Nintendo is finally taking. They are noticing that they have a larger adult fan base then children anymore and starting to try to include more features that adults would like. Such as in Anime(Love) and in Pokemon Games for the next generation.

 

[Meganium]

I'm used to the censors being turned on. I have a dirty mouth and I do like to cuss every now and then. But I'm actually okay with the censors on, because I understand people around here don't like it when I drop an F-bomb out of random. It's fine, and I'm glad we have ****.