A few points

[OscarWildebeest]

1. Is there a facility available whereby one can instantly report an "unacceptable" post? By unacceptable I definitely do NOT mean controversial! No, rather posts of a decidedly vindictive strain.

2. Swear words: When within character, why is it not allowed?

3. Regarding the "hounding" of members: Is it possible to ban those who one feels have nothing better to do than act like "attention whores," snidingly being negative regarding threads one initiates?

In support I might add that having (for almost 6 years) been the owner of a similar (albeit bilingual, 14 to 17 000 hits per month) web page, I verily appreciate the difficulty in managing same.

[Calidore]

* Disclaimer-not a mod myself

1. Below every post on the left, next to "Blog this Post" is an icon of a triangle around an exclamation point. That's your "report" button.

2. This site aims to be all-ages friendly. Swearing isn't disallowed, just *ed out; usually it should be obvious from context what is actually typed.

3. I looked at your threads, and the only negative post I saw was one from Jack of Hearts criticizing your story here:

http://www.online-literature.com/forums/showthread.php?78477-Coy-philosopher

Are you seriously suggesting Jack should be banned from the site for one post uncomplimentary of a story of yours? And further, you're actually using "hounding", "threads" plural, "nothing better to do", and "attention whores" in regards to a single post? Dude, you need both a thicker skin and a sense of perspective. Jack's criticism fits the definition of "constructive"--he was very specific about what he didn't like. He even complimented your writing; he just objected strongly to the way you wrote the female character. You're certainly within your rights to disagree and rebut, but trying to get the poster removed is a huge overreaction.

[OscarWildebeest]

"When I use a word," Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, "it means just what I choose it to mean—neither more nor less."

"When Oscar makes a statement," Calidore said, in a rather scornful tone, " it means just what I choose it to mean- never less."

[Scheherazade]

1. Is there a facility available whereby one can instantly report an "unacceptable" post? By unacceptable I definitely do NOT mean controversial! No, rather posts of a decidedly vindictive strain.You can report those posts as Calidore explained above to be investigated by a moderator. This does not necessarily mean that those posts will be removed but simply investigated.


2. Swear words: When within character, why is it not allowed?This site welcomes people from all ages and cultures and we would like all to feel comfortable here. Unfortunately, there is no software to determine when swearing is "within character".


3. Regarding the "hounding" of members: Is it possible to ban those who one feels have nothing better to do than act like "attention whores," snidingly being negative regarding threads one initiates?There is a disciplinary process in place which allows us regulate and monitor such behaviour. As mentioned above, all you have to do is to report these incidents.

[OscarWildebeest]

Schehezarade, thank you kindly for neutral, unambigious replies to all of my questions.

Though I do feel that the banning of swearwords perhaps need to be looked at again? Some years ago a friend of mine did her phd dissertation on why people swear. Of course it contains examples, and without those examples the discussion of such will be much lesser. Perhaps an "adult" section?

[The Atheist]

Perhaps an "adult" section?

I'm no mod either, but I think I can tell you why that won't fly, because the same subject has come up on multiple forums that I've been associated with.

No matter that it might be in an adult or other separate section, as long as it's on the same domain name, Net Nanny-type filters will pick it up and ban the entire site. There is no way around that, so profanity is either completely in or completely out.

I can't see it affecting any discussion at any level, however, because if you're in a thread on profanity, it's easy enough to replace **** with "eff" and the meaning will be clear to all.

[Scheherazade]

Schehezarade, thank you kindly for neutral, unambigious replies to all of my questions.

Though I do feel that the banning of swearwords perhaps need to be looked at again? Some years ago a friend of mine did her phd dissertation on why people swear. Of course it contains examples, and without those examples the discussion of such will be much lesser. Perhaps an "adult" section?Creating an adult section would require painful programming and upkeep, which goes beyond the limits of any free Forum, frankly speaking.

I would like to think that we, as people who love words and make claims to good use of them, are able to express ourselves effectively and efficiently without having to seek refuge in anyone's nether regions or waste.

[tonywalt]

Creating an adult section would require painful programming and upkeep, which goes beyond the limits of any free Forum, frankly speaking.

I would like to think that we, as people who love words and make claims to good use of them, are able to express ourselves effectively and efficiently without having to seek refuge in anyone's nether regions or waste.

Darn right! Shucks - who needs blue language!