When you created your account here, you agreed to a specific set of rules that governs posting: ucp.php?mode=terms

In recent months there has been an upswing in the number of people ignoring one in particular: This is a family friendly site, no profanity or adult images. Profanity is not permitted even when "obscured" with asterisks or misspellings.

This means you may not write **deleted** or **deleted** or **deleted** or **deleted** or **deleted**. There is a word filter set to remove attempts to post those words. If you post something and **deleted** shows up in your post, you need to edit the post and remove that word, even though the filter did it for you.

Misspelling a word so as not to trip the word censor filter is also not allowed. Attempting to obscure a word with misspellings or symbols is not permitted if a reader can easily fill in the word because of the context.

For example, if the word time were considered a profanity, then posting t1me as a replacement would not be acceptable, nor would t***, not even $%#&.

Note: moderators are able to view the original typed message and see what words triggered the filter.

First offense, baring extenuating circumstances, is a formal warning. Second time is a posting ban ranging from one week to permanent, depending on the severity of the offense. Moderators will decide on the penalty on a case-by-case basis.

Man that filter is good.....

Yes it's quite absolute, long as what's entered exactly matches the list entries. But then, doubt much he wrote the actual naughties:

One might be given to wonder, why all the dustup if all the reader sees is **deleted**? Because, to see or not see is a switch at the user end. It's in your UCP, grayed out if denied. Like power windows, the driver has an override. That is, admin can selectively grant or deny visibility on per-account basis.

The naughty content is ALWAYS there. Search engines so equipped can see it and downrate the site on FFness. So it really DOES matter if the dirty-though-unseen stuff is written. One might be given to wonder who, knowing that and that it cannot be "read", would write it.

Its fairly simple. This is a family friendly site. It has rules. One of those rules is don't include words that people of all age groups probably hear and/or use every day at home, work, school, on the street or wherever. Its not because we're trying to shield people from such words. Its because the forum is much better off without them.

+1

Thank you Alan. For me, family-friendly "G" rating keeps the anxiety level down and everyone smiling

Greetings to the Forum:

I wish that Alan were exercising the same authority over the ham bands. I have a granddaughter who is interested in amateur radio. I have just made arrangements to purchase a receiver for her so she cal listen to both the ham bands and short-wave broadcasts. The one thing I worry about is the coarseness of language to be found on the HF bands. I really don't want her to be exposed to that stuff.... but unfortunately, it is there.

I think it reflects a general decline in the culture. I was first licensed in 1962, and I can tell you that back then such language was NOT HEARD.... ever. Perhaps that was because of stricter FCC enforcement than now... I don't know.... all I know is I wouldn't have had any qualms about allowing children to listen to ham conversations back then.... now I do.

I only wish it were not so.

Keep up the good work Alan.... for Alice.



Thanks,

Jim, at the risk of derailing the topic, I gotta say, What a cutie!

Standards of decency and civility are so low everywhere else, it's nice to have a place to go where the standards are high. You run a high class operation Alan, keep up the good work.

Also, back then it was much more difficult to get an Amateur radio license, especially voice modes on HF.
You really had to WANT that ticket! This helped weed out the types who would abuse their privileges.

-Steve

I agree. I didn't have that level of desire, so I never earned an amateur ticket. I think that in those days, the ones who didn't care enough ended up on CB radio. I had a CB set in my car and at home and I found them almost unusable. The verbal garbage was pretty disgusting, never mind the total abandonment of courtesy or adherence to any rules. I guess those people switched over to amateur radio after the standards for admission were lowered.

Exactly, but that was at the end of the Victorian Era -prim social mores. Ancient history today.

I think if you write to the FCC and let them know the words used along with the date and time along with the frequency and call sign , it would get them a warning notice at the least. There just way too much of that foul language on Radio and TV. Freedom of speech still doesn't make acceptable or appropriate.

In my forum I don't allow users names to have hidden words in them. Bad words just show the ability of the senders lack of articulation and/or communication skills.

I agree completely with Dan's comments above. I could not have said it better myself.
Alan, I support your rules to maintain the consistent high standards of your ARF. I can assure you that your efforts are much appreciated by all of us.

Alan, a hearty thank you for the rules that govern this site. I too see a certain societal decline in what might be broadly described as “behavior with good manners and consideration of others”. I chalk it up to lazy parenting

I have to agree. My wife and I tried to do a good job as parents, and our daughter has followed our example with her own daughters (three little cuties!). You can't shield them from the world, but you can try to make them better.

Sounds good, Alan.

+2

Thanks for keeping this forum clean!

Yes, Thanks!

I also attribute it to lack of being creative with the language. One can show their disdain, despair, and angst without the f-bombs.

I help moderate another family friendly website, and the people there can be worse. It's an automotive web site that is heavily moderated. I get a chuckle out of the creativity some show with their angst. When I came from there to here I found the folk on ARF to be quite tame and polite.