RE: Remove Vulgar Thread Titles
March 19, 2018 at 4:24 pm
(This post was last modified: March 19, 2018 at 4:39 pm by Neo-Scholastic.)
(March 19, 2018 at 3:54 pm)Shell B Wrote: As something of an English language expert, I call bullshit. You don't have to plumb the depths of your thesaurus to produce forceful, meaningful, concise language. In fact, it is much preferred that you use a more conversational tone in anything short of technical writing.
Generally I agree. Of course there is a continuum, from a private conversation with a friend to an instruction manual. At the same time, a perfectly good and appropriate Anglo-Saxon word from the Basic English lexicon is almost always available. No one appreciates a David Foster Wallace wanna-be.
And just to be absolutely clear I'm only talking about thread titles where it is already the express intent of the staff that titles be descriptive of the subject to be discussed. We already have a "Click Bait" rule. That's a judgement call also.
(March 19, 2018 at 4:20 pm)Shell B Wrote: Another example is fuck. Fuck can be used a number of ways, none of them are even insulting. They're just too "common" or "vulgar" for the posh types. Fuck can mean to have sex, it can be used as an adjective like very. My point is that the vast majority of swears are completely harmless and carry no extra meaning than their more acceptable synonyms...
Fuck is probably the least descriptive word precisely because it is used as a synonym for a very large number of words with very different meanings. And there is nothing "posh" about avoiding vulgarities. It's about creating a decent environment for all participants. Some graffiti is actually quite evocative and well-executed but I don't want to live in a city where every other building is covered with it.