Posted by: Dale Franks on Wednesday, February 01, 2006 Well, I'm sure this won't make me Mr. popular (Heh. Like I care.), but recently, it seems the incidence of profanity in the blog comments has been on the rise. Now, I yield to no man in my enjoyment of salty language, but, as satisfying as it sometimes is, using it in a public forum is sometimes counterproductive. This is especially true for a blog like QandO, where many of readers like to check the blog from work. (In fact, I am one of those readers. I cannot look at the comments page at all, because some of the profane terms that crop up will get flagged automatically. Essentially, I have to ignore the blog completely when I'm at work.) Increasingly, businesses are monitoring employee Internet use more closely. You may not be aware of it, but your employer can, in fact, record every thing you do on your computer, right down to every keystroke you make. As part of this monitoring, network management programs scan the content of web pages that that are accessed by network computers. If certain terms keep coming up, web sites containing those terms are automatically blocked by the management software. Moreover, employees who try to access such sites can find themselves on the business end of a pink slip. After discussing it with both Jon and McQ today, the majority opinion is that we don't want to see QandO blocked because the language has become too salty to be ignored by Network administrators. And we certainly don't want to place anyone's job in jeopardy. So, while we don't wish to censor your expression, we have started blacklisting certain terms of profanity or obscenity. In general, we have blacklisted the "7 Dirty Words". This is not to muzzle you, but to ensure that the blog remains work-safe for our readers. If you wish to use profanity, simply insert asterisks (*) where the vowels usually go. Your meaning will still be clear, but our readers will be able to view the blog without worrying that content monitoring will get them in trouble when reading it. This, and not some concern for our readers' virgin eyes, is why I use asterisks when I insert profanity into a post or comment. By toning down the explicit profanity, we will ensure that everyone can enjoy the blog. No doubt, some of you will simply be overcome by the need to explore the limits of blacklisting. I understand. You chafe under the fascist restraints that others attempt to impose on you. Well, OK. Go ahead. Explore. That way, you'll help me add terms to the blacklist, and make it more effective. |
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