I used to get irritated with WCN when I was on there the computer wouldn't even let me say the Latin word for 'man' - when I tried to make a quote - and their Admins were pretty dour. Here by contrast it is pretty tolerant I have found.

Yeah I had to lobby to get "bugger off" off their prescribed list but only if I promised not to tell someone to bugger off.

They're probably whoopsing a bit with their word filters, but it's probably a small price to pay for a generally wonderful site that they've meticulously built up over the last few years. I do suspect though that if they'd read this stuff first they'd be less troubled once they realised it's basically just harmless word and horse play.

One thing I know about them is that this whole site is a labour of love for them, due in large part to their great respect for the people who use this realm.

<Dom> I suggest you ask them what it is that troubles them specifically, and work your way through the issues with them logically and in good faith. I've found them to be extremely reasonable and they always listen.

Keep the faith, Evil Genius Word Wizard, they're good people.

I wrote the following message about three hours back, at which point the site crashed.

Was it me? Was my computer working? Yes. Were other websites OK? Yes. Could I download? Yes. Why can't I get back into my forum....?

Your'e Alive!!!

<twinlark>: I agree that they are good people. I also agree with <boz> about life going on. And with <Richard Taylor> about them being pretty tolerant here, generally.

<Jess>: What you and I may have temporarily overlooked - yes, even us geniuses sometimes move the wrong piece in our intellectual excitement - is that the readership is *not* just confined to the erudite pervs and fascinating folk who drop in here on purpose. There are also regular summaries popping up in <Recent Kibitzing>, f'rinstance.

So let me don the other folks' mocassin for a moment, and see how it looks from over there. Imagine a nice chessplaying father-and-son duo, like Freddy and Josh Waitzkin way back when, only less media-savvy and a tad more innocent.

Imagine them happily exploring the site.

"Oh, look, Dad, here's the Recent Kibitzing, there's somebody talking about Fischer. Cool! And Capablanca, wow! And, er, Kas-pa-rov, gee Pop, he sounds like a Russian! Was he a chess guy too...? And some people are talking about sports, and the Skibbereen Dynamos scored a snooker against the Montreal Cubs in the 7th quarter in Melbourne, and, wowie, over here...

[ornithology: owls, blue tits. test, test]

... what are they SAYING, Daddy?"

Indeed. To quote Mr Leonard Cohen yet again (it seemed oddly apposite):

<Here is a church
... and here are some doggies making love>

Ahem. I sympathize, really, kinda. Haven't much experience with actual sprogs myself, but conventional wisdom tells us that they -- or maybe their parents -- can be upset by certain words. So it goes.

So my hypothesis is that under such circs a complaint is indeed a possibility, and no sinister snooper circuits need to be postulated.

But -- and here's the rub. I've already done some deleting. I'll do a little more. But I am NOT going to waste my time crawling back thru the forum to weigh up the potential offensiveness of every single post according to standards that I can only guess at.

IF the main problem is taboo words dangling on <Recent Kibitzing>, then it's already solved, faded into history. The Testing Experiment has ended with a non-null result, and we're going to stop blowing things up, and so on, aren't we?

Incidentally, deadlines are not my strong point. Giving me 24 hours to do something - especially as I'm not sure when the 24 actually began, but it was around midnight my time, or about 16 hours ago, now - is like an open invitation to take 26. Or 48.

To clarify: I am personally amused by the kerfuffle, and not particularly ruffled by the horror of causing offence, the vague possibility of sanctions, or the notion that freedom of speech per se is worth getting into a lather over.

We will just get on with Other Stuff, of which the universe contains several examples.

My one personal regret here is that <Eyal> and <Jess>, who are both much valued, found my initial response 'scary'.

Sorry about that, guys. But it *did* feel a bit like being hauled up the mountain by Yahweh to discuss the mysterious disappearence of <Thou Shalt Not Manufacture Cellphones, and if Thou Dost, Thou Shall certainly not Give Out My Number to False Gods>.

I was also falling back instinctively on my usual foggy-eidetic response to anything, viz: producing a quotation. <..."... was busted for witchery, and got Death..."> being a line from Pynchon, Gravity's Rainbow.

Sitrep ends.

Apart from <Recent Kib>, can you think of any other angles I've overlooked? Like ways people might have of using the website?

I guess it's theoretically possible that some pimply teen somewhere googling rude words for body parts might be directed here, but the possibility don't bear thinking about.

I think all the <pimply teens> are in <Alligator Room> on <Yahoo>, no?

Now there's a completely unregulated site if there ever was one.

Would make <John Stuart Mill> proud, especially if he appreciated the <Porn-bot Devil's Advocate> angle.

I've had many a merry conversation with foul-mouthed youngsters while playing chess there.

One of the main reasons I love <CG.com> so very dearly is that this place features adults who wish to discuss chess. Plus the trivia contests here are not interrupted by hackers with <scrollers> or <boot programs>.

Did you see <Eyal's> off to deliver his important paper in <Brussels>? Very exciting. Let's hope he gets time to ingest large quantities of <sprouts>, <lace>, and <viscous beer>.

What else do they make in Belgium?

Yes, <The Pogues> survived and live on, thanks to <shareware sites>.

<Pogue Mahone>, and all that!!

<tarantula, innit>?

???????????

I just re-read it, inspired by discussion of chess in lit in <Mack's> forum.

<A Set of Chessmen> by Richard Marsh

Well, they're very proud of that fountain... Mannekin-Pis, I think?