I suggested we close it and @Hanover agreed and closed it. I thought it had some promise at the beginning but it seemed to have run its course philosophically and was developing more into a Shoutbox-type thing, largely at your direction.

Baden...the point I was making with the initiation of that thread....was the absurdity of language being designated as appropriate or inappropriate based on the usage of certain words. A part of the argument is, and of right should be, using said language and words as part of the discussion.

The word "fuck" is a word...nothing more. That it can be upsetting is the discussion being had. If instead of "fuck" I had used "doggone"...that thread would still be open. There are threads now open that are much more "shoutbox" than that one was.

What is happening here?

This is supposed to be a philosophy forum...and the topic of that thread is philosophical in nature...more so than many threads that have the names of philosophers and philosophical issue thrown about with abandon.

The question of why certain words are considered offensive...and the extensions of that being the case... has more impact on life than most of the stuff being discussed here.

I've now had a totally valid and reasonable thread eliminated completely (with no chance for any comments)...and a thread shut down from further comments for what I see as no reason whatsoever.

Why is this happening?

I ask again: What is going on here?

You’ve already been informed why it was closed but have chosen not to accept that explanation bit rather strawman yourself into victimhood. Nobody missed the reason you were swearing and being vulgar, I dont think anyone really cared about that except a few people who were responding to your depthless and obvious point. There was nothing of substance going on, not entirely your fault but the thread died and was buried. This was explained to you but your resistant to it because you feel victimised by the mods but I am not a mod and have no particular dog in the fight so thought perhaps the 100% legit shutdown and explanation would be easier to accept coming from me, though obviously im not holding my breath.
And thats whats going on here, everything clear?

DingoJones
783
You’ve already been informed why it was closed but have chosen not to accept that explanation bit rather strawman yourself into victimhood. Nobody missed the reason you were swearing and being vulgar, I dont think anyone really cared about that except a few people who were responding to your depthless and obvious point. There was nothing of substance going on, not entirely your fault but the thread died and was buried. This was explained to you but your resistant to it because you feel victimised by the mods but I am not a mod and have no particular dog in the fight so thought perhaps the 100% legit shutdown and explanation would be easier to accept coming from me, though obviously im not holding my breath.
And thats whats going on here, everything clear? — DingoJones

Not at all...but it does seem you feel better about yourself by venting that way.

I laughed. It is the best response I can give you.

Good, its important to laugh and it was intended to be a smirking, cheeky response...but also true. I could have laid it out without the comical condescension but where's the fun in that?

The question of why certain words are considered offensive...and the extensions of that being the case... has more impact on life than most of the stuff being discussed here. — Frank Apisa

Much of what is discussed on this and similar sites has nothing to do with life as we know it.

I've now had a totally valid and reasonable thread eliminated completely (with no chance for any comments)...and a thread shut down from further comments for what I see as no reason whatsoever. — Frank Apisa

This might be a case of moderator over-reach, but who are you going to call? 911 doesn't deal with this problem.

Some of us have larger apertures for acceptable topics and language use than others. Our unpaid, long-suffering moderators probably tend toward the more restrictive approach -- else they would not serve well as moderators. We don't want golden retriever moderators who completely fail as watch dogs at the gates of our esteemed forum. On the other hand we don't want pit bulls. We probably don't want overly dutiful bloodhounds either. (As James Thurber noted about the dutiful bloodhound, "The paths of glory at least lead to the grave. The paths of duty don't lead anywhere at all.").

We don't want yappy terrier moderators either, frenzied barking all the time. What do we want? St. Bernards, perhaps. Big lummoxes capable of plowing through the tedious snow drifts of arid topics to dig out victims of philosophical hypothermia.

Other dog breeds?

Bitter Crank
7.7k

The question of why certain words are considered offensive...and the extensions of that being the case... has more impact on life than most of the stuff being discussed here. — Frank Apisa


Much of what is discussed on this and similar sites has nothing to do with life as we know it. — Bitter Crank

It has lots to do with life as I know it, BC.

Right here, for instance, I am being shut-out with a topic I consider of paramount importance to being reasonable in civilization.

Why should "son-of-a-gun" be considered "acceptable" but "son-of-a-bitch" be held in contempt?

Why should "I disagree" be okay...but "fuck no" not be?

Why should "The dog defecated on my lawn" be okay (as to wording) but "the dog took a shit on my lawn" not be?

Why on Earth would a forum dedicated to philosophical discussions possibly consider it proper to be dismissive of lots and lots of discussion of these questions?

I am really trying to understand what is going on.

I've now had a totally valid and reasonable thread eliminated completely (with no chance for any comments)...and a thread shut down from further comments for what I see as no reason whatsoever. — Frank Apisa


This might be a case of moderator over-reach, but who are you going to call? 911 doesn't deal with this problem.

Some of us have larger apertures for acceptable topics and language use than others. Our unpaid, long-suffering moderators probably tend toward the more restrictive approach -- else they would not serve well as moderators. We don't want golden retriever moderators who completely fail as watch dogs at the gates of our esteemed forum. On the other hand we don't want pit bulls. We probably don't want overly dutiful bloodhounds either. (As James Thurber noted about the dutiful bloodhound, "The paths of glory at least lead to the grave. The paths of duty don't lead anywhere at all.").

We don't want yappy terrier moderators either, frenzied barking all the time. What do we want? St. Bernards, perhaps. Big lummoxes capable of plowing through the tedious snow drifts of arid topics to dig out victims of philosophical hypothermia.

Other dog breeds?[/quote]

Why on Earth would a forum dedicated to philosophical discussions possibly consider it proper to be dismissive of lots and lots of discussion of these questions? — Frank Apisa

You aren’t paying attention. That is not the reason your thread was closed. It wasnt the questions, or even the vulgarity. It was the lack of substance in the thread, resulting from the shallow responses you received and your “shout box” responses in turn. The topic started with merit, as Baden mentioned and you seem to have ignored but which didnt get very far. It happens, stop being such a bitch about it.

DingoJones
785

Why on Earth would a forum dedicated to philosophical discussions possibly consider it proper to be dismissive of lots and lots of discussion of these questions? — Frank Apisa


You aren’t paying attention. That is not the reason your thread was closed. It wasnt the questions, or even the vulgarity. It was the lack of substance in the thread, resulting from the shallow responses you received and your “shout box” responses in turn. The topic started with merit, as Baden mentioned and you seem to have ignored but which didnt get very far. It happens, stop being such a bitch about it. — DingoJones

[Deleted - Flaming]

Now...if you do not mind, I'd like someone who knows what the hell they are talking about to answer my question.

Okay?

The general question of the closed OP, which asked why certain words had arbitrary connotations (and the examples employed were only those with offensive connotations) was of low quality if understood and flaming if misunderstood.

This is a feedback section, so I think everyone's deserving of my basis for closing the thread, but please don't use this thread to re-argue the merits of the now closed thread.

No, not ok. I do know what Im talking about, and I am right. You just aren’t interested in the actual answer to your question about “whats going in here?”
The reality is that no one worthwhile was interested in your topic, so you ended up arguing with people on a treadmill, it was going nowhere. Maybe thats unfortunate, but it doesnt mean the topic itself is the reason for the closing of the thread.
Let me walk you through it...
You started a thread on a legit topic, you expressed your view in it and no one chose to engage in any meaningful way and it degenerated into a “shout-box” (initiated by you and your poor understanding of how your framing was being received) that resulted in catching the attention of a mod, who confirmed his intended action with another mod, and then shut down the thread. When you asked why, he answered you in a straightforward manner that you didnt pay attention to.
Thats it. Simple. Par for the course on a forum like this, better luck next time. So stop being a bitch about it and move on.

This is an absurdity...and it appears the entire forum is an absurdity.

I've now had three deletions...all of which bear on the subject for which the deletions were ultimately made. If I had said, "Thank you very much for your help", instead of "fuck you very much for your help"...everything would have been fine. But...society has arbitrarily made certain words anathema..and you people are playing that game.

Okay...I get the picture. You do not want people who will argue something the way I was arguing this topic. (Yeah, I know...the usual "playing the victim" bullshit will ensure.)

I am NOT the victim. The victims here, if there are victims, are the people who think this forum is actually delivering on its promise of devotion to philosophy.

Hanover...you should be ashamed of yourself. You, too, Baden. I thought you were better than what you are showing here.

DingoJones
786
↪Frank Apisa


No, not ok. I do know what Im talking about, and I am right. You just aren’t interested in the actual answer to your question about “whats going in here?”
The reality is that no one worthwhile was interested in your topic, so you ended up arguing with people on a treadmill, it was going nowhere. Maybe thats unfortunate, but it doesnt mean the topic itself is the reason for the closing of the thread.
Let me walk you through it...
You started a thread on a legit topic, you expressed your view in it and no one chose to engage in any meaningful way and it degenerated into a “shout-box” (initiated by you and your poor understanding of how your framing was being received) that resulted in catching the attention of a mod, who confirmed his intended action with another mod, and then shut down the thread. When you asked why, he answered you in a straightforward manner that you didnt pay attention to.
Thats it. Simple. Par for the course on a forum like this, better luck next time. So stop being a bitch about it and move on. — DingoJones

[Deleted}

I think everyone has gotten a response to their question, so I am going to close this now.