The C Word

[celtic]

should be allowed to say retard especially for bad beat topics etc, this retard called me blah blah blah. nigger is always going to be abusive and nasty though.
[/quote

Noticed a lot of the newcastle / teeside lads used retard quite freely at the weekend. Also a lot of the young guys. They seem to think it is acceptable and not derogatory at all.

[pleno1]

yeah we call everyone retards. shortened to tards usually.

[Ironside]

pleno its not acceptable in this country

if you want to use it move to the usa please

[maldini32]

*****

[pleno1]

pleno its not acceptable in this country

if you want to use it move to the usa please

moving in jan

[Ironside]

untill then pls dont use the word

and even after then pls dont use the word on this forum

i know its common on the net and in poker as the USA have
many more players than the UK, and alot of people in the UK use it,
its not an acceptable word to use in the UK

[mondatoo]

Surprised the N bomb is still there,as for the R word it doesn't offend me but each to there own etc

[Cf]

yeah let's not have the retard argument again. been done to death. i personally think it's fine but try and refrain from using it on here as i know it can cause offense to some people here.

[The Camel]

If the R word is banned then so should the N word the P word and several others.

I don't think the C word offends anyone does it?

[kinboshi]

We haven't gone through a whole host of words that might be deemed offensive.  Instead, it's been left to the mods to deal with when any offensive or abusive language is used.  A number of people had mentioned that they were uncomfortable with the use of *****, and Ironside has explained the problem with retard.

Part of the problem is context and usage.  Anyone using racially offensive terms will probably receive a suspension as we have zero-tolerance towards this.  When someone uses an offensive word to flame another member, then it steps over the line of what's allowed.  Sometimes words that can be offensive in one context are more acceptable in another situation.

On the whole, wide-scale censorship of certain words hasn't been required, blonde is a combination of being policed by individuals themselves or by their peers - and then if that doesn't work, the mods step in.  The censorship of ***** was done off the back of a number of members saying they weren't comfortable with its use.

Personally, I'm not offended by any words in isolation.  It's more the sentiment and intent that I can find offensive.  Others view the subject differently.  We have a wide range of members and I'm a member on some forums that don't allow any swearing, whereas on others it's completely open-season.  Blonde gets it pretty much right (imo), but I'm sure others will disagree. 

[kinboshi]

yeah let's not have the retard argument again. been done to death. i personally think it's fine but try and refrain from using it on here as i know it can cause offense to some people here.

This is the sensible approach.  If I'm in the pub with mates, then swearing during conversation is usually fine and expected.  If I'm in front of a new client, I tend to refrain from swearing at all for obvious reasons.  Word usage changes over time and each generation treats words differently and finds different things offensive.  Some of the terms used by my Dad for example (who's 80 this year) I'd never use (generally considered racist terms now), whereas he finds other words that are now used on the radio and on TV before the watershed as offensive.

[gatso]

 Ironside has explained the problem with retard.
 

not in any rational way though

[kinboshi]

 Ironside has explained the problem with retard.
 

not in any rational way though

It was Ironside.

[kinboshi]

As Cf said, we've had this debate before.  The use of retard in American English as a derogatory comment aimed at someone doing something stupid appears to be acceptable, whereas it isn't seen as acceptable in British English - although it does seem to be acceptable to the younger generation in the UK (well, at least the younger ones on here - don't know about the population in general) who have been exposed to American English a lot more, probably due to the internetz.

[gatso]

whereas it isn't seen as acceptable in British English

except that it is. boring argument. we all know that like many, many words, most of which are not banned on here, retard is only offensive in context. banning a word because it's a bugbear of ironside's is laughable as everyone can see