After reading the Readers Choice entry on censorship, I wanted to ask what Bloop thinks.

Who thinks we should censor forum titles? Who thinks we shouldn't?
Should we censor the forums themselves? What should and shouldn't be allowed on the main page?

Any other questions, ideas, comments or concerns would be nice to hear.

I think that the main page should be censored, but that the threads themselves should be allowed.

I agree, because you never know what aged people are looking on the FP. Some things just aren't appropriate for all ages.

I don't think that anything should be censored at all.

I second that.

Yup, agreed.

Agreed!

I personally prefer no cursing on the front page.

in the entries themselves: no porn, no posting personal information that is not yours.
Other than that, i honestly dont like censoring words in the entries themselves,
only on the tittles.

If I don't like it...I don't read it. Problem solved!

Ah but how do you know if you don't like it if you don't read it? ;)


Ignore me I just felt like being difficult, lol. :P

har har! I was talking about the thread in general. I suppose I could have said If I don't like it I stop reading it. However if I see a title like, "What is your favorite sex position?" I don't even bother clicking to read it because...I really don't care.

dd you just say abstinence is your favorite position? ;D

BUT SURELY THE PERCEIVED PROBLEM IS NOT THAT ADULTS ARE SEEING WHAT THEY DON'T WANT TO SEE, BUT THAT KIDS (WHO DON'T HAVE SUCH INTERNAL CENSORS) MIGHT SEE IT AND THINK 'OOH - HOW EXCITING! A NAUGHTY THREAD ABOUT SEX! I SHALL READ IT!'

PERSONALLY, I THINK THIS IS THE PARENTS' RESPONSIBILITY RATHER THAN BLOOP'S THOUGH.

"THAT KIDS (WHO DON'T HAVE SUCH INTERNAL CENSORS) MIGHT SEE IT AND THINK 'OOH - HOW EXCITING! A NAUGHTY THREAD ABOUT SEX! I SHALL READ IT!'"

At what age do kids gain that internal censor, and how well developed will it be if adults keep things like sex and naughty language away from them? I'm not saying buy your kid some porn and call them an asshole, I'm just saying that if you keep your kids locked in disneyland, it's only going to be harder when they're adults.

YO, YOUR ARGUMENT IS NOT AGAINST MY POINT, BECAUSE I WASN'T ADVOCATING SHELTERING KIDS. I WAS CLARIFYING WHAT THE PROBLEM SEEMED TO BE - PEOPLE ARE BOTHERED BY THE TITLES NOT FOR THEIR OWN BENEFIT BUT FOR THE SAKE OF CHILDREN, SO THE ARGUMENT 'IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT, DON'T READ IT' DOESN'T APPLY.

I wasn't arguing with you; I was posing a question.

OH, OKAY - I THOUGHT YOUR STATEMENT 'I'm not saying buy your kid some porn and call them an asshole, I'm just saying that if you keep your kids locked in disneyland, it's only going to be harder when they're adults' WAS SOMEHOW IN RELATION TO SOMETHING I'D SAID, AS IT WAS A REPLY TO ME. I GUESS YOU WERE JUST THROWING IT OUT IN GENERAL.

I was replying to you, as you were expressing an opinion I agree wit. I'll try again, as I must have worded that poorly.

At what age do you think desensitizing should begin? When does "common sense" take over?

OH, I SEE - THE QUESTION IS TO ME. OKAY. WELL, I DO NOT HAVE AN AGE IN MIND. I WAS NOT STATING WHAT SHOULD BE, YOU SEE - JUST WHAT IS. I THINK CHILDREN LEARN TO REACT A CERTAIN WAY TO CERTAIN THINGS FROM THEIR PARENTS OR OTHER INFLUENTIAL FIGURES IN THEIR LIVES. I DON'T THINK THERE NECESSARILY SHOULD BE AN INTERNAL CENSOR TELLING YOU 'GOSH, THIS IS NAUGHTY! DON'T READ IT!' I THINK THAT'S SILLY.

I THINK EACH INDIVIDUAL SHOULD LEARN TO DECIDE WHAT IS HELPFUL FOR THEMSELVES AND WHAT IS A HINDRANCE AND THUS MAKE THEIR OWN DECISIONS REGARDING WHAT THEY READ - BUT I DON'T THINK A KNEE-JERK CENSORING REACTION OF 'EEK! BAD WORD! I MUST AVOID!' IS HELPFUL. MORE SENSIBLE WOULD BE AN 'ORAL SEX? HMM... I DON'T REALLY HAVE ANY INTEREST IN THAT SO I WON'T BOTHER READING IT' RESPONSE - MUCH LIKE A 'GOSH, ANOTHER HARRY POTTER THREAD? I'LL SKIP THAT' RESPONSE. SUCH RESPONSES SEEM LIKE COMMON SENSE TO ME - BUT I THINK MANY PEOPLE ALWAYS HAVE AN INTERNAL KNEE-JERK REACTION, BECAUSE THEY ARE CONDITIONED THAT WAY, LIKE PAVLOV'S DOGS.

AND IN TERMS OF HOW ADULTS TREAT CHILDREN, I THINK A SIMPLE NON-KNEE-JERK REACTION IS THE MOST HELPFUL. I HAVE A FRIEND WHO ALWAYS SIMPLY EXPLAINED WHATEVER HER KIDS ASKED HER ABOUT SEX, WITHOUT ANY SECRECY OR FANFARE, AND IT WAS A VERY OPEN HOME, WHERE HER KIDS SAW HER NAKED, AND CAME INTO THE BATHROOM WHEN SHE WAS ON THE LOO OR IN THE BATH, SO THEY SAW WHEN SHE HAD HER PERIOD - AND IT WAS ALL TOTALLY NATURAL AND NORMAL. THEY GREW INTO TOTALLY WELL-ADJUSTED ADULTS. SIMILARLY KIDS WHO GROW UP ON FARMS HAVE A NO-NONSENSE ATTITUDE TO SEX, WITHOUT ALL THESE SILLY TABOOS. TABOO DRAWS ATTENTION TO THE VERY THINGS IT HOPES TO HIDE, AND SO PEOPLE WHO HAVE A TABOO AROUND SEXUAL STUFF TEND TO BE FAR MORE OBSESSED (IN A WEIRD REPRESSED WAY) ABOUT SEX THAN PEOPLE WHO JUST ACCEPT IT AS NORMAL.

Exactly. I think that if my parents never batted an eye if I said the word 'fuck' or 'shit' in front of them, then I probably wouldn't see it as the wrong thing to do, and I wouldn't know that it was socially unacceptable. The problem is, as always, with the rest of society. xD i.e. 'What will Mrs Jones think if my child is a guttermouth? I better teach my child that swearing is wrong!'

In response to the original thing, I don't think Bloop should be censored, in terms of sexual content. It's a world-wide-accessible site, and different countries have different age cut-offs in terms of when it's appropriate for kids to start viewing sexual content (in Australia it's 15). As many have said, it's the parent's responsibility to enforce such legal cut-offs (if they choose to), not Bloop's. I actually think it's good for kids** to get exposed to this stuff, and have their parents encourage the kids to talk to them and ask them questions about the stuff they see/read, rather than shutting them out or banning them from certain web sites altogether. Because once you ban something from a child, it becomes irresistible to them. xD

** I think it states somewhere in the UA or when you sign up that you must be 13 and over in order to use Bloop. I think that's all that we need. If kids younger than 13 decide to sign up, that's the parent's responsibility. And I think many sites are like that (youtube is another example, for certain videos). So when I say 'kids' I mean kids that are likely to use and view Bloop. Like, I doubt a 7-year-old is going to sign up and get an account. xD

I'd normally agree with this for the general populous, but not everyone has, oh what's the word? Oh! Common sense. I guess they're leaving that out of the cheerios nowadays.

If we allow all forums, I don't think things like oral sex forums should be allowed to show up on the frontpage, and it would be nice if you could somehow restrict who can see it (age level, that is). Because when I first starting writing in online diaries, I was 12...and if I had a 12-year-old kid, I'd rather they be on a place like Bloop over OD, but I would NOT want them using a site where people are talking about sex positions. So people can talk about them if they want, but it needs to be somehow monitored or protected.

You can lie about your age though. I used to all the time!

see at 12 i kinda went looking for anything that said "sex" on the internet. not porn, but if it had that word in the subject, i'd probably click on it. not that i'd repeat anything i read or ask my parents weird questions after, but i get that kids will click it, because i did.

so maybe things like that need to have a filter.

I'm not really up for censorship. If people are easily offended they should stay indoors and not go online.

I'm far more concerned with young Bloopers picking up bad grammar and spelling mistakes (much like I did!) from this website, rather than them seeing things of a slightly sexual nature on Bloop!