Foul Language / Topics?

What's ok, and what isn't?

I'm a roleplayer - and a rogue/villain that doesn't even use the f-word strikes me as silly. 7 year old girls in catholic school uses the f-word. I'm hoping I'm not expected to live up to US TV standard, bleeping myself all the time.

As far as I'm concerned... I think it should be fine to use as foul language as I like. Anyone that doesn't like it should keep the profanity filter ON; that'll take care of everything.

Of course, mis-spelling foul language on purpose to circumvent the filter has to be a BIG NO NO - as it forces people to listen to it, even if they don't want to, bypasses game mechanics, and is clearly something that's spoken out of character, not in character.


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And what's ok to actually do/discuss in RP?

Villains, rogues and vigilantes can be pretty freaky folks. Murder is all in a day's work - so I'm assuming topics of murder, torture and inhuman experiments sort of have to be in the clear... (though at the same time, I somehow doubt it is)

Can people talk about sex, or will we end up black listed for it? It's not quite as "necessary" as violence, but I don't think all the supers around here are gonna stay virgins.


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Just thinking.

mac

As a general rule?

I'd say in a closed forum (e.g., /team or a supergroup base), I would only worry about it if the other players expressed concern or found such things distasteful. In places where people might overhear (like Pocket D), I'd settle for alluding to such things.

Of course, even in private, just because one can doesn't mean one should. In my mind, there's a line between creative expression and poor taste. I'd suspect that line exists for almost everyone, but we all put it in different places. So, I'd reiterate the importance of knowing the other players before cutting lose.

Well, the classic comic book villains of the silver age do NOT use foul language. The more modern, grittier villains often do.

There are a lot of kids who play this game, including my 10 year old son and 13 year old daughter. Sure, they hear the stuff all the time in school, but I would prefer my kids to be exposed to foul language as little as possible. We don't use it at home, and if a word or two slip out, it is frowned upon. My kids actually prefer it that way, and don't like to be around folks who constantly use "salty" language.

Sometimes we adults turn off the profanity filter, and forget to turn it back on again.

I suggest that before you let loose with the profanity, you might want to ask if anyone is offended by it. Set that up as a macro, so you don't have to keep re-typing it.

I am amused by the filter in the sense that I enjoy seeing the words turned into bleep or !@!#!$ characters.

I don't know why.

I will never report someone unless they are in broadcast and deliberately doing things to go around the filter. And then I am not reporting them because their words offend me but their intentional effort to do it seems jerkish to me.

Throwing my two cents in, though it's echoing other sentiments.

If you're in private - SG base, mission, whatever - I don't care. If you ******* want to ****** swear every ****** other ****** word, that's ***** up to you, ******. As long as everyone ELSE is OK with it. Don't just assume that it's OK, though - if I were in the group, for instance, I'd probably ask you to tone it down.

Publicly? Yes, people have a filter. That doesn't mean they want to see <bleep!> every other word, though. And as Forbin mentioned, kids can turn it off when a parent who would prefer it on wouldn't be looking. As the parent's probably the one paying the bill... well, do try to control yourself.

(Edit: And personally, if I see it in broadcast continually - not someone obviously venting or having a moment, but doing so long enough for me to finish a mission - I'll tend to avoid that person in the future. Fortunately, I don't think I've seen anyone that bad in years.)

See my Guides and Tutorials

http://us.ncsoft.com/en/legal/user-a...f-conduct.html

See rule #3 in regards to the sex question, as well as some of your "villainous" language.

The problem is when excessive profanity is used in public channels.

I've always wanted a customizable profanity filter, just so I could add certain words to it.

(Broadcast) PL_Begger: Looking for <Bleep!> team to <Bleep!> me! pst.
(Broadcast) Me: Lol.
(Broadcast) PL_Beggar: wut?

Also to note, a lot of what is/isn't acceptable has to do with the people you're addressing. It's far easier to ask before you cut loose, than it is to walk something back or hide behind "the rules" after you've bugged someone.

Even playing on an RP server or in an RP group doesn't count as a free pass where people have to be prepared for anything. When dealing with people you know in a familiar situation, go with what's normally acceptable. When dealing with new people in an RP situation an OOC question or a friendly tell will let you know what they're comfortable with.

Just remember RPing like a foul mouthed pervert isn't a good way to let your inner foul mouthed pervert have free reign. Know when to stop, is what I'm saying. If someone contacts you OOC about it, adjust your mood, step out of character, and make it clear it's the act, and not you.

And lastly, if someone politely let's you know what you're doing is bothering them, that's your Stop Sign. Dial it back or take your leave. If it's someone you come across in a regularly recurring situation and they are an odd man out from the normal crowd, politely let them know how to put you on ignore.

I've always felt that heavy profanity use, largely, displays an innate intellectual inadequacy with regard to being incapable of expressing one's thoughts and feelings like a civilized human being.

That said, why not make your bathroom-etiquette villain talk like Wolverine, Lobo, or Roman Moroni? All the cursing you can stand, and still rated G.

Basically it comes down to your audience. The presence of a profanity filter is not an excuse to spew forth foul-mouth obscenities.

There are some some characters (hero and villain) in my RP group that swear or use sexual innuendos that would likely get the written up/fired in RL, but it's how that character is, and our character get that.

Most of that is kept to local while in our base, and team chat during missions because we'll obviously be in and out of the zones.

Be aware of your surroundings and think of who might be listening in.

Politeness costs nothing.

I have never, nor will I ever, base a character on bad language and profanity, just to make that point clear. I wouldn't have thought it necessary to make a point of clarifying that, but since some may have hinted at it, I suppose I'll have to. Being Swedish, and English being pretty far from my native tongue, I should hope that my rudimentary grasp of the English language should also suffice as adequate evidence that any profanity or vulgarities from my direction isn't the result of neither stupidity nor lack of imagination; quite frankly I find the very notion offensive.

Now, while it's certainly true that the silver age villains wouldn't use much profanity, it may also be wise to consider that the vast majority of said villains appear in comics made in the US, and are aimed at a young US audience. Let's not forget that they are also about fourty years old. Not all comics follow this standard. Some heroes and villains can pull such things off. Some can't. For example, every time Robin says "Holy Noodles, Batman!" instead of "<censored>!", I feel like bringing a baseball bat over to the bat cave to have words with him. There's certainly room for these characters, but if they all spoke in this manner, or even if just one out of ten did, I'd have to cut myself.

I have the utmost respect for any hero or villain who can be truly acidic, while remaining perfectly composed and civilised. It is however not an optimal solution for all characters and all times. Everyone can't run around, exchanging politically correct insults like Batman and E Nigma. In fact, many characters would suffer failure of epic proportions if they even tried. It's a rare few thug masterminds that should ever even consider saying "Oh, I say... Lucas, would you be so kind as to teach the gentleman a lesson?" Again, there's room for these characters as well, but if they all acted like this I would need a higher dose of anti-depressants.

Personally, I only play characters who are highly intelligent. I simply find it more entertaining. Most of them are in fact quite skilled at delivering sly remarks, and using clever language to belittle people. However, they never fit into either of the above categories. I don't use catchphrases as a substitute for when a sane human being would simply curse, and I don't use a higher standard of language than you can expect form an average human being, or even an intelligent one. If pushed, involved in a heated discussion, or -heavens forbid- an actual argument, pretty much all of them can resort to some pretty foul language; this isn't due to a lack of imagination, but rather an imitation of how perfectly normal people tend to react in the same circumstances. I never liked dressing things up needlessly.

In order to provide depth to a character, they also need a flaw, a disadvantage. I suppose there's always room for more cryptonite, but to be perfectly honest, such mundane cop outs are rather dull and dated. It is for good reason that the majority of more modern heroes and villains have a truly horrendous background of some sort, that in itself is the flaw. Such a flaw typically manifests itself through behaviour; some of it can be disturbing, and include bad language. In fact, more often than not you can barely tell the heroes from the villains; Going Rogue really did arrive in the nick of time.

To reconnect with the original topic, I'm hoping the spirit in which I making the original post is a bit clearer. Perhaps it's easier now, to see why I would ask about what is considered kosher and what isn't. Normally I would try to avoid making posts with quite this much attitude, or at least feel bad about doing it, but I will make an exception just this once, as I rather feel it illustrates well my ability to belittle and patronise without resorting to profanities.

Mac