Language Filter

Either that, or one that just replaces the word with *****... ?
Why not just make profanity forbidden in your forum and get yourself some mods with spherical objects?

there's nothing to filter/change words entered on the forum, maybe something we would have in the future, but nothing in the near term.

colonel's recommendation of putting what's allowed and not allowed in your Rules of the Forum would be a good idea, and be sure to warn people that break those rules and point them to the rules.

I actually agree with this feature request. there are some places where when you put a comment and drop an F-bomb, it will tell you that it wont post your comment because of the cursing, and make you go edit it. I would rather this option than warning people for breaking the forum rule. people get too sensitive over that. the option wouldnt hurt. i know it would be work on your guys' side. but just a thought is all.

The problem with filters are that there's always the option to deliberately mis-spell words, rendering the filter all but useless. I think forum moderation is the only way to implement an anti-profanity policy with any success.

well, yes. you are correct. BUT, in this man's, humble opinion. if someone wanted, they could say f.u.c.k. to get around the language filter. but that would show a direct disregard to the rules and definetly warrant a warning. if a member knows the rules and accidentally drops an F-bomb....thats an accident. if they a drop an F-bomb, and the filter doesnt let them, and they deliberatly try and go around that. that would be a malicious attempt to break forum rules, and would warrant a warning. installing the option wouldnt hurt, is what im saying. do i sound dumb, or does that make sense at all?

I understand what you're saying... but deliberately circumventing a language filter is the same as disregarding the forum rules - they would both be violations. After all, it is the responsibility of the poster to have read the forum rules. I'm not saying a filter is a bad idea, but it would seem unnecessary if you have a half-decent moderation team - self-moderation is the name of the game here

i see what youre saying, and ive never had that problem. i have a great team. i think youre half right on the issue. it IS the responsibility of the poster. and it is unnecessary but it wouldnt hurt.

but it wouldnt hurt.[image]

-nickyjames

 
<imagines the lefora team thinking 'Well, you code it then!'>
 

sh*t, youre probably right. .  if its really "that" difficult. just dont mess with it. but if its something that can be done with relative ease, it would be nice.

In my personal view I do not want a Language filter. It is rather annoying when it puts **** in perfectly good words. Considering that most Swear words are just emphasis to a argument, one here or there is simply normal expression. However a post laced with unnecessary swear words is simply mindless drivel. My Forums rule is

We do not permit religious, political or sexually explicit material tobe posted or hotly debated. Users should avoid language that isconsidered cuss/swear words as they rarely add to the subject. Keep inmind that this Forum is open to all.

And you could never say that you'd been to Scunthorpe for a day out.

i know. Im asking about it being an option. thats all. just an option. This is a portion of my forum rule: "Foul, offensive, or any derogatory language is not permitted on LoL. By signing up for an account on LoL you agree to speak without using terms that are considered offensive. You must consider other members cultural, environmental, and religious differences."

OK Colonol Jack and Chief,
The request is out there.

As for making rules and such..... come on.....

My issue is that I built a forum for the average fisherman, not those tweedy jacks that buy 1000 dollar reels, so the language got a little heavy at times, but in fun.

NOW we have kids signing up because we have excellent local fishing information, and I want to clean up the site.  Its a problem because we have a lot of posts, and since as an admin I cannot alter the message (which i agree with) I am stuck.

I have the agreement of all members, mods and admins that the language will now be PG-13 rated.  

I DO NOT want to delete excellent information because of a bad word.  Having the option to put in a filter and have it run over the old posts and keep up with the new should not be that big of a deal.  All the crappy forum hosters have them, why not the best??

"Your best?  Losers whine about their best, winners go home and have fun with the prom queen" -Sean Connery, The Rock.

Colonol Jack..... I know why your a Colonol......  LOL!!!

 
<imagines the lefora team thinking 'Well, you code it then!'>
 
[image]

-coloneljack

WOW!!!  Someone needs a lesson in "CUSTOMER SERVICE".  

I know we aren't paying here, but the options are coming.  Currently, while everything here is really awesome, there is nothing to pay for yet except for the custom domain naming and no ad's.  

I'm saying the filter should be an option to turn on or off, and to customize words and replacemements.  Like I said, its all over the old style forum hosters, so it can't be all that hard of a task.

"Thats fine, you tell the colonol that the general said to cram it up his ass!" -Forgot the title of the movie.

An Idea:

What about being able to set up an AGE barrier to seperated fields or category of topics?
Seems the birthdate field could be used then.

Sorry, I know every idea I come up with probably requires about 1,000,000,000 hours of coding....  My bad.

NOW we have kids signing up because we have excellent local fishinginformation, and I want to clean up the site.  Its a problem because wehave a lot of posts, and since as an admin I cannot alter the message(which i agree with) I am stuck.

-gotthenet

Curious you want an option in regards to language but not a option for Admin edit. I would not mind having both and leaving it up to the Individual Forum. The more options the better. You are in a bit of a problem with a change over from R-16 to a PG-13 audience. Sorta hard to work around.

I do understand that there is only so much time in a day to get things done and Lefora has some big things on its plates. Fixing the bugs in the editor and getting email notification working I would consider to be much higher on the lists of needs.

thanks for all the feedback everybody, it's something we've taken as feedback and we'll keep it in mind for future development, but as we're hard at work on the current feature set, Product Roadmap & Known Issues, it would be some time away.  If we built a filter like this (there are pros and cons), we would vet it out with the community.  

Our recommendation, is to outline some foundational rules (I hope to post a template for these over the next few weeks).  As with any community, all the members should understand the expectations of the organizer and other community members - when that relates to the language used, they should respect the rules of the forum.  Even here on support, I've occasionally seen people use inappropriate language and I deleted the post and sent them a warning and pointed them to the rules.  And taking this action definitely 'sways' the community into the right direction.

As with all features on Lefora, there are some communities it's a good fit for, and others that it is not.  Most importantly, our stance is not to overload the admin panel with tons of options and switches, because that can become overwhelming and difficult to manage.  Many of our feature decisions are guided by what would work best by 85% of communities without adding complexity for admins.

I for one really appreciate the simplicity. Having searched multiple sites for the best fit for our msn group Lefora was by far the simplest while offering the most important and best features. When you say "what a forum should be", thats exactly what it is, IMO. If lots more admin tools get added I would prefer to see them in a format where they could be added to the admin panel if we wanted, maybe in modules (whatever those are) , and not if we didn't want. I would hate to lose the simplicity that is my favorite thing about Lefora.

Thanks Chief, I know you guys are working hard.

@wrenna: you may have a great idea. Perhaps there should be an Experts area that contains things like the css changes and stuff like Language Filters. There could be a warning that keeping to the Basic Admin control panel is the preferred option. Perhaps it could be only be accessed by the Forum Founder and designated Admins. Once again a lot of work for Lefora, but they need something to do after the current road map gets them to Albuquerque. Barring Left turns.