| Forum → Profanity |  Post
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So, here's the deal. There has always been a push to correct and censor improper and inappropriate language here on Dragon Ball Wiki. For the most part, we have done this succinctly and completely. However, more recently, there have been a number of Blogs and Blog Comments made entirely of profanity or attacks on other users. When these are seen (which isn't often as many of the sysops on this Wiki do not even look at most, if any, blog posts and comments) actions have been taken in the past. There are some questions though about what our policies really are in regards to profanity and attacks on the Wiki outside of the articles. Looking over the Rules Page, I have noticed that most, if not all, of the rules are in regards to ARTICLES only, and there is no mention of Talk Pages, Blogs, or Forums. I think we should open up a discussion to see what the community really thinks of the Profanity issue, and how best we can combat it when necessary, and how we can update the Rules so that every users can read them and know exactly what we allow and disallow on this Wiki.
Discussion[]
Personally, I like the fact that we try and keep the Wiki as all-ages-friendly as possible. I think we can apply this same rule to all Blog Posts and Comments. But, I do think that the Rules page needs a huge overhauling to be clearer about our policies regarding just about everything on the Wiki. I am interested to see what others say about the matter too though. DragonBallZGTGoku (talk) 16:00, August 2, 2010 (UTC)
i think we need to really crack down on them and start bannin themleft an right the new people to this wiki think thre like immune i say 0 tolerance Saiyn prince 5821 (talk) 16:38, August 2, 2010 (UTC)
- I agree DragonBallZGTGoku, it should still apply to the Blogs and such, they can easily be viewed by anyone, just as articles can. Saiyn Prince, while I like your enthusiasm, we cannot just ban people like that, new users are not aware that we do not include profanity, in fact many other Wiki's allow it. It would be unfair. This is why we issue a warning, then if the user does not comply, we can then consider a block. I do try to read through the blocks to check, however with the obscene amount of blogs being created, there's only so much that I can get through, especially when users do not type in full, I just can't bare to read it. DragonBallZGTGoku, could you give me some idea of what rules you think need changing? Thanks SSJ4 Lewich (talk) 18:29, August 2, 2010 (UTC)
I agree on the need to keep the Wiki "All Ages", Swearing also kills the moment, Edit wars erupt, Vandalism in anger. I doubt we want young kids reading garbage User:Brolythelegend (talk) 19:01, August 2, 2010 (UTC)  
- yes i totally agree. profanity and personal attacks MUST NOT be on the wiki. i understand dat other wiki's allow profanity, but i say dats their loss. wot we need to do is warn any profanity user like we normally do. if they continue after dat they shud be blocked for a short time. if they continue even after dat, then it shud be a permanant ban. dats my opinion. TheDarkPrinceReturns! (talk) 19:07, August 2, 2010 (UTC)
I agree with what everyone else has said so far. Letting profanity go will eventually lead users to fear, anger, hate, and finally suffering. Before you know it, we'll have hundreds of crazed Sith on our hands. 10X Kamehameha (talk) 19:38, August 2, 2010 (UTC)
- I heavily agree upon creating stricter policies for forums and blog posts. There is no profanity other than that which is seen in the series within articles (such as a few quotes, etc). As for blogs, which seem to be having the most profane language, I agree that something must be done. I don't mind users heavily using blogs, it allows for discussions within the DB community, however, many of them tend to become heavy arguments filled with bad language and personal attacks. So, with that said, we DO need to come up with a policy. I'm suggesting a re-write of the Rules page, so that all rules are more clear, and the addition of a policy on Blogs etc. Once the policy is created, somehow we need to extend the message to all users, so that they can read it. I am also thinking of the possibility of creating some sort of "Blog Patrol", this would be users who would check blog posts with high traffic (or all if permitting) to assure our policies are being followed. This may be a lot of work, and just creating a policy alone is the first crucial step.
SSJGoku93 (talk) 20:34, August 2, 2010 (UTC)
Yes, I've noticed that a considerable amount of blogs are already showing signs of profanity (which will probably get more and more frequent if nothing is done, as the user base is increasing and opposite ideas create this kind of unecessary conflicts) and I agree that the Profanity Rules should be extended for Forums and Blogs but SSJGoku93, I'm still confused on how your "Blog Patrol" idea could work, 'cause if I remember, only those who posted the blogs can hide comments and sometimes, even those who posted are involved in this kind of conflicts. Vegeta - San (talk) 20:50, August 2, 2010 (UTC)
Same here. Profanity and other forms of obscenities are prohibited and this is an all-ages wiki. I don't think it would be beneficial if we let people use profanity because that would just lead to trouble. I agree that we need to have a "Blogs Patrol" policy so we can better control the language and discussions users are commenting there. Based on what I heard about blogs so far, I think they're more prone to having obscenites and personal attacks by users than anywhere else here. SSJ2AJB (talk) 21:10, August 2, 2010 (UTC)
- Even without profanity, flame wars can still erupt. I think it's important that we make it clear that the forums and blogs are supposed to be about discussing viewpoints — not the users who have the viewpoints. If we were to enforce that principle, I think the profanity problem would practically go away on its own (though making a rule about that too wouldn't hurt if we're trying to keep the wiki friendly to all ages). I'm not sure how active the blogs are here, so I'm kind of divided on the idea of a Blog Patrol. I wouldn't want to devote too many of our resources purely to babysitting the blogs when there's so much work to be done wiki itself, but if moderating the blogs can be done without pouring too much time into it, I wouldn't mind us having a dedicated blog-watcher or two. If the blogs are so active that constant moderation is impractical, I think simply allowing users to report abuse might be a better solution though. -- Nonoitall (talk) 21:17, August 2, 2010 (UTC)
- having blog watching patrols is a cool idea. if the idea goes through, then i'm willing to help out since i am very active on blogs. TheDarkPrinceReturns! (talk) 21:51, August 2, 2010 (UTC)
- I would be happy to help too i already help on blogs as much as i can i warn people then warn them if they continue and im honestly tired of people not following the rules i love 2 swear but i dont bring it to this website bcuz its against the rules you have to follow the rules so i think you guys should start banning people if you have to warn them more than once or mabye not even warn them and just ban them immediately depending on how severly they break the rules but i would be happy to do whatever i can im very active on blogs as wellVEGETATheLegendarySuperSayian (talk) 03:07, August 3, 2010 (UTC)
The Blogs are more active now than ever, and it won't be easy to keep track of what's going on. I contribute frequently on Blogs, and am seeing more and more swearing. When I first joined, the Blogs had just started and the number of swearing on Blogs was around one out of every 20 and they weren't directed at anyone, they were used for emphasis. I am not saying that's okay, I'm merely giving an example of how this problem has increased.
I believe that one possible solution to this growing problem would be to customize the greeting message that new users get by saying "Remember that we do not tolerate profanity" or something like that. That way, we can warn users before they've done anything and will (hopefully) make them stick to the rules. I remember how nervous I was when I first started editing here, mostly because I didn't know how things worked. Most users are like that to start, so this just gives them an early heads up about some of our rules.
Also, I like the idea of Blog Patrols. Some tweaking of user rights may have to happen if they are to be fully active, in order for them to hide/edit unwanted profane comments. If we started banning left and right without warning, while we may stop the profanity we would still have a bunch of angry, blocked users and we would eventually gain oursleves some Internet Sith, as 10X already stated. And those Sith can be deadly. SSWerty (talk) 07:22, August 3, 2010 (UTC)
- Not internet Sith my friend, actual ones. 10X Kamehameha (talk) 07:40, August 3, 2010 (UTC)
Even deadlier. SSWerty (talk) 08:44, August 3, 2010 (UTC)
- Haha, trying to get us back on track, Nonoitall, I thought that Blogs and Forums can be used to discuss anything, not just the subject on which they were made? I also think that we could better advertise the Rules, perhaps in the "Header" at the top of pages, like we did with the MoS? SSJ4 Lewich (talk) 11:36, August 3, 2010 (UTC)
Better advertising the rules is a wonderful idea. The "Welcome" message has recently been updated to include an advertisement for the Manual of Style. I see no reason why that couldn't be changed again to include the rules page as well. And in response to SSJ4 Lewich's question near the beginning of the discussion: The rules page needs to be updated in general I believe. A lot of the rules only mention certain parts of the Wiki (I.E. the articles, or Forum pages) when they could easily apply to everything. Also, a lot of them can be worded better so as not to confuse or mislead any users reading through them. I am a firm believer of the fact that the more specific the rules are, the less people will be able to argue about "loopholes" or poor wording. Specific (albeit censored) examples could be given and the rules could be typed out in a more "legalistic jargon" manor to sound official. These are some of my ideas for good changes, and any others would be greatly appreciated. DragonBallZGTGoku (talk) 21:20, August 3, 2010 (UTC)
- I agree with almost all the proposal that have been made. I do thinkg that acually controlling this on blogs will be pretty difficult, but at least establishing the rules clearly and making them more visible as several have suggested would raise our chances of keeping the profanity low.Sega381 (talk) 03:51, August 4, 2010 (UTC)
@SSJ4 Lewich: Well a discussion veering off the original topic isn't always so bad, but when it gets to the point that users are just spewing insults at each other rather than discussing the subject (whatever it may have shifted to), that's where I think we need to draw a line. For example, if User A and User B feel the need to discuss whether Goku or Vegeta are cooler, they should be discussing Goku and Vegeta; they shouldn't be calling each other doofuses (or other equally devastating words) and making unfounded remarks about each other's parentage. -- Nonoitall (talk) 06:19, August 4, 2010 (UTC)
- Oh yes, I totally agree. I thought you meant that going off track to talk about something else, but if I saw any personal attacks on each other, I'd make sure I did something about it. SSJ4 Lewich (talk) 15:06, August 4, 2010 (UTC)
My personal opinion heavily coincides with most of the views already expressed here; as I read through everyone's responses, I believe my own isn't very different. I also feel it's necessary to end foul language and any other kind of profanity, whether it be on the blogs, articles, forum contributions, talk pages, or anywhere else on our wiki; the way we sustain and maintain control will in turn reflect our own capability to be responsible and cordial. It is not only our duty but our right to maintain a strict guideline in terms of profanity. My personal belief is that third-time offenses should result in permanent bans for continuing vandals and trouble-makers. The more strict we are in enforcing our rules, the less likely it will be that others will make the same errors as previous vandals. - PrinceZarbon (talk) 18:15, August 4, 2010 (UTC)
I can`t stand it! I think we need to really get serious here there are a lot of diffrent ages on this wiki and we don`t need young kids learning this stuff banning must be done after one very firm warning! and then thats it I also don`t like when people disrespect admins on here im sure you all work hard and I`m sorry but yeah it`s time to crack down on this. CookiePirate (talk) 05:19, August 14, 2010 (UTC)