The Great Toilet Paper Debate

[Sailor Steve]

Originally Posted by Ducimus

Honestly Steve, I don't think you do understand. Now, i gotta get this off my chest, and it's not meant as a personal attack.

Ah, but I do understand, perhaps more than you think.

The main reason why I said anything at all, is because you are always VERY quick to jump on ANYONE who lets slip even a single 4 letter word, in any context, either directly, implied or indirectly linked. In fact, id say your obsessive compulsive about it. You cite forum rules, all the time, for years, but I don't think that's your real reason. In my day to day life, I live "by the book", because I'm not special. They apply to me too. However rules or not, I never position myself as the morality police.

You don't think that's my real reason? You would be wrong. I believe in the rules, probably too much. I've argued with the boss on this. My belief is that either you enforce rules absolutely or you get rid of them. I would be fine either way, but I hate inconsistency. It's my failing, and I know that. That said, it has nothing to do with morality. And yes, I am obsessive-compulsive, as well as manic-depressive and a few other things.

A couple more points:
As to "vulgar" words denoting lack of creativity, i think your wrong there. Actually, now that i think of it, I think your being judgmental when you say that. I use profane language all the time, do you think I'm lacking in creativity? I'm gonna go out on a limb and suggest we both know I can be a very creative person when i want to be. So I submit myself as evidence that the statement that vulgarity equates to a limited and uncreative mind is patently false.

I apologize for that. It was meant to be a tweak, but not a true insult. It's obvious which of us is more creative, at least where games are concerned. That said, it is possible to swear creatively. I used to be famous among my friends for stringing words into sentences that left others speechless. I also learned how to create interesting sentences that used no actual swearing at all.

In regular life, off the cuff swearing is almost unavoidable, as witnessed by the conversations I regularly have with my computer. On the other hand, writing should be accompanied by forethought. If it isn't, then the writer has failed. Swearing in print is either done intentionally, for effect, or done without thinking at all, writing as if the writer were speaking. In the former case the writer is also intentionally flauting the rules, if there are such. In he latter the writer is not thinking at all. In either case I feel something needs to be said.

As to kids, when i said that, I was picturing any kid that is in his preteens. Cause honestly, teenagers and up are already cussing when they're around there friends. They just don't let their parents hear it. If someone can jump on a computer and visit this forum, they can visit anywhere on the internet when they're parent isn't looking. Any 4 letter explanative casually let slip here, pales in comparison to what they'll see and read elsewhere on the internet.

Very true, and I fully understand. I do have two observations on that. First, Neal is on record as saying that he wanted a forum that his girls could feel safe with when they were little. They aren't little anymore, but the principle is still there. Second is, as you say, the pre-teens and teenagers. Yes, we all picked up this kind of language when we were little. We also learned that there were certain places where use of that kind of language could get you in trouble. Of course if the adults can't control themselves then the young come to believe they have carte blanche to say anything they want. On the other hand you can't have one rule for the adults and another for the children.

So there it is. I've said my peace. Nothing personal Steve, I've always liked you. Just dang man.... loosen up a little will ya?

Fair enough. How loose should I get? Where would you draw the line? To me either you have the rules or you don't. You enforce the rules or you don't.

Yes, I'm a nazi. You should see me in real life. My lips are always bleeding from me biting them to keep from saying something when I see somebody jaywalking. I hate that, except when I do it myself. Yes, I'm also a hypocrite.

PS.
There is a bit if irony in me making this post since I often have to tell my wife to reign her language in when i think little kids might hear her when were out in public. She has issues with the "happy valley bubble", and promptly scolds me , and ends up pissed off at me for half the day when i open my pie hole, so i gave up on it.

I fully understand. My current avatar picture is a small portion of one I posted somewhere around here awhile back, of me at age three washing my toy car. My mom told me that I once got that car stuck between a tree and a fence, and she looked out the window to see me screaming and kicking it. She came out to help, and said she then told my dad they needed to corral their language, as my first full sentence ever was completely unprintable.