neopets censorship

[Kuroida]

"The following is the message(s) that caused you to receive this warning. Any profanity, inappropriate language, or bad acronyms have been replaced with asterisks (****):

 

not really were talking pilotable robots im guessing you havent seen any lol thats ok if you want look up kuroidamon youtube on google youll find a vid that says mecha mania :P"

 

Yeah....did anyone see any asterisks? I didn't >_>

 

And it's not just the random warnings for no apparant reason. There's been countless times when I can't send messages or post wishlists because SOMETHING is wrong, you don't see anything wrong and they NEVER tell you what it is >.< It might be fine once or twice but eventually they're just a pain.

 

So. Who else agrees that this pisses them off?

[Emily]

It can get kind of irritating, especially when you can't find anything wrong and they don't specifically tell you what it is (though they usually give you some indication: off-site link, potentially bad script, language, etc). But they really do have all the users' best interests in mind. Sadly, there are numerous people who deliberately try to scam other players by linking to CGing pages, fake logins or trying to get around the filters to deliberately do/say something that is breaking rules. Another thing is, there are players of all ages, all different backgrounds, cultures and countries on the site. Something that may not be offensive to me or you could potentially be offensive or rude to a person of another age or culture. Yes, sometimes the filters can be annoying, but they're there for a good reason.

[Kuroida]

yeah. I don't mind if they're censoring swear words but they're not....like I swear they censor the words "yaoi" and "style" o.0

[rinoa812]

Im not really sure how their censor filter works but could they be upset for talking about youtube? no idea.

[Secre]

I've had this a couple of times and I've never been able to figure out what's wrong with my messages so I've just given up. It's far too much hassle!

[Lamppost]

I've had this problem too. I've seen them censor the word "teddy." The one that annoys me the most though is when they censor apostrophes. It took me forever to figure out that was what was wrong with my guild post. Crazy!

 

I understand why the censorship is important, but sometimes I think they're far too strict, and like Kuroida, I wish they would tell you what's wrong with your message instead of just leaving you to figure it out.

[Viridian]

Yep, youtube is the problem. You basically cannot link to another website.

[The Score in Blue]

It's probably the youtube but I seriously hate the word yaoi.

I wouldn't mind if they censored yaoi.

But it's definitely the linking.

[Kuroida]

It's not a link guys. I knew they censored links so I just put the word youtube. No ".com" or "www." or "http://" o.0

 

And there's nothing wrong with the word yaoi honestly. >_> That's like saying the word gay is illegal.....IS it illegal? o.0 Anyways, I might not like the stuff but I think censoring it just isn't helping anything. Especially since I have many friends who read it and it's a pain when I want to talk to them on neo -_-

[onime_no_kai]

It's not a link guys. I knew they censored links so I just put the word youtube. No ".com" or "www." or "http://" o.0

 

And there's nothing wrong with the word yaoi honestly. >_> That's like saying the word gay is illegal.....IS it illegal? o.0 Anyways, I might not like the stuff but I think censoring it just isn't helping anything. Especially since I have many friends who read it and it's a pain when I want to talk to them on neo -_-

 

Ehh, even if it's not a "link" per se, it's still mentioning another site which is considered "directing people offsite" (technically you're not even supposed to mention well-known safe Neo helpsites like TDN, though the mods will sometimes overlook it.) As for the yaoi thing, it's not "illegal", just a subject they don't want discussed on the site (along with sexuality in general for that matter). The thing is, as a site based in the US that is "directed" at children (and regardless of the fact that it was originally for college students and there are plenty of adult players, there ARE tons of kids on there), Neo is subject to a lot of really strict laws about what can and cannot be allowed on the site. If they break those regulations themselves or are not vigilant about enforcing them when it comes to user-created content, they could get some pretty stiff fines, not to mention lawsuits. The censorship can be frustrating, but it exists for a reason (and for the record, I am an adult player who quite enjoys reading yaoi if it's well-written. :P But I understand that that particular interest does NOT belong on Neo -- there's nothing wrong with enjoying it; but there are plenty of other places for me to discuss it, I have no problem with the fact that Neo is not one of them. It's just how it is.) That having been said -- when the filter kicks stuff back at you on the boards I do wish it would at least tell you what it's rejecting, it's so oversensitive that I constantly set it off and have absolutely no idea exactly what combination of words/letters it has a problem with. <_<

 

/sorry to be the boring old person lol...I recently graduated with an education degree, so just thought I'd add in my two cents from the perspective of someone who has to deal with similar laws in that profession :)

[Rae]

It's definitely a pain. I understand the censorship of swear words, and even something like the word "suck(s)" just because people can take advantage of it. But the rest of it is just stupid and unnecessary. You have to be 13 to access the boards, as well as other features on the site. I think by the age of 13 we can handle seeing SOME things. Not everything, but still. It doesn't need to be taken so seriously all of the time. Especially when even apostrophe's can set it off or other punctuation. -_- GRR. It's frustrating.

 

And I agree, at least tell us what is wrong with what we posted so we can fix it.

 

I understand it's a children's site first and foremost, and I respect the rules that TNT puts into place. But I'd appreciate it if they worked with us on some things.

 

 

Oh and as for your warning, it was probably for saying Google and Youtube which you are not allowed to mention on Neopets. I got in trouble once for saying "Tumblr" like, "I saw that on Tumblr" or something.

[Kuroida]

well they better start letting us mention google because without it I'd never be going to their site :P

 

And a lot of smilies/emoticons are censored too like >.< and >_> and basically anything with >< brackets. I always get warnings that I'm sending viruses or something -_-

[maldoror122]

They censor so many words it's ridiculous.

 

I understand the site has many younger users on it, but still. :S

[Wembly]

I had a similar problem recently but for the life of me I couldn't figure out what my problem was. I didn't mention any other site or swear or anything. I ended up just not sending a reply message since I couldn't figure out how to fix it.

[BumbleBre]

Yeah sometimes it's really hard to even notice what word was censored. The thing that irritates me the most is when you can't even figure out what part of the reply is "bad"

[antiaircraft]

And a lot of smilies/emoticons are censored too like >.< and >_> and basically anything with >< brackets. I always get warnings that I'm sending viruses or something -_-

I'm pretty neutral on this overall (although I agree that the filter system is poorly implemented from a programmer's point of view), but I should mention that the reason those symbols are blocked is because TNT doesn't want people putting HTML tags in their posts - allowing people to mess with the coding on a page would be pretty bad.

 

Still, I'm sure their programmers should be competent enough to simply escape those characters to < and > - the fact that this isn't implemented seems to indicate some major architectural flaws in the underlying filter system.

[Masaryk]

I think that over-censoring, as TNT is prone to doing, just draws attention to words. The example of censoring "teddy" draws attention, from younger users, that there is another meaning to what they consider to be a completely innocent word. Besides, like anyone is really going to be having a serious conversation about lingerie on the Neoboards. It's not like underclothing is even a forbidden topic on Neopets - I get harassed by the Pant Devil all the time. I seriously worry about a society in which talking about clothing is taboo.

 

I am fine with them wanting to censor the classic 7 (English) swears and strongly disparaging words, such as racial slurs. I don't agree with it, but I can accept it. I don't agree with the idea of giving certain words power by making them taboo. I'm fine with them censoring words directly relevant to sex and religion, since these are forbidden topics on Neopets, but censoring words that can be used in those contexts, but have other, more prominent meanings, is completely ridiculous. Blocking words with double entendre meanings only prompts people to come up with new innuendos that will bypass the filters anyway.

[livvy]

Very well put, Meghan. I agree completely. I've had some very strange things censored, such as "her level." If I'm talking about Lili, I can't say I'm training her level, or the warning pops up. I spent several minutes puzzling over what could possibly be wrong with the phrase (and to be honest, I sill haven't figured anything out o_O).

[Kuroida]

Teddy is censored?! So THAT'S why I can't talk about Teddy Lupin!! >.<

[Wembly]

I think that over-censoring, as TNT is prone to doing, just draws attention to words. The example of censoring "teddy" draws attention, from younger users, that there is another meaning to what they consider to be a completely innocent word. Besides, like anyone is really going to be having a serious conversation about lingerie on the Neoboards. It's not like underclothing is even a forbidden topic on Neopets - I get harassed by the Pant Devil all the time. I seriously worry about a society in which talking about clothing is taboo.

Maybe I'm just naïveté but I have no idea what's the other meaning of 'teddy' and I'm sure I don't want to know but I will have to agree with you there that I actually took a minute and tryied to think about what it could possibly mean before I gave up since I'm sure I don't really need to know.

 

Besides, like anyone is really going to be having a serious conversation about lingerie on the Neoboards.

Hehe, this made me laugh, probably more than it should have.

[Masaryk]

Maybe I'm just naïveté but I have no idea what's the other meaning of 'teddy' and I'm sure I don't want to know but I will have to agree with you there that I actually took a minute and tryied to think about what it could possibly mean before I gave up since I'm sure I don't really need to know.

 

Personally, when I hear the word 'teddy,' I'm prone to thinking of teddy bears, or even the boys' name, not ladies undergarments. Maybe that's just me. Evidently, TNT thinks of undergarments first. <_<

[Kuroida]

I didn't even know "Teddy" was for women's underwear....and heck I'm a girl. I WEAR women's underwear o.0

 

*edit: wait. I juct looked it up on urban dictionary. Apparantly it's "sexy underwear to turn guys on..."....Ok. Maybe I don't wear that...but still :P Apparantly it's also "A very sexy, hot, cute, adorable, huggable, kissable, smart, kind and sweet being" so technically it's a compliment too.....

[megan lynn]

Ahhh once i got so mad because it wouldn't let me post things that I HAD NO idea why. it ended up being the word "mara" like for maraquan. WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS WORD?!?!?! :angry: I got really excited the other day when i found out that I could use the words grimey and triflin. hahahaa probably because these are slang words not everyone knows the meaning of. But yes the censorship is crazy ridiculous. Oh well. -_-

[CAV of Gang Green]

Half the time I am just typing a normal message, and then I get that notice. Then I have to sift through my message and see what's wrong, even though nothing is. When I do happen to find something, I then have to spend 20 minutes trying to figure out how I can re-phrase it without drastically changing the point that I want to get across.

 

This is why I barely Neomail anyone.

[Rae]

I think it's ridiculous they won't let you say Teddy. What if someone's name was Teddy? Like on 90210, or ohhhhh I don't know. THE FORMER US PRESIDENT?! WOW. lol. I even noticed I was censoring myself on here. Like not saying sexy or pissed or anything. I was reading through some replies and I was like x_x Then remembered we can say that on here -_- lol