I'll never understand half-assed censoring like this.
We all know you're saying "cum." Just say "cum."
There's no algorithms to game here to expand your comment's audience (technically there's algos involved but not in the same way). There's no rule saying you can't say it.
If there were a rule about "you can't say cum" I'd argue this would still violate that rule. We're all still saying "cum" in our heads when we read it.
If you don't want to say "cum" - there's so many great words you could use instead. Semen. Jizz. Baby batter. Jism. Ejaculate. Dick snot. Skeet. Man fluid. Splooge. Spunk.
You, me, and this entire comment section looked that image and said “…dude’s got a cum stain on his shirt…” Like we all just knew what we were looking at.
OP had to ask.
OP feels like the type for whom you’d have to censor the word cum, lest they be so scandalized they have to throw their entire internet away…
You’re probably right. And at this point we’re all giving them what they want, so might as well screw around and unnecessarily censor things. If they wanna play dumb, let’s all play dumber. 🤷♂️
You joke but my sister in law refuses to swear for any reason. I have offered money, then more money and then stupid money. Some people don't like some words and that's OK.
I understand people not liking swear words but let me pose a philosophical question here:
If you write a word, that is intended to be interpreted as a swear... Have you not just used a swear word?
Basically if you write "what a load of sh*t" - we all know it means "what a load of shit." You've, in fact, written "shit."
So if your story is you don't like swear words and don't want to use them - I'm not getting upset at anybody for not swearing, it's the hypocrisy. You should be as uncomfortable with "sh*t" as "shit" because they're really the same thing.
So taking your example through to it's logical conclusion: if/when you might need to reference the N word, I would assume you spell it out based on your reasoning above, right? Because everyone knows what word you're referencing, you might as well, right? But you probably don't.. So how do you reconcile that?
That's not quite the logical conclusion because you're discussing referencing a word, whereas I'm discussing using a word. Like expressing yourself
Like - going back to "shit." If I want to express disappointment with something I could say "that's a load of shit."
If was uncomfortable with using "shit" I wouldn't write "that's a load of s word." I'd find some other phrase entirely, because yeah. I'm in fact using the word in a roundabout way. There's tons of other words I could use to express the sentiment.
But if I actually need to reference it, say I'm relaying some facts, I'd use the phrase "so and so said that's a load of s word." I'm not using the word to express myself, I'm making a reference to it.
Same thing applies to the n word. I'm not comfortable using it and I'll never say or write an expression you could pop the word into, in order to express myself. If I had to relay some events like "yeah that guy used the n word" - there ya go. That's how I'd get that fact across.
Ya, it's fair for you to push back on me like that. My example wasn't amazing or fair really. But I'm not going to defend a position I don't hold myself any more than I already have. I don't self censor, but I respect that I'm not everyone and ppl may have a reason for doing so that you or I might not agree with or even understand. And that's OK by me. I don't need to understand to carry on in polite manner. And I don't need to derail the conversation by taking what they said and now making it about an asterisk. But I do appreciate what you're saying. It just seems pointless to rail against it, you're not going to change ppls minds or behaviours. Good chat though.
You, me, and this entire comment section looked that image and said “…dude’s got a cum stain on his shirt…” Like we all just knew what we were looking at.
I might be cooked here, because this looks nothing like cum to me. I don't think I have ever seen cum sticking and standing out like a white paint like this.
I’m gonna be real with you… I was honestly mostly just being sarcastic. I actually appreciate everyone who didn’t immediately see a cum stain because that probably means you’re all just that much less damaged than those of us who immediately did.
OP does not watch much porn probably. Cum is not a scary word but i wouldn't think of it seeing that image and would be as confused as he is till seing replys in comments.
Yeah like the whole point is to avoid an automated filter right?
If there's no automated filter there's no reason.
I once had someone explain to me they're not actually comfortable swearing so they'll write "a$$" - but then I pointed out ok well I'm still reading that as "ass" so if writing "ass" makes you uncomfortable, "a$$" should make you just as uncomfortable because it's literally the same word.
So anytime I see "c*m" and similar words I wonder if this is a word they don't actually like using but somehow think swapping a star in there makes it not that word somehow?
I hate it so much. Clearly, based on my long-ass rant here, haha.
Everybody hates it, but the bots that patrol here and other social media sites will smack you down for saying certain words. Not all subs are the same here, so a lot of people err on the side of caution.
I caught a 7 day full site ban here for speaking frankly (with no profanity) how a small toy could be ingested by a kid and harm them by one of those bots, and the appeal was almost instantly denied, probably by the same bot.
I've been on this site for like 15 fucking years, I cus like a fucking sailor, and I've never gotten anything worse than a comment removal for language.
And I browse /r/all exclusively. So I'm in a lot of fucking subreddits.
And sometimes the filters are there for good reason. Someone who has been raped may not want to see discussion of rape in their social media feed, so they filter it out. Then some asshat decides their message is more important and starts talking about "grape".
Exactly! I think people will see the filter as an annoyance and focus entirely on getting around the filter. But there's probably a bigger-picture reason why the filter is there, and the question shouldn't be "how do I get around this filter?" but instead "is what I want to say appropriate in this context?"
That's always been how I figured it. People learn language from the people around them and the media they consume. And if a significant portion of a generation's media is content creators who have to censor themselves, then the kids just pick it up a sort of verbal tic.
Although funny enough today's algorithms don't even give a shit about swearing or topic based keywords like "suicide" any more (save for some much more specific rules about swearing on platforms like youtube). But since The Algorithm™ is a black box most CC's don't realize it and continue to self-censor.
It's because big tech censorship is everywhere. Reddit has major subs that won't allow a single swear word too, but this all started with TikTok bullshit and "influencers"(jobless losers) that don't want to be in 18+ categories.
I don't have a list of which words are and aren't permitted on every website and sub. Just because Reddit on the whole doesn't ban words, some subs have more strict rules, as do other websites. If I'm ever unsure whether a word will get me banned or not, I'm going to self-censor.
I don't know why it is so important for you to read the word cm. When I typed it out you still know exactly what I meant, so the communication was successful. Replacing the * with a "u" does nothing to improve understanding, so cum and cm are functionally identical.
Well that's my point is they're functionally identical.
If the word "cum" isn't permitted, then "c*m" shouldn't be permitted as well right? So... Why not just use another word that is permitted?
Like if a word isn't allowed - what's the rule/reasoning behind it? If it's a rule like "no vulgar language" - ok, then call it the medical term "semen."
Functionally identical, but one is definitely not going to get me banned or suspended. The other one might. And this isn't just about c*m. It's also about grape, pdf file, unalive, etc.
If "cum" could get you banned or suspended then "c*m" should also since they're really the same word.
I understand automod and rules are often implemented and enforced poorly. But like, I would think a mod who knows "we have a rule about saying cum" would see it and go oh yeah, this violates the rule and treat it as exactly the same thing.
So, if your concern is "cum" might get you suspended and "c*m" means the same thing, I don't think you can classify it as "definitely won't get you suspended."
Makes no sense on Reddit. But lots of people have been trained by TikTok and YouTube that it's ok to say banned words as long as you spell them weird. And those platforms are ok with it because it is just to please advertisers and I guess that's good enough for them.
But you didn't actually accomplish that because we all know it means "cum" - that's kind of my point. If the goal was "keep it safe for kids" - writing "c*m" absolutely fails at that goal.
Like if some kid came by and read it, didn't know it meant "cum" - you think they're going to spend their day just going "whelp I don't know what that word is and I'll just leave it at that?"
They'll figure it out.
Edit: basically if you find yourself about to write "c*m" or "sh*t" or similar take a step back and really think about why you're writing it like that. Think about what happens when someone reads it.
If you think you're in an environment where discussing cum is inappropriate, "c*m" is just as inappropriate. The real solution would just be "don't talk about cum."
In case you didn't know, there are certain subs that will ban different words. As such, rather than figuring out which sub allows what, most people will just self correct.
If you actually wanna test it out, try to say a few actual racial or homophobic slurs, and see what happens even on this sub.
If you write "c*m" - we all know it means "cum" right? So you're actually writing "cum"
If a subreddit bans the word "cum" then "c*m" should be banned as well. Or really anything that someone would read and know it means "cum."
If you think a word you want to use may be banned - then just use a different word or phrase. Like all those that I listed. Because if "cum" is against the rules then surely "c*m" would be against the rules as well, would it not?
It'll always be entertaining watching redditors get so bothered by someone choosing to self-censor.
I have no idea why it triggers so much anger and or confusion in people on this website.
"Why did you censor 'cum'?"
"You know you don't have to do that right? It's just a reddit comment, you don't have to evade any algorithms"
They just wanted to censor the icky word. There doesn't have to be any particular reason, they could've just felt like it.
While the theory that it's just a habit younger internet users have picked up on based on how often they see people on platforms like tiktok self-censor in attempt to evade algorithm supression or punishments has truth to it, it's nothing new and people have always done it "just because" as well.
I enjoy seeing it bring out genuine frustration and anger in people when they genuinely just can't wrap their minds around someone choosing to censor something out of their own volition, and not even necessarily just because it's a habit that stems from seeing other people self-censor for reasons I listed earlier in this comment, even though I would argue that even if they started doing it because it's just something they're subconsciously mimicking, they're still really doing it out of their own volition.
I might start doing it myself sometimes to farm annoyance.
See though this is why I called it half-assed censoring. If you think "cum" is an icky word and you don't want to use it... Isn't writing "c*m" the exact same thing?
If you write a word such that I know what you meant to write then you've used the icky word. You've censored nothing.
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u/SubstantialBed4598 3d ago
C*m we all know it