profanity

[brytta.leofa]

So, I feel uneasily certain that I am unusual in this: I basically never use profanity in real life. I generally dislike hearing it.  Yet it is fairly pervasive in 'geddon, to the extent that I often find it difficult to avoid using it in-character.

If I were in charge, I guess I would urge people to move towards a more neutral selection of language that is considered foul in-game but not out-of-game...somewhere between Farscape's "frell" and Robert Jordan's "burn me!," I guess. I suspect that a lot of you would find that silly and annoying.

This is a poll post without a question. Discuss.

But guys, I beg of you, no long expositions on How Silly It Is to View Good Saxon Words as More Offensive Than Their Latin Equivalents...I can construct such arguments, too. ;-)

[Is Friday]

I think it's fun to swear like a Zalanthan. I am a loser.  

[staggerlee]

Two minds, I sympathize highly with you on one hand (despite swearing like a sailor in real life) I realize that we have to negotiate communal space here, and that's going to take some work.

On the other hand, using made up swear words does kind of take all the kick out of profanity, and if someone is trying to be disgusting, edgy or shocking I'd strongly suggest sticking to good old fashion swear words.

[The7DeadlyVenomz]

I'm number three.

[Is Friday]

I highly recommend the mixture of Zalanthan and RL swears. Changing the vowel, too. It's almost surreal!

[Marauder Moe]

You're missing an option.

I swear plenty in real life (but probably not any more or less than anyone else in my usual social group), but my current character rarely swears.  :wink:

I don't mind having more Arm-specific swears, but I would be very much against banning all real-world profanities.

[brytta.leofa]

On the other hand, using made up swear words does kind of take all the kick out of profanity, and if someone is trying to be disgusting, edgy or shocking I'd strongly suggest sticking to good old fashion swear words.

And I'm aware that one factor here is the relatively high rate of tense, life-threatening situations into which our characters get. ;-)

Code Select Expand

The black-haired, leather-clad woman whirls, knocking a hand-crossbow from a human soldier of Tektolnes' hand!
The black-haired, leather-clad woman disarms a human soldier of Tektolnes.
The black-haired, leather-clad woman subdues a human soldier of Tektolnes, despite his attempts to struggle away.
The black-haired, leather-clad woman strikes a human soldier of Tektolnes on the chin, doing grievous damage!
A human soldier of Tektolnes crumples to the ground.
The black-haired, leather-clad woman kicks a wobbly baobob stool across the room.
A wobbly baobob stool strikes a human soldier of Tektolnes in the face, doing grievous damage.
A human soldier of Tektolnes crumples to the ground.
A human soldier of Tektolnes fires his hand-crossbow, the bolt narrowly missing the black-haired, leather-clad woman.
The black-haired, leather-clad woman runs around the room on the wall.
The black-haired, leather-clad woman subdues a human soldier of Tektolnes, despite his attempts to struggle away.
The black-haired, leather-clad woman disarms a human soldier of Tektolnes.
The black-haired, leather-clad woman picks up a hand-crossbow.
The black-haired, leather-clad woman fires her hand-crossbow at a human soldier of Tektolnes.
A human soldier of Tektolnes crumples to the ground.
The black-haired, leather-clad woman hits a human soldier of Tektolnes on the neck, doing grievous damage.
A human soldier of Tektolnes crumples to the ground.
key body
In the room:
 1.body - the body of a human soldier of Tektolnes
 2.body - the body of a human soldier of Tektolnes
 3.body - the body of a human soldier of Tektolnes
 4.body - the body of a human soldier of Tektolnes
The black-haired, leather-clad woman says, in southern-accented sirihish,
"Shoot."

[mansa]

I like telling people to fuck off over the way.

psi FUCK YOU.

think I hope he gets the message.

[Gimfalisette]

Invented swear words lack visceral power.

I like seeing invented euphemisms, though, e.g. "kanking". But euphemisms aren't supposed to have punch anyways.

Some of my characters swear. Some don't. Some swear situationally. (Awesome = seeing that look of shock when someone hears your usually genteel noble chick let loose with the foul language.) Generally speaking, though, when any of my characters swear it's going to be with real swear words. Again, due to the fact that invented swear words are...limp.

[Maybe42or54]

I love using IG swear. I love it a lot. I make up my own words, alot. I'm pretty bad about it actually. I don't say anything real provacative IRL.

[Rhyden]

My characters never, ever swear.

[Simple]

My characters never, ever swear.

Or lie.

[Janna]

I'm number three.

[DesertT]

I rarely swear irl, but sometimes, I catch myself thinking Armageddon swear words, like Krath.

[staggerlee]

Oh man, bringing the armageddon profanity to real life sounds like social suicide just waiting to happen.  
Just wait till you scream "kank me" in bed...
"uhh no, I said spank, I swear to god... no, no really"

[Zhaira]

Partially, it depends on the area my character is from.

I'll always use Armageddony swear words (Krath, Drov, etc) but because they don't have any pre-programmed 'oomph' to them, I only use them for milder situations.

Sometimes, I'll let loose with a 'feck', if the situation doesn't really warrant complete and utter horror.  Most of the time, however, since I can't say our 'interim' swear words (god damnit, holy shit), I usually just have to decide to tone it down to a mild Krath, or let loose with the almighty fuck.

Social class comes into play in terms of *how* often I use these words, and if I decide to use more offensive and graphic ones.  A 'rinthi or Stormer might casually make a rather rude comment about inserting a knife into a young lady's nether bits in far more graphic terms than I'll use on the GDB, but an aide's really only going to shout fuck once in a while if the situation really warrants it.

Sometimes I feel bad about being graphic.  But not much.

[X-D]

My PC would make a sailor blush.

[Mood]

The word 'fuck' flows freely from my lips and fingertips.

[Fathi]

I grew up in an environment where even the most unholy grails of western civilization's curse words were tossed around like confetti. Profanity doesn't cause me to OOCly bat a lash whether ingame or to my face simply because I'm so accustomed to it.

That being said, for my PCs, it's entirely situational.

[jstorrie]

I type more 'cunts' than 'kills' in Armageddon.

[Vettrock]

I swear in RL, mostly when I get pissed off, or worked up about something.  My characters generally don't swear that often though.

[WWYD]

I actually hate swearing IRL and think it feels just plain wrong when I use one word like it, but for some reason my character has a sailor's tongue. It's gotten so natural I just type it out and enter it before I realize it's there.

I just feel kind of silly, I guess, when my characters say feck or fek when everyone around him is dropping the full f bomb.

[Zoltan]

I swear -way- too much IG and IRL. I think it's making me sound like a broken record. To keep me from swearing when I was a kid, my dad would tell me that swear words were used by someone when they were too lazy/stupid to find a more eloquent word or phrase to express themselves.

Now I guess I don't give a fuck!  :oops:

[Cutthroat]

Depends on the character, and the situation. If it would make sense for my character to use it (if he stubs his toe on something, gets surrounded by aggressive things, etc) then he will swear. Same thing for me IRL.

[Rindan]

I am a vulgar mother fucker in real life to the point where I find I have to check myself around certain people due to me propensity to curse like a sailor.  In Armageddon I tend to cut loose and at times every third word is a swear.  I happily mix Armageddon swears, with real world modern swears, with 1800's English sailor cursing (I have been reading the Master and Commander series).  "Krath burn yer fuckin' eyes!" is a happy melody of all three.

I imagine you real issue are the curses that are offensive to this day.  For those, all I can say is that you are just going to have to grin and bare it.  There are a lot of potentially morally offensive things going on in Armageddon with swearing falling close to dead last.  We have torture, sex, violence, slavery, racism, and cruelty of all kinds.  This can can't and shouldn't be sanitized.  The worst of what can be done has consent rules, but outside of that it is fair game.

A nice offensive curse just conveys emotion so much better than any lame attempts to blank out the curse.  Feck just doesn't hit the way fuck does.  It is like typing sh*t like that.  Replacing a letter just reminds me of when children try and swear.  They kind of stumble over the word or give it too much weight.  It just comes off looking awkward and like they are uncomfortable cursing.  No one wants to swear and look awkward about it, do they?

So, I am sympathetic if it offends your sensibilities, but I really wouldn't expect much in the way of change.  I know my character will continue to curse in ways that would make my mother beat me.

And with that, let me leave you all with quote from a man known for being a master of the art of vulgarity:

He could, when necessary, open up with both barrels and let forth such blue-flamed phrases that they seemed almost eloquent in their delivery. When asked by his nephew about his profanity, Patton remarked, "When I want my men to remember something important, to really make it stick, I give it to them double dirty. It may not sound nice to some bunch of little old ladies at an afternoon tea party, but it helps my soldiers to remember. You can't run an army without profanity; and it has to be eloquent profanity. An army without profanity couldn't fight it's way out of a piss-soaked paper bag."

"As for the types of comments I make", he continued with a wry smile, "Sometimes I just, By God, get carried away with my own eloquence."