language police

[Caran]

In my earlier post re laptop problems, i typed gobbledy *** it appeared as go9bbledy g*** it might have again here, I won't know until I submit, but what is wrong with that expression, anyone have any idea?

[MarkRae]

I couldn't have put it better myself!

[supersuezy24]

The last four letters form a word which to some is racially offensive.

[bobthefisherman]

A "***" is an offensive term to people from East Asia (apparantly) - try it as all one word.......

[Caran]

what like gobbeldygook?

[Caran]

or even gobbledygook

[bobthefisherman]

yep, that works....

[Buenchico]

Explained here:
http://tinyurl.com/yfydy4p

[Caran]

Well I have learned something tonight!

[mike11111]

It is not the word in its entirety, rather the combination of letters. In our part of the world the word g o b b l e denotes a sexual practice which may offend the AB filter.

[ummmm]

We never used to be able to say Scunthorpe.

[MarkRae]

I know, I know, but I love it despite its naffness...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsXQzpE13qM&feature=related

[Buenchico]

I very much doubt that the AB team have paid someone to think up every 'naughty' word that ought to be blocked.

Instead, they'll have downloaded a standard list of 'offensive words' from somewhere, and have configured their software to eradicate all such terms. The result of doing so is probably that many terms which are not recognised as readily offensive in the UK (but which are considered so in the the USA , where the list of terms came from) will be blanked out.

[MarkRae]

Bloody hell! Wrong link, wrong thread...!

[mike11111]

Ans what about the poor South Africans trying to get their tongues round WiTWATersrand.

[Buenchico]

There was a time when AB blocked web links to Severn TrenT WATer!

[Buenchico]

It seems that Mike and I were thinking along the same lines!

[bobthefisherman]

A friend of mine was thrown out of his computer at work for trying to look up the Tunbridge Wells Angling Team

[mike11111]

Rather Chris, we probably read the same jokes on the toilet walls at university.

[MarkRae]

There was a while in the 90s when no-one from sCUNThorpe could register for CompuServe because of their obscenity filter...

[Buenchico]

Similarly, Mike, there was a time when all school children in EsSEX couldn't carry out local history searches, from their schools' computers, because of over-aggressive child-protection software :-)