Can we have less beating the meat?

[GB Steve]

Is it necessary to have "wanking" in subject headers?

S'all.

Steve

[Ron Edwards]

Slang and cursing are allowed at the Forge as long as they aren't directed at people, which is abusive. It's stated in the etiquette sticky.

There are two basic philosophies that I've seen practiced in real-live communities, both based on the factual observation that people's tolerance for slang/cursing varies.

1. Let's stick to the minimum (i.e. none) so that the people who don't want it are comfortable. The people who are used to using it will have to self-monitor in the interests of the community.

2. Let's permit a specific level or usage so that certain modes of expression (emphasis, etc) are possible. The people who dislike it will have to tolerate it in the interests of the community.

Clinton and I are both strongly inclined toward the second. That's all there is to it.

Let's say you had a forum and one of the rules was "no cursing, no crude slang." If I wanted to post there, I'd have to restrain my (frequent) urges to use it for emphasis or humor and not feel constrained or put-upon. So here you are at our forum, and one of the rules is "cursing and crude slang are fine, as long as they're not abusive."  If you want to post here, you have to accept its use in that fashion and not feel offended.

Best, Ron

[GB Steve]

I'm not asking for a ban, just wondering whether the gratuitous use of it in subject headers might be curtailed by posters.

[Ron Edwards]

Your preference is now stated by you, and the rules/moderating have been stated by me. Members of the Forge can read all that here and decide how they want to post, on their own.

That's probably about as far as this thread can go.

Best, Ron