TECH, please can we have a facility to hide posters who...

I am going to hide myself just in case.

So, are people wanting language moderated because their children might see it? In which case it's up to them to keep MN out of reach with the paracetomol and Saw movies.

Or is it because the language isn't to their own personal taste? In which case maybe this isn't the right forum for them?

Shared language creates a shared identity. Wanting to change the way that posters express themselves would alter the whole flavour of MN, and I think that that would be a Bad Thing.

Lol Kerrymumbles, so do I, but I dont care enough about them to let it bother me.

I do however take exception to offensive names highligthed in blue.

(Kerry - how's the bloody dawn coming along?)

Lulu - but that seem to only work within certain groups. SOME people can refer to themselves and other people in the group in question by certain terms, others cant. THEN it is offensive.

(Sorry, last post was in answer to Tsar's suck-up one.)

Except it isn't.

I share that sentiment. It is a private space for ME. And I do not want to see violence and offending swear words highlighted in blue.

So, the solution would be to hide Posters, which KerrryMumbles, so succinctly illustrates the need for.

Playing devil's advocate here, surely normalising words removes their power and thus their illicit appeal? The c-word appalls me, personally, but I can see the value in returning it to its original status and welcoming it back to the English language - it's not the word itself I have a problem with.

That may not make sense to anyone by the way, I'm having trouble articulating my thoughts...

'now it is a bit like constantly referring to the miner's strike.' ROFL!

Yes MP - the crackwhore wasn't funny after a while, but it was a good way of avoiding being quoted - which is still a risk AFAIK.

But mumsnet is a dirty secret isn't it? I certainly don't want DS to know I've discussed his troubles with strangers (even if I do use chat so the threads die). Ditto DH - I wouldn't want him knowing my posting name, because this is a private space for me.

It's my own personal Fight Club

You're right MP, let's just let everything go and then nothing will ever change. That's the way.

It does feel rather 1990's to bang on about cunts to be honest.

that's why the Vagina Monologues are past their best...

It's all very well in context but all the time is a bit childish IMO.

PaulDacresCrackWhore was funny for the week, now it is a bit like constantly referring to the miner's strike.

And there is nowt wrong with Scunthorpe either.

YES, MP, Normalizing it, that is the word I was trying to find. I dont want to see these words and phrases normalized, and especially not if my 7 year old son were to walk in on me, casting a curious glance on my screen. It would turn mumsnetting into a dirty secret.....

Excellent. Was time for a new name anyway

Those who think that it's ok to have the C word as a username, would you be happy talking about said poster to someone face-to-face? In the park? the shop? on a mn meetup?

When said poster goes to the christmas meetup, would you happily look for the person with "c" on their name badge and address them as such in a public place?

I don't like the c word. I don't particularly like seeing it in threads but there's not much I can do about that. I think however that to have it as one's username is pretty offensive.

And fwiw they're not highlighted for me and I don't have my screen switched on (don't need to ) so my ds can't see it, but that's not the point.

I like women using the word 'cunt'

However I think there is something unpleasant about normalising violent sexual acts in our volcabulary, and this is something I would prefer not to do

Another vote for cleaner names here.... I have no kids in the vicinity right now, but I still don't want those words leaping off the screen at me. I can take them in a post.. possibly even used one or two.. but in bold? No, just unnecessary imo.

In answer to the question about letters forming racist terms...

Cunt and Twat refer to genitalia.
Paki is a shortened form of Pakistani, for example

neither is offensive. If I call someone a twat then I am probably being horrible as would be the case if I actually referred to someone as a Paki. In that situation the words become inappropriate to different extents. However, twat is universal. Paki, used in derogatory fashion is aimed at minority groups. That is why it comes under the category 'racism' which ranks higher on the stupidly offensive scale than general name calling.