Whilst swearing on MN is ok, there are some words that are simply not acceptable.

I just finished the latest Kellerman and at the end he had a teenager saying "spaz" it jarred and I was very disappointed that it was used. I'm going to email him

Well said mamazon.

"We didn't get Obama on for a pre-election web chat as best I remember." I bet they tried!!

Frakkin - you talk sense...

Mostly I think people point it out at the time anyway. I have seen some sanctimonious jumping down throats in the past though.

Just to be clear, I'm not saying we shouldn't point out that use of certain words may be offensive, and I'm certainly not endorsing them, I'm just pointing out that what seems clear and obvious to one UK-based person may really be quite surprising to someone from elsewhere in the world.

I guess whereas mamazon is appealing for some 'language awareness' I'm appealing for some 'cultural awareness' too.
The problem is that what is deemed offensive constantly changing.

My DSs came home from school telling me older children at their school had called them 'retards'.

I explained to them what it meant and why it was offensive. It seems to have become common parlance in the senior school - among nice middle class private school kids I might add. I supect quite a few of the other words mentioned here are being used too. I also suspect many children/teenagers do not know what they truely mean.

LITR I aggree, I do think sometimes deleting threads and posts is not best, I think mn hq should put a messgae on thread telling person that it is wrong, but leave it, otherwise people never learn.

Whippet, while I do see what you are saying, the fact is this is a predmoniately UK site, and a lot of users from abroad are british as well.
5% may be a large minority but 95% is a very large majority and if 95% of users find those workds offensive then IMO they shouldn't be used.

I am not aware of any words that are offensive in USA that are in common usage here, but if I were, I would not use them when there was a chance an american may be listening.
It's called common courtesy.

"I don't disagree with the sentiment, but you have to see how narrow-minded and unworldly-wise it comes across...."

tbh I don't really care.
why would people want to use a word that is offensive to people like my dd?
mn has an sn topice.
why don't you go and ask on there.
why do you need that word???
strangely I can ge through life never using it.

Of course it is the world wide web. But it is predominately UK based. We didn't get Obama on for a pre-election web chat as best I remember.
To pretend that a UK based site should abandon any sense of what is acceptable and customary for the vast majority of its target audience because someone is another country may float by seems to be stretching good sense to make a somewhat spurious point.

If I go to America and use a word that I am then told is roundly disliked I tend, out of good manners, to refrain from using it when there. is that a terribly difficult or unusual concept?

And again. I don't think Mamazon was sancemoniously jumping down anyones throat.

2shoes - I'm sorry, but that is my point, you can't categorically say 'they are offensive' about words in the universal sense - it simply isn't true. It's always all about context.

Look at amazon's OP:
"There are some words that are simply not to be used" (says who?)
"really. there is never any need to use some words" (in your opinion.....)
"if we could just make it clear that such vile use of language is wrong"

I don't disagree with the sentiment, but you have to see how narrow-minded and unworldly-wise it comes across....

5% of users are outside the UK. That's a significant minority.

At the end of the day it's an intellectual argument. But an interesting one nonetheless....

I've also heard "every c*t else" which I like too

Reads how thread has moved on.

Wow I type slow.

Oh unfortunate x-post getorf

The poncy stuff about c*t not directed at you!!

You see, before MN I would never have put c*t

I would just have typed the whole word

But I realise that it does upset quite a lot of people and I have no wish to upset them, so I censor myself

Not bigging myself up, just an illustration you understand

Lol at 'nae cunt'.

Whilst I agree with the sentiment it's worth noting that some communities are reclaiming words - queer springs to mind but whilst I have friends who openly describe themselves as queer (not l, g, b or t) doesn't mean I'd call them that or make it okay to be used as an insult. Ditto retard. My gay friends, on the other hand, call each other queers all the time. Language is a funny thing and one has to look at the context otherwise this could turn into that sketch where a gay person called another gay person a queer, a straight person got offended, the insulted gay tried to explain it was okay and then got offended because the straight person was offended when it wasn't their place and it spiralled out of control (in a very funny way) but with a serious point.

So let's use a little discrimination (in the non-negative sense of the word).

ItsAll, I love the Glasgow use of c*t

Why say "nobody" when you can say "nae c*t"

Using derogatory terms for disabled people or other groups (usually disadvantaged groups) is not the same as swearing and the two shouldn't be lumped in together

Whippet - if an american came on here and used the word spaz and didn't mean it offensively (a) I don't believe that the majority of MNers would be 'sanctionious' in pointing this out and (b) I think it would be useful to point out the differences in perception of words from US to UK.

Yes it is the world wide web but there are local differences. I wouldn't go on the Australian version of MN and say 'rack off' Joe Mangle stylee would I (oh, hang on perhaps I would).

Oh you know what I mean

"However if a poster from the US (and how would you necessarily know?)uses 'spaz' for example, then there's no need to sanctimoniously jump down their throat about it.For them it isn't 'wrong' and any amount of jumping up and down, saying 'it's wrong because I say so' is irrelevant..."

Sorry whippet I totally disagree

If someone used spaz and didn't relaise that it was offensive, then I have no problem with them being educated

There's no justification for continuing to use language which hurts and offends once it has been pointed out to you - it's basic manners imo.

Whippet you are nit picking by the way

Personally, I find any swearing pretty offensive too and I would never use any swear word of greater magnitude than "shit", and cannot bear the C word.

However, I am an adult, and this is an adult site and I choose to visit it knowing that their will be swearing.

Different people will find different things socially acceptable e.g. the young people I work with in Glasgow use the C word as a term for any person, or just as general punctuation. If we go down the line of censoring what people write where do you draw the line?

agree with you mamazoN(no surprise there)
I don't care if people live in some country that think terms like spaz are ok to use, they are offensive.
(and my dd is not reclaiming it and does not refer to her self a spaz)
there is a whole dictionary of words you can use, so why do people insist on the right to use such horrid terms??

I had not idea about cretin either.
Another that surprises a lot of people I was at school (when I correct them) is Flid (for thalidomide baby).

er...I'm not sure that you can say any internet forum is predominantly a 'UK site'
Last time I looked, it was called the World Wide Web for a reason...

I agree that for the most part, posters from the UK are using these words offensively - perhaps deliberately, or perhaps through ignorance, and that's unjustified. However if a poster from the US (and how would you necessarily know?)uses 'spaz' for example, then there's no need to sanctimoniously jump down their throat about it.For them it isn't 'wrong' and any amount of jumping up and down, saying 'it's wrong because I say so' is irrelevant...

I lived in America for a while, and I know what a minefield it is.

Sorry pag has said that already.

When I talked about the words coming full circle I was not talking about them being "reclaimed"

The students peppering their chat with these words are not disabled and reclaiming insults. they are just being stupid and insensitive.

Yes I get it Whippet

But the OP is about MN specifically and this is a UK based website which is largely used by UK based people (and those who are not UK based know this is a UK site)

so I still feel in the context of this thread you're nit picking.