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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

See all MNHQ comments on this thread

to be really bothered by a thread title, to complain about it & not be satisfied with the response?

260 replies

allhallows · 03/10/2007 09:24

Maybe gross blasphemy is acceptable in the UK these days. Maybe I'm too sensitive. Tell me what you think:

Regarding a certain thread title "oh my f*cking god". I complained about it to MN, saying it was unacceptable, especially as a thread title, where you can't avoid it. I asked that it be deleted. I'm not easily offended but this was beyond the pale for me. Here's the response I got from MN:

Hi there
Many thanks for bringing this to our attention.
We agree that this comment was in poor taste but we don't tend to delete on
those grounds because it would be really hard to know where to draw the line

  • what one person thinks is funny can be another person's sensitive spot and the truth is we don't think we should be the arbiters of what people should fine offensive and what they shouldn't. On the whole we think it's better to let the boards self police in these instances, as it's very rare that a tasteless comment is left unchallenged. Certainly in this case, it wasn't and the OP has apologised. Best wishes

I'm not satisfied that in this case it would be "really hard to know where to draw the line".

AIBU?

OP posts:
UnquietDad · 03/10/2007 10:09

I notice most of the quite reasonable Christians with whom I often have interesting arguments on here haven't been bothered to get involved with this one. I don't blame them. I'm sure it's too petty and they realise that God, as they understand it, isn't going to be bothered either.

NotQuiteCockney · 03/10/2007 10:10

"play the race card" = bring up all that again, gosh, don't those people ever stop whinging?

Funny to read this, this morning, while I've just started reading an article about some headmaster struggling to establish Britain's first secular school. Gosh, Christians really are the underdogs in this society.

Twigaletto · 03/10/2007 10:10

yes you are being unreasonable

the thread title has been changed
you have received an explanation of policy

what are you waiting for? hair shirts and self-flagellation?

UnquietDad · 03/10/2007 10:10

sounds interesting NQC, do you have a link?

bozza · 03/10/2007 10:10

But this wasn't exactly a polite thread title nqc? Personally I think it was totally unwarranted. And I think the loofah thing is silly too.

scareybee · 03/10/2007 10:10

Seeing as compo and allhallows seem to have completely overlooked my post, I'll post it again:

This has nothing to do with religion and everything to do with the fact that the word god is regularly used as a mild expletive in English. Like the way we call someone a bastard or a wanker - it's disassociated from the original meaning.

NotQuiteCockney · 03/10/2007 10:11

But allhallow's feelings have been acknowledged, she got a good response from MNHQ, the OP apologised, and the thread title was changed, wasn't it?

She seems to want an MN 'no blaspheming' rule ...

HAPPYMUMOF5 · 03/10/2007 10:11

"would God be bothered?"
Well if not why would he have put in the Bible not to take his name in vain?

NotQuiteCockney · 03/10/2007 10:12

First secular school's problems.

Doodledootoo · 03/10/2007 10:12

Message withdrawn

Carmenere · 03/10/2007 10:12

I think I can state with some certainty that God didn't write the Bible

cornsilk · 03/10/2007 10:12

But God didn't write the bible - people did.

HairyIrene · 03/10/2007 10:12

yes, hear hear, uqd

bozza · 03/10/2007 10:12

I was actually annoyed that that thread title was there for several hours yesterday. When did it get changed?

UnquietDad · 03/10/2007 10:13

Oh, come on, he is supposedly omipotent and omniscient. If he wanted people to stop blaspheming he could presumably do it by striking them with a lightning-bolt, or something. And the Bible was written by humans.

NotQuiteCockney · 03/10/2007 10:13

scareybee, it's not totally disassociated from its original meaning, to be fair - it started as an expletive because taking God's name in vain is a taboo. Swear words are always about taboos.

That being said, people who aren't Christian tend not to be aware that they're blaspheming when they say these sorts of things. They're just swearing.

sixlostmonkeys · 03/10/2007 10:13

YABU

This has been more than dealt with.

You ask about "really hard to know where to draw the line" - as the word 'god' has evolved in the English language to an extent where it rarely refers to the man himself blasphemy doesn't come into it. Will you only be happy if 'you' are allowed to dictate where lines are drawn?

Why should MN have to deal with this any more than they already have? I'm sure god himself could deal with it if he was so offended - mind you there were be many struck down daily as they approach climax...

UnquietDad · 03/10/2007 10:14

thanks for link

seeker · 03/10/2007 10:15

As I said before -
I am an atheist and I wasn't offended exactly by the thread title. But I didn't like it. It was the "fucking" rather than the "God" than bothered me. I don't specially want to have words which I find ugly, unpleasant and vulgar on my screen every time I log on! I think it's fine to use words lkike that in the heat of the moment - hammer dropped on foot, enormous spider runing across living room. But I don't really think the heat of the moment extends to going across to the computer, logging on to an online forum, clicking through to chat, clicking through to add new thread........I think I might have calmed down a bit by then!

I also think that it's a bit juvenile to deliberately say things that you know are going to offend people. The people might be bonkers to be offended, but if it doesn't do you any harm, why do it?

scareybee · 03/10/2007 10:19

It is now disassociated for most people - we are a largely secular society. I use it frequently. And I never, ever think about god when I use it. I never think about someone wanking when I call them a wanker either.

sKerryMum · 03/10/2007 10:21

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Hulababy · 03/10/2007 10:21

allhallows - what would you like to see happen that has not happened already?

  • you got a message from MNHQ outlining their policies
  • the thread title was changed
  • the OP apologised for causing offence, although she quite clearly didn't intend to cause any, and the Op herself asked for the title to be changed
sKerryMum · 03/10/2007 10:23

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Enid · 03/10/2007 10:25

GET
A
LIFE

please

for god's sake

LilBloodRedWantsGore · 03/10/2007 10:25

You and your damned spider monster, sKerry

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