4 ms·

This issue makes me unreasonably angry. First, it is very discriminatory -- people can't help what their name is, and in most instances of this problem there "

This issue makes me unreasonably angry. First, it is very discriminatory -- people can't help what their name is, and in most instances of this problem there "bad" word embedded in the name is hard to find. For example the forum software that several woodworking sites I visit will censor out "Ishitani Furniture"; the name is pronounced is-hi-tan-i so I thought that for some reason this YouTube channel was ostracized in the community. No, it was just a Scunthorpe instance. The other reason this makes me angry is that it is lazy programming. The issue has to be obvious to any developer that is looking for words embedded inside other words. They know it will produce false positives and cause user grief. Yet they write that code anyway. Maybe their boss told them to do this, but the issue has been well known and document for a very long time -- no excuse to not push back on this against management. And I've seen too many developers that if they show laziness in this area, other areas of the code base has even more subtle WTF moments.

lloydatkinson 3y ago
As someone born in that town I fully agree with you.
garvield 3y ago
Minor point, but it is I-shi-ta-ni.
vlunkr 3y ago
I disagree that it’s lazy programming, it’s actually a hard problem. If you’ve ever played an online game you know that people deliberately try to work around profanity filters by removing spaces or swapping some characters. It’s easier to be overly aggressive about filtering than to have users or parents complain about offensive or inappropriate language.
- derekp7 3y ago
  I agree that it is a hard problem -- which is why I said it was lazy to implement the simplest form of the solution that is so deficient and just pretend that all is well. It is basically trying to solve problems in software that is in actuality a people / management problem. Of course, there are conflicting requirements or external factors that come into play. If the product will fail (or you will get fined or thrown in jail or whatever) if someone enters a bad word, then after taking enough reasonable precautions to not have false positives then at least warn the user ahead of time. For example in a web forum app, you could pop up an error on submit, with the censor-substitution that it would apply, and have a selection box that the user can check to indicate that this is a false positive. The message then gets held for moderator review (or goes through by default with the censor marks, until moderator review it). If it is a business app, then part of the popup message could include a link to corporate policy that says a false claim of a false positive is subject to employee discipline or whatever. I just don't like when it blindly cuts out a persons name without any warning to the user, because the censor characters imply that the message submitter actually entered a cuss word that they didn't (i.e., it is a false accusation bordering on libel).
- poulsbohemian 3y ago
  > parents complain about offensive or inappropriate language. As a parent of three teens, I argue this is the parent's responsibility not that of the game designer or content generator. Someone will argue that parent's can't be on constant patrol. Yes, that's true too, thus we find ourselves in a quandary. Personally, I have chosen the side of accepting that sooner or later my kids are going to be exposed to flavors of sex, drugs, and rock and roll that I may find unsavory or not age appropriate - and I'll try my best to provide a framework for dialog and understanding. Other parents will choose a path of extreme restriction or other educational tools (church, etc) for their kids, and they have that right as well. Neither parenting style is right or wrong, but it has to fall to the parents, not to third parties to protect little Billy and Susie's precious ears / morals.
  - vlunkr 3y ago
    Sure, but as the company providing the product, you don't get to choose what types of parenting styles you're going to interact with.
    - poulsbohemian 3y ago
      That's exactly my point: Don't make it your problem. Put the warning label on the product, make a best attempt to recommend "not for under age XYZ" or whatever gives you peace of mind, but otherwise ain't your problem. It would be one thing if there were physical safety at play, but some "dirty" words?

lloydatkinson 3y ago

As someone born in that town I fully agree with you.

garvield 3y ago

Minor point, but it is I-shi-ta-ni.

vlunkr 3y ago

I disagree that it’s lazy programming, it’s actually a hard problem. If you’ve ever played an online game you know that people deliberately try to work around profanity filters by removing spaces or swapping some characters. It’s easier to be overly aggressive about filtering than to have users or parents complain about offensive or inappropriate language.

derekp7 3y ago
I agree that it is a hard problem -- which is why I said it was lazy to implement the simplest form of the solution that is so deficient and just pretend that all is well. It is basically trying to solve problems in software that is in actuality a people / management problem. Of course, there are conflicting requirements or external factors that come into play. If the product will fail (or you will get fined or thrown in jail or whatever) if someone enters a bad word, then after taking enough reasonable precautions to not have false positives then at least warn the user ahead of time. For example in a web forum app, you could pop up an error on submit, with the censor-substitution that it would apply, and have a selection box that the user can check to indicate that this is a false positive. The message then gets held for moderator review (or goes through by default with the censor marks, until moderator review it). If it is a business app, then part of the popup message could include a link to corporate policy that says a false claim of a false positive is subject to employee discipline or whatever. I just don't like when it blindly cuts out a persons name without any warning to the user, because the censor characters imply that the message submitter actually entered a cuss word that they didn't (i.e., it is a false accusation bordering on libel).
poulsbohemian 3y ago
> parents complain about offensive or inappropriate language. As a parent of three teens, I argue this is the parent's responsibility not that of the game designer or content generator. Someone will argue that parent's can't be on constant patrol. Yes, that's true too, thus we find ourselves in a quandary. Personally, I have chosen the side of accepting that sooner or later my kids are going to be exposed to flavors of sex, drugs, and rock and roll that I may find unsavory or not age appropriate - and I'll try my best to provide a framework for dialog and understanding. Other parents will choose a path of extreme restriction or other educational tools (church, etc) for their kids, and they have that right as well. Neither parenting style is right or wrong, but it has to fall to the parents, not to third parties to protect little Billy and Susie's precious ears / morals.
- vlunkr 3y ago
  Sure, but as the company providing the product, you don't get to choose what types of parenting styles you're going to interact with.
  - poulsbohemian 3y ago
    That's exactly my point: Don't make it your problem. Put the warning label on the product, make a best attempt to recommend "not for under age XYZ" or whatever gives you peace of mind, but otherwise ain't your problem. It would be one thing if there were physical safety at play, but some "dirty" words?