Censorship on MyFitnessPal Forums

13

Replies

  • BarbaraC47
    BarbaraC47 Posts: 175 Member
    I get that this is a privately owned site but then why have forums if people aren't allowed to truly express themselves?? Its a bit of an oxymoron, don't you think?? I will continue to express my views (I also get that people died so I can have this freedom of speech) and if that offends then so be it.... :ohwell:
  • dalgal26
    dalgal26 Posts: 781 Member
    I am so very thankful for MFP and all this site has done for me in my journey to a healthier life. Therefore, if they want to censor, then go for it.:flowerforyou:

    I am not going to say anything that needs censoring anyway.....:happy:

    And why would anyone want to put nasty, vile, ugly words out there anyway...:noway:
  • jetscreaminagain
    jetscreaminagain Posts: 1,130 Member
    How do you become an admin?

    Shouldn't you be in training? Wouldn't have time to be an administrator on your road to being a Gold Medalist in the Olympics.
  • mirandamayhem
    mirandamayhem Posts: 772
    How do you become an admin?

    Shouldn't you be in training? Wouldn't have time to be an administrator on your road to being a Gold Medalist in the Olympics.

    :laugh: :sad: :laugh:
  • chocl8girl
    chocl8girl Posts: 1,968 Member
    Honestly, I really don't care and it doesn't affect my life one bit. This is a free site, PRIVATELY owned, and just as you cannot go into any business you like and do whatever you want, the same applies online. Freedom of speech DOES NOT APPLY in a privately owned business. They make the rules. If you don't want to follow them, either accept the consequences, or don't go there anymore. *shrug* Not that hard. Start your own forum if you'd like to have a free-for-all.
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
    tumblr_m8qt14P0hN1rdwk7do1_500.jpg

    I want to know everyone's opinion on this. Who supports censorship of the forums on MFP, and why? And who does not, and your reasons why as well.
    Personally, I do not support this censorship... We are all adults who have our own opinions, and this is a melting pot for all age groups, stereotypes, cultures, and countries. We, as adults, should be able to accept that and not pay special attention to threads that we know will offend us. However, I'm open to feedback from everyone (hate-free please, let's be mature) and challenge you to show me your point of view.

    MFP is a private company, not the government. It would be nice if they let some things go, but their playground, their rules.
  • bluefox9er
    bluefox9er Posts: 2,917 Member
    >I ask for no hate
    >Get slammed for voicing my opinion

    Thanks, guys

    you must know by now that when you engage the forum dwellers that you will be abused, don't you????
  • Nataliaho
    Nataliaho Posts: 878 Member
    I don't mind, a bit of moderation on a forum tends to keep things under control. Forums without it tend to become disgusting pretty quickly.
  • Thomasm198
    Thomasm198 Posts: 3,189 Member
    I support it because you don't have to be logged in to view the forums which means anyone of any age group can see it. Also I think without the censorship then the foul language would be overused. I like reading a forum where it appears that the members are able to express their ideas verbally without an f bomb every other word for "special effect".

    Even with rules here, a lot of people act like complete idiots.

    Fixed that last sentence for you. :laugh:
  • bathsheba_c
    bathsheba_c Posts: 1,873 Member
    1. They are legally allowed to moderate the forums, as noted earlier
    2. The ban on promoting eating disorders is totally reasonable
    3. Same for hate speech, which is, after all, a form of indirect harassment

    By the way, only the general forums are so strictly moderated. Within groups, you can post what you want more or less. So if you want to discuss weight and sex, then just start a group! :flowerforyou:

    But, yeah, it is a little silly that **** Tracey isn't welcome on MFP.
  • jenilla1
    jenilla1 Posts: 11,118 Member
    Honestly, I really don't care and it doesn't affect my life one bit. This is a free site, PRIVATELY owned, and just as you cannot go into any business you like and do whatever you want, the same applies online. Freedom of speech DOES NOT APPLY in a privately owned business. They make the rules. If you don't want to follow them, either accept the consequences, or don't go there anymore. *shrug* Not that hard. Start your own forum if you'd like to have a free-for-all.

    Agreed.
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
    >I ask for no hate
    >Get slammed for voicing my opinion

    Thanks, guys

    People respectfully disagree with you and they're "slamming" you?
  • sweetchildomine
    sweetchildomine Posts: 872 Member
    Honestly, the majority of the time when a thread gets locked, it's because people are idiots and have turned hateful and immature. There was a topic today where people were debating racial issues, which obviously had the potential to get really ugly. However, everyone was polite and voiced their opinion like adults. Guess what? The thread is still there. Blame your fellow users for the censorship on here lol. Yes, we are all adults but not all of us act like adults!
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,248 Member
    I understand why it happens. The site owners want to keep this site civil, and as far as language goes, advertisers sometimes won't allow profanity. The purpose of the site is to make money. Period.

    I think the "bad word" filter is a little too extreme, because some of the words are things you can say on prime time television, and for instance, one is to describe a female dog. And another is a very popular sporting goods store. But a starred-out word is preferable to the ones that use replacement words. I was on one pet site where the word "anal" was automatically replaced with "rear end." So you could try to use medically appropriate words to describe a medical problem, like a perianal fistula, and end up with perirear-end fistula. :indifferent:

    Ideally, I'd prefer if only very offensive posts were removed or edited, instead of an entire thread being removed because of one or two bad apples. But I understand with a site of this size, it's impractical.
  • blondie0942
    blondie0942 Posts: 146 Member
    >I ask for no hate
    >Get slammed for voicing my opinion

    Thanks, guys

    People respectfully disagree with you and they're "slamming" you?



    Read page 2.
  • blondie0942
    blondie0942 Posts: 146 Member
    yes and no .... people are over touchy and read things they know will annoy them and then go into one over it WISE UP . If you dont like something dont read, look at or seek it out BE AN ADULT. You can have an opinion and argue but dont go OTT ...... I do think it should be in place for the people that get stupidly nasty and ignorant, those people need censored not the topic :)

    I agree with you whole heartedly :)
  • krystymc
    krystymc Posts: 29 Member
    it's hard to tell when someone is being sarcastic or telling a joke or being serious, in pure text. so, to save confusion and hurt feelings, lots of stuff gets deleted by a blanket policy.

    i like it =/ i like it because i'm sensitive. and i LIKE being sensitive. life's been tough and i want to be sensitive, not hard shelled. i'm scared of my body image, i'm scared of my poor education on exercise and nutrition. i'm scared to make new friends, of sounding stupid, of asking one of those 'no question is stupid' questions and getting one of those 'duh, don't you know this is common sense??' answers.

    but i'm still here. and knowing that there are blanket policies that remind people 'yo, play nice' kinda makes me feel safer. i'm chubby and i've got already got a shell to break out of. i don't need to be pushed, like how my grandpa threw my twin cousins into the middle of a lake with life jackets and said 'now learn to swim'. it's okay to go slow, to go gentle, and just be cool. just chill and relax. but when people start throwing their opinion around like it's a right and not a privilege, it gets scary. and some of us slink back. we curl up with a bag of chips on the couch and shudder and stare at the computer screen that is now very far away and hope spam and time make the bad people stop! =D

    most posts here have been, like others said, very classy. and i like that. it helps me feel brave. i'm taking baby steps, i even respond to some posts - though surely not perfectly! and, i guess i'm one of the 'butt hurt' people who is grateful for policies like that. so, to mods of this forum and others unrelated ;) thanks. thanks for deleting things you weren't sure needed to be deleted but that you hit delete on just in case they might offend someone else. that someone else was probably me. thanks for keeping it a nice safe place and hey, if you have to use the guise of 'it's my castle, what i say goes' that's fine by me! i fully intend to play nice in your castle!

    maybe some people don't know what it's like to stumble accidentally into an offensive post and suddenly find yourself flying off the handle! some of us are here because we lack self control *blushes* like i said, baby steps. and MFP has so far been an amazingly safe place to take 'em!

    did i mention in my babble that i'm grateful? XD
  • Iceman1800
    Iceman1800 Posts: 476
    >I ask for no hate
    >Get slammed for voicing my opinion

    Thanks, guys

    People respectfully disagree with you and they're "slamming" you?
    I'm going to disagree here. She made a post giving an opinion. Right away people climb on their soapbox preaching the rules and playing the hero for MFP. People here aren't your kids so they need to stop being do holier than thou at others voicing an opinion.
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
    >I ask for no hate
    >Get slammed for voicing my opinion

    Thanks, guys

    People respectfully disagree with you and they're "slamming" you?



    Read page 2.

    Your post was on page 1. I saw people disagreeing and stating why they disagree. I didn't see anyone say anything that I would consider "slamming." People are allowed to not agree with you.
  • Hambone23
    Hambone23 Posts: 486 Member
    Their site; their rules.

    Besides, this thread disproves your point: we aren't all adults. :wink:

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