Main Page quotes - should we limit the profanity?

[MT2008]

Originally Posted by AdAstra2009

You are generalizing. Conservatives/Republicans are overwhelmingly pro-gun and are also the type of people who are unanimously against profanity as well from my observations.

I'm concerned that you just equated gun ownership with profanity.

Nope, I specifically said, "in my experience" and admitted it was an anecdote. Now you're doing the opposite.

But seriously, not all gun owners are ultra-religious holier-than-thou conservatives (plenty are secular Libertarians and Independents).

[MoviePropMaster2008]

Originally Posted by MT2008

Nope, I specifically said, "in my experience" and admitted it was an anecdote. Now you're doing the opposite.

But seriously, not all gun owners are ultra-religious holier-than-thou conservatives (plenty are secular Libertarians and Independents).

Personally I care whether or not people swear. And I figure a lot of gun owners are former military or LEO or just guys who aren't that bothered by it. But it's unprofessional. I swore all the time in the military, but when I'm talking to film industry professionals, I keep the language clean. When I'm in the conference room helping pitch stuff or talking to producers, I keep the language clean. What is so hard to understand about that concept? It's not about calculating who or who will NOT be offended or think you're an uncouth punk. It's about just not worrying about it and keeping the language non-profane. Some of the quotes are funny. I vote for a third option, just put F--K for the f-bomb. you can still read the quote and understand what it says but don't spell it out. I was hoping for more classic movie quotes, not the more profane 'hip' quips that modern screenwriters tend to mix up with any story that has guns.

you know, these damned quotes aren't even a vital part of IMFDB. It's polarizing the membership and it's not even part of the site mission.

[MattyDienhoff]

Censoring the f-bombs seems like the perfect compromise to me. I'm in favour of it.

[AdAstra2009]

Originally Posted by MT2008

Nope, I specifically said, "in my experience" and admitted it was an anecdote. Now you're doing the opposite.

But seriously, not all gun owners are ultra-religious holier-than-thou conservatives (plenty are secular Libertarians and Independents).

When you said that people who liked guns that you know swear all the time, you are still painting a picture of gun owners being foul mouthed/profane. When I said conservative/Republican I was showing that just because a certain group likes guns does not also mean that they appreciate cursing.

Originally Posted by MattyDienhoff

Censoring the f-bombs seems like the perfect compromise to me. I'm in favour of it.

I guess I can go with that, However some of the quotes like the one from snatch needs to be deleted regardless in my opinion.

[S&Wshooter]

I also agree that censoring the f-bombs would be a very reasonable compromise

[Yournamehere]

I still don't think censoring the "f-bomb" as you all put it, is a reasonable compromise. I'd, sooner see the quotes go before they get taken apart. I do however think that a significant amount of the quotes on there right now should be eliminated because they are just crude or too long (I freaking love the Snatch and Terminator gun store quotes, but I can see how length might be less than reasonable).

For example, we have like 9 quotes from that movie Shoot 'em Up, which on top of being sort of a stupid movie in my opinion, has a lot of crude use of language and dumb humor. It's not artful or tasteful, nor, funny (in my opinion), which is what it was intended to be. Certain quotes should be allowed or placed on the site because of their artistic value or their importance in pop culture or in a film which is typically highly revered.

Writers took the time to write these words, actors took the time to recite them, and filmmakers took the time to film all of it. Posting epic speech bleeped with "f--k" is like chiseling the nipples off the Statue of Venus, or blowing up the Giant Buddhas in Afghanistan (which actually happened.....). It's all part of something so much bigger than an instance of the word "fuck" or the offense it may cause someone who comes onto a website to see who uses what to shoot who.

I think we should put down all the quotes currently on the site somewhere and decide individually which should go and which should stay. Overall though, an instance of "fuck" shouldn't be a deciding factor. It's overall content though, and maybe even the movie it comes from, maybe, but not the "f-bomb"

[Spartan198]

Well, after an admittedly very long and hard deliberation on this subject (the reason I hadn't responded sooner), I have to agree with YNH. Censoring the profanity does nothing but mangle and dismantle the quotes.

Something we could do, however, is limit them to quotes without excessive profanity. A few profanities in a quote isn't an issue to me, but ones where every third word (or similar) is one could be excluded.

[AdAstra2009]

Originally Posted by Spartan198

I have to agree with YNH. Censoring the profanity does nothing but mangle and dismantle the quotes.

Well quotes are not an integral part of imfdb so it should not really matter if some quote has been "mangled" or "dismantled". If this site is to promote a professional image than profanity should be censored at the least.

[Yournamehere]

The censorship we are talking about is in no way professional. When is the last time you saw a movie on TV that included swearing, but had to be dubbed due to FCC desires? Hell just yesterday I tried watching Menace II Society and had to stop within the first 10 minutes because Samuel L. Jackson swears so much in one of the first scenes, his voice was FULLY dubbed over with another guy who didn't even sound like him. Not only did it ruin the film itself, but it felt a lot less "professional" and so I couldn't take it seriously. My watching experience was ruined.

Now take a network like HBO into consideration. They allow language, some nudity, and graphic images. Some might not let their kids watch this, or might get upset if their kids end up witenssing any of this "questionable programming", but they know what the network entails, and they should be responsible for this "offensive content" coming into their life, especially when the network is known for it's content and has ratings and lists of what the programs include before they even air (the following feature film is rated...).

This leads me to my next proposal. Instead of tearing apart memorable quotes or the dialogue we choose to use as free persons on the internet, why don't we set up some sort of disclaimer? It could state that the site may include some swearing, and we could work in violence and movie spoilers which are also problems we have been meaning to address. It allows us word freedom and also covers our ass in case someone has something bad to say about the way our site is made up. We do offer a service that no one really has a market on right now, but in some aspects, we shouldn't cater to everyone at the risk of destorying movielines or our own personal speech, or sounding like a basic cable movie dub, they should cater to themselves and either avoid what's in front of them, or deal with it. It's the nature of the beast. Besides, we all look at f--k and think "fuck" so the only difference is that the site looks silly.

Now, this is not to say I encourage free swearing or the crap Oliveira does. Keep it tasteful and minimal, but apply when you feel it is necessary. Talk pages should be free, and you all agree on that, but even there, try and keep it as friendly s possible. Overall though, we all look at f--k and think "fuck" so the only difference is that the site looks silly. I'd rather have people worry about themselves and retain the sites and my dignity than have that.