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A Report on Swearing in Online Games 324

Posted by Zonk from the oh-$%#& dept.
A Next Generation article references an informal study done on the frequency of swearing on Xbox Live. From the study: "When you logon to Xbox live more often then not you will be greeted by a 14 year old that learned a new word on the playground that day, or maybe it's the drunken 24 year old who hates black people, gays and anyone who isn't in his frat. No matter who you are if you have played on live you have run into cursing and lewdness. If you look at the rating for the game you can see that it is intended for ages 17+ but parents don't care/understand/listen so lots of underage kids have [Halo 2]." Warning: links contain profanity.
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A Report on Swearing in Online Games More

A Report on Swearing in Online Games

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  • Swearing online (Score:5, Funny)

    by riffzifnab ( 449869 ) on Friday February 17, 2006 @05:44PM (#14745382) Journal
    Swearing online?! That never fucking happens.

  • Expected (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Agent00Wang ( 146185 ) on Friday February 17, 2006 @05:45PM (#14745386) Homepage
    Considering that the bulk of online gamers are of the age where they probably speak like this in real life too, it shouldn't be very surprising that it spills over into their online activities as well.

    • Re:Expected (Score:3, Insightful)

      by Soul-Burn666 ( 574119 )
      The only difference is that the parents CAN tell their children not to play online but can't really tell them: "don't go to school, people are swearing there"

      Thought it must be stressed that online people feel more anonymous so they restrain themselves less when referring to others. You won't throw an offensive remark infront a person who might not be calm and will likely pounce you.

    • Re:Expected (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Kelson ( 129150 ) * on Friday February 17, 2006 @07:15PM (#14746079) Homepage Journal
      Whenever someone brings up the "Ah! Kids can hear swearing! Aiiieeee!!!!" meme, I bring out this story from my own childhood.

      When I was in middle school, I spent a week working at a cub scout day camp. I think I was around 12 or 13 at the time. The adults warned us that we had to watch our language around the cubs (who were probably around 8 or 9), because they didn't want the kids picking up any bad words from us. They needn't have bothered. The kids were far more foul-mouthed around us than we were amongst ourselves, and actually managed to shock us. This was in the late 1980s.

      Kids don't need TV, movies, video games or the Internet to learn bad words. They learn them from their friends at school, or they learn them from parents, or from neighbor kids.

      There was a B.C. comic strip a few years ago that I thought illustrated this point well: Two kids (well, ants) walk into the room, one crying, "Mom, he said the Z-word!" The parents send the kid to his room, then have this brief conversation: "Where'd the little %@#&! learn the Z-word?" "Beats the #@*$ out of me."

      • Re:Expected (Score:4, Insightful)

        by garylian ( 870843 ) on Friday February 17, 2006 @09:10PM (#14746734)
        I can still vividly remember my little brother, at the tender age of 3, playing on the swings while we were out in California for a year. This was back in 1974. He was so little, he couldn't sit on the swing, so he laid his stomach across it, and would run forward until he left the ground, swung back, and repeated as needed.

        Why do I remember it so vividly?

        Because the whole time he was on that swing, he sang "FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK" at full volume, non-stop. 3 years old, and singing for all he was worth, and effectively screaming one of the most hated words amongst language minders.

        He's 34 right now, almost 35. He still considers it one of his shining moments.

        Me, I learned how to use it when it was appropriate. Being in the fire service as a volunteer, there are tons of times when dropping a well thought out curse just fit. See a 4 story apartment building engulfed in flame? "Holy fucking shit!" made perfect sense. Of course, it was immediately followed by "Damn, this is almost as good as sex. Grab a hose! We're going in!"

        But, you also learned to have an innate sense of who was around you. That same "Holy fucking shit!" wouldn't escape most mouths if there were civilians around.

        The problem with these online games is that there is an inherent "cool" factor people seem to think surrounds the use of this language. And it isn't just kids.

        Back when MSN chats were free to everyone, I used to chat in ChatDallas, one of their city chats. The use of profanity would get you kicked by a bot, or banned by a mod. One enterprising individual created a private room for adults to chat in. Wanna guess what happened?

        Folks from ages 18-50 sat in this private room and just used one profanity after another in all imaginable combinations. Because they could, and they felt they were being cool. And after 5 minutes in there, I felt like I was back in H.S. listening to guys in the locker room. It was all pointless.

        So, until folks figure out how really lame they sound, they will keep doing it. There's no art to it. It's one thing to say "fuck you, you fag". Anyone can do that. It takes a little more creativity to drop a "listen, you dried up husk of a cunt, shut your yap and go away".

        Ah, but there will always be sheep.

    • Re:Expected (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Wildclaw ( 15718 ) on Friday February 17, 2006 @07:50PM (#14746276)
      The sad thing is that excessive swearing is a sign that the person in question is lacking in vocabulary. Swear words are mostly used in sentences as replacement for more complex words or sentence structures.

      People who swear every other sentence have serious problems expressing themselves because their speech are very binary. Either someone is a fucker or an ordinary person, but the inbetween doesn't exist. It is of course possible to place different values on each swear word, but that rarely happens because it would defeat the purpose of using swear words to simplify sentences.

      This is why it is very important to make sure that children don't swear. Swearing is addictive because it is easy to do and doesn't require thinking and as long as someone uses swear words he/she won't learn to take advantage of the full range of the language.

      Swearing is in my opinion best reserved to expressing extreme emotions. The more they are used the more diluted they become.
      • It is of course possible to place different values on each swear word, but that rarely happens because it would defeat the purpose of using swear words to simplify sentences.
        No shit, Mr. I-know-a-lot-more-than-you-AND-I-solve-murder-crim es-in-my-free-time Sherlock.

        People swear for shits and giggles. Calling someone a preposterous windbag might work on Slashdot, but in meatspace that preposterous windbag is simply a stupid motherfucker.

      • slashcode stripped away my sarcasm closing tags. Don't misinterpret that reply please, <sarcasm>you stupid motherfucker</sarcasm>. ;)

      • Re:Expected (Score:3, Interesting)

        by Red Flayer ( 890720 )
        "This is why it is very important to make sure that children don't swear. Swearing is addictive because it is easy to do and doesn't require thinking and as long as someone uses swear words he/she won't learn to take advantage of the full range of the language."

        I think that's a crock. Swearing doesn't prevent vocabulary development, nor does it stunt verbal communication skills. What I think you're missing is the primary reason some people choose to swear so much -- because it causes a reaction differe
      • Fuck fuck shit. Shit damn crap fuck shit. Fuck shit, shit fuck crap damn. Damn fuck fuck shit fuck. So in conclusion, fuck shit damn fuck.

  • Gamesmanship (Score:5, Interesting)

    by MBraynard ( 653724 ) on Friday February 17, 2006 @05:46PM (#14745396) Journal
    In some Xbox games, if you are trying to win, you can use the other person's emotional state to overcome their reason/rational thought. Normally when someone is cursing up a storm, they are letting their emotions overcome their rational thought and they make mistakes. This is both in fast games (Halo2) and slow games (World Championship Poker).

    If you can just goad them a little bit into cutting loose with their mouths, you are are halfway to victory.

    Conversely, it is important to keep your own cool and your focus on the game. A few taunts when the other guy is down may help in keeping him down as you compound his anger, but this must be done out of strategy, not out of an effort to verbally 'get back' at your opponent.

    • Re:Gamesmanship (Score:3, Informative)

      by xenocide2 ( 231786 )
      I've never met a micspammer who was any good at a game. The fact that they never shut up appears to distract them from actually winning.

    • Re:Gamesmanship (Score:3, Insightful)

      by Darth ( 29071 )
      In many poker tournaments, use of profanity at the table is forbidden.

      Making your opponent lose his cool is ok, but if you have any talent at it, you dont need profanity to do it.

    • Re:Gamesmanship (Score:2, Funny)

      by Kelson ( 129150 ) *
      Taunting your opponents as a means to defeating them... Why do I have the urge to tell someone, "How appropriate. You fight like a cow."

    • Re:Gamesmanship (Score:5, Interesting)

      by Mr. Flibble ( 12943 ) on Friday February 17, 2006 @07:44PM (#14746238) Homepage
      In some Xbox games, if you are trying to win, you can use the other person's emotional state to overcome their reason/rational thought. Normally when someone is cursing up a storm, they are letting their emotions overcome their rational thought and they make mistakes. This is both in fast games (Halo2) and slow games (World Championship Poker).

      I used to play Half Life 2 with a guy who was obviously a troll. His nick was "sand nigger" and he kept uttering profanities all over the chat, both profanity and ethnic slurs.

      People used to get all worked up about him and play badly, or type often and get killed - which is exactly what he wanted.

      I decided to try anti-trolling him, and instead of responding to the "nigger" in his tag, I began objecting to his use of the word "sand". This confused him, and when I said things (that I don't actually agree with) like: "Well, I find the word 'sand' and all the implications that it carries, I am offended by that. You can keep using 'nigger' thats ok, I am not offended by that, 'nigger' is an ok word to use."

      He suddenly lost his temper - and began accusing *ME* of being a racist, because I was clearly not offended by the term "nigger". I kept harping on him about his offensive use of the word "sand" and ignored all his ethnic slurs. His voice became very animated over the chat until he was positivly screaming. He finally left the server in disgust.

      So, clearly, he was using his nick and his ethnic slurs as a way to get to people and have an advantage, when I came along and pretended not to be offended by these things, he thought I really was a racist, and went off on me.

      That is really the best way to handle people that are trying to emotionally troll you - either ignore them, or troll them back, most will quite ironically bite.

  • Wait, teenagers swear? (Score:2, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward
    No noes!!! Teh teenies are swearing!

    Yeah, I never once used a "bad word" when I was a kid. Never... nope...

    While true that we shouldn't encourage this behaviour, for the most part kids are gonna use profanity and when you put them in an "anonymous" situation, well, the flood gates will open. Kinda like all the arseholes that will post in this "anonymous" thread.

    • Re:Wait, teenagers swear? (Score:5, Funny)

      by R3d M3rcury ( 871886 ) on Friday February 17, 2006 @07:53PM (#14746302) Journal
      Actually, the problem I have with kids swearing has to do with their young and whiny voices.

      When I grew up, it was one of those "Just hear it, don't say it." It was pretty much true for every other kid, too. So when I heard people swear, it was mostly adults. To be specific, it was mostly male adults. With deep male voices saying, "C'mon, move you goddamn pig-fuckin' bastard" while trying to move a rock out of the way or some other strenuous male activity. When women swore, it was usually in an expletive sense, like "Oh shit! I forgot to pick up milk at the store!"

      But still, mature voices.

      So, yes, I hate hearing little kids swear just because it sounds so wrong to hear, "motherfucking asshole" in this high-pitched voice.

  • The problem being what... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by __aaclcg7560 ( 824291 ) on Friday February 17, 2006 @05:49PM (#14745410)
    Does it really surprise anyone that kids actually swear? You can't blame this one on video games. I learned all my swear words when my parents argued when I was a child and picked up a few more colorful words from my sister-in-law when she got a divorce from my brother. I didn't start using swear words until I got into middle school where colorful language was a prelude to a fist fight. A long time ago, parents used to take responsibility for their children's language devopment. These days, no one gives a fraq!

  • What about... (Score:5, Funny)

    by grub ( 11606 ) <slashdot@grub.net> on Friday February 17, 2006 @05:49PM (#14745411) Homepage Journal

    ... cunt? It's not in his fucking list of damn swears. Fucking cunts always use that fucking cunt word. Cunt, cunt cunt cunt cunt. It's all you hear sometimes.

    Fuck.
    • You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.

    • Re:What about... (Score:4, Interesting)

      by h4rm0ny ( 722443 ) on Friday February 17, 2006 @07:36PM (#14746197) Journal

      Well, it was good enough for Chaucer.
      As clerkes be full subtle and full quaint.
      And privily he caught her by the queint (cunt)
      Now I'm at a loss as to why such an important part of the anatomy (or any part really), should be regarded as an insult, but profanity? The origin of fuck, cunt, and a couple of others as vulgar language goes back to when the Normans invaded Britain. Fuck and cunt are traditional english words, whereas the educated and powerful were all speaking old french at the time. To use these english words was to show how common you were. Basically, it's a class thing. So if you like, you can proudly show your rebellious streak to the Normans with every fuck and cunt you say.

      Being British (not to steretype here), I probably swear more casually than most americans... not necessarily more, but with less emphasis because I don't regard it as a big deal. I don't usually say cunt, simply because it seems such a odd thing to be an insult. I thought guys liked cunts?

      Personally, I think the word has been used as an insult so much by now, that it's going to be hard to reclaim it. Vagina sounds far too clinical so I'd like to propose a new word for it. From now on, I'd like everyone to call it a "wooha" (emphasis on second syllable, like Bruce Lee is hitting someone). I think that it would be impossible to use this as an insult, and yet it still conveys a sense of fun.

      What do you think? :)

  • I know the summary sounds biased (Score:3, Informative)

    by Aqws ( 932918 ) on Friday February 17, 2006 @05:50PM (#14745423) Journal
    But here is an intresting link, that i'm sure people who looked google video know of: Here is a kid who plays the X-box [google.com] I know he is only one person, and lots of other people on the x-box are more normalish.
    • If that were my kid I would have walked in there with a sledge hammer and blasted his Xbox into a billion pieces. I can't belive people let their kids get away with that kind of behavior.
    • I agree with the other responders. In that situation my kid would no longer have an X-Box, Mt. Dew, Chocolate Milk... and basic life functions are really touch-and-go at that point. If I ever talked like that to my mom, I'm certain either my mom or dad would have killed me. Twice.

  • /. hits the nail on the head (Score:4, Interesting)

    by truthsearch ( 249536 ) on Friday February 17, 2006 @05:52PM (#14745444) Homepage Journal
    but parents don't care/understand/listen

    And that's the problem. I don't care if every other f*cking word is a curse. Parents can't complain when they don't know what their kids are doing. I know parents that monitor what their kids play, watch on TV, and listen to on the radio. It's not impossible. Parents who claim they can't prevent their kids from seeing these curse words are simply irresponsible.

    These studies aren't needed because it doesn't matter. If the fear is kids seeing/hearing it then parents are letting these kids get exposed to it, either knowingly or ignorantly.
    • Then you've got the parents who swear around and at their kids. I was shopping at $MEGAMART once and heard some kid who looked about six talking to his parents. He was evidently acting up a bit, and the father asked him if he knew what was going to happen if he didn't straighten up. The kid responded that he was going to get his ass smacked, or something to that effect.

      This is a fairly backwards part of the US, but this kind of thing must go on throughout the country.
    • I don't care if every other f*cking word is a curse.


      Then why the hell are you censoring yourself?
    • yes, bacause a parent also raises the 1000 other kids their child goes to school with...
    • I don't care if every other f*cking word is a curse.

      Thank you very much for putting in that asterik instead of actually typing out a letter 'u'. I was almost offended!

    • Parents who claim they can't prevent their kids from seeing these curse words are simply irresponsible.


      I feel the same way about parents who let their kids be exposed to Sean Hannity or Rush Limbaugh. Kinds being exposed to this kind of trash is simply bad parenting.

      Try to put things into perspective. Kids hearing swearing is really the least of our problems. You sound like you're out of the 1950s.

  • New disclaimer on XBOX games (Score:5, Funny)

    by c0d3h4x0r ( 604141 ) on Friday February 17, 2006 @05:52PM (#14745452) Homepage Journal
    WARNING:

    By logging onto the XBOX Live service, you understand and agree that you may from time to time hear Steve Ballmer threatening to "fucking kill" you.

  • Swearing?!? Won't someone think of the children! (Score:4, Interesting)

    by BigZaphod ( 12942 ) on Friday February 17, 2006 @05:57PM (#14745489) Homepage
    I recently slapped together a pointless waste of time [dontyaknow.com] and noted with an unfortunate lack of surprise just how many of the postings were profane or sexual or otherwise trollish. I think the average age of web posters must be about 14 or so and the average mind must be in the gutter. This does not speak well for our future... of course sometimes it can sure as hell be damn entertaining! Ah, nevermind. Screw the future!

  • My CS Glory Days (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Lord Kano ( 13027 ) on Friday February 17, 2006 @05:58PM (#14745499) Homepage Journal
    I used to have a spray of the goatse man with the caption "I fucked you." Whenever I'd get a really good, or lucky kill I'd spray it.

    I had a couple of server admins complain that they had kids playing there. My response was "It's OK for children to pretend to blow people's brains out, guard hostages, and plant C4 charges but it's wrong for them to see buttocks?"

    LK
  • With apologies to Monty Python...

    I bet they won't play this game on the X-Box.
    I bet you they won't play this new (bleep) game.
    It's not that it's (bleep) or (bleep) controversial,
    Just that the (bleep)ing kids cuss all the time.
    You can't say (bleep) on the X-Box,
    Or (bleep) or (bleep) or (bleep).
    You can't even say I'd like to (bleep) you some day
    Unless you're a doctor with a very large (bleep).
    So, I bet you they won't play this game on the X-Box.
    I bet you they daren't (bleep)ing well program it.
    I bet you their

  • I know why (Score:5, Insightful)

    by MBCook ( 132727 ) <foobarsoft@foobarsoft.com> on Friday February 17, 2006 @06:03PM (#14745539) Homepage
    It is the same reason people act like scum on message boards: anoninimity. No one knows who they are so they don't have to behave. You see that on /. too. Penny Arcade summed it up excelent once.

    Comic [penny-arcade.com]

  • Warning: Slashdot comments contain profanity (Score:3, Insightful)

    by syukton ( 256348 ) on Friday February 17, 2006 @06:06PM (#14745569)
    WTF (that's "What the fuck") is with the warning that the link contains profanity? There's enough profanity on Slashdot that I would think it doesn't need to be stated that you might see some naughty words. I think we're all plenty prepared, seriously, thanks.

  • The Class of the Typical XBox User? (Score:3, Funny)

    by warmgun ( 669556 ) on Friday February 17, 2006 @06:12PM (#14745625)
    ...or maybe it's the drunken 24 year old who hates black people, gays and anyone who isn't in his frat.

    Why is a 24 year old in a frat? Are these 7 or 8 year college students the target demographic for the XBox?

  • Profanity filter code. (Score:4, Interesting)

    by LightningBolt! ( 664763 ) <lightningboltlig ... NO@SPAMyahoo.com> on Friday February 17, 2006 @06:29PM (#14745768) Homepage
    When I worked on a networked EA title a couple years back, we were required to put in a chat profanity filter. We were given some code and a file with the obscenity list that had been developed for a previous title. The obscenity file was pretty funny, containing some words we'd never heard before, and some ordinary words that we couldn't imagine used as obscenities. Combined with the code that tried to detect variations, it was weird, because it would allow some really standard obscenities you'd expect to filter out, and blocked stuff like "assume" and "sucker". Also amusing, the file ended up in plaintext on the disc. So if you dumped the disc contents, it looked like some disgruntled programmer had put all sorts of swears into the game.
    • Heh, one of the amusing side effects of CoH going global was all of the foreign swear words getting added to the filters (even for servers that are obstensibly US only). It was amusing that my SuperGroup hand its name filtered. We were "The @#%& of Justice", which was just too awesome because people would mentally replace that with all sorts of words. Unfortunatly, it messed up the game and Cryptic had to revert their filters to the far less amusing Big 7 plus some random stuff list they had before.
    • Lemme guess, would this unnamed networked title be Battle for Middle Earth? I've noticed that the profanity filter for that was very like the crappy one in Command & Conquer Generals.
  • What is a problem about a kid hearing / using swear words? I see you americans making a big deal out of it; but, seriously, why is it supposed to matter? So a kid swears ... SO FUCKING WHAT! It's not like it's going to make him sick or something.

    Oh and btw nowhere in the world but in the US do people care so much about swearing ... and swear as much as you do!
    • when someone swears, it usually means they aren't thinking. It makes them sound uneducated and ignorant, and develops bad habits that can hurt your chances in a lot of careers.

      Personally, it's not the words, its that fact that they aren't handling the situation in a correct manner and loosing their temper.
      Some people think certian swear words are 'bad', I don't believe any word is 'bad'. Inappropriate, unthinking, and impolite, but not 'bad'.
    • Probably because for many of us, swearing is acceptable up to a point and then becomes offensive and therefore annoying. I swear at times (as evidenced in some of my previous posts here and elsewhere) both online and off. What I don't do is constantly swear, especially around people I don't know. Hell, I still censor myself around my parents as a sign of respect (though they can both sound like drill sergeants/sailors when they feel like it).

      Maybe it is an American thing...Since I haven't traveled to,

  • One reason I let my XBox Live account die. (Score:4, Interesting)

    by RatBastard ( 949 ) on Friday February 17, 2006 @06:51PM (#14745941) Homepage
    This is one of several resons I let my XBox Live! account expire. I don't mind swearing, I do it alot. It's the constant screaming; racial, sexist and homophobic slurs; the constant accusations of cheating if you're kicking their pasty little asses; the incessant trash-talking and the general meanness and abusive conduct.

    I don't play games in order to listen to a bunch of obnoxious children who think the Internet gives them the right to behave like complete asshats with imounity. I play to have fun.
    • I can completely understand your point. When it's appropriate, I curse like a sailor. I have zero problem with it--words are just words and all of that--but over the past few years there's been an outrageous increase in the number of times I run into people screaming racial slurs online. I am a firm believer in the thought that nothing is sacred, and everything is up for a potential laugh, but the manner in which these words are used is insane. It's like every fourteen year old in the US has replaced the

    • Re:One reason I let my XBox Live account die. (Score:5, Interesting)

      by orac2 ( 88688 ) on Friday February 17, 2006 @08:59PM (#14746668)
      I agree -- the swearing's fine, it's all the racism, misogyny and homophobia that's really starting to get old. I've attended press conferences with video game execs[1] and when I ask them about the dichotomoy between wanting to be treated like a legitimate, mainstream activity on the one hand and the hostile and exclusionary nature of an average morning on X-Box they, at best, shrug their shoulders with a "what can you do?" attitude or, at worst, fail to even understand the basis of the question. How about enforcing your damn ToS??? For younger players Xbox live requires a credit card to use, so there's supposed to be some adult around -- why capture a few seconds of the audio stream and send them a damn letter with a link explaining why their son has been banned? A few hundred "Notes home to the Parents" would have a definite chilling effect -- at the very least, it would finally say, "You know what guys, this isn't okay" instead of the wink, wink bullshit from the game companies that happens now, to point where some kids don't even understand why anyone would object when they spout some of this garbage.

      And just in case any of those kids are reading, let me spell it out: it's not okay to use "gay" as a synonym for "crap", "fag" as a synonym for "asshole", "rape" as a synonym for "achieve victory over" or "nigger" as a synonym for, well, anything.

      [1] These are often the same execs who mouth platitudes about wanting the industry to be less male oriented, and more welcoming to women, while surrounded by giant advertising placards featuring anatomically impossible women with heavy weaponry.

      • I agree -- the swearing's fine, it's all the racism, misogyny and homophobia that's really starting to get old.

        That's why you create an anti-bigot coalition across a large number of guilds. When certain players develop a pattern of overtly violent bigotry across multiple servers, they are banned from the larger chunk.

        For younger players Xbox live requires a credit card to use, so there's supposed to be some adult around -- why capture a few seconds of the audio stream and send them a damn letter with a

  • YOU STOLE MY F***ING CLOUD SONG! I'M GOING TO FIND YOU AND KILL YOU F***ING A***HOLES! AARRRRGH!!

    Yep ;) Anyhooos.... If you know what I'm talking about then you do. Or not, but look up Cloud Song on google. Quite a laugh. (Had to type this to get past filter).

  • XBox live... (Score:3, Insightful)

    by erroneus ( 253617 ) on Friday February 17, 2006 @07:06PM (#14746031) Homepage
    preface: I speak mainly of Halo-2 ...one of the things I've hated most about the environment is the things that "little boys" do that really get under my skin. Playing "cheap" is one thing that comes to mind -- sniping too much, maintaining control over the biggest-badest weapon or whatever. I don't mind getting my ass kicked, but at least let the game be fun! Then there's the kids who would otherwise suffer the wrath of the back of my hand for saying crap they shouldn't. Call me old school, but I think respect has a role in all of society.

    Incidentally, the "solution" to the "cheap boys" I have found is to speak to them first, and then don't let them win. Invariably, these cheap players play that way because they lack good general skills and strategy. I recall one time I was being "cheaped" and after a few kills, I put my foot down, played the same game he was and whooped his butt to the point that he simply disconnected from the game since he wasn't going to win and wasn't going to get another kill from me.

    The general solution to this should be self-evident: no admission into adult areas without parental permission or otherwise proving you are an adult in some way... otherwise keep kids at the kiddie table. A tough notion to apply to the net though.

  • Fuddy duddies (Score:5, Insightful)

    by RomulusNR ( 29439 ) on Friday February 17, 2006 @07:17PM (#14746090) Homepage
    by a 14 year old that learned a new word on the playground that day [my bold]

    I'm always amazed by people who simply seem to never have been young at all, ever.

    Or else, there is some condition or secret government experiment that causes people's brains to be wiped of all experiences had before age 22.

    Earth to shut-in researchers: Most kids know all such words well before age 12.

    Maybe some parents don't manage to hear them until 14, but that's because they are uninvolved with their children's lives, or else drastically shelter them.

  • Acts of Gord, Book of Annoyances, Ch. 23 (Score:3, Funny)

    by Ranger ( 1783 ) on Friday February 17, 2006 @07:52PM (#14746290) Homepage
    I think a passage from Acts of Gord, Book of Annoyances, Chapter 23 [actsofgord.com] would be appropriate:

    Oddity

    Ten year old child brings Grant Theft Auto to the counter and asks to rent it. Gord speaks to the father.

    "Sir, might I suggest a different game? This title isn't really a title for children due to inappropriate material."

    "Why is that?"

    "Substantial violence and swearing."

    "Holy fuck! You're shitting me! I can't expose my son to god damned swear words at his age. That sort of shit will fuck him up. That's bullshit they make games with swearing. What son of a bitch would make a game like that?"

    <dramatic pause>

    <Gord types into the computer>

    Note: Nathan can rent mature games - so says his father.

    "Here's your game. See you in a couple days."

  • Comment removed based on user account deletion
  • I'm not surprised at the amount of swearing this guy came across.

    If some anal retentive dickwad was sitting at his PC typing up all the ingame chat swearwords into a bloody Excel spreadsheet when it was his turn to be guarding the flag from those fucking Redteam fuckbags, I'd swear at him too!

  • Google Video [google.com] of some kid arguing with his mom, while on Xbox live with a headset
  • While it is certainly an interesting statistic I'm troubled by the author's statement which says something to the effect of "if anything this information should be used by parents to make an educated deciscion whether or not their child should play." He might claim neutrality all he wants but implicitly this suggests that it is reasonable that a parent try to keep their child away from swear words. A position I happen to disagree with.

    I mean imagine if someone said, "I gathered data on the frequency of bl
  • Is not that 14 year olds are swearing alot, it's that they're SO BAD AT IT.

    I remember a Halo 2 match on Live! where every sentence out of some kids mouth involved 'your mom'. Absolutely no creativity! He didn't even try to add variety to his smacktalk. 20 minutes of that will drive anyone insane.

    If you're going to be vulgar and rude, you better be entertaining in the process or I'll report your ass.
  • The little ones go online for some good, innocent shooting, maiming and killing each and they encounter... foul language. Surely this will be the end of Western civilization.

    Tor
  • Best experiences I've had on Live thus far...

    All while playing different online poker games:
    Person who didn't know headset wasn't muted (or that it even could) who reacted to the cards. You knew what he had every hand.

    Idiot that also didn't mute the headset and carried on conversations with his wife, on his cellphone, etc.

    The best one was the time I joined a game and it would pause on the same player everytime it was his turn, until it timed out and his hand folded automatically. After a couple of times,

  • Dunno what the point of that article was, but.. (Score:3, Funny)

    by cluke ( 30394 ) on Saturday February 18, 2006 @11:21AM (#14749377)
    This is the coolest graph [flickr.com] ever.

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