[barmar]

 Vampyr, on 2016-November-03, 01:18, said:

True but the thread has moved on.

Well, we're not making any changes to the forum software, so any suggestion to that effect is irrelevant.

[barmar]

 MrAce, on 2016-November-02, 18:47, said:

I do not know Richard;s grandma. My grandma would not be proud of everything he said in these forums but I think she would love him.

I still remember the first time my sister (probably about 12 at the time) cursed in front of my grandmother. My mother was aghast.

[Vampyr]

 barmar, on 2016-November-03, 08:37, said:

Well, we're not making any changes to the forum software, so any suggestion to that effect is irrelevant.

OK. I have never used the chat function in my life, so I am content whether you make changes or not.

[Kaitlyn S]

 Vampyr, on 2016-November-03, 08:50, said:

OK. I have never used the chat function in my life, so I am content whether you make changes or not.

How do you and partner agree on system/conventions?

[Kaitlyn S]

 helene_t, on 2016-October-31, 05:17, said:

There are many kinds of utterances that annoy me. Profanities are not among them but that is just me.

I don't expect BBO to protect my sensitivities. How are they to know what I like or don't like? In my native language, words related to sexual activity and certain body parts are not that insulting, while words related to mental health might well be, depending on context of course.

If I don't like someone's behaviour I can just mark them as enemies.

I feel the same way about this, there is a class of words that offend me (and some perhaps should be banned), this being racial slurs.

It disgusts me on another gaming site when someone uses the 'n' word when I've seen a photo of one of the other players who is black. (BTW, it doesn't matter if someone is black IMO, it's still disgusting.)

However, it would be difficult to censor racist language by an algorithm. Here in the U.S., 'frog' is a perfectly normal not racially charged word and I can easily see someone typing about a pair trying to run from a doubled partscore "they were jumping around like a frog." However this is an international website and in much of the word that word has racial overtones and I recently saw someone be as offended at that word as a black person would be at the n word. (Because I agree with Pete a little bit about having conversational habits carry over, I have tried to not use the word 'frog' except when it is very clear that I'm taking about the animal that my cat is chasing.)

[Vampyr]

 Kaitlyn S, on 2016-November-03, 09:18, said:

How do you and partner agree on system/conventions?

We discuss them over a glass of wine.

[barmar]

 Kaitlyn S, on 2016-November-03, 09:18, said:

How do you and partner agree on system/conventions?

She doesn't play on BBO (unless she uses a different username).

[gordontd]

 Vampyr, on 2016-November-03, 11:11, said:

We discuss them over a glass of wine.

Or three.

[barmar]

 Kaitlyn S, on 2016-November-03, 09:31, said:

However, it would be difficult to censor racist language by an algorithm.

BBO's bad word list is mostly just some of the most extreme epithets that just about everyone would agree are inappropriate (e.g. many variations on the F-word), although they're all English. Plus a few common insults that have become too common towards random partners (although "idjit" seems to be missing). We can easily add new words if they become common enough to be a problem.

[jmuncie]

 661_Pete, on 2016-October-30, 06:47, said:

Excuse me, but it is everyone's business. In my experience, people who use profane language in talking to their 'friends', also use profane language in talking to other people at large. Indeed, someone used a very abusive word in a private chat message to me, the other day (posted about elsewhere - and reported to the abuse@bridgebase hotline). Was this individual one of your so-called 'friends', I wonder?

I didn't even know there was a swear filter in the chatline, but if so, it's there for a reason. It stays. End of.

Anyway, fear not: you're going on my Ignore list henceforth, so you needn't be troubled by any further comments of mine, on your posts.

I thought partners were not allowed to chat to each other privately, when at play.

The biggest problem is when one sends a profane language chat to the wrong group or person! When on a public site, such as BBO, err on the side of moderate language!

[matmat]

It is absolutely ridiculous for BBO to censor private chat between friends.

[Kaitlyn S]

 matmat, on 2016-November-07, 23:57, said:

It is absolutely ridiculous for BBO to censor private chat between friends.

I can see a reason. One might make a hateful bigoted comment based on the nationality of one of the tablemates and somehow not correctly click the friend's username, so that the hurtful comment is seen at the table, or worse, in the lobby.

How many times have you meant to say something to somebody and had it go to someone else? I'd guess that at least 10% of my chats are misdirected due to small print/touch screen snafus.

[matmat]

 Kaitlyn S, on 2016-November-08, 12:07, said:

I can see a reason. One might make a hateful bigoted comment based on the nationality of one of the tablemates and somehow not correctly click the friend's username, so that the hurtful comment is seen at the table, or worse, in the lobby.

How many times have you meant to say something to somebody and had it go to someone else? I'd guess that at least 10% of my chats are misdirected due to small print/touch screen snafus.

Your comment is irrelevant to what I said.

[barmar]

 Kaitlyn S, on 2016-November-08, 12:07, said:

I can see a reason. One might make a hateful bigoted comment based on the nationality of one of the tablemates and somehow not correctly click the friend's username, so that the hurtful comment is seen at the table, or worse, in the lobby.

How many times have you meant to say something to somebody and had it go to someone else? I'd guess that at least 10% of my chats are misdirected due to small print/touch screen snafus.

Did you miss where he said "between friends"? If you send to the wrong person it won't be between friends, and it will be subjected to the normal censorship process.

[Vampyr]

 barmar, on 2016-November-09, 09:52, said:

Did you miss where he said "between friends"? If you send to the wrong person it won't be between friends, and it will be subjected to the normal censorship process.

How does BBO determine whether people are friends or not?

[barmar]

 Vampyr, on 2016-November-09, 10:06, said:

How does BBO determine whether people are friends or not?

Friends are players who follow each other. So if I follow you, and you follow me, we're considered friends.

[Vampyr]

 barmar, on 2016-November-09, 10:21, said:

Friends are players who follow each other. So if I follow you, and you follow me, we're considered friends.

OK, but we may not even have met each other, nor had any online contact. I would be very reluctant to use this "following" status to filter abusive language.

[Kaitlyn S]

 barmar, on 2016-November-09, 09:52, said:

Did you miss where he said "between friends"? If you send to the wrong person it won't be between friends, and it will be subjected to the normal censorship process.

Yes, I missed it - didn't think it through.

 Vampyr, on 2016-November-09, 11:36, said:

OK, but we may not even have met each other, nor had any online contact. I would be very reluctant to use this "following" status to filter abusive language.

What criteria would you use instead? Consider that my concern about racially charged chat being seen by its targets when you misclick the chat recipient is probably shared by many others here at BBO.

[MrAce]

 Vampyr, on 2016-November-09, 11:36, said:

OK, but we may not even have met each other, nor had any online contact. I would be very reluctant to use this "following" status to filter abusive language.

Which part of "if I follow you and if you follow me" are you having hard time to understand?

I can not just click 'follow' someone and send him/her abusive language. He/she has to also click on following me in order the software to recognize us as friends. Besides, anyone can unfollow someone to activate the filter or even 'ignore' someone to totally mute him/her, anytime they want.

[Vampyr]

 Kaitlyn S, on 2016-November-09, 16:07, said:

What criteria would you use instead? Consider that my concern about racially charged chat being seen by its targets when you misclick the chat recipient is probably shared by many others here at BBO.

I would not use any criteria.