Ericgamer1.
An individual who is, supposedly, the moderator of the Video Games forum. An individual who...has a problem with the asterisk.
The asterisk is a very important key. It enables us to perform mathematical equations on the computer, and means "multiplied by." It is used by some as an alternative for swearing, in order to comply with forum rules that may be in place. It is also used by many people to correct grammatical mistakes, usually as such:
'Hey Palu!'
'Paul*'
Why Ericgamer1 is offended by the usage of the asterisk is unclear. Perhaps it represents a sunflower, and he may have had a traumatic experience involving a sunflower. Maybe it reminds him of the stars, and gives him an uneasy feeling of how massive the universe is compared to the world. It could also, to him, the tyranny that is multiplication in a mathematical equation. We may never know the true answer to this question. However, it is clear that in two instances, I have unfortunately received infractions for "swearing."
Let us examine an excerpt from the first post in which I was reported to have "swore":
"This E3 was complete ****. **** all this gimmicky touch-pad and Kinect bull****. Nintendo was the only one who could save E3, and they failed miserably, like everyone else. Video Gaming is officially dead."
The message I received was "swearing much. o_O" But let us take a step back for a second.
By definition, what is swearing? I believe Ericgamer1 was referring to profanity, which is defined as a show of disrespect, or a desecration or debasement of someone or something. Profanity can take the form of words, expressions, gestures, or other social behaviors.
Based upon this definition, which of these elements are present in my post? I see a total of twelve asterisks. Asterisks, by definition, mean "multiplied by." Where is the swearing in question? Moreover, who is being offended?
Let us examine an excerpt from the second post in question.
"WOW, MAN. WOW. [removed] YOU.
[...]
Moral of the story II: Nintendo likes to [removed] over the most loyal of its fanbase. (specifically us Pikmin bros)"
The two [removed] placeholders were, presumably, the offenders. This was the post that got reported. The original copy, had [EFF] and [****] in place of these two [removed] placeholders. Is "EFF" also an example of profanity? The message I received this time was: "so I asked you to stop swearing. self censoring counts as that too. please do not do it again" Why am I repeatedly being given infractions for usage of asterisks, and the term "EFF"?
Thank you for reading this analysis.
Super Srs Version: Why is swearing an offense that has given me two consecutive infractions? Is it that big a deal? I clearly censored all "swear words," and was actually a large contributor to the discussion of that thread.
COME AT ME BRO
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