• SplashJackson@lemmy.caEnglish
    183·
    19 days ago

    Sl*t? Are we censoring slut now? When did we become so afraid of language that we just started coming up with new swears?

    Shazbot

    • spujb@lemmy.cafeEnglish
      6·
      19 days ago
      1. platforms such as instagram and pinterest (where these types of memes are very commonly posted) have OCR capabilities and will restrict posts that contain certain language
      2. some people choose to “defang” their language intentionally, especially when joking, in order to make it clear that the word isn’t used with derogatory intent
      3. using asterisks to c*nsor words is common in ironic posting, increasing the satirical value of the post.

      we have had partial self censorship in media for decades now. no clue why people get so uptight when it happens on the internet.

      • gaiety@lemmy.blahaj.zoneEnglish
        62·
        19 days ago

        Nah, fuck that. Censoring words by replacing characters with asterisks isn’t accessible to non-sighted users who use tools like screen readers. If people don’t want to see words on the internet they can block list them or choose what communities they engage with.

        • spujb@lemmy.cafeEnglish
          31·
          19 days ago

          Again, the #1 reason I gave was corporate social media taking down uncensored posts. What’s even less accessible than a censored post? A post that doesn’t exist because it gets the user banned.

          I appreciate your commitment to accessibility, but posting image macros without alt text (the norm for most meme communities) isn’t accessible to screen readers either. If you are going to get judgy at this post you have to have beef with 99% of meme culture that doesn’t ever provide image transcriptions either, asterisks or no.

          Or you could let people have fun online. 🙄