Originally Posted by jovilaura_fi

As Captain Crash pointed out, this board has very little to do with England. It is an international board, that abides by the rules of internet. I don't know exactly where the server is, but I say it is in Slovakia. English laws do not apply in Slovakia. So the illegal or 'lawfully offensive' does not abide. By internet rules, spreading animal or child pornography is illegal, not swearing. In some countries, such as Saudi-Arabia, sites showing bare skin are banned. Those are the laws in that country, and they cannot access sites that show material that are illegal in that country.

Also, Dawn, swearing at a policeman is not an offence as such. Sure, if you say to a police officer 'f*ck off' you will get arrested. But also, if you say to a police officer 'get lost' or 'take a hike' you will be just as likely to get arrested, even if the words themselves are considered 'appropriate'. However, if you say to a policeman 'I saw a red van that came speeding f*cking fast round the corner' you will probably not be arrested. Swearing is different from name-calling or directly offending someone.

There are countries where saying 'Jesus rocks' would get you arrested, or at least in trouble. And not only muslim or communist countries. In France, if you wear a top saying 'Jesus rocks' to school will get you suspended, where as probably something you consider 'offensive' would not get the students suspended.

Religious views are much more likely to cause trouble than swearing. I am not saying swearing should be accepted, this is why on Jovitalk swear words are censored. Yes, there is a way to get around it, but in general it is censored. Swearing does not equal offending someone. If you call someone a 'f*cker' on this board does not evoke much stronger reaction than if you called them a 'dimwit', even though both dim and wit are generally accepted. Name-calling is never appropriate, and using swear words or generally accepted words do not change that.