We've had a huge number of new people sign up over the last couple of weeks.

Fantastic! (Thanks, RIAA : )

However, we've noticed a lot of people think the Comment boxes under articles are for posts on any subject. That's not what they're for. And some of the not-so-new people have apparently forgotten this as well.

The Comment boxes are specifically for posts on that article NOT for a cool link or your latest thought. Use the forums for that kind of thing. Trying to follow a thread weaving in and out of unrelated issues is a pain. Also, please don't cut-and-paste entire articles into comments. Summarize, or just include the first couple of sentences and the url.

Within the next little while we'll be introducing The Pot. That's where we're going to dump off-topic articles. We're always interested in what's going on and frequently add our own posts. Until we get The Pot online if, while we're cruising around, we see a comment that's way off topic, it'll disappear.

Finally - we have unrestrained freedom of speech and although we prefer not to moderate discussions or posts, we reserve the right to trash anything that's obscene, offensive to any racial group, or from an industry lurker (although they never last long : ). And on curse words, there are now a number of widely used filters out there designed specifically to stop entry to sites laced with f**k, sh*t* and so on. We don't want to keep people out, so try to watch it.

Just so's you don't think we're on your case, we'll be putting this info in the new members' registrations forms, and we'll also be adding a link to it on the main page.

Thanks.
Larry (leflaw), Bill (thumbtack) and Jon (newjon)

Raises left hand..
"I solemnly promise to try to stay on topic and use words that anyone would be proud of "

~code

Me, too. I guess there was just so much off topic stuff going on, I often fell into it too. I am also an advocate of making your point w/o the nasty words. Only because to outsiders and potential new members it makes us look bad.

Agreed. this issue bring out so much passion (myself especially) it's easy to forget. thanks for the reminder

Heard Loud And Clear!

True, True

I, in my few posts will try to make use of more user friendly terms such as, but not limited to:

"Golly Gee", "Dang", "Darnit", "Cheese and Rice", "Holy Moly", "Gosh", "Crigy" , and one of my favorites "Well... I'll be a monkeys uncle"

Feel free to use these terms in acts such as astonishment, sadness, frustration, etc.

while i can understand where you are coming from, keeping foul words out of the posts and such, in the end it is the intent behind the word that ultimately makes it good or bad and not the word itself. take cracker for instance. in one sense of the word, it's a quite tasty treat to have with tomato soup. in another instance of the word, it is an illegal activity enjoyed by phrackers the world over. and in yet another sense of the word it is a racial slang for a white person. the same could be said for amost every other word that we consider foul. after all, who determins what words are foul and which are not? the very establishment that most of us hate is who.

i'm not saying i condone the use of foul language in these posts, but i certainly would say that you should not just target foul language if you with to keep these boards clean. after, i could say that i want to kill someone. kill isn't a foul word, but the intent certainly is.

I know this is off topic but...........



Just joking. I concur.

[joke]
oh, and since we hate the RIAA here, i beleive the title of this post should be considered foul as well
[/joke]

So who thinks the Bucs will win the Superbowl again?

Got it, there is just so much info flowing, that we, I get of track at times. And I will take codes oath as well.

Raises left hand..
"I solemnly promise to try to stay on t

You've got my oath as well.

Count me in. I'm of the opinion that if you can't show enough restraint to refrain from using bad language, your statements seem less like valuable input and more like a street rant.

Reserve foul language for where it belongs...really good dirty jokes.

I dunno if I'm guilty of this, but you have my pledge anyways.

As for the foul language, I don't use it myself in speech when it's not needed, the worst I'll use in text is usually "damn". So I don't think I'll have a problem with that.

RIAA is a four-letter word.

Raises left hand...

I take the code-oath and do solemnly promise to always stay on topic. (havent had a problem with that one)

I do also solemnly promise to not have a "potty-mouth" when answering posts. (have had a problem with that one)

Bad Jolly, BAD! (Jolly-Roger hides his face in shame)



- Jolly Roger

- Who ordered the jelly doughnut with sprinkles?

I hope I haven't attempted any threadjacking around here, but I'll remember to be extra careful not to. I can also see the need for keeping speech clean around here, what with trying to appeal to a broad base of people. Some people find obscenity very objectionable and it would seem like a waste if they were to be repulsed from this site because of it. It's not much of an issue for me though because my writing tends not to have much obsenity. Listen to me talk though..wow.

I agree to try to keep these discussions from going too far off topic, although I see a lot of good things coming from off topic responses as well. I already agreed earlier to restrain from using such vulgarities. But all in all I respect your opinions on how your website should be run. It's not my website, nor is it owned by the "regulars" here. It is your sole property to do with it as you wish. I also completely understand your feelings on keeping this site available to as many people as possible by not using vulgar language, however, I will stress once again, filtering software does not work, and to worry about people's access to this site due to filtering software is not neccessary.

Just one example:

http://www.peacefire.org/

~goingnova

I know. I'm guilty of quoting Tolkien. I apologize.

I hope this doesn't discourage people from posting links. Most of the links I've read have related to the topic and I have found very encouraging.

A video of the boycott was popped on the techtv website, thought people would like to know. http://www.techtv.com/news/culture/story/0,24195,3504379,00.html

I'm pretty new here, and while I'll go along with all of these changes just like everyone else, I'm with silencethepoet, and goingnova, on this one .. I don't like it.

For one, as poet pointed out, if it hadn't been for those "off-topic" responses, how many people would have known to sign the EEF's petition to stop the RIAA's lawsuit? And, yes .. you still might have found out about it, but how much time would have been lost waiting for someone to post info on it in the "news" section? I for one, love the links folks provide, and usually click on each and everyone regardless of topic.

As far as swearing is concerned,I think that when you start restricting what people can say, and how they can say it, you are alienating more people than you are bringing in. Freedom of speech is dying on the internet, folks .. and if you aren't against it's death, then you're for it.

But, yes .. as much as I don't like it, I like the RIAA even less, so I'll play along. Besides, as was mentioned before, it's not my site, and I won't tell you how to run it.

I'm guilty of posting a link earlier on overtime, it was on codes " jig saw puzzle of freedom" .When it gets political ,sometimes other issues come out. I'll stop putting off topic links in my post.

oops...sorry...my bad...

Hey StoneWall1 - "the EEF's petition to stop the RIAA's lawsuit?" That was online here on September 12, as was another on the FCC petition. We try hard to get relevant stuff up as fast as we can, but there aren't many of us and we don't always succeed.

And asking people to watch their language isn't restricting freedom of speech: it's partly to make sure the people who DO want that (ie, the ones who write the curse-blocking software in the first place) don't succeed in keeping people away from our sites; and, partly to take note of the fact that a lot of kids come here too.

So you wouldn't be 'playing along' - you'd be helping out.

Off-topic, but I just wanted to tell you all about...

Just joking.

I hear and obey you: Larry, Bill, and Jon.

Next time I have a chat transcript or anything else that takes a lot of space, I will put a short comment and link. Sorry, I didn't think to do that before. I will also promise to refrain from spamming the same contributions on more than one forum.

G Z : "RIAA is a four-letter word."

That kicks butt man. Awesome.

wHEN WE SEND AND ARTICLE through news/submitt should we cut & paste? or just use link? because sometimes I can't get link to work

I want to apologize for a couple of post where I used foul language. Very passionate, angry rebel come back in the fold here. Won't happen again (hopefully).

You have my attention. I just want to know... where's The Pot?

The Pot is coming soon..

thumbtack.....check your news update! I just wired you something

we need to thank Mr. Brown

That's agreed.

We should be more on topic, and definitely not use curse words. We need to broaden our reach and be able to communicate with everyone. Some people are offended by such language.

I take CodeWarrior's oath as well- except with both hands

Only together and on topic can we defeat the RIAA.

:-:~ PhantomGhost ~:-:

shure thing general

We know we have freedome of speech. However like it or not we are judged on the words we use. If this site is filled with words that to some are offensive, it can only harm the cause. Or possibly even make some people think it a joke.

*Laughing* Of course I just showed how hypocritical I am because of my handle...but it is what my friends and family call me.

i think i got sued by the riaa, cablevision keeps calling my house and asking for me and i say im not home. what should i do

Agreed. Although, I can't remember if I ever posted off topic on the articles but I am sure I have cussed using substitute characters.

I take CodeWarrior's oath.

Hail Mp3!!!

www.homestarrunner.com *looks both ways* *then back* *then forth* *runs*

no no im just kidding man... yes yes... point taken

OldSchoolHipHop,, I would check the database at EFF. Type in your username and see. If they are trying to contact you for that reason your name should be in it.

I know this is off topic and I promise i will not post anymore.

sorry if i get off topic but how do i get my ip adress

forget it i figured it out

Thank you Larry (leflaw), Bill (thumbtack) and Jon (newjon)!!! I am fairly new to this site and am very interested on how all this plays out in the end. When I first started reading info on this site I found (and still do…) the articles very interesting and full of excellent information. The comments on the other hand seem more suited to a flame board than to a site that is actually attempting to unite people against a common foe.

We need to remember that those we would oppose will use anything and everything in their power to categorize, ridicule, and belittle us as a representative body of anything, or to allow any credence or wieght to be given to anything we say. As has been stated here many times, they hold the cards, they have the power. Is it right? Well, not if this is a democracy but then I guess you’ve answered your own question there haven’t you…

I have already seen to people sign off because of language and or off topic or left field comments. We need to be doing it better than the other guy – cleaner, more accurate, better informed.

Remember, we are the ones looking for support – They have already purchased theirs…

The only thing I was thinking about, is that if I get off topic and my posts get taken away to sequestration...
could I say I had been going to the POT a lot?
And, do comments get taken out of the Pot occasionally? Then you might say you have been on and off the Pot all day...would that be diaRIAA?

~code

LOL CODE!

I would say you be a potty trainer!

I raise my right hand and swear, dammit, I'm British! =p

Code: Those jokes were terrible, trult terrible my friend!

One could even say you're potty...(yes RIAAlly!)

Code...you potty mouth, you!

I think you guys are on the right track. And let us be tolerant of political leanings, ok? Save our rants for the RIAA. It's fantastic to see all the new posters! It means we are growing, and that is healthy!
(most kids know alot more naughty words than I probably ever will, let alone have the opportunity to use in a sentence)

In the words of the immortal Eric Idle:

"Sor-rrryyyy"

Ok that's cool. I promise to behave myself. (I'm going on vacation for a week anyway)

I don't hear this anywhere near enough so I'll say it now then be quiet for a while.. Jon, Bill, Larry, thanx for all your hard work. the movement is working and it's doing so because of you. I appreciate the site and I'll work hard to follow the rules so that we can continue to have success.

thanx again
the capt

Like me a lot of folsk are too lazy to stumble along to the forums to post a link or thought. Blogs are always a place for people to throw in a quick comment etc rather than browse away to some other page and try the correct forum to create a new thread. Why do so when it's so much easier and quicker to throw it in a reply while you are here reading the articles and other user comments?

I assume 'The Pot' will be an extra button next to the reply box for throwing in off top comments? That would be cool.

Guess I am as bad as the next about wandering. What can I say? In the process of answering thoughts run faster than the two fingers...

I do understand where you are coming from, it is a rare post that is both off topic and with good info in it. Some of those that have written off topic and given good links, such as the poster who left a the link to a RIAA comic strip. While it was humorous, it was tedious on the second and third subject for the same link. (example only)

Mostly the foul language should be dealt with. After all this is a public place with folks of all ages coming here. It is or should be "family rated". For those that come in to check the articles while at work, I would imagine the system security might have an objection to the use of such words, thereby limiting the members use of the site.

Now that my knuckles bleed I shall hold to the unseen ones rules of conduct. Be it that this is the most open minded group I've had the pleasure to joust with since AG went away. Peace to you and yours. PEACE

I honestly don't know if this is OT or not but since it has do with the changes happening here, I think it's OK. Don't scold me though. Here goes.

I monitor this site thru an RSS feed and for the last couple days now the feed won't update and I'm getting this error. Can you fix it?

17sep03 19:02:26 Boycott-riaa.com error: Can't update the feed.
- XML parse failed (4:L62/c: not well formed (invalid token)

ok two any one left that might still have not checked this post i would say to you this swaring is not that big of and issue as you can say pi$$ azz d!ck f^ck and what not you get my point and still get your message across i love to swar but i catch my self every time and put in a blank on one of the words it's not much to ask and it's not all that restive and as for off topic post we all have urges i for one am guilty of that on more then one post but the founder of this site reads the news all the time and post it out all the time so if you feel you have news that is a good post please submit it and if it can't what take it to the bords ok thats all i have to say for now


i'm a pi$$ed off pit-bull with a taste of riaa blood i'll neaver go back to eating my kibbles and bits

To: thumbtack
What would you say to allowing only the expletives which are permitted to be said on prime-time network television? Wouldn't that be fair and acceptable?

grumpy - Well, according to George Carlin, that's everything except the "Seven Dirty Words" which I can't say here. But you can google 'em.

I, solemly swear, to keep on topic(except for in the pot) and limit the number of cuss words I use.

So how about them Yankees?

Sorry, that is my sense of humor. I do not think I have ever posted anything off topic before this anyway because I try not to!

well i try not to cuss so much cause we never know who is going to be droping in and checking out the posts, and i will do what i can to stay on topic, but at times it hard when someone asks a question or somthing cause i'm some what of a computer geek so will also try to answer that *shrugs* sorry for the times i have gone off topic

did some one say pot mokin:

Click this link for porn....LOL, im just kiddin ya, ill stay on the topic. Thanks guys!

Dagnabbit! No more cursing? Against those RIAA uh... dweebs!

They are a bunch of uh... unpleasant, uh... NERDS, Purple monkey dishwasher!

Count me in. I'll just keep it to:

"You empty-headed animal food tough wiper"
-or-
"I fart in your general direction!"

That ought to cover it.

make that 'trough'

Think your site is great.
I try to use profanity very sparingly, otherwise it loses its ability to show a greater than normal level of concern, etc. In addition, it reflects badly on the user, and the goals of this site.
However, I must respectfully disagree with you about getting off topic.
Sometimes, something that I read will trigger an association, that will lead to another idea, etc. While it might seem OT, it may actually be on-topic, but seen from a different perspective.
Also, it doesn't hurt to throw in a different thought every so often. Sometimes great ideas come from unrelated ideas bounced against each other.
In any event, I think if you start actively editing out posts that you feel don't meet your particular criteria, you will fatally stifle the fresh atmosphere of the place.
We are obviously of diverse backgrounds, and bring different talents and experiences, but out of all this chaos some good ideas will appear. If not, so what ? Life WILL go on.
I think you should just step back and let the discussions proceed.
Just my humble opinion. No charge.

The Kid.

Code great post about the oath and then being pottie trained - gotta love this place.

I am currently reading this site from school, because im suffering from a severe headache and exaustion that make homework impossible. The cencor software has already decided I cannot view one thread because the banned-word count excedes its limit, so any swearing is currently very annoying.

i agree to stay on topic as long as it doesnt interfere with my rants, pontifications, random thoughts on subjects not directly related to the topic at hand, and analytical comparisons of Cary-Sue and the duck billed platypus

....yes i will try to stay on topic

I agree and will be compliant with both requests. It is better to have a voice, albeit on topic, than to have no voice at all. We should be thankful this site is here and do what we can to make it better.

O-TAY!
WABBITMAN

i to swear to do what it is everyone else is doing when they do it and how they say they are doing it to the best of my inabilities

The CodeWarrior Oath. Hrmm.. maybe that should be part of the TOS?
Please raise your right hand while you read the following aloud:
"I [your name here] do solemnly swear and/or avow that I will use my best judgement concerning off topic posts and foul language on this site. I further do swear and/or avow that I will refrain from said activity unless it has a direct link to the post I am responding under, such as posting how my gerbil died a horrible death because I couldn't afford gerbil food because I got sued by the RIAA.
I understand that this site is not run by people who are trying to curtail my rights, but rather who are trying to make this a forum where people of all ages can come to get news and opinions on what the RIAA and the world are doing about online music w/o being offended."
Lowering right hand and left clicking on the "I accept" button.
Thanks CODE!!!!!!!!!!!!!
btw.. TOTAL satire.. all the people who are regulars here know what's what, and who's who.. and we all would hate to see this site hobbled by bad language, wordy OT posts and other crap. Great way to get the point across Larry,Bill and Jon.
ttmmm

Lo and behold I was gonna write
To Jon, Bill, & Larry about suggestions about this site.

They must be psychics, I swear.
They addressed issues that spared me from tearing out my hair.

A "Cool Thoughts" dumping ground, which will be called THE POT.
To spare us of weaving threads and vertigo on the spot.

New members, old members, a gentle reminder to be retrained.
Of the propesity of using expletives, will be refrained.

Can't use this forum for flame wars. That's boring.
Instead, voices should be heard. Our clear message will soon be soaring.

Gosh darn it all, we are making differences.
So thanks to all, one day the RIAA will to come to their senses.

Cosmic Shimmer expresses gratitude for this oppurtunity to write posts.
And is given the time to share thoughts and to suck up to the hosts.

How's this?

May the members of the RIAA go now and fornicate upon themselves, without benefit of lubrication, preferrably with an instrument of wood, that leaves splinters behind.

Hey I got this really cool,what were we talking about? Oh ya stay on topic...
sorry
hehe

I HAVE TO GO TO THE POT!!!!!! WHERE IS IT????

ISP..it's down two doors and to the left..but, in England, we call it the "WC" (water closet)...
I nominate we have a folder next to The Pot, and name it "Calling the Kettle Black"...of course, I also tried to get Pakistan to rename itself to "A Hard Place" so that we could call the border ...between Iraq and a Hard Place (and they all groaned at the puns)

These two sheepherders were skinning this mule...... Has anyone read the latest issue of rolling stone? Some good stories about the poor RIAA's plight against the digital thieves, also a few notes about the alleged Eathstation 5.

Sanitation Flenses stash morrow stanley fur coat wendell cork yerba buena nickel plated isotopes? Forgive lithe writhers limited feeling meanwhile. Fertile normalizing tourniquet contested flee right kill buxom. Teeming literature moose balls.

Listen.... The RIAA is an overbearing control monster who is just trying to scare us all... I am all for this site and just want to follow topics... however, I HATE THE RIAA!!! So does almost 45% of Canada! Yes I am canadian... ahh well... Give it all ya got! eh... meh... Just listen... u'll learn.. I mean it...

'The Kid' wrote:
. . . "However, I must respectfully disagree with you about getting off topic.
Sometimes, something that I read will trigger an association, that will lead to another idea, etc. While it might seem OT, it may actually be on-topic, but seen from a different perspective.
Also, it doesn't hurt to throw in a different thought every so often. Sometimes great ideas come from unrelated ideas bounced against each other.
In any event, I think if you start actively editing out posts that you feel don't meet your particular criteria, you will fatally stifle the fresh atmosphere of the place.
We are obviously of diverse backgrounds, and bring different talents and experiences, but out of all this chaos some good ideas will appear. If not, so what ? Life WILL go on.
I think you should just step back and let the discussions proceed.
Just my humble opinion. No charge."

--The Kid.

P.S. GrumpyGeezer agrees with The Kid.

Also, to "thumbtack":
You didn't respond to my previous question I had directed your way. So, here it is again:

Date: September 17, 2003 @ 10:59 PM

To: thumbtack
What would you say to allowing on this site only the expletives which are permitted to be said on prime-time network television? Wouldn't that be fair and acceptable?

R**A

Nice job... love the four letter words...

The school cencorware is blocking my own website because of excessive use of the word "crack". Considering that the site is devoted to cracking copy protection systems, its notsurprising I have used the word frequently. It does show that those programs can be a bit oversensitive through, ignoreing context, so remember to keep clean.

What words grumpygeezer? I don't watch much primetime either...

hey make a link to the pot on the front page to make it easyer for me to post or at least some thing that says the pot

To: thumbtack
Regarding "prime time" television, I suppose a more ardent viewer than myself can verify, but as far as I can tell:
Blatant obscenities and profanities aren't allowed on network T.V. between 7 p.m. and 10 p.m., so we could use that useful guideline here, too; that way, hardly anyone should be offended.

(P.S., Oh, I know, someone is going to mention "Saving Private . . .", but, hey, that was a lone exception, right?)

Bill, I violate by staying "off topic" a bunch, and I appologize. However, untill this site started picking up viewers and members (Thank's to the RIAA's steadily increasing facist/insane behaviour to to public) only we "early adaptors" were here frequently... thus we ended up treating (and thus abusing) these "top line threads" as a kind of slow motion chat room.

But now that the flock is growing, I see your point. We need to stick to the point of each thread as much as possible!

AND, now that so many more are here now, the "backrooms" that many of us " early adopters" didn't even have time to read (cause so much is being said here in the current news area) will give us more of a chance to be heard about specific topics.

Just LINK specific topics of import here on the front page and not hide em in obscurity, would ya?

Shmoo, of Electric Gypsy
Support Local and Independent Music
http://electricgypsy.iuma.co

OldSchoolHipHop:

"i think i got sued by the riaa, cablevision keeps calling my house and asking for me and i say im not home. what should i do"

how bout payin your bill (lol)

...aw, crap, I got off topic funnin with one of my peeps

Hey Bill, is the "Pot" gonna be something like "so and so said - "POT'" and their comments go into the pot with a link to click so if we are interested in what they said we can quickly and easily click and see? A lot of other web-boards do that sorta thing. As you know, the threads here are kinda primitave in that regard.

Shmoo, of Elecric Gypsy

Crap, just spilled beer all over a stack of RIAA CD's that I was gonna send to Cary Sue. Was gonna try to get my money back for "inferior and moralistically unacceptable" content.

Oh well. Wasn't gonna listen to em myself no more anyway.

Maybe the "POT" should be made a permanent top line thread arranged in reverse chronological order... or called "Today's Pot!" listing only the recent off topic stuff...

Some posters might be enough to swear so much that sooner or later all a reader sees is swearing and not the point. Same thing with insulting each other, all one sees is the namecalling and the point that gets hidden.
Im somewhat with grumpy and the kid, but I trust the Admins to let us get a little offtopic as long as the article isnt totally forgotten.
In a related thought, the chat room Ive hosted for over two years now has two MSN communities, one rated general the other adult.

And, one more thing... BILL, I myself can agree to dumping off topic, or "dirty worded" stuff to the POT, but don't you DARE take ANY industry responses away from this board... (yes, only a few actual industry "toads" have ever been here...) but LET THEM SPEAK!

Make the rule ONTOPIC or you end up IN THE POT...

NEVER let the enemy not have his say!
(lest we become like them!)

to Thumbtack, in reference to grumpygeezer's question:
A$$, Bit*h, cr*p, pen*s, and vag**a are allowed on network TV. can we use those here?

oops i hit post twice sorry

*raises right hand*
"Word, yo."

You guys are doing a great job, and if I have to moderate my Torrets F**K! so that you can S**T! do what you came here to D**K! do, then I will A**! do that.

i think the point of keeping the language clean is to give people who would not otherwise be able to access this site (librarys, schools, ect...) due to filtering software the ability to access this site. i fully agree with free speech, but lets be realistic...there are those that would keep people from accessing certain sites due to foul language.
oh, btw, i think the raiders will take the lombardy this year...peace and love be unto all...
iscariot~

jreb333 wrote: 
Date: September 19, 2003 @ 1:13 PM
to Thumbtack, in reference to grumpygeezer's question:
A$$, Bit*h, cr*p, pen*s, and vag**a are allowed on network T.V. Can we use those here?

Grumpy's response: jreb333 is correct; but, thumbtack, really, if that's the worst of what we would occasionally be faced with having to read on the news forum here, then that's not very bad at all -- when contrasted with some of what has appeared in the past!

The network t.v. standard should be good to go with. Just think of what WOULDN'T be allowed; and what jreb333 wrote about is just about the worst-case scenario, too.
I'd wager that we could live with it.

My point is what does copyright and filesharing have to do with A$$, Bit*h, cr*p, pen*s, and vag**a, f**k?

Just try to hold it down folks..this is the internet, shock value doesn't work here...

If it takes having to moderate the news comments for topic on boycott-riaa, I'll kill the news comments and leave only the forums...I don't need to be a playground monitor, not do I have the time. We designed the site to make an impact, and right now I'm getting emails from people who support our cause but are offended by the languge in the news comments. They come here to get information, and they get A$$, Bit*h, cr*p, pen*s, and vag**a, f**k, etc...

It is costing us credibility..something I've spent 3 years building. We're becoming part of the national debate taking place, and I don't want to see it jepordized..We all understand the passion, and the rage that many of us are experiencing, but the comments on news items is not the place to express it. NEWS IS NEWS, not a forum or chat or message board. Thats why we put the forums in on boycott..to give you a place to express yourself.

Bill Evans
founder boycott-riaa.com
fighting the riaa for 3 years+

To: thumbtack
I guess it's too bad that the T.V. networks can't be censored or movies or songs cleaned up like a website can be, right?

BTW, as an aside, just to clarify: You mentioned "f**k" as an example along with the most extreme network words that jreb333 and myself brought up; but "f**k" is not included as a network word to be permitted on prime time.

Didn't wnat to leave any possibilites out grumpygeezer..then someone would nitpick that as well.

Hooray for the pot!

FUN FUN FUN

EVERY ONE HERE ROCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

'tack:
point made. Thanks for all your work over the past three years. I understand your concerns, as I'm sure most of the others that post regularly here do. I know that I have tried to keep my own level of profanity down here (tho IRL I'm VERY profane *smirk*).. and I've seen the shift you've mentioned. I can't seem to write anything w/o becoming obsequious, so I'll just quit while I"m ahead and say thanks, this site rocks and I hope we can all keep this fight going to it's end.
ttmmm

Bill, as distasteful as it may be to have to censor these forums, I agree with you 100%. You guys do a great job here, and I would hate to see this site lose credibility with newcomers and outsiders for precisely the reasons you stated.

As it is, I've watched it degenerate into endless discussions about how to share copyrighted songs without getting caught, and how many files of copyrighted songs people have on their hard drives.

That has just about done it for me. I've pretty much resigned myself to lurking for the most part, checking for new and pertinent news, and chiming in once in a while.

I support whatever you feel you need to do to keep this site viable and respectable. You have my vote.

And I'm STILL not buying *any* RIAA material whatsoever. Long live the boycott.

I've definitely been in lurk mode, too, but I am just as committed to this as ever. I think for now, I'd like to hear what some of the people new to this site are saying, hopefully us old timers can point them to the resources we've seen here in the past and get them up to steam. I've always believed that sooner or later this site would have to clean up and become more of a forum for serious discussion about the issue, while I miss the flames sometimes, I have to admit, I feel more hopeful when things stay on topic and civil.