Can I use salty, expletive-laden language on Stack Exchange sites, like Q*Bert?
For more information, see "What kind of behavior is expected of users?" in the Help Center.
1 Answer
No.
Using expletives is not acceptable behavior on any Stack Exchange site and is a violation of the Code of Conduct, even on Meta. There are a very small handful of exceptions (such as if you were talking about the word itself on a language site), but in general you should not use expletives anywhere, under any circumstances. If you can't effectively communicate what you need to say without resorting to lowest common denominator cursing, then keep it to yourself.
If you use expletives, you will likely get a warning. Any language that becomes a source of disruption is subject to removal through editing. If you use even what one might consider the mildest of expletives for style and someone removes them, leave them out.
If you continue to use expletives, you will be placed on timed suspension.
- 61How are we supposed to find out which words are considered "expletives" on Stack Exchange? I'm not just asking to be annoying - as a global resource, it's possible that cultural norms in different places have very different influences on what's offensive (e.g. consider the difference between a devoutly religious country/region and one that's much more secular).Toby Speight– Toby Speight2017-04-07 08:16:05 +00:00Commented Apr 7, 2017 at 8:16
- 12@TobySpeight if you have to ask that question about a word don't say ituser345817– user3458172017-04-26 15:49:33 +00:00Commented Apr 26, 2017 at 15:49
- 28@Christopher: yes, I'm reasonably confident that my answers are worded acceptably for most English-speaking cultures. My point is simply that it's not as black-and-white as you might think (even ignoring obvious cases such as when implementing spam filters).Toby Speight– Toby Speight2017-04-26 16:10:53 +00:00Commented Apr 26, 2017 at 16:10
- 12Fork this sort!iBug says Reinstate Monica– iBug says Reinstate Monica2017-04-30 14:24:32 +00:00Commented Apr 30, 2017 at 14:24
- 4@Jeff Atwood: even in chat?sergiol– sergiol2017-08-30 22:52:53 +00:00Commented Aug 30, 2017 at 22:52
- 41This either needs to be globally enforced or forgotten. There is nothing worse than a "enforced at my whim" rule.Kik– Kik2017-09-28 17:18:30 +00:00Commented Sep 28, 2017 at 17:18
- 1So what do we do if we run into an expletive on a question, etc.?rogerdpack– rogerdpack2018-04-30 23:48:39 +00:00Commented Apr 30, 2018 at 23:48
- 13@rogerdpack Flag it as rude or offensive (or abusive). That is what the flag is there for :)fosslinux– fosslinux2018-05-01 06:15:07 +00:00Commented May 1, 2018 at 6:15
- 19@Christopher I think the issue is that what is offensive to some is benign to others, and the others have no idea, and the offended will take it contextually. A great example is the word squat. I have used that word and offended people who think it is explicit. But there are contexts where it is just a word that means a specific body position. If we didn't use any words because we could imagine a hypothetical person would be offended by them, then we basically couldn't write anything.Todd Wilcox– Todd Wilcox2018-06-05 14:26:26 +00:00Commented Jun 5, 2018 at 14:26
- 3What about blanked out swear words, like 'effing'?marcellothearcane– marcellothearcane2019-08-04 15:31:15 +00:00Commented Aug 4, 2019 at 15:31
- @marcellothearcane: More examples (observed in the wild)This_is_NOT_a_forum– This_is_NOT_a_forum2024-05-10 14:41:21 +00:00Commented May 10, 2024 at 14:41
- 2Consider links to strong language, such as natribu.org/en . Such a URL is per se neutral; only the context can decide whether such a link is supposed to be offensive or not. If you professionally talk about it (say, linguistically or politically), it's not, but if you advise someone to visit the link, it may very well be.AlMa1r– AlMa1r2025-11-11 04:09:28 +00:00Commented Nov 11 at 4:09
Q*Bertor any comparable game; he/she may have to read the linked document without ever having played the game or anything comparable. For the huge, international Website SE, saying “like Q*Bert” is imprecise and, frankly, not most professional.