amok: Sorry, miss-read... Lets start again:
" You state that swearing/etc can be used for valid reasons in a thread further into your post but start by saying swears aren't valid for thread titles. If they can be used to insert some "emotional impact" into the words of a post why can't they do the same thing validly in a thread title?"
This i have already explained - context. You do not start an argument with an stranger by using "bad words" but you may do so when the argument is in progress - it is bad form. Also when the "bad word" is in the thread title it is very visible in the main page, you might not find it offensive, I might not find it offensive but someone else might do - is it right to "force" them to read it each time they open up gog forum? if it is in a thread they can atleast just close the thread. I think it is more considerate to keep the titles "clean" and gog do have a corporate image to think of.
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"Anyways this debate wasn't even about being able to use swears in thread titles, but using semi-risque words in valid ways in thread titles & having them edited out for no real reason."
I can not for the life of me see any valid reason why anyone would need to use "semi-risque words" in a title. There is no subject which can not be explained without using them, so the only reason to add them is for attention seeking. If the topic need something extra to grab your attention, then it is not really worth it.
If bad words are bad words/bad form then they don't/shouldn't suddenly become "Ok" to use in a conversation if they're not ok beforehand(and vice versa).
(I agree, btw, that the titles should be kept clean.....but I also think certain words shouldn't be edited out [like ass/etc] when they're used in a non-offensive/constructive/correct manner.)
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By "semi-risque" words I meant words like ass/etc.....words which can be used in either good or bad ways, depending on how one uses them. Like for example, making a thread about the motion picture "Kick Ass", with the title "Kick Ass movie discussion". That is but one valid example of how semi-risque words can be used in a thread title in a civil/non attention seeking manner, and one example of things which shouldn't(imo) be edited in thread titles.
And no, a topic might not NEED that little bit extra to get noticed,(Not just swears...this can include hook lines and other literary devices to get people interested.) but it can help in some cases...so why not use them(I'm not talking about/advocating using swears here but descriptive thread titles with semi-risque words/etc done in a civil and constructive manner.)?
Also, using attention seeking methods(in thread titles in this case) doesn't necessarily make the topic being discussed(within the threads themselves) any less important or worthwhile to read/get into.
(Also what's so wrong with attention seeking? GOG does it all the time to get customers, and others do it to draw attention to their causes(online and irl).)