re: #54 Nyet

This is why computer algorithms will never work for screening hate speech. You really need people.

Over at Patheos (which uses the Disqus commenting platform), Christian commentators became offended over commentators on the atheist blogs over the use of magic words with four letters which offended Christian sensibilities.

As such, they complained to whoever it is that runs Patheos, and the Powers That Be there didn’t tell them to mind their own business.

They first told atheist bloggers they needed to police magical words with power over Christians, and when they refused, imposed what’s now called the “nanny bot.”

The nanny bot is a list of words which will immediately put a comment into moderation (it can’t be seen), imposed across all blogs at Patheos.

That list leaked in about a day. Then commentators who really don’t like being told by superstitious people that they can’t use magic four-letter words because they offend them (when they don’t even comment on those blogs) came up with an alternative list to get around the nanny bot.

Shit became shyte, fuck became fuque, &c.

That enraged the Christian commentators more, who demanded people be thrown off atheist blogs for commenting with magic four-letter words.

Patheos saw where that was going and refused, but the nanny bot stays.