TheSeeker:

1. Does Google own this website or is it co-owned by the both of you? Since when has Google has become a board that regulates people's speech and their opinion on how to state their comments? I still believe somewhere inside me that Google may have placed some ads on your website but it should still be your right to let your clients (in this context, users) use the website to the best of their convenience, and this should be known to your Google partners or whatever regulatory board they are.

2. What's their business with wanting Nairaland clean from such languages? Are they trying to tell you that there aren't other sites where Google places adverts that these words are used? You need to do more of your research. There are even Google-sponsored forums where I can still use the word Zap., so what's this nonsense about Google driving some bulla.ss point home?

3. If you have to put some section away just so Google won't start fuming, then I want to believe you don't own this website. And don't they know this is a website where grown people come to comment? This is not a high school forum, this is where Nigerians from all over the world come to express their views, and as beautiful as it looks, everyone wants the freedom to express themselves any way or manner they want; Google being an international company, should realize that.

4. Just say the administrative board of NL will ban anyone that bypasses your filter, don't put it on the spam-bots. Who even cares who bans who? I have come to realize that we're dealing with tyrants where NL is concerned but hey, it is what it is. Half bread is better than none. There are information I get here that I may not have got from elsewhere, so it all makes it interesting. Oga Seun, we will try and abide by your 'rules' but that doesn't make it acceptable. A Yoruba adage says, "Ka do ba'le fun arara ko ni ki a ma ga mon" (meaning that prostrating for a midget doesn't connote that I won't grow tall), suffice to say, if obeying your rules guarantees us our membership on Nairaland, so be it.

5. Yes and there are millions of topics where I might want to blast at someone and say Zap you as a grown adult, and what, Google has restricted me from saying that on Nairaland. This is a general forum, not educational nor an official forum, it is just any other forum in the world and there should be freedom of speech there and however each of us chooses to utilize that freedom. If you want to justify these word filters, you need to delete some sections completely off Nairaland.

Conclusively, let's say no to mental slavery from these western extremists. Even on Twitter people go on there to say whatever they want in whatever way they want it; same goes for Facebook, same goes for MySpace. So what makes NL so different? Because it's owned by a Nigerian?

These are my opinions and I stated them bearing in mind that Seun is the sole owner of this website, if it's otherwise, then my comments shouldn't be reckoned with as valid.

No2Atheism:



All hail nairaland Sheeples . . . .

ԁhtml:

wait, is it so difficult to avoid swearing and all that? let us treat each other like decent brothers and sisters.
People like Pastor Ukochi of the sexuality board are models for us to follow, seriously.

Let us be sheepies so that this board can live and not perish, i am begging all of you, and[b] please dont insult me nau[/b]

No2Atheism:



On another hand,

- I do not support people insulting another  (even though i have also ran foul of that sometimes).

- I don't have any problem with Seun censoring the use of certain words, because he does not want it on his forum.

- Howevr I am just not comfortable with a situation where a foreign body is indirectly censoring the language of Nigerians on a Nigerian forum, by indirectly influencing Seun to censor the use of certain words. Is that language colonialism or what ?

- If Seun chooses to abide by google's request, the fact remains that there is nothing that can be done about it, cus at the end of the day, he owns the forum and hence the choice is his alone to make.

- From the little I understand about Website and Forum administration and ownership, I beleive google adds provide a particular kind of revenue stream for a forum/website in which they are being displayed (e.g. nairaland). Hence in reality, what Seun chooses to do with his forum is not really any of our business.

- Nevertheless, that still does not mean that Google's intention is completely justified, even though the moral intentions are good. Even the Messiah did not force people to change by force, even though the moral and spiritual benefits of changing are also good. Hence i see it like its as if Google is trying to indirectly trying to arm-twist Seun to do a particular thing.

- Another worry is that Censorship can be a slippery slope.

- What if Google comes tomorrow to demand for something else other than just swear words. . . I simply don't like it (  who cares if i don't like it  )

- I do not know, and hence I would be glad to know if this same request by google is also being used across all internet forums or whether this is peculiar to Nairaland.