Are we allowed to use epithets like 'f..' in our writing?

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   TessSchlesingerposted 6 years ago

   I have just read a piece that is not only published on letterpile, but has more grammatical errors than I can count and uses epithets wholesale.
   
   Are we allowed to use cuss words on hubpages?

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      Christy Kirwanposted 6 years agoin reply to this

      Our rules prohibit excessive profanity. If an author uses profanity in moderation in a way that is appropriate for the target audience, it will not usually be moderated. (For example, it might be appropriate to use certain words and phrases sparingly in an article about heavy metal music, but not in an article written for expecting mothers.)

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      1. 90

         Rochelle Frankposted 6 years agoin reply to this

         ... because expectant mothers don't usually use that language until the actual birth. :-)

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            Christy Kirwanposted 6 years agoin reply to this

            Fair!

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      2. 61

         TessSchlesingerposted 6 years agoin reply to this

         Just curious. Would that be in reporting verbatim the remarks of a heavy metal band song or band member, or in the description the writer has of the band member.
         
         With respect, there was absolutely no need whatsoever to use epithets in the particular article. Quite apart from that, it had capital letters all over the place, and the writer seemed not to know that ellipsis contained three dots - not four or five, and that one did not start a sentence immediately after it without a space in between.
         
         I did send a link to the team.

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            Christy Kirwanposted 6 years agoin reply to this

            We tend to allow a lot of leeway when it comes to non-spammy creative writing.

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               TessSchlesingerposted 6 years agoin reply to this

               It appears so.
               
               With respect, that was not a piece of creative writing, and it actually insults someone who is a good creative writer to be put in the same category.
               
               Creative writing does NOT allow one to put four or five dots for an ellipsis. Nor does it permit the kind of grammatical errors that this particular writer made.
               
               Nor did the epithets add anything to the piece.
               
               Again, with respect, Christy, creative writing does not mean bad writing.

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                  theraggededgeposted 6 years agoin reply to this

                  Agreed. There is an awful lot of bad writing on Letterpile, which means that, ultimately, Letterpile will become the dark and dismal corner of the network sites. In fact, it should be the opposite. Letterpile should be the shining example for all the other sites. It's where the best creative writing should live.

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               2. 92

                  Titiaposted 6 years agoin reply to this

                  Totally agree. They hardly even look at articles submitted to Letterpile. It's understandable if it's a poem, but any other crreative writing should be handled the same way as any other article on the niche sites.

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2. 90

   Rochelle Frankposted 6 years ago

   My answer is : "No." -- it might be an exception if it is a specific quote with a good reason to quote it.
   In other cases, if a person can't think of a better way to express the same idea . . .s/he is not a writer.
   
   This site has made it clear that it is family friendly. If you are writing in a way that you would not like to hear your young child speak, your words should fly elsewhere.
   I would report it for review.
   I'm not a language-prude I have lived with people who learned their vocabulary in the Army. As a teacher (supposedly to set an example) I made a conscious effort to restrain myself from using crude language even in my personal conversation. Being exposed to such language also taught me to not over-react when I heard it in the classroom. People who use those words, often are  manipulative and looking for an emotional reaction.

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   1. 61

      TessSchlesingerposted 6 years agoin reply to this

      There is an article posted on letterpile that not only uses several epithets but is grammatically so poor that I cannot conceive it has been featured, nevermind posted to letterpile.
      
      The writer continually omits commas, puts commas where they don't make sense, uses capital letters for no reason at all, uses epithets, uses italics and embolded words -  all against APA rules.
      
      I actually emailed it to Marisa to ask her what she thought. She said she is mystified.
      
      I can't post the link here, but the article shouldn't be featured, nevermind put on letterpile.

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3. 92

   Titiaposted 6 years ago

   I've come across a lot of hubs in the niche sites that shouldn't have been there. Lots of hubs with too many Amazon capsules too. I think a lot of those hubs have been moved over in the beginning to fill the niche sites and never have been updated since, because if they had been updated they would've gone through QAP again.
   
   Like Rochelle said, you can report them for review.

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   1. 61

      TessSchlesingerposted 6 years agoin reply to this

      This was only put up recently as it is not an old article. In fact, it's a newbie writer. My jaw dropped when I read it.
      
      It sort of gives a double standard. Some of us have to jump through hoops and if the slightest comma is out of place, we get snotty letters.
      
      And then I see this...

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4. 83

   Stella Kayeposted 6 years ago

   No certainly not; HubPages is not the place for any swear words or writing that isn't 'family friendly'.
   
   It amazes me too that some extremely bad grammatical and spelling errors are found in so many articles published on HubPages. Writers should be guardians of the English language.
   
   Sometimes articles are written in a foreign language and put through a translator before being posted on HubPages and thus the faults in these articles are glaringly obvious.  If English isn't your 'mother tounge,' and you want to post articles on sites such as HubPages, please learn to write properly in English first. Sites such as Grammarly are free and can help immensely, so really there is no excuse.

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   1. 61

      TessSchlesingerposted 6 years agoin reply to this

      There is a also a difference between the written and spoken language. English writing is formal whereas speech is more colloquial.
      
      Many English speakers don't realize that the way they speak is not acceptable in the written word. After all, when we speak, we don't pause to say "Comma here. Starting a new sentence here with a capital letter now."
      
      We don't need to know those things when we speak, so for those who never read a lot as kids or who weren't interested in learning grammar at schools, writing can be a series of unfortunate events...

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5. 92

   FatFreddysCatposted 6 years ago

   That would be me! (raises hand)
   
   ...although if I must use a cuss word, I replace one or more of its letters with asterisks so I don't offend anyone's sensibilities.  So y'know, all those nuns who are reading my articles about W.A.S.P. and Lucifer's Hammer don't get the vapors.

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