New to ECF the largest Vaping forum on Earth, and no doubt the one the tabloids will all write about.

[JimmyDelahunt]

Hello I'm one of those weirdo's who actually reads the FAQ before posting anything;

I noticed a phrase the staff have used that could end up as a godsend for the gutter press and anti-vaping bigots
"ECF is a work-friendly and family-friendly environment."
(So the largest vaping forum on the planet is "friendly for families" .. families = children), and that is ALL the opponents will ever read here .. a single phrase.

But this is actually more than just a poorly written phrase or silly rule, it's a real cause for concern for the vaping community.

Vaping is being heavily criticised by vested interests lobbying policy-makers to ban, or tax it out of existence.
The medical evidence is mounting in favour of vaping, so the haters are relying more on unsubstantiated claims that vaping will attract kids to nicotine addiction.

Most of us have heard the stupid claim that flavoured e-liquid is deliberately targeting children in an effort to addict them to nicotine.

Making a vaping forum appear to be "child friendly" is a gift to all those campaigning against e-cigs.
Everyone in the Vaping community who is concerned about the imminent legislation against vaping should be outraged and try to explain to the ECF what damage they are doing.

 

[RamShot Rowdy]

ECF isn't trying to lure children here...the policy simply means that the rules prohibit posts that might be objectionable or unsuitable for some people/places.

 

[Susan~S]

Perhaps you did not read far enough.

4. Site Policy

a. ECF is a work-friendly and family-friendly environment. This means that if a work colleague or family member looks over your shoulder while you are visiting ECF, they must not see any material that might easily offend or that may be unsuitable for children.

b. Additionally, colleagues or children must not hear language that may be offensive, for example when a video is being viewed.

c. Offensive materials are not permitted. If posted to the site, they will be removed and the member who posted the material will receive an infraction. Do not post any material that may be considered offensive, whether it is text, graphics, video or audio.

d. Do not post links to such materials.

 

[MoonSparkle]

Whenever I hear the term family friendly environment used, just means to me basically don't act like a fool and don't swear lol

ETA: Also, how rude of me, Welcome to ECF! Sorry!

 

[JimmyDelahunt]

Susan-S: I'm not being facetious, but perhaps you also didn't read far enough.
".......and that is ALL the opponents will ever read here .. a single phrase."

If you're a gutter journalist "Family Friendly" is the key phrase they'll use.
But it is nice to know you don't think like a gutter journalist

The phrase "Family Friendly" should never never appear on a vaping website.
It's not rocket science
Vaping is an age 18+ only activity.
It's exactly the same as porno forum calling itself family friendly

 

[Rickajho]

Yeah - you are other thinking it. All that means is if you don't want it seen at work or you don't want it seen on a family computer it won't be seen on here. That means no foul language, no drug talk, no Avatars with body parts that grow and bounce and stuff. Short version: Keep it clean and on topic or it doesn't belong here.

 

[JimmyDelahunt]

It's easily fixed; change the FAQ to say NSFW material is forbidden

The phrase "Family Friendly" is absolute poison on any age restricted website.
Is Playboy a "family friendly" website ?

If the administrators can't see why, they really should not be running a forum.

 

[rolygate]

As Susan S explained so well above, 'family friendly' has its own specific meaning on the web.

If you understand the term NSFW without looking it up then you'd probably be aware of the issues. If not, then - like a journalist getting into something new - then it has to be looked up.

It's crucial for ECF to be work-friendly and family-friendly, and it is a major effort to keep it so. There is an entire web culture around this, for example WoT and corporate web filters. Sorry if it's not clear what the meaning is.

Nobody has more experience of the gutter press than we do, unfortunately For the community advocates here, a lot of time is spent trying to repair the damage they cause.

 

[JimmyDelahunt]

Ok .. I'll explain it this way.

1. The phrase "Family Friendly" is legally very dangerous to use on an Age restricted website.

2. In the eyes of the law, ECF is EXACTLY the same as a .......... In that it's restricted to Adults only.

3. The term "Family Friendly" in its most common used sense means "Safe for Children to view"

The implications of this should be very very simple to understand.

 

[fishj]

See what Rickajho said above. I am a linguist and I understand your points, but you are overthinking this.

 

[Racehorse]

since there's an age limit on the forum, I doubt "children" will be logging on anyway.

 

[JimmyDelahunt]

Thanks Racehorse you've hit the nail on the head.

Yes this is an Adults only forum so there should only be adults viewing this forum.
So why does ECF proclaim itself as "Family Friendly" in it's FAQ.

And yes I know the intention of the FAQ is meant to be "No foul language"

The phrase "Family Friendly" has a different context. (Try a google image search on that phrase and you'll see children, children, more children and disneyland)

If you think I'm being pedantic, remember that the anti-vaping puritans and zealots are now losing the battle over the safety and health effects of e-cigs.
Which means all they have now is a "Think of the Children" scare campaign left.

ECF makes itself a prime target being the worlds biggest Vaping Forum with an official (miswritten) policy of being a "friendly place for the whole family".
And our opponents will use that for all its worth to tax vaping out of existence in the US and ban it outright elsewhere in the world.

 

[retired1]

The Forum Manager already replied as to why we have that in our FAQ and rules. It's not going to change. As such, closing.