We all know that life is finite, but I’ve just had a post rejected because I mentioned the d** word. Whose idea was this? And why does the title of a topic now have to be at least 15 characters???
Hi @bowlingbun, thanks for the feedback.
The banning of the word ‘die’ was an error in our new automated safeguarding feature that we are implementing. I have now changed the settings so people don’t have any text banned.
Regarding title length, the rationale is that the longer the title the more likely it is that it will be unique and therefore easier to find.
I have moved this topic to the ‘Site feedback’ section in order that other members might find it easier.
BB - I had the same problem at the weekend with that word (still taking no chances) so I had to use a euphemism. It did seem a bit ‘nanny-ish’, although I can understand part of the sentiment behind it. However, as Carers there are subjects we HAVE to face, however much we want to hide from them. Nice to know we have been un-censored now.
When I first joined the forum, and said I thought mum was dying, I was asked not to talk about this as other forum members might be upset. It would remind them that this would happen to their loved one!
The forum isn’t so new and sensitive as it was, and quite a few of us have had to deal with a range of difficult circumstances, which I’ve no doubt would set off alarms if I mentioned them!
And yes, it’s a bit tempting!
When my husband was towards end of life I googled signs of dying, as recommended by BB. Although I had lost parents and hubby had too I found it very helpful. Of course tears were streaming but never the less it helped me cope.
We do have choices! If someone feels they can’t face reading it then no one has said it’s a must.
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Exactly, Pet. Although interestingly I got flags for BB’s and your posts. Apparently the automatic feature still doesn’t like dying! And I fully expect I’ll be flagged for that one!
Yes I got a telling off too as I used the word ‘killer’. Dont worry it was only to say that tiredness could be this. It does seem somewhat patronising to police us to that degree?
It’s not deliberate, Helena. Some words have been listed as “watchwords” to help spot potential safeguarding concerns, but it’s at best hypersensitive, so I think it’s been disabled at least for the time being. Technology, eh?
Just to reiterate - we have words that could point to a safeguarding concern, and these are flagged discreetly to moderators to take any action necessary. They were being blocked in error through and this has now been remedied.
We have now added a list of offensive words that are blocked, including things like swear words and slurs.
Oh this reminds me of a problem we had some years back when I worked as a police Trainer. It was in the fairly early days of us being allowed 'tinternet access (previously there were a few dial-up connections for individual machines). In our department we were often seen as the ‘go-to’ for information and on one occasion had a call from an officer dealing with a tragic case who asked if anyone knew of support for a gay couple after a bereavement. I was aware of a Gay Bereavement Service and googled it… Within minutes I had an email saying my internet access was blocked and I had to contact IT with an explanation of why I was trying to access a ‘sexually explicit, prohibited site’ and that I had been reported to Professional Standards Dept for inappropriate use of the internet.
It turned out that the GAY word was one which was blocked as it had been ASSUMED that anyone using it would be looking for porn! (Someone else who searched 'lesbian got the same ban and actually had a file opened on HER internet access!!) It also happened when I sent or received emails from the Gay Police Association - the email address was an official police.uk one! I had to arrange a meeting with the guy in IT who dealt with these things and he demanded a list of websites which we might need to use so he could allow us access. He didn’t understand that we didn’t always know the URL when searching to try to help people. Mind you, he was not exactly the perfect fit for the job as he had a reputation for being sexist, misogenistic, homophobic and racist. Yep - perfect to work in the police!!! The whole department found his attitude amazing! Without being too rude, he was the epitome of a sleazy dirty old man - obese (and this from someone who is overweight), long straggly greasy hair, pebble glasses and an apparent breathing issue as he kept sounding like he was a ‘heavy breather’. I had been warned that I probably wouldn’t like to be alone in a room with him - he certainly made my skin crawl! He was clearly uncomfortable being close to a ‘pervert’ like me (as I was told later he had previously described gay men) which was nice to witness!! Quite how he kept his job I do not know as ‘equality’ was hammered into everyone in the organisation.
Anyway, the forum is new and teething problems happen. The test of a good organisation is how they respond to such comments and change to fit with ‘demands’. I understand the reason for having a system for safeguarding and appreciate that in some circumstances talking about end of life can be distressing for some. I still get upset when people talk about having fun with their dogs, after Roco died just a month ago, and losing or preparing for losing a loved human can be even worse.
Just my observations.
Hi Chris, your post made me laugh!!
I always take the view that no one knows that there is a problem until someone lets them know. This week I had to tell Hampshire CC that their Highway Phone Reporting System wasn’t working properly, it couldn’t cope with all the reports of problems!!
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Chris, you’re right that sometimes topics come up that can be distressing, but the main aim is to make sure nobody on the staff team or among the mods misses posts that suggest the possibility that there is a safeguarding situation for that carer, or for the person they care for. Part of the moderator role is to spot posts like that and refer them to the CUK safeguarding team, who then take the appropriate action.
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Back to the main topic - I think that enforcing a minimum of 15 characters for a title is a good idea. Too many posts come with brief headings (e.g. “new member” or “need help”, which say nothing about what they are about. It is good when headings summarise what the post is about. Perhaps this feature will encourage that.
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