You just read an article in the Times that had people interviewed for their opinions. You decide to post your opinion on the BBS, it seems different than what people in the article said. You type up a post with your opinion and reasoning for it. You look it over and to your surprise it's quite long and you're proud. Then you click send, but to your dismay you find your post was inappropriate. "Was not!" you feel like screaming at the computer. Now you have to retype that whole post hoping this time it will pass the filters.
Too Strict?
We all know the filters are to keep us safe and to keep us from saying or reading things that we shouldn't or that could be dangerous. Some people, though, believe the filters are not working well. They're either being too strict or the filter isn't very capable of telling good from bad. No matter what they're doing, it's annoying.
I went on the BSS and looked for people showing anger or annoyance at the filters and here are some things I found:
I had to re-write this five times to avoid the filters (for no reason obviously). -ferrari5x
I absolutely hate the filter. I say NOTHING bad and I edit it 235355 times but it's still wrong D; -holiday50
Filter! The bane of my existence! Breaking this up.. -kirbie393
Gr, freaking filters. -Nerdishh
These are just a few of the many I found.
Getting Around It.
Whyville may think even though their filters are a little too strict they're keeping it very safe and making complete sure no one says anything bad. Wrong. People get around the fact that they can't type words. Instead of rewording the post they add periods or other symbols into the word, they break up phrases, and other things. It may be harder to understand, but people figure out what the posts are meant to say. So though Whyville tries to make sure people don't say bad things they aren't stopping it well.
A Better Solution.
Instead of the filters that can be annoying and not very effective, Whyville needs a better solution. There is always a chance of something bad getting through and something good not making it, but Whyville can reduce those chances. Whyville could edit the filters a little and try to make them more effective or they could try a completely new way. They could even try a couple different ways, have Whyvillians test them out, and find out which way works best.
I hope Whyville realizes the issues with the filters and hope you enjoyed my article! Post your opinions on the BBS!
Bye!
-2smartgal
