Is it against the rules to use Arabic script in your signature?

I’m calling on the site admins or whoever actually runs this place to weigh in on the issue in this thread title if they even can.

Basically, my signature used Arabic script, which didn't contain a single shred of offensive content—something anyone who doesn't speak a word of Arabic could easily verify via http://translate.google.com/#ar|en|—yet it was yanked without any explanation whatsoever.

The only thing I got was a private message from ZgSash saying, "remove that signature, please, and from now on make sure it's exclusively in the Latin alphabet."

I wasn't hanging around the site for a bit, but when I checked back, I saw my signature was gone along with the text under my username.

So how am I supposed to interpret a ban on a specific script, or the implication that we're restricted to the Latin alphabet based on ZgSash's message, when you see other users rocking Hebrew signatures all over the place (just look at the Israel-Palestine threads, for example)?

It's ridiculous.

I started wondering if, by that logic, using Arabic numerals should also be banned, unless my reasoning is totally off base.

If the excuse is some nonsense like "some people don't understand Arabic, so that's fine, blah blah blah," then I'll just point out that plenty of people here don't understand English either, yet we have a ton of signatures on this forum using it.

Just to throw one more thing in there:

The fact that a signature from a user like , who’s out here straight-up insulting an entire nation and a specific individual, is actually permitted on this site...

hollowtrucker77 said:goldensailor15, I'm pretty sure you'll have no trouble finding some corner of the internet where writing in Arabic is actually welcomed.
this is an American forum and we write using the Latin alphabet here.
not Cyrillic, not Chinese or Japanese characters, not Arabic, and definitely not chicken scratch.

and don't try to play me by claiming you haven't been on this forum before, because I can shut that down easy enough.

you're whining about a signature that bugs you, but you aren't even asking yourself why it bothers you in the first place.
maybe it's just because it's in Latin script and you can actually read it?

hollowtrucker77, look, it’s not even about me looking for a place where Arabic script is welcome or whatever—that's totally irrelevant.

I am fully aware that this site is an American forum, which is exactly why I was trying to get a straight answer from the owner or someone in charge regarding any potential ban on using Arabic script.

Since I didn't get a real answer from you, I'm asking plainly: Is writing in Arabic script prohibited on this forum (excluding signatures)?

And honestly, I'm not feeling that tone at all. Telling me "don't lie"? That's just plain rude.

Why would I even lie? I was participating in a thread and stepped away from my computer. When I came back, I saw a PM from you, and only after reading it—and before I even thought about changing my signature—did I notice that both my text signature and the one under my username had been stripped.

This is an American forum, yet plenty of people use different languages in their signatures, and even some usernames are foreign. Some people even use Hebrew, for example: http://www.example.com/member.php?u=1574 so I'm asking again, clearly: Is Arabic script banned on this site, and does that rule apply to the script itself or does it include numbers too?

Thanks in advance.

hollowtrucker77 said:Arabic numerals are standard, so they're fine enough
don't try to play dumb now and act like I'm pushing some kind of anti-Arab agenda on this forum (LOL)

And yeah—you're lying, because that's exactly what's happening here, and I don't feel like sugarcoating things for a liar.
I gave you plenty of time to fix your signature, yet somehow you had enough time to shoot me a DM and then just keep scrolling through the site, but couldn't manage the one thing I actually asked you to do??

Every profile you're showing off here uses the Latin alphabet

I'm not playing dumb and I'm not pushing anything. So, since Arabic numerals are widely recognized, does that mean they're automatically allowed?
Seriously, I still haven't gotten an answer to my question: "Is it forbidden to write in Arabic script on this forum (assuming signatures are exempt)?"

And no, I'm not lying, and you're still being rude, if not outright primitive. I just got back to my computer and saw the DM; I replied immediately, so you can check the timestamps and see exactly when I showed up. Honestly, it doesn't even matter.

Take a closer look:

About rambi

place of the institution
המוסד

Or maybe you just don't recognize Hebrew script?

Please, I'm still waiting for an answer to my inquiry.

You missed this part? It’s not written in Cyrillic, Chinese characters, Japanese kanji, Arabic script, or some random scribble made by a mouse's foot

hollowtrucker77 said:you missed this part? - it’s not written in Cyrillic, Chinese characters, Japanese kanji, Arabic, or some random scribble

It’s good to know there's actually a ban on using Arabic script, among other things.

We could go back and forth on that all day, but honestly, if we're doing this, we might as well ban Hebrew too, otherwise I—or anyone else for that matter—am going to feel like we're looking at straight-up discrimination.

hollowtrucker77 said:goldensailor15, I'm pretty much over you.
In the States, we just use the Latin alphabet for everything.
If you're out here picking fights with Israelis, you better make sure you actually know where Palestine is located.

EOD

Excuse me?

Who even talks about war like that? Who the hell gave you the right to act like you can just send people off to fight in some conflict? Seriously, what kind of low-rent discussion is this?

I noticed you’ve been talking a bit differently lately: I don't know about you guys, but I’ve been sitting here staring at this mess of a situation, trying to make sense of how we even got to this point, and honestly, it feels like everyone is just shouting into a void without actually listening to a single damn thing anyone else is saying. It’s like watching a slow-motion train wreck where every person involved thinks they’re the only one with a brain, while the rest of us are just left picking up the pieces of whatever half-baked idea was thrown at the wall. I was reading some stuff earlier—nothing too heavy, just some general observations on how things are moving lately—and it hit me that we’ve completely lost the ability to have a real conversation. Everything is so polarized now, so aggressive, that if you don't immediately jump on the bandwagon of whatever the loudest group is screaming about, you’re basically treated like an outcast. It’s exhausting, man. I find myself wanting to just check out entirely because the level of performative outrage is getting ridiculous. Anyway, I saw what hollowtrucker77 was saying about the whole thing, and look, I get where they're coming from, really I do, but I think they might be oversimplifying the entire dynamic. It isn't just one thing or one specific error; it’s this systemic failure to actually communicate. We act like everything is black and white, but life in America is mostly shades of gray, and yet we insist on painting everything in neon colors just so we can feel superior for five minutes. I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm probably just being cynical and talking out of my ass here, but it feels like we're all just circling the drain. We need to stop looking for easy answers to impossible problems and maybe, just maybe, start acknowledging that most people are just trying to figure things out as they go, much like I am, even if I'm doing a pretty mediocre job of it.

Since when did writing in a different script become a punishable offense?
A lot of folks around here keep stuff in their signatures, and sometimes they'll even drop a little note in there too.
Where's the provocation in congratulating Inter?
Isn't he an Inter guy?

You can have her signature on your letterhead too if you want. But on the American forums, everyone just uses the standard alphabet.

Alright, fine. I see they finally scrubbed the Hebrew script from that one user's profile, so I guess they're actually being consistent with the ban after all.

I’m still sticking to my guns on this—it’s just wrong to go around banning letters like that, but hey, it’s not my forum to run.

hollowtrucker77 said:Yeah, look, I’ve always been all for free speech and letting people say whatever they want, but honestly? That only goes so far before people start weaponizing it just to cause trouble.
So now I’m stuck with no other choice but to double down and demand a formal statement that everyone here can actually read, just so the mods can see exactly what kind of mess we're dealing with.

Look, I didn't mess around with my signature or anything like that, so don't even go there. On one version, it literally said Palestine right under the text, and on the other one, it had Lebanon written in Arabic script right beneath my handle.

Look, if the rules are laid out the same way for everyone, then yeah, you gotta follow them—but that doesn't mean the rules actually make sense or aren't total garbage. Following a rule just because it exists doesn't automatically make it right.

hollowtrucker77 said:maybe you saw it that way, but I've stumbled onto cases where it showed something totally different, which is pretty damn ugly
and honestly, even us mods can't always tell what's actually being displayed
so look, this isn't some targeted attack on anyone or any specific side, my only goal here is to make sure people can actually have decent discussions about obvious, sensitive, and current topics without everything blowing up

Correction, it’s actually super easy to check.

Just for example. Copy and paste this text (Palestine) into this site: http://translate.google.com/#ar|en|

Alright, whatever. Fine, signatures are gone.

hollowtrucker77 said:goldensailor15, I have to say, I'm feeling you quite a bit here.
The American alphabet uses the Latin script.
If you’re looking for a fight with Israelis, well, you know where Palestine is.

EOD

Since we’re going down this road, it would be absolutely wonderful if this forum could just declare itself a zone for standard American—ideally, the most polished literary language.

Which essentially means

a) The word "complicate" isn't part of the standard American lexicon and should be off-limits. For instance...

b) A ban on regional slang. This implies banning things like local Southern twangs, Midwestern drawls, or specific rural dialect markers. Not only is that a bit primitive, but it’s also totally nonsensical and frankly, quite rude. It’s rude because some people act like they’re the only ones allowed to speak their own little town's dialect on this forum.

Following that logic, I could write:

Well, heck, these carrots are mighty fine, I reckon, and you shouldn't go tossin' 'em out by the roadside. Just grab 'em off the scale, slice 'em up with a pocketknife, and you're set.

To you, that would be just as incomprehensible as Arabic script is to me, or your local dialect is to me.

By that same token, we ought to introduce a ban on those "hacker-style" signatures that neither I nor most other folks can even begin to decipher.

IMO, when you start banning things, you can't just pick and choose parts of it. It’s either all or nothing.🤷