Posts appearing in an unknown language

analogwalker5 MemberOP

11 messages
joined Jul 2012

#1 · Jul 29, 2013

Hey everyone! I was just wondering if the forum admins would actually step in if someone signed up and started flooding the boards with posts in a language most of us here can't even wrap our heads around—like, say, Turkish, Arabic, or Mandarin? If that actually happened, how would you guys handle it? Would we be looking at an instant ban, some warnings, having the posts wiped clean, or something else entirely? And honestly, would you even bother checking what the person is actually saying—maybe running it through Google Translate or some other tool? Or would you just assume they're some spammer or troll and hit them with the ban hammer without even glancing at the content?
Thanks in advance!

northerncyclist2 Active Member

89 messages
joined Jan 2016

#2 · Jul 29, 2013

I mean, what is this forum administration actually going to do if gas prices skyrocket? Like, what’s the plan if Linić decides to sell off the interstate highways? Or what happens if Russia refuses to give Snowden an alibi? What if a small business owner's point-of-sale system just dies on them? What if some guy fails to catch a lucky break at a fishing tournament? What if it starts raining? What if gas prices actually drop? Or, I don't know, if axes just start falling from the sky? Oh, almighty forum admins, please, I am begging for answers to these deeply pressing questions ☕

Nicole Ruiz Member

24 messages
joined Dec 2012

#3 · Jul 29, 2013

analogwalker5 said:Hey everyone! I was wondering if the forum admins would actually step in if someone signed up and started posting exclusively in a language that most of us here can't understand—say, Turkish, Arabic, or Mandarin? If they did, what kind of crackdown are we talking about? Would it be an outright ban, just some warnings, or would the posts get wiped? And honestly, would you even bother checking what they’re saying? Like, would you pull up Google Translate to see if there's actual substance, or would you just assume they're a spammer or a troll and hit them with the ban hammer immediately without looking at the content?
Thanks in advance!

Well, let's be real, you rarely see much American English being used properly on this forum anyway... 🤣

northerncyclist2 Active Member

89 messages
joined Jan 2016

#4 · Jul 29, 2013

John Newman34 said:I mean, you don't really see much American English on this forum anyway... 🤣

I guess we should probably start by asking ourselves: what even defines the American language? 😁

analogwalker5 MemberOP

11 messages
joined Jul 2012

#5 · Jul 29, 2013

northerncyclist2 said:I mean, seriously, what is the forum admin team actually going to do if gas prices spike overnight? What’s the game plan if the Secretary of the Treasury decides to sell off the Interstate Highway System? Or what happens if Russia refuses to give Snowden an alibi? What if some guy's iPad dies right when he needs to run his business taxes? What if some fisherman fails to catch a trophy bass? What if it rains? What if gas prices actually drop? What if axes just start falling from the sky? Oh, almighty forum administration, I am begging you for answers to these absolutely critical questions ☕

Look, I don't see any reason to joke around here because, unlike all that crazy stuff you just listed, the kind of posts I was talking about actually have a direct impact on how this forum functions. So, my question is: is having posts show up in a language nobody understands actually a problem for the site's operation?

Ronald Jones Active Member

74 messages
joined Nov 2014

#6 · Jul 29, 2013

analogwalker5 said:I don't see any reason to make a fuss because, unlike everything else you mentioned, the emergence of the types of posts I described does more or less impact how the forum functions. My question is, does the presence of posts in an unknown language pose a genuine problem for the operation of the forum?

And whose fault is it that you don't understand those languages??? 🤣 😍 ( Just kidding, obviously. 😳 )

They aren't actually going to step in and fix anything—it's not like they're particularly focused on doing their jobs—but still... 😳

silverpanther13 Newcomer

3 messages
joined Nov 2009

#7 · Jul 29, 2013

where on this forum am I supposed to go to write in an unknown language?

rustydrifter10 Regular

693 messages
joined Apr 2011

#8 · Jul 29, 2013

Generally speaking, we don't allow posting in foreign languages like the ones you mentioned, though we might make an exception or allow it partially depending on the context. It really comes down to the specific situation—it’s a totally different story if someone is just flooding the boards with Mandarin spam versus someone just dropping a single post. Please, go ahead and send over the links to the posts that are bothering you so we can take a look and check things out.

analogwalker5 MemberOP

11 messages
joined Jul 2012

#9 · Jul 29, 2013

rustydrifter10 said:Basically, we don't allow people posting in foreign languages like the ones you mentioned, though we might make exceptions here and there depending on the situation. It’s all case-by-case, really—it’s one thing if someone is just flooding the place with Mandarin spam, but totally different if it's just a single post. Just send over the links to whatever posts are bothering you and we'll take a look.

Look, I haven't actually run into anything like that yet, I was just asking theoretically. Honestly, I feel like the first step should always be checking out the user's post history, but I am 99.9999% certain that any posts in those "exotic" languages are just some bot spamming the site, because let's be real, no actual human being would bother posting on this forum in a language that nobody else can even read.
So, are there any "approved foreign languages" allowed on the forum at all?

Michelle Alvarez8 Regular

299 messages
joined Nov 2015

#10 · Jul 31, 2013

analogwalker5 said:...because honestly, no sane person would post on this forum in a language nobody here can even read.

*cough* *cough*

😁

analogwalker5 MemberOP

11 messages
joined Jul 2012

#11 · Jul 31, 2013

Brian Edwards78 said:*cough* *cough*

😁

Look, Brian Edwards78, I was posting in a language that’s super similar to American English—it’s definitely not some totally incomprehensible gibberish to American forum members (at least the ones who can actually follow the dialect). Plus, I was replying directly to another Bulgarian user in that thread (and honestly, I’m not even 100% sure if we’re the only two Bulgarians on this whole site), so using our shared native tongue just felt totally natural. Are you seriously telling me you don't understand a word of Bulgarian?
My whole point was about what happens when someone drops a post in a language that the "average American" wouldn't be able to make heads or tails of without spending months studying it (and yeah, I mentioned examples of those kinds of languages, since there are thousands of them out there). Just imagine how massive the headache would be if I had actually written that post in one of those "completely unintelligible" languages. I'm betting it would be a total nightmare, like, a thousand times more problematic than anything involving Bulgarian.🙂

Michelle Alvarez8 Regular

299 messages
joined Nov 2015

#12 · Jul 31, 2013

Your idea of an "average American" doesn't even recognize Cyrillic—let alone know a lick of Bulgarian! 🤷

rustydrifter10 Regular

693 messages
joined Apr 2011

#13 · Jul 31, 2013

analogwalker5 said:So, are there any "approved foreign languages" allowed here on the forum?

I’d say English basically acts like a second language around here, but you still have to be a bit careful because it isn't always appropriate for every single discussion. If a specific situation really calls for it, sure, feel free to use English, but try not to overdo it—just use it when it actually makes sense. You don't always need to provide a translation, either. It’s probably a little more relaxed in threads where the subject matter itself involves another language.

analogwalker5 said:Brian Edwards78, I was posting there in a language that’s very similar to American, so it wasn't totally unintelligible to the American forum members (at least to those who can read Cyrillic).

Personally, I think Bulgarian is pretty much gibberish to most American members, and even being able to read Cyrillic wouldn't help all that much. 😁

analogwalker5 said:Besides that, I was replying to another Bulgarian forum user in that message

Except he was actually writing in Latin script and in American. 😁

analogwalker5 MemberOP

11 messages
joined Jul 2012

#14 · Jul 31, 2013

Thanks a ton, rustydrifter10! So, what you're saying is I can totally post in Bulgarian in the specific thread dedicated to that language, but if I try using it anywhere else on the forum, I'm gonna run into trouble because you guys have issues with my native tongue. And honestly, isn't Cyrillic pretty much a staple for the older generations over here?
I mean, I can barely even communicate with my own people in any language other than Bulgarian, so wouldn't it be way more convenient to just shoot private messages to other Bulgarians instead of cluttering up the main threads, right?
And don't you think there's actually a massive difference between writing in Bulgarian versus using those other languages I mentioned, or some totally random language that has zero connection to American?
At the end of the day, are you seriously telling me you wouldn't just instantly ban someone for spamming in an unfamiliar language without at least taking a second to look at what they actually wrote first?

Michelle Alvarez8 Regular

299 messages
joined Nov 2015

#15 · Jul 31, 2013

analogwalker5 said:But don't you think there’s actually a difference between writing in Bulgarian versus those other languages I listed—or even languages that are totally unrelated to American English?

Honestly, there isn't any difference at all—most people, if not basically everyone, who sees a post like that is just going to scroll right past it. In the real world, it basically means you're just talking to yourself since nobody cares what you wrote. And if that's the case, does the whole idea of communicating on a forum even make sense anymore?🤷

analogwalker5 MemberOP

11 messages
joined Jul 2012

#16 · Jul 31, 2013

Brian Edwards78 said:Honestly, there’s just no difference in the end—I mean, look, the vast majority, if not pretty much everyone who happens to see a post like that, is just gonna scroll right past it without a second thought. In the real world, that basically means you're just shouting into the void and talking to yourself since nobody actually cares about what you've written. And you gotta ask yourself, if that's how it works, does the whole idea of even using an online forum to communicate even make any sense anymore? 🤷

I honestly think it all comes down to how people communicate online these days—it’s just too easy to be lazy. If someone posts something that looks even slightly boring or a little too dense to wrap your head around, you just blow right past it and keep scrolling, even if you probably could have grasped the gist of it with just a tiny bit more effort. I just can't wrap my brain around comparing a post written in a language similar to mine—something where I could totally follow along if I actually sat down and focused for a second—to a post written in some language that feels like it's from a completely different planet. With those, there’s just nothing to work with; no matter how much I stare at the screen, I'm never going to decipher it, no matter how hard I try.

Michelle Alvarez8 Regular

299 messages
joined Nov 2015

#17 · Jul 31, 2013

When you consider how much work it takes just to decipher someone’s post in their own native tongue—it’s honestly unreasonable to expect people to sit there and study posts written in Cyrillic or even in Bulgarian. For instance, take me—I can read Cyrillic just fine, and I always get along great with my Bulgarian friends when we're messaging back and forth—but I still end up scrolling right past your posts because I just don't have the patience to spend my time decoding them. Since I'm on an American forum, I expect people discussing American topics to actually use English and the Latin alphabet, right?

analogwalker5 MemberOP

11 messages
joined Jul 2012

#18 · Jul 31, 2013

And why haven't I or anyone else been slapped with a warning for using a "non-American" language? Is the admin team actually planning on handing out cards for posts written in unknown languages on threads that were opened in English?

Posts appearing in an unknown language

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