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[Capntastic]

You could try using actual humor, instead of trying to use curse words to be funny, and/or Boatmurdered-like. Swearing is no substitution for actually being funny.

Swearing * Jokes = Humor
Swearing * -Jokes = -Humor

Profanity makes things funnier if they were already funny, and less funny if they weren't. It's simple math.

It's also pretty incorrect.

[Urist Imiknorris]

A bad joke is a bad joke regardless of profanity. However, the situation is more complicated with good jokes. If there's too much profanity, it becomes less funny, but eventually (carcinoGeneticist) it reaches critical mass and reenters hilarity.

I believe it would be expressed as a cubic function in 3D space.

[Capntastic]

Profanity in of itself going to make anything more funny, it comes down to the ideas being expressed.  It's like an amateur chef relying too much on using the same spices thinking it will elicit a good flavor, when the mouthfeel and plating of the dish is more important.  Some of the most hilarious things I can think of required no profanity at all, and trying to elicit humor through profanity just reeks of someone 'not getting' humor in the first place.

[Bererez]

Code: [Select]

Swearing * -Jokes = -Humor
+Humor            = +Humor
(Swearing * -Jokes) +Humor / -Jokes=
Swearing +Humor = +Jokes
Wait, I think I messed up. I'll never get comedy-algebra 

[Gatleos]

Profanity in of itself going to make anything more funny, it comes down to the ideas being expressed.  It's like an amateur chef relying too much on using the same spices thinking it will elicit a good flavor, when the mouthfeel and plating of the dish is more important.  Some of the most hilarious things I can think of required no profanity at all, and trying to elicit humor through profanity just reeks of someone 'not getting' humor in the first place.

Yeah, that's actually closer to what I meant. Maybe I should tweak my formula... quadratics, maybe...?

[Capntastic]

It's actually the opposite of what you said.  A joke that is funny isn't made more funny by profanity.  A joke that isn't funny isn't made funny by profanity.   Profanity has a totally null value on the quality of a joke.


To phrase in a mathematical formula so you understand:

Good Jokes = Funny
Bad Jokes = Not Funny

[Bererez]

It's actually the opposite of what you said.  A joke that is funny isn't made more funny by profanity.  A joke that isn't funny isn't made funny by profanity.   Profanity has a totally null value on the quality of a joke.


To phrase in a mathematical formula so you understand:

Good Jokes = Funny
Bad Jokes = Not Funny

What if it's a joke about profanity? Like Carlin's 7 dirty words? And can you imagine the Aristocrats being told without curses?

I think curse words can absolutely add value to a joke if the curse words are used to underscore a general idea. For example, the use of the word 'fuck' as a singular expression after something comically unfortunate happens. The player reciting our, "fuck," could have said anything (cheese-whiz, crackers, or what-have-you), but a curse word is more humorous because it rings true to the situation. It's also not just about the words used, but how those words can affect others with more sensitive mores. I find it funny to over use curse words simply because it offends those people. I'm a ripe bastard, though. 

[Capntastic]

I dunno, there's something to be said about an idea being conveyed without resorting to crudeness.

Likewise, I've been watching The IT Crowd on Netflix this week and I'm enamored Moss constantly using 'flip' instead of fuck.

[Hiiri]

It's actually the opposite of what you said.  A joke that is funny isn't made more funny by profanity.  A joke that isn't funny isn't made funny by profanity.   Profanity has a totally null value on the quality of a joke.


To phrase in a mathematical formula so you understand:

Good Jokes = Funny
Bad Jokes = Not Funny

Actually, even comedy professionals say that using curse words in strategic locations do amplify the effect. Maybe it's not the most highest quality of humor, but still.

Whether it's funny or not is irrelevant to the topic. I think swearing is mostly unnecessary, but censorship is just stupid.
If someone found the word "cupcake" offensive, you'd have just the same obligation to remove all the cupcakes in the forums, otherwise you'd be a hypocrite.

[Gatleos]

It's actually the opposite of what you said.  A joke that is funny isn't made more funny by profanity.  A joke that isn't funny isn't made funny by profanity.   Profanity has a totally null value on the quality of a joke.


To phrase in a mathematical formula so you understand:

Good Jokes = Funny
Bad Jokes = Not Funny

Actually, even comedy professionals say that using curse words in strategic locations do amplify the effect. Maybe it's not the most highest quality of humor, but still.

Whether it's funny or not is irrelevant to the topic. I think swearing is mostly unnecessary, but censorship is just stupid.
If someone found the word "cupcake" offensive, you'd have just the same obligation to remove all the cupcakes in the forums, otherwise you'd be a hypocrite.

While I doubt the existence of anyone who holds the title "humor expert", half of humor is context. Sometimes, the context mandates profanity. Cursing usually doesn't enhance a joke, but if used in just the right situation it can fit in perfectly.

[Hiiri]

While I doubt the existence of anyone who holds the title "humor expert", half of humor is context. Sometimes, the context mandates profanity. Cursing usually doesn't enhance a joke, but if used in just the right situation it can fit in perfectly.

Yeah I know it sounds weird, but there ARE a lot of people who make their living by being (or trying to be) funny. So I guess they know something about the thing they do. (No, I'm not talking about the writers of sitcoms, where they tell you when to laugh )

As for the latter part, I think you put it better than I did.

[Zrk2]

Instead of swearing, become a Deapan Snarker! Or sneer to go with it, a la Edmund Blackadder.

Or just link to tvTropes a gratuitous number of times.

[Double A]

Instead of swearing, become a Deapan Snarker! Or sneer to go with it, a la Edmund Blackadder.

Or just link to tvTropes a gratuitous number of times.

I'm doing the LP in character, but I have linked to TV Tropes at least once. Blackaddering it up would be a lot easier than being a Deadpan Snarker.

[G-Flex]

If your style of comedy relies so much on something like cursing that you just can't bear to not do it, then there's something hideously wrong. If what you do isn't "funny" to you without the cursing, then it doesn't have a leg to stand on in the first place.

In other words: For God's sake, just suck it up and if a forum disallows swearing then don't swear. It's not hard, and shouldn't significantly impact the quality of your writing. You can express damn near any attitude successfully without having to rely on saying "fuck" every single paragraph. It's so easy that you should be able to do it without even changing your tone or style.

[UberNube]

Frankly I don't get any of the arguments against swearing, and in fact I don't understand why any language is 'bad'. If you remove the context and intention behind a word, then it is nothing but a particular acoustic or electromagnetic waveform. The intention is everything, and frankly I find it just as offensive to see someone say the words 'flapjack' or 'orbital' with the obvious intention that they would kill me in person if they had the chance. Similarly, saying 'fuck' or even more offensive terms in a conversation where they are obviously not being hostile (such as this one) does not bother me in the slightest.

In fact, for anyone who REALLY doesn't like the idea of someone saying a particular word which you disapprove of, how have you managed to wake up every day still wishing to exist? Every day thousands of people die in agony and misery. There are millions of people starving and struggling to survive. We wage wars on a regular basis with the only goal of stealing resources from ourselves. There are dozens of oppressive regimes in place which torture and murder their citizens. Even if we manage to survive the next few centuries, we may never leave the solar system and will get engulfed by the sun when it becomes a red giant. What about the almost certain eventuality of heat-death, where billions of years from now our descendants find themselves in a cold dying universe where energy is the most precious resource, and eventually even our most advanced technology cannot prevent the ablation and decay of all matter. Now, can you really say that the most offensive thing to you is someone on an internet forum saying the word 'shit' as part of an attempt to make people laugh? If so, I want you to listen carefully when I say:

FUCK. THAT. SHIT.