The F word is not acceptable anywhere on this forum, other than in the nfic folder, Carol. Actually, I believe it's included here in the automatic system which censors out unacceptable words. So even if you had used it in your post, it probably wouldn't have appeared.
Nor is it accepted as being within the PG13 rating on the Archive and it would certainly be edited out by a GE upon submission.
And, just for the record, as EIC of the Archive, I wouldn't consider 'shit' to be acceptable either. If there is an instance of it being on the Archive, then all I can think of is that it slipped through in error. And I believe, IIRC, that Yvonne was advised that it couldn't be used in her stories here on the mbs.
Bugger...that would depend on the context and may well be a cultural divide. It's not considered a strong word at all here in the UK. In fact, it's considered very mild. I have no idea what the status of it is outside the UK, however, and it may well be that elsewhere it's considered stronger.
That's part of the problem with drawing a dividing line. The variation in offence taken around the world by various words. I know that recently I was quite shocked to see a particular word appear in a post here on this forum. I'd been told in very strong terms years ago that it was on a par with the F word when I inadvertantly used it, thinking it was something mild. However, I discovered when I brought it up with the other admins that in the US it's not considered terribly awful at all.
But I think most cultures are in agreement about the F word being beyond PG13. I wouldn't be surprised if that's probably about the only one we agree on.
LabRat
