Apparently, a new Word Censor program was added to these forums approximately two years ago. It was around the time that the new Cyan forums were created and other changes were taking place. It was likely meant to reduce the need for forum moderation and that’s completely understandable. It prevents certain words which are generally considered to be offensive (i.e., body parts and bodily functions) from appearing by changing them to less offensive words. So, if you refer to someone as a “boob,” you will end up calling them “mammary gland.”
Now, that’s all fine and dandy for body parts and bodily functions which we really have no reason to discuss on these forums. But, when the word for a body part is part of another word which is not a body part, then it becomes a gray area. “Donahoo’s Cocktail Party” has been a weekly event since the Until Uru days and has been frequently posted about on these and past Cyan and game publisher forums. It’s never been an issue, but suddenly with the new system, it’s become “Donahoo’s expletive Party.” For anyone who knows sweet, squeaky clean Donahoo, this is a bit of a shocker. She’s been a community member since the Exile days and deserves more respect than this system allows her.
Then, there’s the word which, IMO, has no business being in the Word Censor list: “God” which is changed to “Atrus.” If that's intended to prevent people from taking the lord's name in vain or being blasphemous, then it has accomplished the opposite, IMO. If it must be in the list, then it should be replaced by “Yahvo,” not “Atrus.” Despite years of joking about Rand being God (maybe that’s why it’s in the system ), he is not and neither is Atrus.
Some of the more savvy forum posters are getting around this restriction by adding to the word (gods, god-like or –god-), but others who are innocently posting the word are being made to look foolish, IMO, and in the context in which it was used, it’s disrespectful to all involved. For example,
in a thread about Hurricane Sandy:
Atrus bless you and protect you all ...
when offering sympathy/condolences on the loss of a community member's husband:
May Atrus Bless.
when offering sympathy/condolences on the loss of a community member's wife:
My condolences to you and your family. Atrus Bless.
in a thread for a community member who’s passed:
May Atrus bless you and your loved ones.
in a thread for a community member who’s passed:
Atrus Bless everyone.
And, there's no distinction between the capitalized version and the lower case version. There are many uses for the word not involving preaching or cursing - for example, discussing Gehn's god-like complex. If I want to write "Gehn fancies himself a god, it would come out as "Gehn fancies himself a Atrus" which is not only silly, but also poor English - it should be "an Atrus."
Personally, I prefer to use "Yahvo" in cases that would normally be "God" to avoid offending anyone and I think it has worked out quite well. So, that's my suggestion - if it must be changed to something, but I don't think it should be changed at all.
I’m posting this in the Technical section in hopes that perhaps someone can offer a better solution that will work for both Cyan and the forum posters.