Recently arising/created “slang” has found its way onto many platforms such as Roblox, and although Roblox’s filtering system is very potent, these words (even though their definitions can be found on urban dictionary) are just let through without fail.
A common word that is passing by is “goon”, many users of this word are promoting it and it’s definition to minors via games, chat, usernames, and so on. This term is sexual and any search for its definition blasts you with explicit images which children should not be exposed to. I understand that Roblox is trying to shift to a more mature/adulted demographic however the way of doing this is not by failing to update the filter.
In addition to this, the uprise of soft-explicit content has been soaring throughout the past few months and this has been made very clear by a certain user who posts daily about the malicious actors behind this content. He will remain unnamed in order to not get my post flagged.
It will take a lot more effort and coverage to change the mainstream definition. A slang is a slang and it is not yet universal, otherwise it wouldn’t be called a slang. Just because a few people started using the word differently doesn’t mean you have to ruin it for everyone else. If this was actually the case, you would have much more trouble trying to catch up with pop culture with all the different kinds of profanity they’re coming up with.
Here’s an example: “coke” is a common slang term for an illicit drug. But it is also a common informal name for Coca-Cola, a popular brand of soft drinks. The latter definition is much more popular and used. But there is also a formal definition, that being the byproduct of refining coal. Should you now start filtering out the word “coke” simply because it’s used differently by a marginal group?
Me thinking about what did you do to make roblox not moderate this. Looks incredibly weird (the fact that it’s not moderated) to talk about innapropiate language in roblox.
Won’t talk anything related.
It is all too easy to see ‘goon’ as a non-issue but there’s a nuance to it.
The word as is, is usually innocuous - but kids are being instructed to add -ing to it which I will not test by googling but I imagine just adding that before googling will clarify why it’s something that should not be allowed to go unfiltered.
The people that have these groups (one of which I personally saw is linked to a LITERAL pornography X account) are counting on people who are not familiar with the double meaning not seeing it as an issue.
the word ass is censored even though it refers to a donkey. ClockTime is a property of Lighting but you can’t say it in chat. hardly any numbers go untagged, let alone asset ids. these are all things the filter disallows despite having completely clean uses. if the coke from a can weren’t far more popular than the coke from a small plastic bag, the word coke would be censored too, even with its alternate definition of a coal byproduct. likewise, the amount of times i’ve heard the word goon used in a sentence with its dictionary definition not only pales in comparison to its newer, more pornographic definition, but i could probably count it on two hands or less. so using roblox’s history of banning words, it would make sense for them to ban goon and gooning too. while we’re at it, let’s ban rizz and gyatt too because they’re annoying and i don’t understand them.
Mainstream definition is what most people use. “Ass” is definitely a word that more people use as a bad word than its actual meaning. Definitions change over time and it I don’t think it has yet for “goon”. Fun fact, it was mentioned in one of Technoblade’s video and was used to refer to bodyguards. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5PBwi1rkpzE.
There is this thing called context. Hard to understand how Roblox’s filter deal with context, but you can say words like hassle when it has the word ass inside it. This argument has the same energy as saying that the letter “k” is filtered because 3 messages before it spelt out the first 3 letters of the F word. Context matters and we have no idea what the filtering engine saw from the word “ClockTime”, just know that it exists.
Refer to my first point where mentioned it being used in TechnoBlade’s video. Because this is a popular content creator, millions of people (kids) now know the dictionary definition of “goon”, it being just a “bodyguard”.
Ok, you just gave me examples of the Roblox filter being evidently unreliable prior to saying this. I am really confused about your argument, are you saying to keep it unreliable by filtering out these new slang terms?
These words are actual slangs and don’t seem to be derived from any actual English language word with an alternative innocuous meaning. They obviously need to be treated differently and indeed need some kind of moderation. But:
If you apply this argument to slangs that are derived from innocent words, this brings me back to my original point of not filtering words simply because a lesser-known bad definition exists. Filtering words before they’re well known for bad things can actually make it worse. Kids will be confused on why a word that they thought was fine to use was actually filtered (such being Technoblade fans who first saw him use the word “goon” for “bodyguards”). They will then google it specifically for the bad definition and learn what horrible thing it is referring to.
While goon (on it’s own) shouldn’t necessarily be censored, goonING (the activity) and goonER (the name for a person) absolutely should.
Although to be fair I just blame Roblox for deliberately and knowingly not taking any action (see: Ruben Sim posting the Roblox profile of a known active groomer, said profile having all sorts of extremely sexual content all over it and a very inappropriate avatar, and instead of said profile getting banned they simply removed the past names and nothing more)
To be fair though it’s not like Roblox cares about childrens safety
You give those examples of the roblox filter being aggressive like they are good things. If roblox cared more about the filter, they likely wouldn’t filter clocktime and other things that have basically no reason to be filtered. I have no clue why you would use that to support your argument; it just discredits it.
I was on natural disaster survival one day a few weeks ago there was a user talking in a NSFW way and I think one of the words used was one mentioned in this post.
Not only that but they also had a avatar that also looked NSFW, you know those chibi or what ever the heck they are, package, well they had that and a mini skirt so it straight up looked like a backside was showing, you get the idea.
And actually it’s not the only time i seen that, not only that but classic shirts/pants too.
“Bet, this topic is so mid and not sigma, and you are yapping. I’d even go so far as to say this post is sus. Yapping is so not based and you have no skibidi rizz and no lit drip lil bro. Gyatt outta here and don’t cook. You can never clap back from this ratio, pluh.”
/j
In all serious I’ve never even see people using goon in a bad way, and it doesn’t even mean that even if they try to. It’s usually used in refrence to oddballs or henchmen. E.g “Fight (name)'s goons! (3/7)”
funnily enough, this is not where it ends. I’ve recently been seeing people saying “MYBIG***BOUNCING” in game, which somehow isn’t picked up by the filter. Adding onto this, you can actually say badass, as it’s just another word for epic. Roblox even used to have an item with badass in the name themselves.
Words don’t necessarily have negative connotations, and some words when changed slightly actually become positive! That being said, the inverse can happen, but rarely.
I doubt this is where Roblox’s relation with this word in specific ends, but it’s still pretty interesting to see how it’s used on Roblox and how they actually take context into account!
Edit: No it’s not. Apparently the word “Ass” is unfiltered now and I’ve been seeing alot of people started using it.
The “A” word I define as either a donkey, or the posterior end of a person between the waist and the split at the top of the legs.
Now for goon, it’s basically a henchman who intimidates or harms other people.
Never heard of the verb form of goon until this thread. I had to look it up on google and yes, it should be filtered, but goon itself should not be. I didn’t know about it also meaning a stupid person or a fool. Learned something new.
Button is just that, a button on clothing, on equipment, or on the screen. I have no idea why that is being filtered or what the filter is seeing with it since Roblox does not run the chat filter themselves.
So yes. Words do have meaning, without which we would be unable to communicate. The “H” word is not filtered. The “D” word is, even though both are considered swear words, and mild ones at that. You have worse in PG-13 movies, a lot worse. The “GD” word I take personal offense to, but I don’t see that one filtered either.
Swear words, in my opinion, should not be blocked unless the person is under 13. Cuss words (and we all know what they are), should be blocked unless the person seeing them is 17+. Sexual/pornographic connotations should always be blocked.
account) are counting on people who are not familiar with the double meaning not seeing it as an issue.
