Personally I don't see any reason to swear on any written form of communication, whether that be email, forums or letters. The fact that it is written means you have time to think about what you are saying, and therefore should take that little bit longer to self-censor your message.Cryn wrote: And I think you hit it on the head when you said there being a time and a place. The problem I think here is that quite a few people think a web forum IS the time and place. It's social, it's relaxed, and everyone is seen as an equal. There are no VISIBLE young people, so our little "it's okay to swear" indicators are flashing in the back of our heads maybe.
Even in-game chat I rarely find the need to swear, although as it is only one-line I do slip occasionally
Having said that I don't often find swear words particularly offensive, in fact due to their over use I often feel that they no longer have the strength of meaning that the once had.
What I do find offensive is things like calling people retards, and that applies even moreso on a forum. You don't know the person you are calling a retard, and for all you know they may have some learning difficulties.
As for thread moderation, I haven't seen too much moderation that was unwarranted, although sometimes a little harsh. I don't like the idea of threads being deleted, closed & moved is fine as they are still available for people to see. There are obviously occasions where deleting is the right thing, but not very often.