Rule 69 in a club race

I realize this is a hot issue. I went back and undeleted most of the posts just replacing the f word with f***. I think this is an important discussion as I find myself in the same "heat of the moment" situations myself- especially on the water (and maybe, every once in a while, in the car ;) )

So, what we need to do is determine where the line is. The hard part is the line is different for every person. However I think the word "Gross" in the rules means to me that a fleeting expletive in the heat of the moment would not be grounds for a protest.

Are there auto-censor adjustments to handle this? I've been on other forums where people just type whatever they want, and the bad words are automatically replaced with something more benign. That way nobody gets offended, and you can usually figure out what word the offender originally used.
 
There is an auto-filter, and I HAVE enabled it. I think this might be a good compromise for everyone involved. Thoughts?
 
I'd say turn it on and try, it can always be turned off again.
And thanks for restoring the posts
 
Obviously we all have our own opinions on what each of us find acceptable and not acceptable.

It would appear that ISAF and the national bodies are are in effect saying with rules 2 and 69 are:
"We want the game to be played fairly and we want EVERYONE to feel that the game was played fairly when it is over. If ANYONE feels it wasn't fair because of a competitor's actions, they have the right to point this out to a protest committee. The protest committee can then debate and decide if there is merit to this and hold a hearing and decide on a penalty - or- they can decide there is no merit to and do nothing to the results"

In effect, the protest committee is going to do exactly what we are doing here, debate over what was said or done and decide if punishment is needed and if so, what it should be.

To me then, I need to only look at some facts:
1. Protest committees are made up of people. These people can have varying experience sitting on protest committees and knowledge of the rules. They can also have varying opinions on what is fair/not fair.
2. There are existing cases where competitors have been penalized for swearing, verbal abuse, and physical abuse, both on the race course and in the boat park.

Knowing that, I can then decide to avoid committing those actions and have no worries from those two rules
-or-
I can roll the dice and take a chance that my swearing or verbal/physical abuses will cause someone associated with the event to report me and at that point cause me to lose all control over my outcome in the race, event and possibly the participation in the sport for some period of time.
 
Dang...Bradley went all grown up on us kids again!!

Cussing at others is an art...
Offensive is in the mind of the beholder.

If you use your entire vocabulary, some folks within earshot might be very upset and feel a need or even a right to take action.

Personaly?? I couldln't care less about the words themselves. I am more interested in the context.
A guy who is holding my shirt and calling my mother a whore is probably going to feel a very personal and direct response.

A person who says she was fornicatingly cool and kicked derrieres in sailboat races ..Is probably an old friend..


The concept of removing so called "cuss words" from the race course is , in my world, an absurdity. Many of us use the words among ourselves as freely as we use howdy or oops. In fact many of us include the so called F word in both greetings and complaints about our own oopses.

It is safe to say, I find those who are offended by simple words or who cannot even use the words when discusing their proper use, to be petty and offensive in their own right.

I am far more worried about who takes his / her turn to run the races than I am about whether somebody says some naughty word.

I love speaking with as flowery of words as I can generate. Sometimes incredible needs those extra seven letters in the middle to properly comunicate the beauty of the passing bikini and its contents.

Maybe Gosh will send me to rot in heck.
 
When it comes to using swear words on the race course (and elsewhere in life), I aptly curse like a sailor. Doesn't particularly bother me, but I know there are other who are bothered by it.

Out on the race course, I will swear a lot when something happens to ME or more realistically when I do something stupid to myself - capsize on tack, drop the mainsheet, hit a mark, etc.

I think there are lightyears of difference between swearing at yourself and directing it personally towards somebody else - another sailor or the race committee.
 
Any news on what happened re: the original question where the club were threatening a Rule 69 hearing ...

Ian
 

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