Tongue in Cheek and a Reminder...

I was reminded this morning that tongue-in-cheek doesn't always come across in writing. I got an e-mail response from Robert Leary, Director of Promotions and Communications at Multnomah Bible College and Biblical Seminary. He wrote in response to my "Banned" post. I had posted an article about some really weird food that could be purchased, including a show where chef Anthony Bourdain ate warthog anus. Apparently, the word "anus" is on a list that flags your blog as unacceptable by my alma mater.

Here are Mr. Leary's comments:

I wanted to clear up a little misunderstaning about the MBCS Blogosphere located here:

Just so you know, there are so many posts that are published on the Blogosphere that it is set up with an automatic filter - and the word "anus" (amongst others) is on the list of words that can't be posted on our domain - especially when it is from content that we don't create (like blogs populating a page via a RSS feed).

It's not that there is an inherent problem with that word, it's that given the breadth of our audience and what we stand for, Multnomah MUST err on the side of caution in these issues - if for no other reason than for the sake of viewers who would stumble over such language.

Also, please note that the list of words that get automatically flagged is a list that thousands of organizations use and that we at Multnomah did not think up - we simply weeded out the really legalistic words (a chore that would make even the most rowdy of creatures blush, I assure you!) and plugged it in as our filter. However, given that this list is very long, we know that it is possible that some words were left in that we would otherwise not worry about - like "anus" in this case.

So, in an effort to serve our Alumni and affiliated bloggers better through the free service that was designed with you in mind, we will be revisiting this list of words this week in an effort to make it even more realistic.

I hope you understand our position and respect the heart behind why we do it (please lend us some grace too and think twice before flaming MBCS in the posts and comments section - we all do our best for our Alumni).

Above all, keep blogging and speaking your mind and taking advantage of the extra free exposure that www.multnomah.edu/blogosphere provides you!

So let me clear the record: I completely understand, respect, and support what Multnomah does and did. My post was meant to be understood as tongue-in-cheek and not a rip on Multnomah or the great faculty and staff there.

I'm sorry if the post came across as a flame. It wasn't intended to do so.

Thanks, Mr. Leary, for your thoughtful response. I am going to remove my previous post, as I do not want it to reflect negatively on the great school the Multnomah is or show me to be a big idiot!

In light of this, I would point you, my readers, to THIS GREAT POST by Steven Furtick on keeping your mouth shut (or risk looking like an @nu$ - if you get my drift!).

And that is my lesson for today.


tags: retraction | apology | stupid human tricks | Multnomah Bible College | grace | redemption | keeping your mouth shut