143 - Banned Words

Thanks Nate. You absolutely get it, and this note made my day. We're trying to thread a weird, narrow needle on the Internet, and you're understanding it on a deep level. Means a lot to have you with us.

LOLOLOLOLOL. That took quite a bit of digging to find the newest version, but I found it and I learned a lot along the way. That is hysterical Scott. Thanks for the nod; I'm giggling about it alone in my basement and passing this along to Destin right now.

I’ve been following Smarter Every Day for 9 years and NDQ for 4 years. I always resisted the comments section, but two weeks ago Matt posted a Ten Minute Bible Hour short from the Air Force Academy. My wife and I married in the Cadet Chapel and I live only a couple minutes from there. I couldn’t hold back. First internet comment in about a decade. I crafted my idea, put thought into how it might develop and move forward the conversation, and considered how people with opposing views might interpret what I had to say. Posted it with excitement and anticipation. Maybe my favorite bearded niche internet Bible celebrity would write something back, or at least like my comment… …blocked. I’ve been Chuck Yeagered! This NDQ episode was ironically timed for me. Helpful though, I included a hyperlink. Of course hyperlinks are blocked. Matt I wanted to tell you, and Destin and other Winged Hussars too, your names are in the operational flight rules that govern all 5,300 USAF aircraft and 21,000 Air Force pilots. I worked 2 years to republish this regulation, and well, “Don’t muzzle an ox”… Google: “AFMAN11-202v3” Page 240 Look for Newfoundland and Labrador Most Air Force pilots call this rule book the “202” or the “202 vol 3”.

Just started listening to this episode and rolling my eyes at Destin's confusion between an enforced right by a federal government and a personal tolerance.

Haha....no. I asked why there was a mouse on Matt's hat. I could have asked more politely, but NOOOOPE, STRAIGHT TO THE LAND OF ETERNAL DARKNESS.

Jesse Kessler

Which one? the Fred Durst one? lol

Wow, such a fascinating discussion! I love when you guys set each other up with such hilariously silly traps. Of course, because you are both intelligent and thoughtful, it always ends up being a discussion of gravitas worth listening to. And once again, Destin has shown that Matt is much more willing to say things that will get bleeped out. In a previous conversation we had here on the Patreon page about online comments, I realized that this is the only place on the entire internet that I post comments. And to be honest, I like it that way. When I listened to the song from AJR that mentions skipping ads and reading the comments, I thought it was a bit of a gaff -- does anyone really read the comments on YouTube videos? But when I said that to my wife, she informed me that she does. Anyway, I'm glad this is the only conversation I participate in. There's something remarkably helpful about entering a space with people I know agreed along with me that paying money to support what Destin and Matt are doing is a good way to spend money. I would be a lot more surprised to find people in this space saying inflammatory things, and needing a banned words list. By the way, your ads are hilarious. Thanks so much for putting content out that is fun, stimulating, and positive. I'm so thankful for what you guys are doing!

The comments most creators want to block usually have some predictable patterns. With the current state of AI and language recognition, it doesn’t seem as though it should be difficult to flag those patterns representing, for example, racism, antisemitism, female objectification, pro/anti-LGBTQ+, pro/anti-abortion, pro/anti-gun, and the all the other topics the people might want to limit on their channels.

Chris K

I was shocked when my (apparently banned) comment on Matt's video was read out loud. Hat.

Jesse Kessler

I agree with Matt’s points about comedians and their unique role in mocking society. I am curious as to how we differentiate between that and something like Alex Jones and the Sandy Hook denials. I can make the difference in my head but I can’t seem to articulate it when I try and put words to it. Anyone with thoughts?

Excellent content as always, thought provoking and entertaining. I have to recommend the book I am currently reading. It's called "conversations with people who hate me" by Dylan Marron. It's the story of and lessons learned from a podcast of the same name where the author had phone conversations with people who left nasty comments on his online content. It's well worth a read and pertinent to this conversation. Just a warning... There are many banned words in this book!

Jeremy Ross

The bleeps make it funnier but I am so ***** curious what those two last bleeps were.

Sevy

So do we Patreon peeps get to hear what the actual banned words were?

Goodness, I loved the side comments in this episode. "Amphetamines!", "Fred Dirst", and "Broken Rabbit Hole" had me rolling! Very interesting episode and making me think a LOT! Excellent!