I REPORTED A BAD SELLER FOR SELLING SOCKS WHICH OFFENSIVE F WORDS ON THEM. IS THIS ALLOWED? IF SO I

[enigmabearr]

I THINK THIS IS DISGUSTING AND A VERY LOW ACT. I DONT WANT TO SEE OFFENSIVE LANGUAGE ON ITEMS WHILE IM BROWSING TO BUY THINGS ON EBAY. I REPORTED THIS MATTER ALREADY ONCE BEFORE AND THE PERSON SAID IT MAY TAKE SOME TIME TO FIX THE PROBLEM BUT IT WAS A WHILE BACK I REPORTED THIS MATTER. NO SELLER SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO SELL SOCKS ON EBAY WITH OFFENSIVE F WORDS ON THEM. THERE ARE SOME PPL WHO FIND OFFENSIVE F WORDS EXTREMELY OFFENSIVE AND I AM ONE OF THOSE PPL. THIS SHOULD BE HIGHLY ILLEGAL THIS MATTER. 

WHO IN THEIR RIGHT MIND WOULD WANT TO BROWSE SOCKS AND SEE OFFENSIVE LANGUAGE ON THEM?

[egglesdtp]

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@springyzone wrote:

Of course, the main pity of it is that ladygamer obviously thought she was on the celestial line direct to ebay so she feels she has 'reported it'.  What she should have done is what our marvellously thorough countessa did. Looked up the regulations, complained to ebay directly about the ad if it broke those regulations. *Sigh* Life is so full of disappointments for many newbies who post here. I'm sure they wonder for years why no ebay rep ever got back to them.

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My goodness - that bit made me laugh.

[padi*0409]

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@enigmabear wrote:

Would not be surprised to see yet another thread screaming about the same thing tomorrow

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And the mods would probably stack it on top of this one like they did with the second one bear.

[enigmabear]

Indeed,indeed

And they will keep on stacking up like a mountain of socks with forks on them

[padi*0409]

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@enigmabear wrote:

Indeed,indeed

And they will keep on stacking up like a mountain of socks with forks on them

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[countessalmirena]

@seniorladygamer,

I don't know what search terms you are using to get socks with profanity on them coming up in your search results. I just tried a search using the term "novelty socks", and the results so far seem to lean to the "Don't disturb me, I'm gaming" side of things.

One result shows the Mona Lisa on a pair of socks. Some have American presidents' faces. Some are novelty pork or skeleton designs. Some are five "finger" lace socks (well, 5 toes, really, but the title says fingers). Christmas socks abound.

I'm 7 pages in on the search result, and I'm all socked out. No profane socks appear so far. I really don't know what you're seeing.

But as said previously in this thread, if you see a listing that is against eBay policy, report it to eBay. If you feel unhappy at the lack of action taken in respect of a reportable item, then apart from reporting it via the report link on the item/s, you can also phone eBay or ask eBay to phone you. Click onto Help (at the top of your page) and scroll down to the bottom of the page, where the links to phone or be phoned will be active during eBay's available hours.

Some older people won't like offensive language, while other people of the same age may not mind. People of all ages differ in what they consider acceptable language. That's just how it is; one man's meat is another man's #$@&%*!... You certainly have the right to make a complaint to eBay if a listed item is against policy. Posting your views on a public board is fine, but bear in mind that people will respond with their own views.

[lyndal1838]

Take it from me Countess.....they are there.  The most "offensive" I can find have "F**K" on the sole of one sock and "OFF" on the sole of the other.

I definitely fit into the category of "senior", "elderly" and probably by some definitions "old" but it doesn't offend me at all.

Of course that could be because I was married to a sailor for 9 years, lived on a Naval Base for several years and regularly visited Naval ships at Garden Island.  It was once said that I could make a sailor blush if I set out to do so.

But having a blue vocabulary and using it are two different things....many years later I had some horsey friends struck dumb when I called our naughty little pony a sod.  They said they had never heard me swear in all the years they had known me.

I am also a regular sock wearer.....as a diabetic I wear sturdy walking shoes with cotton socks.  My family say they know what mood I am in by the socks I wear.....there are pretty pastels with flowers,  navy blue with red cherries, and a great selection of stripes in my sock drawer.

Maybe I should be thanking the OP for bringing the  F*** O** socks to my attention.   They definitely would fit my mood on some days, especially when it is very hot.

[countessalmirena]

How far into the search results did you have to go, lyndal? (Not that I will be looking, I promise!)

There are plenty of imaginative words to use, and it is always a joy to come up with a new (apt) way of expressing oneself, particularly with delicious insults. Shakespeare had some choice ones... I suppose when it comes to profanity, it's mostly the violence and intention to belittle behind some types of profanity that makes me want to glue some people's teeth together with Fuji IX - except, of course, that this would be a very bowdlerising approach to other people's right to make their own judgements and choices about their own speech.

When it comes to socks... the only pairs of socks I possess are runners' socks. I think there's one pair of Lightfeet, and then I grabbed some Thorlos. None of them sport any sort of message - rude or otherwise.

Spoiler

But is the lack of a message a message in itself?

Spoiler

Could the message be "Don't put messages on socks"?

Spoiler

Why would there be a secret invisible implied message about not putting messages on socks?

Spoiler

Is it something to do with secret codes?

Spoiler

What have I got myself into? The absence of a message on my socks is turning out to mean that I'm involved in some sort of hush-hush spy agency, and I never realised it.

[gumardee_coins_and_banknotes]

Must be an SJW.

[springyzone]

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@enigmabearr wrote:

OFFENSIVE F WORDS ON SOCKS BEING SOLD IN MY OPINION IS VERY LOW AND DISGUSTING. WHY SHOULD OLD PPL HAVE TO PUT UP WITH SEEING VULGAR LANGUAGE WRITTEN ON SOCKS WHEN THEY ARE SEARCHING TO BUY ?

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Good grief, you're back. You proved me wrong. I didn't think we would see you again for dust.

But since you're here, have a look at countessa's posts about ebay policy.

I don't think your age is relevant or even whether you are offended or not. All that matters at this stage is whether the ads are against ebay policies or not.

If the ads that offend you are also breaking ebay regulations, you can report them to ebay (not here, this is just a messageboard). You're going to have to be the one to do this as you know where the ads are & you also now have the policies clearly set out for you so you can check them (thanks to Countessa's research)

As for offensive things. If something offends enough people to make an 'outrage', what often happens is it gets publicity and you soon see shops back down. I've seen this happen to several businesses. Not always about profanity, but sometimes it has been eg suggestive slogans on baby clothes.

But it often takes a bit of a campaign or enough people to move the see saw in the opposite direction. Usually one upset person won't do it.

I'm a great believer though in the power of the individual to make a difference. If you believe ebay policy needs to change or become stricter, you'd need to do a bit of agitation & get people contacting ebay direct.

[lyndal1838]

Countess I put one word into the search bar....socks.

Over 600,000 listings popped up with the first F**K appearing a few lines down.

This morning the search showed the first offensive item on page 2 about half way down.

I am really astounded at the outrage displayed by the OP....it is really not difficult to skim a large number of listings and just ignore the odd one that offends one's sensibilities.