Nobody seems to use the real words for anything here

[MrsO]

and people have been banned for religious fights)

Wow, really? I didn't realise! Just when you thought EHell was safe...
 

[Deb1000Faces]

If the identifier makes it necessary to answer the question, then the information should be posted in its entirety.

For example, we have had numerous threads about wedding etiquette in certain religious denominations.  What is acceptable in some is impossible in others, so knowing the denomination is not only helpful, but necessary to answer the question.

Wedding requirements also vary by country, so sometimes knowing the country in which the wedding is taking place is necessary.

If neither of the above affects the etiquette, though, the specific denomination and/or location is unnecessary and may attract unwelcome attention from posters who become distracted from the etiquette question at hand due to the details.

I believe political party affiliations are the only things we are to never, ever mention.  Politics is really an area where we have to steer clear; however, the eHell blog has a section on politics.  Likewise our stance on moral or political issues.  Religious affiliations should be kept to a minimum.

If a poster has obscured the details so thoroughly that you can't understand the question, then I can understand being frustrated.  However, if the question is still clear and you just find the use of euphemisms bothersome, you are free to skip the thread.

Some of us have had privacy issues on the board, so we may obscure our location, our family details, our age, etc.  That isn't a requirement, but if a member judges it necessary there's really no way around it.

[Shores]

and people have been banned for religious fights)

Wow, really? I didn't realise! Just when you thought EHell was safe...
 

Well, "fight" may have been a stronger word than necessary. But I've definitely seen more than a couple snarky or insulting religious remarks over the years. Thankfully, 99% of Ehellions are smart enough to just report it and not get dragged down with the offender. The mods are always very quick to remove really trollish posts.

[Calypso]

For some people, stating the question using euphemisms is like the music schools where they might have candidates audition from behind a barrier so you can't see them, you're only hearing the sound they make. They're saying "I really, really don't want you to focus on any part of what I'm asking except the actual question." It's kind of scientific, really -- like having only one variable in an experiment 

[hobish]

So then, a typical post could be something like, "I am Blue, and my husband is Green.  Today, at church, some bacon-fed knave actually told us that we shouldn't play Scrabble without protection, for fear of me getting pregnant with a Turquoise child?"  Do I have that about right?

Yes. And that person would be very rude.

[Danismom]

So then, a typical post could be something like, "I am Blue, and my husband is Green.  Today, at church, some bacon-fed knave actually told us that we shouldn't play Scrabble without protection, for fear of me getting pregnant with a Turquoise child?"  Do I have that about right?

Yep. I understand why it's done, but to be honest, I often find posts confusing, and I don't always think it's necessary (sometimes, not always). In the above example, I just don't see why it's necessary to disguise the religions. It doesn't matter what they are, the 'bacon-fed knave' was rude, so it just seems a little silly to disguise them. An example where I feel it would be necessary would be 'I support political party X, however a coworker supports Political Party Y, and is always trying to get into debates over politics with me.' because, IIRC, it's forbidden here to disclose which political party you support.

This is one of those times when as a poster you would need to clarify things.  In the OP you would want to be sure that you identify the colors as religions or races.  Because here I took it as a race thing but it seems that MrsO took it as a religious thing.  Its a good reminder to me that I need to post it like:  I am of the Blue race and hubby is of the Green race..."

I get confused by all of this as well, mainly because sometimes it seems like there's a secret color code.  What does Blue really mean and does it mean that consistently throughout ehell?  I sometimes feel like I'm reading a code that everyone else has the key to.  I'm glad you started this thread because it does alleviate some of my anxiety there!

[Deb1000Faces]

I don't think "blue" or "green" or "purple" or are codes for particular races, but they are used often because they have never been used in real life to describe any particular race in real life.  I don't believe there is a set usage of "blue" to always mean a particular race or religion, it is just a commonly used place-holder.

[Cattitude]

...also, g*a*y has asterisks in it to prevent weird pop-up ads not because of homophobia.

There is no code or lingo, other than pod; sometimes it is just easier to obscure the item (like religion or politics or ... ) to get to the point if that makes sense.

AHA!  Is this also why people write "rel@tionship" and "d@ting"?  Because otherwise, I can't figure it out!

[Bluenomi]

I've been caught out by b*r*e*e*d*e*r when talking about the person I bought my cat from. It gets changed to something as well (can't remember what) since it is also used as a term describing certain types of women.

[Merry Mrs Martin]

   There are one or two thread where people have asked a poster to be more specific , because they were too vague to actually give a helpful answer or the answers where becoming well if by purple people you meant race then it was but if meant religion then it was this oh but if you meant nationality then it could be this ...etc etc. or times when posters feel the OP may be especially sensitive and an actual verbatim exampled is need to craft a response.  I do think it's alright to ask a poster to be more clear, it's also alright for a poster to keep things private.  

[kckgirl]

I've been caught out by b*r*e*e*d*e*r when talking about the person I bought my cat from. It gets changed to something as well (can't remember what) since it is also used as a term describing certain types of women.

Irresponsible parent

[Alida]

AHA!  Is this also why people write "rel@tionship" and "d@ting"?  Because otherwise, I can't figure it out!

The forum program changes those words automatically, along with g*a*y to keep the ads away.

[Danismom]

I did find it funny that after posting my uncertainties, I noticed the banner ad at the bottom of the page.  That time it was for Dummies.com!  LOL

[cass2591]

Here's my take on the purple party/country/religion/race etc--I hate it. I hate the coyness of it, the cutesyness of it, in other words it irritates the living ehell out of me.

I tend to get distracted by the code words and then I focus on what they may mean rather than the underlying issues of the post.

My solution is to be as forthright as possible. When talking about political/religious beliefs, just say my friend believes X and I believe Y (assuming it's relevant to the question) and just get to the point. Frankly, I tend to get lost in the color scheme people present because it gets so confusing. Unfortunately, I have to read these posts because I suspect there's something boiling and that it might erupt. But I gotta admit folks, it's tedious.

As for religion, someone mentioned that at times one must mention the specific religion if they're asking for etiquette rules for that particular religion. That's not against the rules.

[Onyx_TKD]

Here's my take on the purple party/country/religion/race etc--I hate it. I hate the coyness of it, the cutesyness of it, in other words it irritates the living ehell out of me.

I tend to get distracted by the code words and then I focus on what they may mean rather than the underlying issues of the post.

My solution is to be as forthright as possible. When talking about political/religious beliefs, just say my friend believes X and I believe Y (assuming it's relevant to the question) and just get to the point. Frankly, I tend to get lost in the color scheme people present because it gets so confusing. Unfortunately, I have to read these posts because I suspect there's something boiling and that it might erupt. But I gotta admit folks, it's tedious.

As for religion, someone mentioned that at times one must mention the specific religion if they're asking for etiquette rules for that particular religion. That's not against the rules.

FWIW, I've seen other threads where the OP used letters (often replacing peoples' names) and other posters requested a change to pseudonyms instead, because they found the letters confusing. Personally, I don't think either is particularly confusing, although the colors, etc. can get unintentionally amusing in some cases. I've also seen threads where posters replying got the letter designations totally mixed up, which I think can be easier to do with individual letters than words (although I don't have any evidence to back that up).