Gay hook-up app reportedly bans the word ‘party’ in an attempt to curb chemsex
By Will Stroude
Gay hookup app Scruff are attempting to curb the prevalence of chemsex by banning the word “party” in its users bios.
Chemsex is the phenomenon refers to the use of drugs in a sexual context, often referring to group sex that can last for days at so-called ‘parties’ or ‘chill-outs’.
According to a report by Buzzfeed, user Nigel Whitfield had attempted to describe himself as a member of the Labour party in the app, when he discovered the word was censored via a pop up on the app.
He was then sent an email with the subject line, “Profile Content Warning.” The email read: “be advised that the term(s) above may be considered by US law enforcement agencies to be ‘code words’ frequently used to signal interest in drug use and abuse.”
“Using Scruff for this purpose is strictly forbidden, and reports of such behaviour are taken seriously and thoroughly investigated.”
Speaking to Buzzfeed, Whitfield said he believed the the rules were “utterly over the top and incredibly heavy-handed, as “there are so many ways you can use that word perfectly innocently.”
Whitfield added: “I know the Labour party is a bit fucked up at the moment but I’m pretty sure the problem isn’t that it’s on drugs. It reminds me a little of when AOL simplistically filtered for rude words, and caused no end of trouble for people in Scunthorpe.”
According to reports, Whitfield now describes himself as a member of the “Labour P4rty” on Scruff.
I can apparently avoid being #CensoredOnScruff by saying I'm a member of the Labour P4rty @scruffapp <rolls eyes> pic.twitter.com/Oh3yRqWDKV
— BLUF Director, Nigel (@BLUFclub) September 19, 2016
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