...Something like 'geez' or 'gawd', then, to avoid naming God?

Let's not beat around Bush, then, and call the bloody Palin Our Lady Palin!

I've got it! Our Lady of the Word.  Our Lady of the Red Flags.

In general it amazes me to no end how people always seem to be so quick to pick up on profanities when attempting to converse in a language not native to them and when speaking in any language in a social setting I am certainly one of those people. The situation you are describing, Gemma, is indeed a very annoying situation and my initial reaction would most probably be similar to yours.

However, forums are no social settings but professional settings; no matter how often you visit, participate and contribute to translation-related forums, they still are professional situations even if one addresses each other on a first-name basis. I think the Proz-moderater, from what you are describing, is more erring on the side of caution and perhaps the erasing of your reply is slightly similar to taking a shotgun to a mosquito, but given the amount of negative response you apparently received: it stands to reason that the use of that word in the context it was used does cause offence.

Having said all this: it is not for nothing that my favorite forums are on this website and not on Proz, because I am not particularly fond of the direction Proz is taking with their moderating, a direction which tends to over-excersize caution and as a result of that halts all banter for fear of it causing offence.

Famous last words: some have thicker skins than others. Don't take the situation you described too hard, because there are probably plenty colleagues who have read the situation as you did but didn't dare to do what you did and in that regard: Kudos to you !

Theo, Foot in Mouth sufferer in France

Quite agree! I have finally moved from proz to this site because of this.....forums should be a place where you can shed light on a certain matter, be that light positive or negative.....being politically correct kills every form of critical thinking, or plain thinking for that matter.When a person needs advice from colleagues, I am more than willing to give that advice (for example when dealing with subject matter that I am familiar with).....however, if the same person asks 20 questions a day for which the answers can be found in any dictionary, or should be known by someone who calls him- or herself a language professional, I reserve myself the right to comment on that.....a lot of people find this "offensive".....after all; we all need to stay calm and never spoil this perfect world by saying "negative things".....well, do I have news for you: sometimes it is far more effective to yell at someone or make a sarcastic remark....I try to apply very high standards to myself (although everybody of course has off days), and I expect the same rigour, discipline, and effort from others....I (gladly) accept well-founded critiscism, and expect others to do just that as well! 

Besides that; please, people......don't take yourselves so damned (or is this offensive as well?) seriously.....when faced with critiscism, first try to determine if there might not be a shred of truth in it.....that is the way we learn things!

And welcome to the forums, Stefan!

Seems there`s gonna be two of us now, eh?

But of course!

There is always a shred of truth in everything, depending just how finely shredded, even in a lie