Why do people substitute * for the vowels in certain words?
Several list members receive list messages through servers that run “nannyware”–software which filters out messages that contain certain forbidden words. Substituting * for the vowels in curse words or anything likely to trigger such nannyware will allow your messages to get through. Other means of disguising such words (such as spelling them backwards, as “dratsab”) will also work, as long as listees can figure out the intended word. Other terms might not trigger nannyware, but might be picked up in Internet searches and lead trollers to the list. G*n c*ntr*l and ab*rt**n are most commonly disguised. Finally, in a long-standing list joke that originated in a somewhat heated discussion on the relative merits of Bujold’s characters and David Weber’s Honor Harrington novels, some listees commonly write “D*v*d W*b*r” and “H*n*r H*rr*ngt*n”.
