Chat shorthand and foul language

[Astros34]

Lately I've seen a lot of chat shorthand that is an acronym including a four-letter word, such as "WTF." I've also seen a lot of four-letter words where the vowel is replaced by an "*." Is either of these appropriate for our boards? I've avoided them to be safe. . .

[NICK@HQ]

Well, from the Forum Rules, we find this under Rule 10:

"Posts that contain profanity, are offensive, are argumentative without basis, or contain copyrighted or promotional information (including links in taglines or signatures) are prohibited."

Is a familiar acronym that contains an implied profanity against the rules? If reading the acronym or starred word makes you hear the profane word in your head, does that mean the poster used profanity? What is profanity anyway? Would Clark Gable's famous retort in Gone With The Wind count nowadays?

My point is that it's a grey area. I've seen some community sites block even the acronyms since everyone knows what you are really saying. Other sites are more forgiving. I'll let Ray or Ron lay down the law for sure, but given what Rule 10 says above, I think it's best not to use those substitutions. Use your imagination to get across your meaning in a way that does not offend anyone.

[RAY@HQ]

I'd rather not see them used, but I've got better things to police. Once we expand moderator coverage (soon!), we'll be better able to address this sort of thing.