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why cens*r (fandom) words (and why you might be doing it wr0ng)

what do censored words look like in online fandom context?

this particular type of self-censoring—on a word-level rather than systemic level—occurs when someone uses special characters, spaces, or other substitutions to alter an original word/name/title. this is usually done in a manner that leaves the word legible.

examples:

d*sney

av@tar

m.arvel

n/ickelodeon

gr ishaverse

the most common version you’ll encounter is the first one, in which one or more letters are swapped out for an *.

what self-censoring words does:

removes a word that would otherwise appear in search results (eg “hann!bal” does not show up in searches for “hannibal”)

removes a word that would otherwise be caught by filters set to filter out that word (eg “p*rple” is not caught when filtering out “purple”)

virtue-signals—it gives your followers a hint about what type of content you oppose or do not like (eg if I see someone use “j@ne” or “j.ane/b.ob”, I assume that OP doesn’t like jane or the jane/bob ship)

subcategory of virtue signaling: humorous virtue signaling (eg, “I hate ch*ese”)

In its most basic form, censorship is like a captcha—it exists to fool machines or search algorithms while remaining legible to humans.

But because of its usage in virtue signaling, for better or worse, censoring words now carries connotations of Serious ideological Disagreement. This is why humorous virtue signaling works: “I hate ch*ese” adds Serious Ideological Disagreement to my simple dislike of cheese, and implies that I think cheese is somehow Problematic™.

why censor words?

to keep your anti-X content out of the X tag, so that X Stans do not have to see it (and potentially target or harass you as a result. also, it’s common fandom etiquette to keep your hate of a given thing out of that thing’s tag—more on this later.)

to discuss hate speech without actually using hate speech and potentially attracting hate groups to your blog (eg “n@zi, t*rf”)

a serious drawback to censoring words

when you censor a word, it doesn’t show up in searches and it also doesn’t get caught by filters. people who are triggered by that word and blacklisted it to protect themselves are now going to encounter it in your post.

things to stop doing ASAP

stop censoring trigger words. seriously, stop. this doesn’t mean you have to type out slurs without censoring them, but do include a tag like “f-slur” or “misogynistic slurs” in order to help those who have blacklisted a given word. if you’re going to censor “t*rf,” I’d better see the “transphobia” warning tag on your post. and for the love of god, don’t censor tags like “rac*sm”

consider people with screenreaders, who are going to hear your special characters read aloud, and use them sparingly. “a.lice” is gonna sound confusing, but presumably less confusing than “@l*c#.” (people with screenreaders, feel free to chime in on your preferred methods of self-censorship!)

these days, about 90% of the time I encounter a censored word, especially a word that is specific to fandoms (a title, name, or ship), it seems like OP’s purpose is virtue-signaling. it’s hard to tell who is and isn’t aware that they’re also adhering to basic standards of community etiquette by keeping hate out of a tag, but occasionally someone does something that makes it painfully obvious how unaware they are: they tag the thing they just censored. if I type out “d*sney” but then tag my post “disney,” I defeat the entire point of censoring the word in the first place—unless my purpose begins and ends at virtue signaling.

the solution to this is to use “d*sney” in the body of my post and “anti-disney” in the tags. anti-X tags have a few purposes: to keep hate out of the X tag, to potentially help you find other fans who dislike X, and to ensure anti-X content can still be caught by filters.

in conclusion,

know why you’re censoring a given word.

if your intent is to minimize harm, you may not be achieving that simply by swapping in an asterisk. and if your intent is not to look like an idiot, you’ll want to avoid mistake #3 above.

further reading:

what is a grawlix?

voldemorting

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ghostlythefuckingghost

9 months ago