What's the f***ing point?

It's all in the title really. Why do newspapers/tv reports use asterisks in place of swear words? Isn't it the case that most people know what they say anyway - I know I fill in the blanks when I'm reading, so what's the point in removing the letters in the first place? Is seeing 'b*****d' any better/different to seeing 'bastard' written in a newspaper? Why is it done, and who for?

What a stupid so**ing question.

it is done to stop offending stupid c****s.

Skotty

There was an article about this in the Guardian a few months ago http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/mind-your-language/2012/jul/22/mind-your-language-asterisks-swearwords

i like it because you can call someone a f**king c**t and pretend you didn't

see!? i didnt swear!!?

skotty wrote (see)

it is done to stop offending stupid c****s.

There's another point - how do you know what some of the words are? Does b****** mean bastard or bollocks?

And even if I don't write it, you know what I f***ing mean!

**** * **** ** ****.

WTF

I always thought it was because journos have forgotten how to spell.

(Or should that be 'of forgotten'?)

B****** means bastard.  Count the asterisks!

i thought it was due to some forum's having automatic mods that delete swear words so placing the *** gets your point across.

Meant to add obvoiusly is the fucking case here is it.

i'm sure there are laws about what language is permitted in the public arena. for example, it's likely that if there were a big billboard in town with the words "even after 20 years I still can't fucking believe it's not butter" it would probably attract lots of complaints and be removed by the advertising standards agency. likewise, even when quoting verbatim most publications will avoid using expletives, although the lines here are blurred. The Sun won't print "Phew, what a Bastarding Scorcher", but the guardian website is littered with numerous fucks. Possibly has something to do with decency laws, but i'm not a lawyer, so don't fucking quote me on that.

the Guardian has always* had a more liberal view of the verbatim printing of swear words compared to say the Daily Rant, the majority of who's readers come from the "enraged of Tunbridge Wells" mob.   perhaps yet another reason that I'm a fucking Guardian reader..... 

in the early days of this forum, it was frowned upon and often posts using swear words were deleted by RW Towers - their view was that, as an open forum, then they could be read by children so it was forbidden.  as children these days seem to  swear like there's no fucking tomorrow it's become less frowned upon.

there used to be a cracking forum at www.gruympycunt.com - I used to love dipping into the bile and swearing going on there for a laugh - but it seems to have gone west now.   

* as far as my memory goes back and that's some distance!

EDIT: it looks as if cuntscorner.com/index.php has taken over where grumpycunts.com left off.   hooray - bile ahoy!!  (I should say that I don't agree with a lot of the bile the twats on there write, but it can be tres amusing!!)

feck off

I thought you said "I'm fucking a Guardian reader....."  FB! 

You know me, I've always thought if you're going to say fuck, type fuck.

FF the USA RW has the filter so you just have to get a bit creative.

not at this precise moment Wilks - maybe later....

I only type the asterisks in emails, as lots of email filters flag up swear words and if I'm using a swear word in a work email, it's likely to be a personal one.

Your Cake always writes w**k for WORK.

And I always read it as WANK.