Swear filter
Encyclopedia
A swear filter, also known as a profanity filter or language filter is a software subsystem which modifies text to remove words deemed offensive by the administrator or community of an online forum. Swear filters are common in custom-programmed chat room
s and online video games, primarily MMORPG
s. This is not to be confused with content filtering
, which is usually built into internet browsing programs by third-party developers to filter or block specific websites or types of websites. Swear filters are usually created or implemented by the developers of the Internet service.
used to create the program, to swap out a list of inappropriate words and phrases with a variety of alternatives. Alternatives can include:
Some swear filters do a simple search for a string. Others have measures that ignore whitespace, and still others go as far as ignoring all non-alphanumeric
characters and then filtering the plain text. This means that if the word "you" was set to be filtered, "y o u" or "y.o!u" would also be filtered.
Some words that have been filtered accidentally can become replacements for profane words. One example of this is found on the Myst
forum Mystcommunity. There, the word 'manuscript
' was accidentally censored for containing the word 'anus
', which resulted in 'm****cript'. The word was adopted as a replacement swear and carried over when the forum moved, and many substitutes, such as " 'scripting ", are used (though mostly by the older community members).
Place names may be filtered out unintentionally due to containing portions of swear words. In the early years of the internet, the British place name Penistone
was often filtered out from spam and swear filters.
Also, sometimes there are unintentionally made ways to get around filters, with words such as "Pen Is" and "Mo Lester" getting through the filter.
, and more recently, Habbo Hotel
and RuneScape
allow the user to turn the filters off. Other games, especially free Massively multiplayer online game
s, such as Knight Online
do not have such an option. There are also profanity filter web services, such as, http://www.webpurify.com
Other Games such as Medal of Honor
or Call of Duty
do not give users the option to turn off scripted foul language, while Gears of War
does.
In some TV shows swearing is covered up with a bleep
sound.
Chat room
The term chat room, or chatroom, is primarily used by mass media to describe any form of synchronous conferencing, occasionally even asynchronous conferencing...
s and online video games, primarily MMORPG
MMORPG
Massively multiplayer online role-playing game is a genre of role-playing video games in which a very large number of players interact with one another within a virtual game world....
s. This is not to be confused with content filtering
Content filtering
Content filtering is the technique whereby content is blocked or allowed based on analysis of its content, rather than its source or other criteria. It is most widely used on the internet to filter email and web access.- Content filtering of email :...
, which is usually built into internet browsing programs by third-party developers to filter or block specific websites or types of websites. Swear filters are usually created or implemented by the developers of the Internet service.
Function
Swear filters typically take advantage of string replacement functions built into the programming languageProgramming language
A programming language is an artificial language designed to communicate instructions to a machine, particularly a computer. Programming languages can be used to create programs that control the behavior of a machine and/or to express algorithms precisely....
used to create the program, to swap out a list of inappropriate words and phrases with a variety of alternatives. Alternatives can include:
- A sequence of shift-number characters, such as !@#$%^&*
- Replacing a certain letter with a shift-number character, so the U in "fuck" would be replaced by a V to create "fvck", the S and/or I in "shit" would be replaced by a dollar sign ($) or exclamation mark (!) creating "$hit", "sh!t" or "$h!t" and so on.
- Asterisks (*) of either a set length, or the length of the original word being filtered, like if "fuck" were to be filtered, it would appear as "****". Alternatively, posters often replace certain letters with an asterisk, creating "f*ck", "f**k", "f***" and so on.
- Made up words such as "Flum".
- Family friendly words or phrases, like "LOVE" or "I LOVE YOU", or completely different words which have nothing to do with the original word.
- Deletion of the post. In this case, the entire post is blocked and there is usually no way to fix it.
- Nothing at all. So if "fuck" were filtered, "fuck Canada" would become " Canada"
Some swear filters do a simple search for a string. Others have measures that ignore whitespace, and still others go as far as ignoring all non-alphanumeric
Alphanumeric
Alphanumeric is a combination of alphabetic and numeric characters, and is used to describe the collection of Latin letters and Arabic digits or a text constructed from this collection. There are either 36 or 62 alphanumeric characters. The alphanumeric character set consists of the numbers 0 to...
characters and then filtering the plain text. This means that if the word "you" was set to be filtered, "y o u" or "y.o!u" would also be filtered.
Unintended consequences
A common quirk with swear filters, often considered either comical or annoying by users, is that they often affect words that are not intended to be filtered. This is a typical problem when short words are filtered. For example, if the word "ass" is filtered, so may "glass", "molasses", "assassin", and other words which contain the sequence "ass". Or, words such as "Uranus" or "Manuscript" may be filtered in the case of "anus". Multiple words may also be filtered if whitespace is ignored, often resulting in sequences such as "As suspected" becoming "****uspected".Some words that have been filtered accidentally can become replacements for profane words. One example of this is found on the Myst
Myst
Myst is a graphic adventure video game designed and directed by the brothers Robyn and Rand Miller. It was developed by Cyan , a Spokane, Washington––based studio, and published and distributed by Brøderbund. The Millers began working on Myst in and released it for the Mac OS computer on September...
forum Mystcommunity. There, the word 'manuscript
Manuscript
A manuscript or handwrite is written information that has been manually created by someone or some people, such as a hand-written letter, as opposed to being printed or reproduced some other way...
' was accidentally censored for containing the word 'anus
Anus
The anus is an opening at the opposite end of an animal's digestive tract from the mouth. Its function is to control the expulsion of feces, unwanted semi-solid matter produced during digestion, which, depending on the type of animal, may be one or more of: matter which the animal cannot digest,...
', which resulted in 'm****cript'. The word was adopted as a replacement swear and carried over when the forum moved, and many substitutes, such as " 'scripting ", are used (though mostly by the older community members).
Place names may be filtered out unintentionally due to containing portions of swear words. In the early years of the internet, the British place name Penistone
Penistone
Penistone is a small town market town and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley, in South Yorkshire, England, with a population of 10,101 at the 2001 census. It lies west of the town of Barnsley and north east of Glossop, in the foothills of the Pennines...
was often filtered out from spam and swear filters.
Also, sometimes there are unintentionally made ways to get around filters, with words such as "Pen Is" and "Mo Lester" getting through the filter.
Implementation
Many games, such as World of WarcraftWorld of Warcraft
World of Warcraft is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game by Blizzard Entertainment. It is the fourth released game set in the fantasy Warcraft universe, which was first introduced by Warcraft: Orcs & Humans in 1994...
, and more recently, Habbo Hotel
Habbo Hotel
Habbo is a social networking site aimed at teenagers. The website is owned and operated by Sulake Corporation. The service began in 2000 and has expanded to include 11 online communities , with users in over 150 countries. As of August 2011, over 230 million avatars have been registered...
and RuneScape
RuneScape
RuneScape is a fantasy massively multiplayer online role-playing game released in January 2001 by Andrew and Paul Gower, and developed and published by Jagex Games Studio. It is a graphical browser game implemented on the client-side in Java, and incorporates 3D rendering...
allow the user to turn the filters off. Other games, especially free Massively multiplayer online game
Massively multiplayer online game
A massively multiplayer online game is a multiplayer video game which is capable of supporting hundreds or thousands of players simultaneously. By necessity, they are played on the Internet, and usually feature at least one persistent world. They are, however, not necessarily games played on...
s, such as Knight Online
Knight Online
Knight Online is an MMORPG developed by MGame Corporation.The original game is hosted by MGame in Korea, and requires players to enter their Korean resident registration numbers to register. There are two other official versions: is hosted in Japan, while is hosted in the United States. Some...
do not have such an option. There are also profanity filter web services, such as, http://www.webpurify.com
Other Games such as Medal of Honor
Medal of Honor
The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed by the President, in the name of Congress, upon members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguish themselves through "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her...
or Call of Duty
Call of Duty
Call of Duty is a first-person shooter video game developed by Infinity Ward and published by Activision in 2003. It is the first game in a series with the same name. The game simulates the infantry and combined arms warfare of World War II. The game is based on the Quake III: Team Arena engine...
do not give users the option to turn off scripted foul language, while Gears of War
Gears of War
Gears of War is a military science fiction third-person shooter video game developed by Epic Games and published by Microsoft Game Studios...
does.
In some TV shows swearing is covered up with a bleep
Bleep censor
A bleep censor is the replacement of profanity or classified information with a beep sound , in television or radio...
sound.