I'm not self-censoring...
I'm avoiding words that set off our interweb monitor. Swearing in emails gets me busted here. Although obviously I can say fuck as much as I like in a forum such as this. Fuck. Fuck.
( difficultchild, Fri 9 Apr 2010, 6:11, 1 reply)

You're being practical. That's not what I hate
It's deliberately substituting characters for letters in swear words as if to disguise them. I don't think I was clear enough in my OP. I blame the wine.

It's using words like tw@t, f*ck, sh!t, etc. instead of their full sweary equivilents. If you find yourself doing that maybe you should reconsider your need to swear in the first place.
(Rilux might be pregnant and has bum-aids, Fri 9 Apr 2010, 7:21, closed)

If you're quoting someone though and wouldn't use those words yourself (or are hoping to give the impression you wouldn't)
then the asterisks are appropriate.

You'd tell your mate 'He threatened to smash my fucking face in!' whereas in the written complaint you'd put 'He then said 'I will smash your f*cking face in.'
(Juan Quar is clinging to her front teeth on, Fri 9 Apr 2010, 8:51, closed)