Wordfilter - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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A wordfilter (sometimes referred to as just "filter" or "censor") is a script typically used on Internet forums or chat rooms that automatically scans users' posts or comments as they are submitted and automatically changes or censors particular words or phrases.

The most primitive wordfilters search only for a specific string and replaces it regardless of the situation. More advanced wordfilters will make distinctions against certain words, such as filtering "ass" but not "grass". The most advanced wordfilters may use regular expressions.

Contents

• 1Functions of wordfilters
  • 1.1Removal of vulgar language
  • 1.2Cliché control
  • 1.3Vandalism control
• 2Lameness filter
• 3Evasion of filters
• 4Censorship aspects
• 5Cultural significance
• 6See also
• 7References

[ edit]Functions of wordfilters

Wordfilters can serve any of a number of functions.

[ edit]Removal of vulgar language

Main article: Swear filter

Most commonly, wordfilters are used to censor language considered inappropriate by the operators of the forum or chat room. Expletives are typically partially replaced ('f*ck'), completely replaced ('****'), or replaced by nonsense words ('fark').[1] This relieves the administrators or moderators of the task of constantly patrolling the board to watch for such language. This may also help the message board avoid content-control software installed on users' computers or networks, since such software often blocks access to Web pages that contain vulgar language.

Filtered phrases may be permanently replaced as it is saved (example: phpBB 1.x), or the original phrase may be saved but displayed as the censored text (example: phpBB 2.x). In some software, such as YaBB, users can view the text behind the wordfilter by quoting the post.

[ edit]Cliché control

Clichés -- particular words or phrases constantly reused in posts -- often develop on forums. Some users find that these clichés add to the fun, but other users find them tedious, especially when overused. Administrators may configure the wordfilter to replace the annoying cliché with a more embarrassing phrase, or remove it altogether.

[ edit]Vandalism control

Internet forums are sometimes attacked by vandals who try to fill the forum with repeated nonsense messages, or by spammers who try to insert links to their commercial web sites. The site's wordfilter may be configured to remove the nonsense text used by the vandals, or to remove all links to particular websites from posts.

[ edit]Lameness filter

Lameness filters are text-based wordfilters used by Slash-based websites to stop junk comments from being posted in response to stories. Some of the things they are designed to filter include:

• Too many capital letters
• Too much repetition
• ASCII art
• Comments which are too short or long
• Use of HTML tags that try to break web pages
• Comment titles consisting solely of "first post"
• Any occurrence of the word "gay" or other terms deemed (by the programmers) to be offensive/vulgar

[ edit]Evasion of filters

Since wordfilters are automated and look only for particular sequences of characters, users aware of the filters will sometimes try to evade them by changing their posts just enough to avoid the filters. A user trying to avoid a vulgarity filter might use "shi-" instead of "shit", for example. Some administrators respond by revising the wordfilters to catch common substitutions; others may make filter evasion a punishable offense of its own.[2] A simple example of evading a wordfilter would be entering "f.uck" instead of "fuck" or using leet. More advanced techniques of wordfilter evasion include the use of images, using hidden tags (such as fu[i][/i]ck), or Cyrillic characters. Another method is to use a soft hyphen. A soft hyphen is only used to indicate where a word can be split when breaking text lines and is not displayed. By placing this halfway in a word, the word gets broken up and will in some cases not be recognised by the wordfilter.

Some more advanced filters, such as those in the online game RuneScape, can detect bypassing such as "sh1t" instead of "shit". However, the downside of sensitive wordfilters is that legitimate phrases get filtered out as well.

[ edit]Censorship aspects

Wordfilters are coded into the Internet forums or chat rooms, and operate only on material submitted to the forum or chat room in question. This distinguishes wordfilters from content-control software, which is typically installed on an end user's PC or computer network, and which can filter all Internet content sent to or from the PC or network in question. Since wordfilters alter a user's words without his or her consent, some users still consider them to be censorship, while others consider them an acceptable part of a forum operator's right to control the contents of the forum.

[ edit]Cultural significance

Some wordfilters originally implemented for their humorous value became Internet memes. The best example was 4chan wordfilter which replaced "wapanese" (slang term for Caucasian person obsessed with Japanese culture) with initially nonsensical "weeaboo", which became a popular synonym for the former (for example as of March 2009, it has 3x the Google hits).

[ edit]See also

• Internet censorship
• Content-control software

[ edit]References

1. ^" "When the **** did we get a wordfilter?"". http://filesharingtalk.com/vb3/lounge/t-when-did-we-get-wordfilter-88125. Retrieved 2006-10-01.
2. ^" GameFAQs Terms of Use". GameFAQs. http://www.gamefaqs.com/features/tou.html. Retrieved 2008-08-04.