Swear filters are common in custom-programmed chat rooms and online video games, primarily MMORPGs.
Most commonly, wordfilters are used to censor language considered inappropriate by the operators of the forum or chat room.
Administrators may configure the wordfilter to replace the annoying cliché with a more embarrassing phrase, or remove it altogether.
Lameness filters are text-based wordfilters used by Slash-based websites (such as textboards and imageboards) to stop junk comments from being posted in response to stories.
A user trying to avoid a vulgarity filter might replace one of the characters in the offending word into an asterisk, dash, or something similar.
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 symbols between letters, deliberately misspelling words, or using leet.
More advanced techniques of wordfilter evasion include the use of images, using hidden tags, or Cyrillic characters (i.e. a homograph spoofing attack).
A common quirk with wordfilters, often considered either comical or aggravating by users, is that they often affect words that are not intended to be filtered.
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).
In addition to games, profanity filters can be used to moderate user generated content in forums, blogs, social media apps, kid's websites, and product reviews.