Why do people allways use astrics ( * ) in place of swear words?

Question

Why not use &'s or #'s or ^'s or -'s or _'s?

Answer 1

Asterisks convey the idea of referring to something else--they are used to indicate a footnote. Hence, if you are replacing a word with a symbol you want the idea of reference but don't want anything explicit or misleading.

& is an ampersand and suggests a conjunction; a # sign indicates quantity; the caret says look above but nothing will be there. The blank line is sometimes used--though more often the dash.

Moreover, asterisks look like stars--as though what is being (un)said is so startling to read it would be like being knocked out.

Got the **** message? See what the **** I mean? *****!

Answer 2

Why does it matter? Just cause they can i guess

Answer 3

yahoo does it automatically. we have no choice, shitface.

yes, that was clearly supposed to be edited, but was not. :P