[Usenet; syn. disemvowel] To partially obscure a potentially provocative word by substituting splat characters for some of its letters (usually, but not always, the vowels). The purpose is not to make the word unrecognizable but to make it a mention rather than a use, so that no flamewar ensues. Words often splatted out include N*z* (see Godwin's Law), k*bo* (see KIBO, sense 2), *v*l*t**n (anywhere fundamentalists might be lurking), *b*rt**n, and g*n c*ntr*l. Compare UN*X.