Profanity Filtering – Not Just for Games Anymore

Mike Moloughney

Profanity Filtering Word Design

When people hear the phrase “profanity filtering” their minds typically go directly to the gaming industry.  Certainly gaming has a very strong need for filtering as communication between players in chat and forums is a key component of how companies can build and grow an online community.  Many of our early clients came from the gaming industry.

Not Just For Games

Over time other industries realized a need for a filtering and moderation solution.  No longer was it just companies trying to prevent inappropriate behavior in their games and forums.  Profanity filtering expanded into other communities: Ratings and Reviews, Finance, Healthcare, Education.  All verticals that found a need to ensure that users, or potential users, would find a lively and clean discussion area.

Other businesses don’t even have a typical “community”.  Some take social media feeds and show them in highly public places (think Times Square in New York…how’s that for exposure!).  Companies certainly do not want their brands associated with inappropriate and potentially offensive content.  Implementing a profanity filtering and moderation tool is an effective solution to prevent exactly this type of risk.

Not Your Usual Community

Another “non-typical” community is the internal system companies provide to generate communications to customers (e.g., e-mail marketing material or billing statements).  Again, there is no forum or chat room involved here so why be worried about checking these documents for their content?  Simply put, with any customer communications, businesses need to ensure that ALL of the language is appropriate.  With just a few keystrokes an irritated or upset employee can change a client’s name and suddenly “Dear Mr. Richard Pick” becomes…well, you get the idea.  Training and educating employees is one step to prevent that type of behavior, but running those communications through an automated filter can quickly highlight any potential problems.  No company wants their letterhead splattered across social media by an angry customer that’s been called a dirty name.

So Much More

It’s not just a profanity filter, but filtering any unwanted content. This could be account details, personal identifiable information, phone numbers, URLs … Profanity filtering is merely a term, but the software does so much more than just filtering foul language.  To see what other use cases Inversoft’s CleanSpeak can provide for your business, contact us today.

Perhaps you want to make sure your brand is protected?  Ask us how!