I think we use '*'; and '!' because they were used in newspaper cartoons, and could be printed to any size required - but they do lose their impact with modern website and printer usage. As for the AB being 'old-fashioned', I think it is less a case of that, than being aware of the sensibilities of all its Visitors, who remain anonymous in most cases, as do their reactions to what the TV channels refer to as 'strong langauge'. It doesn't bother me, but I'm a long way from being the only one here - I wouldn't want to offend anyone, and neither do the operators of The Answerbank I'm sure.