His kids were probably watching him type over his shoulder and he didn’t want to hear, “Daddy, what does crap mean?”

I'd consider that a joke - but also zero issue using any words talking in front of kids. You might wish to explain them anyways.

"Daddy, what does cr*p mean?" Kids aren't stupid and this self-censorship isn't protecting anyone from anything.

(if a platform is serious about Bad Words for whatever reason (moral?) they would also forbid character replacements; ultimately it's the intent, not the word itself, that they try to steer with rules like that)

I am arguing that they would ask that anyway.

I guess I never understood censorship when it’s plainly obvious what you’re censoring. Anyone who can read will clearly know that it said “crap”, so I don’t see how it’s fundamentally different than just saying the word. You still put the word into my brain.