>> Why do some members use asterisks before and after a word to emphasise the word?
Because we *can*
>> Where did the practice originate? I've never seen it done anywhere other than in an
>> internet forum.
That would indicate to me it originated in internet forums. Lots of things originated there, like
smilies ;-) They came from the usenet.
Sometimes we also do things like ~this~ or #this#
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