The Jargon File (version 4.4.7, 29 Dec 2003):
BUAF
//, n.
[abbreviation, from alt.fan.warlord] Big Ugly ASCII Font ? a special form
of ASCII art. Various programs exist for rendering text strings into
block, bloob, and pseudo-script fonts in cells between four and six
character cells on a side; this is smaller than the letters generated by
older banner (sense 2) programs. These are sometimes used to render one's
name in a sig block, and are critically referred to as BUAFs. See
warlording.
The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (30 December 2018):
BUAF
[alt.fan.warlord] Big Ugly ASCII Font. A special form of
ASCII art. Various programs exist for rendering text
strings into block, bloob, and pseudo-script fonts in cells
between four and six character cells on a side; this is
smaller than the letters generated by older banner programs.
These are sometimes used to render one's name in a sig
block, and are critically referred to as "BUAF"s. See
warlording.
[Jargon File]