In my opinion this is no more taboo than changing master / slave to primary / secondary, a known pattern in tech. Times change, documents and code get revised to reflect the changes. Having been in a highly audited environment one might have a quick meeting with the heads of compliance, legal and maybe HR if people are having challenges. Let them sign off the changes and add a comment in the change control system if there is a concern. This should especially be a non issue if the ASCII contributor has already left the company.

[Edit:] Even better, give everyone a one-time-immunity-pass for all past "Not Appropriate Here" transgressions, add a tag word in the code system "NAH" or Not Appropriate Here and each org allocate {n} hours per week to find all the things that may not be appropriate for current times, then have people resolve all the "NAH" tags. Ask for developer volunteers that self identify as having thick skin and can not be offended by text. That was one of my many roles in a former company that knew I used to work at a managed hosting company that hosted a great deal of porn.