# Shit, just say the fucking word! **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 11, 2006, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shit-just-say-the-fucking-word/368321 "2006-08-11T18:30:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2006, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shit-just-say-the-fucking-word/368321/21 "2006-08-12T05:20:38Z")
I think the OP is a m\*\*\*\*\* f_ **ing c** _ sucking, p\*\*\* licking, a\*\* eating, goat felching, son a whore who never washed her dripping f\*\*\* hole and slept with every sailor from s\*\*\*-Jersey to Timbuktu! And y’all can f\*\*\*ing quote me on it! Ahhhhh, I feel so clean…! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2006, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shit-just-say-the-fucking-word/368321/22 "2006-08-12T05:23:11Z")
[QUOTE=silenus] …as my mother always said, swearing is a sign of an under-developed vocabulary. [/QUOTE] MY mother used to say that it was a sign of a limited vocabulary. I would always point out that my vocabulary was just as large as hers, but it included some words that she would not use. Therefore, my vocabulary was LARGER than hers. Or to put it another way, who wants a vocabulary that’s so fucking limited? ---
**Author:** ![jackelope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@jackelope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackelope)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2006, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shit-just-say-the-fucking-word/368321/23 "2006-08-12T05:51:52Z")
[QUOTE=silenus] Besides, as my mother always said, swearing is a sign of an under-developed vocabulary. [/QUOTE] Again, no offense to your mother (I agree with her), but there’s no difference between “fuck” and “f\*\*\*.” When a reader sees “f\*\*\*” they know exactly what it means; typing “f\*\*\*” is a coy way of getting around profanity-filters but still getting the benefit of swearing. I’m the admin for another board (much smaller than this one), which has a profanity filter in place. I recently gave a poster a two-week suspension for posting “-uck you” to another poster. Granted, this guy had been asking for it for quite a while (and given his reaction I now wish I’d banned him permanently), but, as I made clear at the time, the point of the profanity filter is not to encourage the use of place-holder characters; it’s to discourage the use of profanity. “F\*\*\*” is profanity as surely as “fuck” is; everyone knows what it means. ---
**Author:** ![Master\_Wang-Ka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/master_wang-ka/32/3325_2.png) [@Master\_Wang-Ka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Master_Wang-Ka)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2006, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shit-just-say-the-fucking-word/368321/24 "2006-08-12T05:58:13Z")
Depends. In my case, it’s largely a matter of word choice. “Fuck” is, in and of itself, kind of pointless. I prefer the all-caps version, simply because in most of what I write, it’s the sort of thing said with some vehemence and volume. There is also the audience to consider. Many here have told me I should write a book. My sister, who has no idea that you can talk to strangers on the Internet, and would question why one would want to, told me once that “you could write a book if you did something about all those shits and asses.” Plainly, the audience on the Dope is considerably more able to deal with profanity than my sister is. On occasion, “&%$#!” is more expressive than simply saying “fuck” or “shit.” Visually, it’s more disturbing, more cacophonous to the eye, if you will; if that’s the approach I’m going for, then I’ll use it. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2006, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shit-just-say-the-fucking-word/368321/25 "2006-08-12T06:20:40Z")
[QUOTE=silenus] Besides, as my mother always said, swearing is a sign of an under-developed vocabulary. [/QUOTE] Yeah? Well, your mother is a \*\*\*\*\*\*\* \*\*\*\*\* \*\*\*\*\* in a \*\*\* _ **- \*\*\*\*\*\*\* upside her \*\*\*\*\*\* \*\*\*\* \*\*\*\*\* \*\*\* \*\*\*\*\* \*\*\*\* \*\*\* with both \*\*\*\*\* -** **-** _ \*_ **-** _ \*_ **-** _ \*\*\*\*\* until her \*\*\*\* \*\*\*\*\* \*\*\*\*\* \*\*\*\*\*\* \*\*\*\*\* \*\*\*\*\* \*\*\*\*\*\* \*\*\*\*\* \*\*\*\*\* \*\*\*\*\* \*\*\*\*! And so’s your old man! ---
**Author:** ![BrassyPhrase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea666f/32.png) [@BrassyPhrase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrassyPhrase)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2006, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shit-just-say-the-fucking-word/368321/26 "2006-08-12T06:54:24Z")
[QUOTE=Broken Wind] I was just reminded of one of my favorite lines from ‘A Fish Called Wanda’: **Archie:** You’re a true vulgarian, aren’t you? **Otto:** You’re the vulgarian you fuck! Carry on. [/QUOTE] I’ve always felt the only good response to Archie would’ve been: “There’s a Vulgary?” grin! ---
**Author:** ![BrassyPhrase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea666f/32.png) [@BrassyPhrase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrassyPhrase)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2006, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shit-just-say-the-fucking-word/368321/27 "2006-08-12T06:57:51Z")
[QUOTE=Chez Guevara] There is a town in the east of England called Scunthorpe. On a football board I once contributed to, whenever anyone keyed in Scunthorpe it emerged on the other side as S\*\*\*\*horpe. [/QUOTE] A mild hijack: I’ve been on vacation this week and dug out old videos of UK’s Cracker. They use ‘Scunthorpe’ as a toast often. Is it b/c of this or is it something else? Thanks 🙂 (Dang, I loved that show.) ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2006, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shit-just-say-the-fucking-word/368321/28 "2006-08-12T07:09:07Z")
What about the word nigger? Not as in me personally calling some one a nigger but rather to say if if I where pitting a bigot I kept overhearing at a local restaurant? I get the OP’s point, it’s just that _some_ words are a little too offensive even for me to write. I even feel a tad bit guilty right now. ---
**Author:** ![Tortuga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c4cdca/32.png) [@Tortuga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tortuga)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2006, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shit-just-say-the-fucking-word/368321/29 "2006-08-12T16:27:59Z")
Well, yeah, because I don’t know about you but when I read I hear it in my head, and I REALLY don’t like hearing that word. I don’t think I do it here, but often I change one or two letters of a questionable word (like cl!toris or @ss) when typing on my blog (or commenting on someone else’s) because the comments and posts are searchable and I don’t want a lot of weird traffic checking out my adorable dogs. Of course, I’m still surprised by what search phrases bring people to my blog, but its public in the first place, and not really that big a deal. I just do it to do what little I can to cut it down. So it may be habit for them, or their own little kink, who knows? ---
**Author:** ![Chez\_Guevara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/aeb1de/32.png) [@Chez\_Guevara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chez_Guevara)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2006, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shit-just-say-the-fucking-word/368321/30 "2006-08-13T13:57:01Z")
I consider myself fortunate to inhabit a universe in which _clitoris_ and _ass_ are not questionable words. ---
**Author:** ![Tortuga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c4cdca/32.png) [@Tortuga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tortuga)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2006, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shit-just-say-the-fucking-word/368321/31 "2006-08-14T16:50:37Z")
The words themselves are in this case I cited only questionable in the context of search queries which bring people to my site. Perhaps the combination of words. Since I can’t know what freaky combination is going to come out next, I take the precaution of changing those “keywords” which have a higher incidence of freakdom. I thought I made that pretty clear, but I forgot about kneejerk reactions. I don’ think we live in different universes, but maybe I just think a little more carefully about the words I choose to use, their repercussions and connotations beyond the instant of use. I certainly don’t like the way it looks, but I’d rather do that than bring unwelcome traffic. Think about the search strings which would incorporate those words you might be able to understand why I don’t want someone who searched for “dog clitoris” anywhere near my blog or my friends’ blogs. Search results often don’t bring up exact matches and if your blog has a post about say, sexual health, and another post about say, a day at the beach with your dog, google may parse the results like: “The size of the clitoris varies…the dog had so much fun with her new toy…” and bring a complete freak to my site. Like I said, I’m surprised by the endless combinations of creepiness in search strings, and it’s only a little thing I can do. A big thing would be not to blog at all. Or make it private, but then there’s a huge, non-dogbothering population I’d miss out on. ---
**Author:** ![Bam\_Boo\_Gut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8c91f0/32.png) [@Bam\_Boo\_Gut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bam_Boo_Gut)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2006, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shit-just-say-the-fucking-word/368321/32 "2006-08-14T18:38:19Z")
[QUOTE=Chez Guevara] There is a town in the east of England called Scunthorpe. On a football board I once contributed to, whenever anyone keyed in Scunthorpe it emerged on the other side as S\*\*\*\*horpe. [/QUOTE] Does Middlesex have a football team? - Oh hold on - sex is ok, I’d never seen the cunt in Scunthorpe until now, I mean it’s even pronounced Scun thorpe for fuck’s sake! ---
**Author:** ![DeadlyAccurate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac91a4/32.png) [@DeadlyAccurate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeadlyAccurate)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2006, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shit-just-say-the-fucking-word/368321/33 "2006-08-14T19:03:33Z")
I agree with the OP, at least in the context of this board, which doesn’t have a stupid profanity filter in place. Saw one in the Pit just today that made my bite my tongue to keep from commenting on it within the thread in question. If you need to censor the word, unless you’re quoting someone, just don’t _use_ the damn word. There are plenty of perfectly acceptable substitutes that don’t involve the top row of the number keys. I swear, I _really do_ know what you mean when you type bullsh!t instead of bullshit and f@ck instead of fuck, but at least with the correct spellings of the words, I don’t have to translate or wonder what you’ve been doing on this board for the last five years to not notice what words are acceptable. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shit-just-say-the-fucking-word/368321.md?page=1)