I do not like to offend people. Depending the person I will avoid swearing if they are religious. I will not restrain myself if the person is a supposed priest, preacher, or other alleged religious leader. They need it more than anyone. (IMHO) I have the ability to temper my words to fit the occasion. However, specific words do not offend me at all. My favorite must be "fuck" because it has so many derivatives, suffixes and prefixes.
I agree that a person can't be judged by their use of words. The concepts they convey tell the story.

I like to see cultivated people around me.

I am Australian... so I don't judge and "cunt", with "fuck" as a close second followed by "shit". If I'm in pain I prefer nonsense phrases like "Far King of the great white north" or "Duck fucking uncle of a donkey fondler."

For me, the only language I consider 'foul' is something said to intentionally hurt someone's feelings. I don't buy into the argument that "cursing is a sign of a limited vocabulary" (being a fiction writer, I feel that I have a pretty firm grip on my language). I don't use profanity which invokes God, Jesus, etc., (for obvious reasons), or anything which could be construed as misogynistic or homophobic, because I don't think that way normally anyway...Now that I'm older, I swear less, but I enjoy it more...There's nothing like the look on someone's face when you drop an unexpected 'motherfucker' in their lap...

Personally, I don't trust anyone who does not curse. I see them as too guarded, how can you not drop an F bomb from time to time. Come on, everyone has stubbed their toe or bumped their head or dropped a wrench in a hard to reach spot under your hood. Guarded people are hiding something.

I love it. I find it hilarious that people can become offended by words - that's their own problem, not mine. Fuck em'.

I swear like a fucking sailor and don't care what anyone else thinks about it. Honestly, too many people are overly sensitive these days.

It's a sign of great intelligence. It also shows the person doesn't suppress their emotions.

I think it's great to get attention about something important; to create a shock-wave for effect and focus. If you have to say the f word in every sentence, it's distracting and has no effect at all except repulsion. If I'm very angry though, I'll drop the f-bomb every other word

There's fucking time and place for it...lol

Cuss words are like any other word. If a person is constantly using the word "motherfucker" or the word "Y'know?" i am equally driven to distraction. That said, I wish people would take a look at their surroundings before dropping loaded words. Respect whomever is within earshot.

Actually when I left religion being able to cuss was a load off my shoulders. I don’t swear a lot but there are times when it seems the only way to get your point across. It adds to comedy also.

I just think they are words. They can be used too much, I guess but to me it is not the word itself but I just wonder about the extent of the persons vocabulary. I swear randomly. I do not care if my daughter uses what others consider swear words but she is completely aware that if she uses them in school she will get in trouble. I have encouraged her to be considerate of others she is around. I get mad when she calls people stupid or belittles or bullies anyone.

But this idea of swear words does not make sense to me. Why certain words are bad and words with same meaning are not? Is it the word or the way it is said that matters?

I was at a birthday party for a kid. A couple of adults were in another room talking quite openly about sex related things and the kids were in and out of that room the whole time. But I was talking someone in the next room and this person said 'fuck' loudly... and one of the adults in the next room yelled out reminding this person that kids were present. It baffles me how people's priorities are so messed up.

I think it is healthy to cuss every once in a great while, but to cuss often, is limiting in the number of ways yuu can express yourself. Theere are a lot of specific words, many of them will be exactly or very close to what you feel and mean, and to not use them and just cuss means you will not adequately convey your thoughts in memorable way that can influence, inspire and change others.

Of course there are some people who have knowledge of a large variety of words to use, but have not learned to use them very well. The criticism that "cussing shows a lack of vocabulary", is just one example of this. Yes, it may be mostly true, but it hardly inspires anyone to learn or sparks a person's curiosity. It would probably be more effective if they said "If you used mords words than just cuss words you would be able to express yourself better and be better able to influence others to your point of view.". That is if they actually wanted to help people learn and grow instead of just trying to make themselves feel big by trying to make others feel small.

I have a tendency to swear when something or someone angers me, but, I quickly learned that when you are trying to convince people who have power bestowed upon them, the expression of emotion is considered weakness of position. So, as pissed off as I might be at the obtuse turds I have to deal with, I will not swear.

I am in a coffee shop and my WiFi will be deleted if I type "'ucker". (How silly can it get?) I can think of lots of evil words: war, kill, god, lawyer, Bush, Trump. I have never figured out why 'uck is the archangel of evil communicating. I assume it was derived from the Nederlandse, "fokker", which is a vocation meaning "breeder" of horses, dogs, etc. The over use of it is not vulgar- it is boring- it is an indication of a lack of vocabulary. It is like the idiot whose only adjective is "great" or "The little boy walked down the little street in the little town with his little dog...."

Sometimes, just no other words will do but the real ones ! No "oh fudge" for me ! Or others of one's liking ... I use them for emphasis. And of course some situations warrant a generous sprinkling of them as well . <grin>

I don't use it publicly because many people find it crude and off putting. People with a good vocabulary can be much more eviscerating without using street language.

I am the coiner of the word "autohelicate." I love foul language that people don't understand. If points here are transferable, I would offer 50 points to the person who correctly defines my neologism. But for the record, "the seven dirty words" are not part of any religious prohibition on "swearing."

Smart people curse more often than ijits

Why is some dumb ass wasting our precious time about fucking swearing?!? I couldn't give two shits about motherfucking swearing. Trying to get my old, hairy ass out of work so I can go to my putrescent gym and beat the crap out of my muscles like a whiny, red-headed step-child. Wait, what was this post about? Fucking memory ain't worth shit anymore! (Thanks for that! )

I judge the judgey.

Fuck is my favorite, but the big gun is cunt.

One of my favorite comedians, Doug Stanhope, has a great bit about this that starts, "If you're offended by any word in any language, it's probably because your parents were unfit to raise a child."

Also look for Pope Song, by Tim Minchin, for a hilarious use of the word "fuck."

I do not care if someone cusses. I cuss, like a Marine. Learned from my Dad. I do have a cuss off switch in my head.

I agree that there is not necessarily a correlation between cussing and inteligence. I cuss when I feel like it fits. A key point is reading your audience well, which takes a different type of intelligence. No particular favorite.