Do You Curse?

When I'm speaking in person, I can be colorful.

But as a matter of personal preference and experience, it's uncouth and ineffective; "crap" or "baloney" have the same impact in written form than any other words.

Isn't effectiveness really dependent upon intent though?

For example, in terms of a typical interrogative effort to get information "WTH, arsehole?" is certainly not very effective. But if the intent is to inform someone that the conversation, on its current track, is about to end and not well I think it is very effective. More effective than a whole lot of less uncouth possibilities, in fact.
 
When I hear "Robin" from Batman, I think of Burt Ward.

Sexy is not the word I would use to describe that.
 
When I hear "Robin" from Batman, I think of Burt Ward.

Sexy is not the word I would use to describe that.
Well....no. But there are sexy Robin costumes out there. Or so I've heard.
 
Isn't effectiveness really dependent upon intent though?

In principle, I would agree! But text-only communication has its limits and I don't think reading those words really changes their impact; that's why I end up italicizing words I'd like to emphasize and maybe adding something in bold text when that's really the main point where I'd like to draw attention.
 
In principle, I would agree! But text-only communication has its limits and I don't think reading those words really changes their impact; that's why I end up italicizing words I'd like to emphasize and maybe adding something in bold text when that's really the main point where I'd like to draw attention.
Certainly. Still dependent on intent though. Even in a text only medium there are intentions that are best served by abrasiveness, I think.
 
Certainly. Still dependent on intent though. Even in a text only medium there are intentions that are best served by abrasiveness, I think.
I think I could be plenty abrasive without four letter words.

As Pierre Trudeau once said, "just watch me." :lol:
 
I think I could be plenty abrasive without four letter words.

As Pierre Trudeau once said, "just watch me." :lol:

Well, he once gave the finger to the taxpayers. He had a lot more backbone, resolve, conviction, and willpower, for better and for worse, than his son.
 
I don't know enough about Canadian politics in the '70s to say whether or not he was a good PM, just that his "just watch me" was famous enough to hang around for a good half-century.
 
I think I could be plenty abrasive without four letter words.

No doubt, but is that actually more effective? I'm thinking it's one of those "even up" things where you can just go with whatever feels good at the time. If I'm at the point of being intentionally abrasive the only message I really want to get across is something on the order of "leave me alone," and most things convey that about the same.
 
If offending people is your goal, then yes! There are any number of ways you can go about it.

I prefer long-winded, verbose, descriptive insults with many adjectives tailored to the person and circumstance, that coarse "cursing."
 
No doubt, but they all seem mostly equal.
The best controversial statements are those that offend every political or religious sensibility, whether you believe them or not. Coarse language itself is not an effective tool at eliciting such a response.

I prefer long-winded, verbose, descriptive insults with many adjectives tailored to the person and circumstance, that coarse "cursing."
That's the kind of thinking that's really pervasive in slow-witted dunderheads without profile pictures.

(It's a joke!)
 
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The best controversial statements are those that offend every political or religious sensibility, whether you believe them or not. Coarse language itself is not an effective tool at eliciting such a response.

I think the effectiveness of the more complex abrasives tends to be magnified by the provider, who usually thinks they are far more clever than they really are.
 
I think the effectiveness of the more complex abrasives tends to be magnified by the provider, who usually thinks they are far more clever than they really are.
I'll meet you halfway and say that I think we've probably both had enough experience online to have read things that are just mindbogglingly stupid/offensive and so after the first few dozen times the effectiveness does wear off, but when someone hears it in person it's a totally different experience.
 
I'll meet you halfway and say that I think we've probably both had enough experience online to have read things that are just mindbogglingly stupid/offensive and so after the first few dozen times the effectiveness does wear off, but when someone hears it in person it's a totally different experience.

Yeah, agreed. No matter the word choices, the text only medium limits the effectiveness of pretty much everything.
 
That's the kind of thinking that's really pervasive in slow-witted dunderheads without profile pictures.

(It's a joke!)

I just realized I didn't have a profile picture here, and quickly remedied that. (it's a good likeness, doncha think?)
 
I don't understand people who replace the curse words when cursing. They're thinking the "right" word and they're intending the "right" word but they think they're being more appropriate or clever by using "fudge" instead of the f-bomb or what-have-you.
 
I never swear and I haven't said a swear word in decades. The only time I ever said a swear word was when I was a little kid and I got angry when playing a video game.
 
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