Dropping The F-Bomb: Blogging with Naughty Words

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132 Responses to “Dropping The F-Bomb: Blogging with Naughty Words” - Add Yours

• David

  January 26th, 2008 12:49 am

  I wouldn’t know what a link to a bigger blog looks like. But being creative is fun and fun keeps folks at the keyboard.
  It is also my opinion that writing F plus a few words and then the other part is just about the same thing as writing bad language. It’s simple math not English. The shortest distance between two points is a straight line. Or the fewest letters. :)

• Rhys

  January 26th, 2008 12:53 am

  I’ll be honest, my language is a little bad, but not horrendous. Occassionally I drop the f-bomb, but no worse. My mum reads my blog for one, and I use it to emphasise, rather than shock.

  Interesting point here: What about cultural differences? Point I’m referencing is when a certain a-list blogger began a post with a C-Word. Rightfully, a LOT of bloggers were offended, but being British where that word is not horrendously shocking, I wasn’t.

  However, when a blogger used a swear (rhymes with banker), I was offended as it’s quite a powerful word for Brits! I’ve seen it used on things like the Simpsons and WWE Wrestling, but nobody seems to bat an eyelid.

  But like your said, it’s about knowing your audience.

• Mike Gray

  January 26th, 2008 12:57 am

  To be honest, I tend to swear way too much in non-internet life, but on my blog, I refuse to allow any kind of salty language from myself or from commenters. To me, if there are readers that are sensitive to that kind of thing, there’s just no good reason for me to alienate them. Not to mention, I’d like my blog to be a place where parents would feel secure in letting their kids visit.

  It’s the same principle in real life. If I were to invite friends or relatives to my home who are uncomfortable with bad language (and I knew it), I would clean up my act out of respect and to make them more comfortable.

  That said, words are still just words and if a person reads something online that makes use of bad language, I hope that person would not let that be the only factor weighed in deciding whether to read on or leave forever.

• Jimmy Shelter

  January 26th, 2008 12:58 am

  Every time I hear/read the word ‘cuss’ my ears start itching. As if the word ‘curse’ is too harse, or something.

  As long as someone still manages too sound literate, I don’t mind the odd curse word. When cursing is used as interpunction, I’ll stop reading.

• Dave Origano

  January 26th, 2008 1:05 am

  Rhys is right, it’s a matter of culture and language.

  In one of my recent blogposts I used a word that rhymes with wussy to portray weak ego of some people that are in my market.

  It wasn’t aimed at woman at all, though I found 3 of my list to unsubscribe because they felt attacked. Might be these 3 woman were really feministic, since 40% of my list are readers – and that’s a whole lot more then those 3 unsubscribes.

  Generally I must say that using bad language is sometimes needed to get your point across. There are people that don’t ‘get it’ until you shout it at them. (Lots of people won’t agree with me)

  But from marketing guru Dan Kennedy I’ve learned that if you’re a business man and you’re not getting death threats you’re not pushing hard enough.

  Everybody has right on his/her point of view!

  Just my 2c,

  -Dave

• Sue @ TameBay

  January 26th, 2008 1:07 am

  Each to their own: bloggers should know their audience and what sort of language that audience is likely to use themselves.

  What I can’t stand, however, is people who half-swear: if you want to write the f-word, then write it. Have the courage of your convictions. Don’t write f***. If you can’t use the whole word, find a different word.

• alanj878

  January 26th, 2008 1:09 am

  The only f word or wors I use on my blog is finacially free.
  http://livelymoney.blogspot.com

• Dan Cole

  January 26th, 2008 1:16 am

  I think you also have to consider your future. What happens if your future employer looks at your website and see you writing fire truck all over the place. Is it something you really want to live with the rest of your life?

  WWDD … What Would Darren Do? If Darren started swearing, what would his kid think when he checks out his father’s website later down the road?… Hey Dad! What does fire truck mean?

• Kate

  January 26th, 2008 1:21 am

  I agree with Sue to an extent, each to their own.

  It’s not exactly professional to use swear words but then some people aren’t going to that corporate sensation sort of an image.

  I’d say play it safe and just utilise words that actually mean something- you wouldn’t hand in a university paper or report at work riddled with cuss words so why do it in published work online?

• Hafiz Dhanani

  January 26th, 2008 1:22 am

  Interesting points there. A perfect example of swearing to gain a unique voice is Vic’s blog at

  http://bloggerunleashed.com

  He has some very ‘unique’ views on things, including John Chow. But I can see some people not appreciating the amount of ‘f words’ he uses

  Keep up the great work,
  Hafiz Dhanani

• Search◊ Engines Web

  January 26th, 2008 1:24 am

  You really dont need cuss words to be extremely impactful

  spend a few minutes reading the archives of PerezHilton, TheSuperficial and TMZ…….

  You will encounter some of the most vicious cut throat insults – most never using profanity.

  some of the insults are actually witty

• Hazel

  January 26th, 2008 1:33 am

  My mum reads my blog.

  I always bear that in mind when I’m not sure whether something is appropriate to publish or not, how to moderate my comments and whether to swear. It ensures my blog remains suitable for all audiences.

• Whatleydude

  January 26th, 2008 1:39 am

  Great post.

  Been reading this place for a while after being recommended to me by a certain Ricky Cadden. First time I’ve felt compelled to comment mind…

  In my mind there are, as you say, two kinds of bloggers – those that do and those that don’t.

  I personally am in the latter half of those categories.
  Aside from stretching my vocabulary it also challenges me to find new ways of weaving linguistic patterns into my posts.

  But hey – again, as you say – depends on your audience…

• Ken Y-N

  January 26th, 2008 1:40 am

  My Mum reads my blog too, but anyway swearing in blogs doesn’t really work for me.

  If you run AdSense and swear, you lose some customers who might have stop words set up, and there is always the threat of losing your whole account if you get too crude.

• Read Scott

  January 26th, 2008 1:42 am

  I was just thinking about this the other day. No swearing please.

• Kat

  January 26th, 2008 1:49 am

  @ Sue @ TameBay

  I wouldn’t think of it that way. I used to blog with f*ck or sh*t and write about b*tches because I didn’t want those words to be indexed on my site. That simple.

• David Bradley

  January 26th, 2008 1:49 am

  When I was ten my school teacher told the class that swearing was simply indicative of a lack of vocabulary. Being a rather impertinent, and precocious little brat, I had to beg to differ and told her that it wasn’t necessarily characteristic of a limited personal lexicon but may represent, for some individuals, simply an extension of their internal dictionary. In other words, knowing how to swear could reveal that such a person actually has an expanded vocabulary, contrary to my teacher’s assertion.

  Did I get a detention for my response? You effin’ bet I did!

  db

• Mike Goad

  January 26th, 2008 1:53 am

  I’m not a prude, but if the first time I visit a blog or website, I see a lot of swear words, I’m likely to leave and not come back. If one of the blogs that I read regularly happens to have an occasional swear word, I’ll just shrug it off. However, if the trend is towards more and more cussing, then, eventually, I’ll leave.

  I was in the navy for almost 9 years and I really hate the phrase “cuss like a sailor,” because not all sailors necessarily cuss. When I first joined up, I was pretty young and away from home. There were no restraints to cussing and so I did. But then, for some reason, I realized that if I continued that way, at some point I’d be in a situation where I say something in front of my mom or someone else that I’d regret. So I made a conscious effort to keep that sort of language under control.

  There were a few times in my last couple of years of employment where I was frustrated and used some minor swear words. The surprised looks I got from some of my co-workers were priceless. Because I was not known for using such language, the very few times I did had a much greater impact. However, that’s not a good reason to do it.

  There’s actually been a few times in my office where a coworker’s language would be so bad that I told him I didn’t care for it and asked him to take it someplace else.

• Ganha

  January 26th, 2008 1:55 am

  Just wondering where do you get the images for your posts?

• Anya

  January 26th, 2008 2:10 am

  True enough. If a blog has excessive cursing I won’t leave a comment. I don’t like cursing and never have.

• Pepper

  January 26th, 2008 2:11 am

  I’m one of those that would rather not read a blog that uses any bad words. I’ve quit reading several that use them. I can think of no reason to use those words. All they do is make you sound trashy!

• DB Ferguson

  January 26th, 2008 2:16 am

  Due to my extremely rigorous religious upbringing, even though when I speak with friends I swear like a sailor, I simply cannot bring myself to cuss on my blog without a few substitute characters. I mostly do it because I know my blog has quite a few relatively young readers, and I’m sure they get plenty of cussing with their peers and in their life without me subjecting them to even more.

  I’m also a bit of a comment nazi, and make sure that if someone uses profanity in a comment that we bleep it out with the random # or *.

  I wrote a post about the blog’s stance on curse words (http://www.nofactzone.net/?p=2962), and also put this text directly above my comment box: “REMINDER: Please remember that in the spirit of keeping this a family-friendly blog, we would appreciate you refraining from inappropriate language in your comments. Thank you.” Since adding that text into my template, we haven’t had any problems with cussing in the comments.

• Manu 2.0

  January 26th, 2008 2:33 am

  Cussing on a blog?!! Holy cow! Why would anyone do that! ;)

• Jonathan

  January 26th, 2008 2:39 am

  I to will tend to avoid a blog if swearing is used. I see swearing as a mental inability to come up with a good argument about something in which you are frustrated. So instead of using a true description or argument to persuade or demonstrate to others your opinion, you use a 4 letter (sometimes 5) poor argument.

• Tejvan Pettinger

  January 26th, 2008 2:58 am

  I fine my students 10p everytime they swear. Couldn’t do it myself :)

• The Hunter's Wife

  January 26th, 2008 2:59 am

  I had a hard time using the word “boobs” in my post for today and one other word.

  I will see what kind of reponse I get.

  My blog is more of a humor blog.

• m

  January 26th, 2008 2:59 am

  great advice. the swear box is cute. keep it turned off!!!

  :)

• mgroves

  January 26th, 2008 3:08 am

  It’s my experience in general that what cursing can certainly add emphasis if used properly, that it’s instead overused to the point of being a crutch or substitute for creativity. This is also the case for music, books, movies, etc, not just blogging.

  Use it sparingly, so that when you *do* use it, it will be much more significant.

• aaron

  January 26th, 2008 3:09 am

  I would say to use the best form of communication you can find.

  sometimes a good Fbomb is the only way to explain something.

  don’t just drop a bomb for the sake of dropping a bomb…articulate.

• Hagrin

  January 26th, 2008 3:13 am

  From a technical standpoint, it probably isn’t wise to curse and I have turned on the prfanity filter on my forums and CMS application.

  First, Google gives users the ability to exclude those sites that use profanity through their advanced search options. In addition, and I’m looking for the source where I read this, some webmasters have seen ranking penalties once profanity was used more than a few times (which does make sense since they don’t want to be liable for returning non-appropriate content to users).

  So, I would say if you can not use it to steer away from it because I don’t really see the benefits unless you’re blogging in a niche that requires some edginess.

• Mahala

  January 26th, 2008 3:19 am

  I do use the occasional wordy dirty, but they’re few and far between. Sometimes I use “strike through” code when using colorful language, followed by kinder, gentler words, more for a humor effect than anything else.

• --Deb

  January 26th, 2008 3:19 am

  I’d say “Amen,” but that would bring too-religious a feeling to my heartfelt thank you for this post. My feeling about cussing (as you say) is that it’s unnecessary except in extreme circumstances, and how often does that happen while you’re blogging? “Oh no, my computer is sliding over a cliff!” In which, case, sure, go ahead and swear while you can still reach the keyboard before it plummets to its death. But otherwise? Really, why? You mention the younger bloggers who swear regularly on their blogs, but to me, that’s exactly what I think of when I read a blog that often uses parentally-unapproved language–that they’re too immature to write like grown-ups. If the only adjectives you know are the blue ones, what does that say about your level of writing?

• Nick

  January 26th, 2008 3:24 am

  There is a time and a place for language like that. A Blog is not the place. Sure, people can justify it like they can anything else; but the bottom line is that if they have to resort to something like that in order to get attention, they probably have little of value to begin with.

• C.M.Cacioppo

  January 26th, 2008 3:32 am

  And Justin, this is your big guest spot on Problogger? And you write about this?? In your parlance the translation is ‘wtf?’. I think you could have done better than writing this garbage subject. You lose me on your own blog, buddy.

• Famous Quotes

  January 26th, 2008 3:41 am

  We all feel the urge once in a while to use swear words but my preference is to avoid using such words in writing.

• Mike Panic

  January 26th, 2008 3:46 am

  I curse when I talk among friends and co-workers. It’s just part of my personality. That carries over to my writing. That being said, I curse way more in spoken voice than I do in writing. I’ve also been trying to make an effort to cut down on the amount of cursing I do vocally, and in writing.

  There is a small staff of people who write for my blog and they have all asked where I stand on cursing in their writing. My statement is something like, I have no problem with it if the cussin’ fits the article, but if it’s cussin’ for the sake of cussin’ it is pointless.

  I read a how-to-blog article 2+ years ago, maybe on Lifehacker, it said something to the effect of – hold nothing back, apologize for nothing, write true and you will be happy and someone will read it, somewhere.

• Keith

  January 26th, 2008 3:46 am

  I don’t swear on my site because I don’t want to alienate anyone unnecessarily.

  Besides which, if you take a look at something you’ve written that has swearing in, and remove the swearing, you’ll usually find it makes a better impact without the cussing.

• Elena

  January 26th, 2008 3:49 am

  I have seen the F word used as a noun, verb, adjective, adverb, pronoun and I’m sure a few other parts of speech that I just can’t recall now. It certainly can be a versatile little word.

  That said, when I read a blogger who expresses angst, anger, happiness, just about every emotion with the F word it makes me wonder about the size of their vocabulary.

• metroknow

  January 26th, 2008 4:02 am

  I tend to stay away from swearing on my blog (for the most part) for the reasons cited above. But thanks to blogs like ViolentAcres, who is perhaps an extreme case, I have definitely thought about changing my tack.

• ~C4Chaos

  January 26th, 2008 4:02 am

  OFMG! i was thinking of ‘flaming duck”. but i get the point. thanks for another excellent article.

  ~C

• David Bradley

  January 26th, 2008 4:22 am

  Steven Pinker’s latest book – The Stuff of Thought – has a whole chapter on why we swear, the grammar of swearing, and the nature of taboo. It’s fascinating stuff. More to the point, is that in interviews about his book you get to hear his charming voice discussing the various four-letter words out there most eloquently. It makes for an odd listen. The Guardian interview was especially entertaining.

  db

• Jeremy

  January 26th, 2008 4:24 am

  Very timely post for me right now.

  I blog about musical instruments. Last weekend was our industry’s big trade show, where all the new products are introduced. One company actually came out with a guitar amplifier called the “F*cking F*ucker.” Seriously. Without the *.

  So, bloggers had to decide whether to write the product name as is, or as I did, where everyone understands anyway. Either way, they were forced to drop the F-Bomb multiple times.

• Catherine Lawson

  January 26th, 2008 4:39 am

  Hi – interesting points. Barbara at Blogging Without a Blog also brought up the swearing topic a couple of weeks ago. And she quite rightly pointed out that schools, colleges etc could easily block your site because of inappropriate content.

  Also, as you mention – there are a few influential teeny bloggers out there – and they’re not going to be recommending a blog that they’re banned from reading themselves.

• theblackactor.com

  January 26th, 2008 4:45 am

  Why didn’t you post my comment?

• theblackactor.com

  January 26th, 2008 4:50 am

  Very not cool.

• theblackactor.com

  January 26th, 2008 4:54 am

  I can only speculate as to why. I’d hate to think the worst.

  I’m done on the topic.

• Blogger Unleashed

  January 26th, 2008 5:02 am

  Justin by your Alexa and your SERP rankings I can see I need to learn from you so maybe I will stop using that word and pay attention to your blog see If I can learn how to blog and hopefully make a little money. I love it when experts make a post of this kind it is so helpful and knowledgeable your many years as a blogger shows how gifted you are.

  Vic

  BTW I did not see your feed count on your blog I must imagine it has to be huge.

• Arachne Jericho

  January 26th, 2008 5:31 am

  I am reminded of something I once read in a book called Self-Editing for Fiction Writers.

  Swear words can have a much larger effect if, for instance, they only occur once in the entire f*cking book.

  (I swear very little on my blog, unless there is something that really, really annoys me, or it involves my web serial, which has a character who simply swears as a matter of punctuation. I think there’s a total of 1 F-bomb per 100 posts.)

• Cigar Jack

  January 26th, 2008 5:51 am

  I don’t have a problem with a swearing once inawhile, but I’ve seen sites that drop the F-Bomb 8 times in a paragraph. I won’t go back to those sites. If you can’t get your point across with out swearing every other word then you’re an idiot. :)

• Westopher

  January 26th, 2008 6:05 am

  I have such a terrible potty mouth it doesn’t even register when I let a swear fly. I do agree, however, that it’s totally possible to have the same impact using different language. Sometimes I wonder if I should clean up my act. I’ve blogged on the subject and my readership, though limited, has made it clear they are not offended and my frank dialogue is in fact what they love about me. Ultimately, I never want to censor myself. If something potentially offensive flies out of my head, then that’s what hits the page.

• Brian

  January 26th, 2008 6:14 am

  I attempt to keep it clean because the people I am writing for aren’t kids. Also, I feel potential employers can always come online and catch me running my mouth and I will end up with no and looking like an idiot

• Search Markeitng Blog

  January 26th, 2008 6:19 am

  Let’s be honest….can you really trust someone who NEVER drops the f’bomb?

• Search Marketing Blog

  January 26th, 2008 6:23 am

  F*ck! I wish I could spell markeTing! haha

• C.M.Cacioppo

  January 26th, 2008 6:27 am

  We also talk about not allowing differences of opinion on a blog. I have already emailed justin my comments SANS your moderating my post here….useless.

• Josh Garner

  January 26th, 2008 6:59 am

  Man, I must be soft core after all. You are all talking about “F” bombs and a$$. I looked back at my Shoemoney post a few days ago and became worried for using the word “sucks.”

  Man…where did my obnoxious youth go?

• JEMi

  January 26th, 2008 7:01 am

  I really enjoyed this piece :) Nice work :)

  Personally, I’m not comfortable cussing on my blog – a personal development site for women :)

  I want my blog to be accessible to a wide audience

  this doesn’t mean reading the effers on OTHER people’s blog offends me. Just my personal preference.

  one again, great post

• Starhawk Laughingsun

  January 26th, 2008 7:05 am

  What is it people have against certain words. It is irrational and should not be tolerated at all. I would think that George Carlin and Lenny Bruce and the like made that point clear to all who could think. There is nothing hostile about using the F word it depends on how it is use. “Saying WTF” this is crazy is not hostile, saying “F you” is. I am tired of people trying to force their antiquated morality on me. What a sad society we live in where people take arguments like this seriously.

• Nickie

  January 26th, 2008 7:28 am

  I do a better job of not swearing in my writing thatn I do in my spoken vocabulary. I’m not sure why that is, but I guess it’s that my written voice doesn’t swear much. I just don’t need to swear to get my point across, and in writing, it’s just one more word to have to type.

• Chris Marshall | Martial Development

  January 26th, 2008 7:33 am

  My stats show that many people read blogs at work. I do not want to bring any trouble upon my readers by triggering their IT department’s “naughty filter”.

  Don’t anger the Net Nanny!

• Adam

  January 26th, 2008 7:34 am

  @Rhys: what’s so bad with wanker? I’m british, I don’t care.

• Anthony Lawrence

  January 26th, 2008 7:49 am

  Let’s investigate the history of these words.

  Some words were blasphemous. Others were “vulgar”, which simply meant “common” – in other words, these were the words that an uneducated “common” person would use.

  In other words, most of this nonsense originated with simple class discrimination. It’s hard to take any objections seriously when you consider it in that light, but of course we have to be aware that many, many people simply have knee-jerk reactions to these words without ever thinking about why..

• Chris Marshall | Martial Development

  January 26th, 2008 8:05 am

  …and this means not only that I refrain from using profanity, but that I must also refrain from linking to foul-fingered bloggers whose work I otherwise enjoy.

  I hope that those bloggers who think they are being “authentic” by using swear words will keep this point in mind.

• plonkee

  January 26th, 2008 8:32 am

  @Adam:
  Nothing, but it’s still a swear word – you wouldn’t hear it on Eastenders, so it’s weird that it was on the Simpsons. It’s stronger in the UK than Americans apparently perceive it.

  Although off-line I swear like a trooper in the right company, I don’t normally swear in writing, so I don’t swear on my blog. And honestly I don’t see how would it fit in with personal finance anyway.

• Leon

  January 26th, 2008 8:50 am

  This has been one of the most interesting posts I’ve read in a while. I swear on my blog every now and again, but it adds a certain fun element to it. It’s all a part of spicing up content.

• dandellion Kimban

  January 26th, 2008 8:51 am

  I do use them. Rarely though. If I do feel like saying %!#&*#$&%*&%$ then I say it. It is a good form of expression after all. If I am pissed then I don’t use five picked up sentences. I use just four letters.
  For those that can be offended by a word… I don’t care. Really. One should be offended by what I write about at the moment, or by negative emotions I present there, not words.
  But using nasty words can be a tricky practice. Overdo it and there is a reason for readers to be annoyed. Beside that, words can lose their meaning and power by pointless use.

• Curtis

  January 26th, 2008 9:17 am

  Finally! I totally agree to this. I don’t really swear much and I have heard it all my life, but it seems to me that it just shouldn’t be in literature of any type. Can we not keep anything clean?!?!

• Starhawk Laughingsun

  January 26th, 2008 9:39 am

  Curtis, clean is a matter of Culture and Opinion and Anthony Lawrence above is right: “most of this nonsense originated with simple class discrimination”. I’m a vegetarian and I’m totally offended and disgusted by all the images of meat and flesh eating on TV and the casual display of it in stores: Murder does far more damage than a mere word or Porn for that matter. Should I enforce my values on you, should meat be outlawed, should bloggers refrain from talking about it? If you don’t wanna read a blog go somewhere else.

• Sonia Simone

  January 26th, 2008 10:36 am

  I don’t normally swear on my blog because my audience doesn’t come to my blog looking for swearing. (Unlike Ittybiz, a wonderful little blog that prides itself on a wealth of curse words.) I do use strong language occasionally, when the post calls for it.

  Bloggers should be thinking about the effect of every word on their blogs, though, not just the ones with four letters.

• Karen Putz

  January 26th, 2008 10:45 am

  I don’t use swear words on my blog. It doesn’t feel right to me. However, yesterday I allowed a comment with the f-bomb because the rest of the comment showed a discriminatory attitude that I wanted to comment on.

• Jeff McIntire-Strasburg

  January 26th, 2008 11:05 am

  The foul-mouthed (foul-fingered?) blogger has really become kind of a cliche’. Strong language doesn’t bother me… an overuse of it gets boring quickly, though, and I tend to write off the blogger as unimaginative…

• Lisa

  January 26th, 2008 11:19 am

  “Fire truck.” That was great.

• Anthony Lawrence

  January 26th, 2008 11:55 am

  @Starhawk

  The worst part (in my opinion) is that the people who object don’t think about WHY they object – in other words, there is no rational thought, just emotion. It’s often the same sort of reaction seen to any unorthodox sexuality: it makes people uncomfortable, but they never examine why. It’s that lack of examination that disappoints me.

• Duncan

  January 26th, 2008 1:37 pm

  I’ve been avoiding ‘cussing’ in my own writing on my blog. In fact I go so far as to edit the comments of readers with socially unacceptable language. Any comments with F@#ks I either delete (if they’re abusive) or edit. My reasons?
  1. Abusive language undermines any sense of professionalism I have developed.
  2. Abusive language results in my sites being banned by education system filters.
  3. Abusive language can lead to a loss of advertisers.
  4. Abusive language leads to a loss of readers.

• Fiar

  January 26th, 2008 2:03 pm

  Blogging using cuss words has become a trend for some new bloggers hitting the scene

  What? Are you new to the internet? F-Bombs are a long heralded art form dating back to the time before blogging began. By which I mean the listservs and so forth.

  I don’t know where you get the idea that this is new.

  Stop by my blog. Use the F-Word. I’m ok with it, and by no means am I new to blogging.

• Fiar

  January 26th, 2008 2:15 pm

  @Nick There is a time and a place for language like that. A Blog is not the place.

  I might agree with you if the purpose of the blog is professional in the corporate sense. Other than that, I disagree. Blogs started as personal journals. I consider the best ones to still be the ones with that personal touch to them. Even if they are different in their topicality than originally.

  Is anyone here going to disagree with the age old advice, “Write like you talk?” Well, anyone?

  I’ve even written posts that include profanity in the titles. (Not often, but I’ve done it) I don’t care if that makes it inappropriate for children or the easily offended. My blog isn’t for children or the easily offended.

• Simple Mindz

  January 26th, 2008 2:21 pm

  I think for me, it depends on how strongly I feel about something. I do not think I swear all that much on my blog. And usually, I will do one of these – a$$, Beeearch….etc….

• Sarah (Real Life)

  January 26th, 2008 2:27 pm

  I try not to swear in real life, so I don’t swear on my blog, called Real Life. Mine is a Christian blog, so I don’t think my readers would appreciate it, either ;-)

  It’s kind of sad if you feel you have to swear to get a point across. You can do it if you want, but I won’t read it.

• Fiar

  January 26th, 2008 2:41 pm

  @Sarah

  Why is it sad? Why the condescension? You seem to imply that the use of profanity signals a limited vocabulary and/or a lack of intelligence. It’s symbolizes neither.

  It’s simply a way of expressing something. So, again, how is that sad?

• Fiar

  January 26th, 2008 2:42 pm

  @Sarah

  Why is it sad? Why the condescension? You seem to imply that the use of profanity signals a limited vocabulary and/or a lack of intelligence. It symbolizes neither.

  It’s simply a way of expressing something. So, again, how is that sad?

• Joseph Arnone

  January 26th, 2008 3:13 pm

  Interesting post Darren. In my case, I wirte monologues which are based on circumstances and revealed through Character. For me, it is writing truthful dialogue that captures the truest expression of the essence of character. Of course there are other elements to the structure of a piece like actions, subtext and what have you. But for me, it comes down to the nature of the human being I am writing and in some cases there are cursing, HEAVY cursing and in other cases, NONE.

  It boils down to the nature of one’s blog and in my case it is in regards to creative expression and I can’t hold back what must be revealed.

  In terms of a different blog site, cursing may be completely unappropriate.

• Justin Dupre

  January 26th, 2008 4:33 pm

  Wow! What a reply. I really want to thank everyone who is helping in the discussion of this topic. Be sure to follow back to my blog! I had no idea Darren posted this entry and I think I was sleeping while he did. Haha

  Justin Dupre

• Tay - Super Blogging

  January 26th, 2008 6:37 pm

  I agree, using cuss words on a blog definitely drives most people away – unless the blog is an adult, humor, or personal blog. But if you’re going for something more professional and business-like, then leave words like ‘f***’ out. Bad words definitely take the feeling of seriousness out of a blog, and not everyone will know that they can trust you.

  And also like you mentioned, it definitely narrows down the age groups and types of people that will read your site. Will youngsters read it? No, because they might get in trouble with their parents. Will religious people read it? No, because they may feel offended or try to stay away from such “bad influences”. Will people take you seriously? No, often not. It definitely lowers how trustworthy you seem.

• rodel

  January 26th, 2008 7:25 pm

  ouch! :).. just submitted my new article and it’s full of A- word? good thing no eff.. ..

  nice tips.. but id rather prefer to provocative and vocal coz it stirrssss conversation of portable generation’s kind..

• Myku

  January 26th, 2008 7:30 pm

  I’ve read PB quite often, but have never felt compelled to comment until now.

  In regards to using “profane” language on your blog, you have to do what serves your content and your readers best. I agree that there is a time and a place for such “language,” but only because society as a whole is still backwards enough to suggest that some words are “bad,” while others are “good.”

  Alan Ginsberg used profanity as he wrote about the best minds of his generation in an epic work of poetry called “Howl.” It was and still is hailed by many as one of the greatest works of American literature ever produced. But, your kids won’t learn about this poem in school. Turn on public radio and you’ll hear countless readings of poetry and prose, but you won’t hear “Howl.”

  Yet despite its being so heavily censored, it is evident that Mr. Ginsberg’s poem will continue to be treasured by millions long after our blog posts on SEO and Adsense Hacks and 10 Best Ways to Monetize Your Blog have fallen into obsolete obscurity.

  I, for one, am willing to give Alan Ginsberg the benefit of the doubt regarding his intellect and the depth of his vocabulary.

  So please try to be a bit more open minded and refrain from insulting those of respectable intelligence because you don’t like their affinity for fire trucks. You might just find that some of us are better writers than you think ;)

• Myku

  January 26th, 2008 7:46 pm

  Oh,

  How rude. I forgot to say “cheers” to Justin for a great and thought-provoking post!

• Justin Dupre

  January 26th, 2008 8:15 pm

  That first paragraph should say “ear” not eat. My bad… :(

  Justin

• Tj - BareFly.com

  January 26th, 2008 8:35 pm

  All I am thinking is to buy a new domain, something like naughtyblogger.com…

• mrs mom

  January 27th, 2008 12:41 am

  There is a particular blog I visit daily in the equine blogoshpere wher the language is, ahem, rather “salty” to say the least.

  I forgive the language as the points brought to the surface are very much well worth reading. The issues at hand there bring about insanely passionate responses from the readers, who post often and with great veracity. (Viciousness at times also.)

  While I refrain from swearing on my blog, striving to keep it as family friendly as possible, I truly do understand the vocabulary choice at the blog mentioned above. However, for the most part, the utilization of incessant swearing only seems to lower your standards and intellect. At least, that is how it comes across…

  The horse world that I live and work in is peppered with foul language. Being able to SEE the person interact with the horses and people around them creates a distinclty different impression. However, when you can only go by the written word…. well…. image takes a large hit!

  Keep it clean, keep it fun, and they will come! ;)

• Ruth

  January 27th, 2008 1:08 am

  Well, I suppose the internet public is different than the radio public.

  The other day, on a radio show, the #1 show of a big city, the announcer had to apologize because he used the word “stupid”.

• Michael Fowke

  January 27th, 2008 1:47 am

  I think you can get away with bad language if it is in a humorous context – such as The Secret Diary of Steve Jobs or Money is the Way. Swear words on a serious blog just look aggressive and rude.

• Fiar

  January 27th, 2008 2:42 am

  More tiresome canards for me to swat down with ease.
  @Jeff McIntire, who says:

  I tend to write off the blogger as unimaginative…

  I think it’s pretty funny to think that The Astonishing Adventures of Lord Likely is “unimaginative.” It’s f**king brilliant, and I am choosing the best word available to express my enthusiasm when I use that word. It’s not a limitation to my lexicon. It’s the right tool for the job.

  Lord Likely is more imaginative than 99.9% of what’s available in the blogosphere. That might be the reason it won Performancing’s “Best blog you’ve never heard of.”

  @Tay – Superblogging

  Will religious people read it? No, because they may feel offended or try to stay away from such “bad influences”.

  Even that must be qualified. One of my most loyal and devoted readers is pretty strong in her Christian convictions, yet had this to say about my blog:

  Add some sarcasm to some humor and blend it up with some grrrrr…and you have the rants you can find at Radioactive Liberty. While not completely adult in nature, the f-word is used lovingly.

  I don’t think she feels abused either. Re: Duncan.

  4. Abusive language leads to a loss of readers.

  Some readers. I’m thoroughly convinced, though that others thoroughly enjoy the outlet it provides.

• Fiar

  January 27th, 2008 2:44 am

  D’oh! I must have forgotten to close a tag. Sorry fort the huge section of boldface.

• Allyn Paul

  January 27th, 2008 3:24 am

  I went to Bible College in the midwest, and we adapted what we called “Christianized Cuss Words.” A couple examples would be “arse” or “shizzy” or “freakin”
  THese are the words I use for emphasis when needed. They get the point across but appear grey instead of black or white.
  AL

• Rachel Keslensky

  January 27th, 2008 3:32 am

  In my case, I keep the cursing to a minimum because I KNOW my Dad reads the blog.

  … Cursing in the comic strip I write is fair game though. Maybe because it’s full of a bunch of criminals who are expected to curse anyway.

• Rick Butts Show

  January 27th, 2008 6:30 am

  Thanks for this valuable insight.

  Working alone from home – and striving to “be real” I can quite easily be tempted by that devil on my shoulder.

  You are totally right that what may be effective when spoken – looks very angry and off-putting to the reader.

  Perhaps this is a great reason to go back to great litarary traditions, if not for style, for ethics and perspective.

  Sincerely,
  Rick Butts

• Jeff McIntire-Strasburg

  January 27th, 2008 6:35 am

  @Fiar… clearly you misread my comment as I made no reference to Lord Likely. I’d argue, though, that for every blogger that does use obscenity well (and this certainly can be done, and I’ll even accept your characterizations of this particular blog), there are many, many more that use it when more descriptive, evocative language would work much better. There are other adjectives besides “fu**ing” …

  Obscenity can be extremely effective when done right; usually, that means dropping that f-bomb when provides a necessary level of shock or emphasis. I just don’t see that kind of careful use of this kind of language from bloggers that regularly incorporate foul language into their posts… rather, I see it overused, which ultimately weakens its effect.

  Maybe you can swat me down next time…;-)

• Anthony Lawrence

  January 27th, 2008 6:47 am

  “I see it overused, which ultimately weakens its effect.”

  Do we ever hear this argument applied to the overuse of other words? I could use “extraordinary” or any other word twenty times in a single post and many readers wouldn’t even notice, never mind complain. I could use it where it is really not justified, but again, no such charges would be brought. But use one of those “awful” words, and you’ll hear this thought every time.

• Jeff McIntire-Strasburg

  January 27th, 2008 7:08 am

  @Anthony… sure we do. The very definition of a cliche’ is a phrase (usually metaphorical) that’s been used so often that it’s lost its effect. And overuse of any word in a post is weak writing, and shows a similar lack of imagination (or, maybe, just vocabulary).

  You seem to imply that “obscene” words are just words like any other. If that were the case, we wouldn’t need to have this discussion. The fact that they’re considered obscene gives them special power: they can shock, unlike “extraordinarily.” That’s their power… and when well-used, they retain that power (there are definitely times when we do want to shock our readers). Repetitive use dulls that effect, though… you can only shock people the same way so many times.

• Anthony Lawrence

  January 27th, 2008 8:59 am

  @jeff

  Objectionable words obviously are not like any other – but only because of people who make nonsense noises about their “special power” and other weaseling intended to provide a pseudo rational justification for their suppression.

  “Weak writing” is seldom remarked upon outside of academic settings. As I stated above (and I stand by that), I could overuse any word in a post, be obviously repetitive, and no one would remark upon it. Drop one word that the little minds don’t like however, and aside from the expected objections from people worried about children and other complaints about “keeping it clean” you’ll regularly get someone like you warning that “repetition dulls effect”.

  In actual fact, dulling is a constant and never ending part of every words life: witness the evolution of words like “awesome”, “catastrophe” and many others.

  (As an interesting aside, new words coming into being exactly through dulling. Our English word “not”, for example, came from “ne-a-whit” which was once quite emphatic, meaning “nothing what so ever”. Our “not” is much weaker and dulled)

  The words you are so worried about are already being dulled through casual use and are slowing passing into acceptability. Almost no one is upset by “damn” now, but a half century ago that was still verboten. Bringing it into ordinary use may have “weakened” it from it’s original religious meanings, but so what?

  I don’t expect you to agree with this, and frankly, I don’t give a .. :-)

• Billco

  January 27th, 2008 9:19 am

  My language is terrible, in fact I am offensive on purpose. It wouldn’t be honest if I did it any other way. I love pushing people’s buttons and shocking them out of their day-to-day stupor.

  I think it stems from the old saying “You can’t please everyone”. Well I take it one step further and make it a fundamental law. There’s no way in hell I’ll ever please every reader, so I might as well make it fun for the select few who are as warped as I, rather than water down my character for the benefit of the very people I can’t stand. I think it’s better to be a foul-mouthed a-hole than a hypocrit.

• Jeff McIntire-Strasburg

  January 27th, 2008 10:28 am

  Fair enough…;-) And you’ve nailed me… my former life as an English professor is clearly coming out here.

  I do think vivid writing makes a difference in this medium, even if most readers don’t analyze it at the level I do (and I’m now a blog editor). That doesn’t come out of any sense of formality or “correctness,” but, rather, from prioritizing the goal of clear communication. With that said, audience, tone, purpose and focus all play into these considerations. As long as a blogger (esp. a pro blogger) takes both his/her subject matter and audience into consideration, the appropriateness of obscenity (and its ability to communicate clearly to one’s reader) should be apparent.

  With that said, I’m going to get the f**k out of here.. :-) Have a good weekend!

• Anthony Lawrence

  January 27th, 2008 12:21 pm

  @jeff

  Now I’m laughing at myself because from reading the impassioned defense above, one would think that my blog is peppered with salty prose. In fact, I’m not sure you could find anything that would raise the eyebrows of the most sanctimonious or conservative – well, the conservatives wouldn’t like my politics, but probably couldn’t find fault with my language.

  But it doesn’t bother me at all when I see it elsewhere. Odd and perhaps telling that I defend these words while abstaining from their use myself.

  You have a good weekend also.. I’m reading a new book on Napoleon and am heading off to curl up with that now..

• Jeff McIntire-Strasburg

  January 27th, 2008 12:38 pm

  @Anthony–

  That’s quite all right… I, on the other hand, have dropped the occasional “f-bomb”… but very rarely, and (I hope) in accordance with the ideas I’ve laid out. I realize some of my initial remarks here may have made me sound anti-obscenity… not at all… wrote my doctoral dissertation on the work of David Mamet, so clearly I don’t have too big a problem with reading this kind of language…;-)

• JHS

  January 27th, 2008 12:57 pm

  I wrote about this not long ago. Got quite a reaction, too.

  For the record, there is no profanity on my site. Ever. No exceptions. Why? Because it simply isn’t necessary to make the point. If you can’t convey the message without those words, you are not a very talented writer.

  Do I watch movies with profanity? Sure. I’m the world’s biggest Sopranos fan. Can you imagine Tony saying, “Oh, shucks!”? Nah.

  But he’s a fictional character. The articles on my site are not fiction. I don’t even write fiction. Hence, there is no place for profanity, obscenities or hate speech in any form.

  Just my policy.

• Glenn Abel

  January 27th, 2008 2:42 pm

  I used to work for an entertainment trade publication, written for people working in the industry. For a fairly conservative paper, it had a liberal commonsense policy on swearing:

  If the word occurs naturally, use it. If the quotation includes F–k, use it (and spell it out). If there is no good reason to swear in print, don’t.

  “It’s not a family newspaper,” was the saying on the copydesk.

  This worked out well. I think I set that policy ages ago, and I continue with it on my own blogs.

• Delilah Hinman

  January 27th, 2008 5:20 pm

  Thanks for the tips, Justin. Definitely good to keep in mind when blogging. Personally, since I run a food blog (mostly recipes) I don’t really see the benefit of swearing.

  *;; Delilah

• Jylan Wynne

  January 27th, 2008 7:37 pm

  @Vic in this comment, are you being sarcastic or what?

• Tom Hanna

  January 27th, 2008 8:46 pm

  I’ve used very mild “profanity” a couple of times. If I should ever use one of George Carlin’s 7 dirty words that you can’t say on TV, I guarantee my readers would sit up and take notice. It’s nice to have a weapon in reserve.

• The Beautiful Kind

  January 27th, 2008 10:48 pm

  The reason why I cuss like a sailor on my (sex) blog is because I actually want to take the shock out of the “bad words”, and just make them “words.” In fact I want to take the “bad” out of lots of words – “fat,” for example. I like to challenge people’s perceptions and open minds, get them to think beyond the knee jerk reaction.

• Justin Dupre

  January 28th, 2008 5:39 am

  Wow. I am so glad I had Darren post this here. I never would have gotten the proper reaction of this SIZE at Blogosis. Simple Amazing! I’ve read most of the comments, and to hear your sides of the stories is really inspiring, for lack of a less cheesy word. I will be jotting down some notes for future posts at Blogosis.

  Thanks everyone!
  Justin Dupre
  http://www.blogosis.com

• Jeanne Dininni

  January 28th, 2008 10:30 am

  Justin,

  I’d like to mention another “pro” of blogging without cussing: It makes the blogger sound more eloquent–and more intelligent. Anyone can throw in a bunch of swear words to describe something. That takes absolutely zero writing talent. To be taken seriously as a writer requires the demonstrated ability to express ideas with precision and creativity. The best writers are thought leaders–not followers. Those who continue to use the same time-worn, boring cuss words do little more than follow the crowd–and often sacrifice their credibility in the process.

  Thanks for a thought-provoking post!
  Jeanne

  P.S. Those of us who object to profanity (at least partly) on religious grounds prefer to capitalize “God.”

• Anthony Lawrence

  January 28th, 2008 10:42 am

  @jeanne

  “blogging without cussing: It makes the blogger sound more eloquent–and more intelligent.”

  That’s YOUR opinion. In my opinion, some of the most intelligent and though-provoking people on the web today are not afraid to use the words you don’t like.

  “Those of us who object to profanity (at least partly) on religious grounds prefer to capitalize “God.”

  Those of us without religious belief prefer to use “god(s)” specifically because to us, your god is no different than any other that any society ever worshiped. We see your belief as being no different than that of those who worshiped Zeus, Thor, Quetzacoatl or anything else.

• Jeanne Dininni

  January 28th, 2008 11:12 am

  @Anthony,

  Please don’t misunderstand. I didn’t say that people who use profanity aren’t intelligent or that they don’t post thought-provoking content; I merely said that profanity can make a blogger SOUND less eloquent or less intelligent than he or she may in fact be.

  I don’t really think it’s a matter of a blogger’s not being “afraid” to use the words “I don’t like.” The fact is that a blogger can use whatever words s/he chooses; but, as Justin has mentioned in this post, s/he may also alienate an entire segment of the reading public. If s/he chooses to do that, fine. It’s his/her choice.

  And, as I mentioned in my previous comment, it takes little skill to use profanity in place of “real” language–though by that I don’t mean to say that writers who do so are not talented writers. I simply feel they aren’t showcasing their talent to the degree that they might.

  As far as the religious question is concerned, you’re also free to refer to God any way you like. We won’t go into the question of whether “my” God is any different than the other gods in this forum, since this isn’t really the place for that discussion.

  Thanks for your feedback,
  Jeanne

• Anthony Lawrence

  January 28th, 2008 11:31 am

  @jeanne

  I quite understand that you said “sound like”. Again that is simply your prejudice – you THINK those words make them sound less intelligent. I have no such prejudice and am free to judge their thoughts for what they are. Who’s better off?

  By the way, it takes little skill to use any word whose meaning you understand. Your condemnation from that slant is completely meaningless.

  You also say that “aren’t showcasing their talent to the degree that they might.” The people I am thinking of showcase their talents quite well. Obviously if you read with the preconceived notion that certain words diminish value, then you’ll see what you expect to see. That’s no different than people who are unaware of language semantics complaining when a non-native English speaker adopts the semantic structure of their native language. It’s not ignorance on their part, but if your unthinking prejudice insists that it is, you will hear their speech as “unintelligent”.

• Jeanne Dininni

  January 28th, 2008 11:46 am

  @Anthony,

  Thanks so much for taking the time to share your views with me!

  Jeanne

• Anthony Lawrence

  January 28th, 2008 11:47 am

  @jeanne

  By the way, I have a bad prejudice quite similar to that, so I’m not holding myself up as a better person than you because I lack your prejudice.

  My prejudice kicks in when I see writing peppered with religious thought: my knee jerk reaction is that the writer is unintelligent. Intellectually I know that’s not a reasonable thought at all, but just as you react to the “cuss words”, I react similarly to religious sentiments.

  Either of the “cussing” or “praying” writers could have important and valuable insights for both of us. We sometimes can’t prevent deeply held prejudice from bubbling up, but we can be smart enough not to let it control us.

• Jeanne Dininni

  January 28th, 2008 1:20 pm

  @Anthony,

  You are right that it isn’t reasonable to automatically judge the person whose philosophy we disagree with as unintelligent–and we shouldn’t. Yet, the fact remains that we all make value judgments every time we read–or hear–anything. And this isn’t likely to change anytime soon.

  I also agree that “cussing” writers can have a great deal that’s of value to say, but the reality is that many people will never stick around long enough to read it if it’s presented in a way they find offensive.

  Jeanne

• Meredith

  January 28th, 2008 1:35 pm

  I cringe when I see posts peppered with curse words, but not because I’m a total prude.

  I cringe because reckless cursing demeans your writing. One blogger in particular is such a talent, yet her humor relies on well-placed f-words.

  She’s better than that. I just wish she knew it.

• Dana

  January 28th, 2008 4:43 pm

  For the most part, I believe swearing is a mark of bad writing. It is used as a substitute for original thought and good writing to illustrate a point. The majority of blogs I read/have read that use more than an occasional swear word are what I would call “lazy” writers. Their writing just isn’t that good, and the swearing is a crutch.

  That said, I have seen a well-placed word here or there that added to an entry rather than detracting from it.

  It is like grammar and punctuation rules. If you know the rules and use them well, breaking the rules can be an occasionally effective tool as well.

• Anthony Lawrence

  January 28th, 2008 11:11 pm

  @jeanne

  You say “I also agree that “cussing” writers can have a great deal that’s of value to say, but the reality is that many people will never stick around long enough to read it if it’s presented in a way they find offensive.”

  But as I’ve indicated above, the same could be said of people who include religious sentiments in their writings – a growing percentage of people (especially outside of the US) find religious fervor distasteful and embarrassing. Yet I doubt you would take it upon yourself to warn them that their spiritual references could cost them audience share, would you?

  I have a similar prejudice against people who talk about sports, pop culture and the like: it’s almost impossible for me to see them as anything but nattering fools. Other readers may get turned off by flowery writing, twenty five dollar words, “boring” historical references, who knows what? Obviously we are all different,but nowadays I really doubt that “cussing” upsets any more people than anything else might.

• Hendry Lee

  January 29th, 2008 3:00 am

  Great advice, Darren.

  Some advertisers won’t advertise on very these “bad” sites so bloggers may take that into account too.

  -Hendry

• Jon Clark

  January 29th, 2008 3:46 am

  I think the bottom line is there is an audience for both markets. Look at Howard Stern – the guy has made millions by pushing the envelope and using ‘colorful’ language. If that is what your audience calls for or if your audience accepts the occasional or frequent f’bomb than by all means use it. I don’t think there needs to be personal attacks on folks based on their stance … As others mentioned above, if the language is offensive to you find a new blog! There is no point in reading something that is going to infuriate you!

• Anthony Lawrence

  January 29th, 2008 5:04 am

  @jon clark

  You are absolutely right, but for some conservatives, it’s not a matter of just ignoring what they don’t like. They honestly fear that allowing this sort of moral breakdown damages society and is dangerous. Those of us on the liberal side obviously have a different view, but I think it would be foolish to deny that the people on the other side of the question come by their fears honestly.

• Jon Clark

  January 29th, 2008 5:34 am

  @anthony lawrence – while I’m far from a conservative I don’t really consider myself a liberal either – but that isn’t really the argument here. I think it comes down to whether or not this is morally reprehensible – to curse or not to curse. This may be jumping waaaay off base but it comes down to ‘does using foul language make me a bad person or make you better than me if I drop an occasional f-bomb?’ For those conservatives out there, there HAS to be more pressing concerns in the world than whether or not a blog uses off color language.

• Meg @ HWFL

  January 29th, 2008 9:23 am

  There’s a difference between using the right tool and coming up with a valid, “gooder” argument in regards to cursing. I curse all the time – I just don’t write it. My mouth and my fingers don’t seem to be connected. “Christianized Curse Words” are euphemisms. Perhaps that’s a euphemism for a euphemism..

• Tom Bonner

  January 29th, 2008 9:26 am

  I don’t use any four-letter words on my blog — you know which ones I mean — and I strongly object to those who say you you need those kind of words to get your point across. If you are creative, you can find all sorts of ways to grab people’s attention without cursing.

  When I come across a blog with cursing I tend to think less of the blog and the writer. To me it is insulting and smacks of poor communication skills.

  The single area where I believe cursing might be acceptable would be an interview with someone who uses that type of language in an extreme setting — maybe an interview with a combat soldier.

  Whenever I see a everyday blog post littered with curse words, I assume it is written by a teen age kid trying to impress me with his offensive language skills. That tells me there is nothing to be learned there and I move on to a site with more intelligent commentary.

  One of the things about cursing is — just like smoking — it is hard to stop once you get in the habit. Consider two well known NASCAR drivers who cursed during different press interviews and subsequently were fined and lost points. In both cases the driver wasn’t trying to offend anyone, they just lapsed into their normal habit of speaking — and it cost them big time.

  Just my 2 cents.

  Tom Bonner
  http://alphatracks.com

• Anthony Lawrence

  January 29th, 2008 9:50 am

  @jon clark

  Well, I’m not going to argue with you :-)

  But I think the conservatives are really concerned about the decay of societal mores. I might wish they were more concerned with pollution, medical care and other things I think really ARE important, but “old fashioned values” is a theme that resonates well with them.

  If I want to be a bit nasty, I can sneer and label that as “fear” – conservatives are always worrying about what *might* happen. But that’s a bit unfair: bad things do come from small shifts and while you and I may see language as trivial and truly unimportant, I don’t think that they necessarily do.

  It’s hard to fault someone who really believes that society will fall apart because of bad language, nudity, drug use, whatever. If they truly do believe it, however silly I may find that belief, I have to agree that their intentions are good, right?

  While still reserving the right to laugh myself silly, of course :-)

• Todd

  February 1st, 2008 3:16 pm

  Like some other commenters here, I use plenty of “naughty” words in “real” life but not so much on my live concert video blog Jamtopia.

  Not too long there was a YouTube comment about a video that was too good to pass up as a blog title…

  http://jamtopia.com/blog/she-kicks-flute-girls-ass/

  I thought it’d resonate with an extremely niche audience… Phish fans aware of the front-row fixture and gadfly known as Flute Girl.

  Well the post certainly generates traffic, but from my analytics I can tell you they’re not looking for what I’m showing.

  It’s just a bunch of horn-dogs looking for “girls ass” or for people doing naughty stuff with flutes!

  The moral of the story — use whatever type of language you want on your blog. Just don’t be surprised if it draws a crowd you weren’t looking for.

• Glenn Dixon

  February 2nd, 2008 4:59 am

  which blog? My personal one, definitely. The rest of them, well – it depends. Probably not as much. More like how I would talk at work.

• Lotta

  February 8th, 2008 4:32 am

  My blog is also my escape hatch. If I couldn’t swear there I would start doing it in real life and it would be pretty.

• Justin

  February 14th, 2008 12:24 pm

  It seems like these days, you don’t even have to say the actual “F” word. Although I am an advocate of free speech and 100% against censorship, simply implying an F Bomb is being dropped should suffice.

  One of my best selling designs on my website is the F Bomb design. I sell a F*** load of those T Shirts, Magnets, and Stickers!

• Holistic

  June 27th, 2008 4:40 pm

  Lol. I know quite a few people who drop the F bomb quite a lot. Pretty interesting but I wonldn’t use :naughty: words when blogging. Blogging kinda seems like a legit thing.. so keep it legit :P

  unless you are on a rant then drop it like hot sauce!

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