

On the subject of swearing - DHH, the pioneer - Riverbed
http://david.heinemeierhansson.com/posts/15-potty-mouths

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sudonim
I like DHH. There is no vice we can put his balls in to change his behavior.
He speaks his mind about groupon, and swearing. He's made his "fuck you
money". He doesn't have to adjust his language for fear of repercussions in
his professional life.

If he did anything less than speak his mind, we'd be getting a disingenuous
experience of him. The gap between public DHH and private DHH is narrow,
presumably.

DHH isn't asking anyone to like him. If his swearing is offensive to you,
that's ok. But by trying to change his or Zach Holmans behavior, you're trying
to censor them. That's not ok.

~~~
seiji
I always attributed DHH's characteristics to a worldly European bravado. He
uses language, but not in a vile way. It's punctuations of emotion and
emphasis. There's a quality of "opinionated, hot, european guy being loud =
cool; others = know your place."

Be careful not to conflate the simple language issue with the heavier
weighted, and slightly related, issues of inappropriate misogyny and child
rapist jokes.

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duck
I might start swearing if we keep talking about this on HN.

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enoptix
Personally, I have no problem with profanity. I swear when I'm with friends
and occasionally during meetings with my immediate team at work. It does help
people relate to you and makes for a more casual atmosphere.

However, in the context of a large meeting, formal presentation, or
conference, I always avoid using profanity.

I don't think its so much about who is offended and who isn't but more so
about maintaining a sense of professionalism. I truly believe in a formal
setting there are much better ways to get your point across than to resort to
profanity, methods that will help maintain an image of credibility, intellect,
and thoughtfulness.

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MaysonL
I wonder what Robert Graves would make of all this? [See his _Lars Porsena, or
the Future of Swearing and Improper Language_ , 1927, Kegan, Paul, and Trench,
London]

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gks
The funny part of this is that maybe everyone is tired of this argument after
so many weeks of it. No one whining in the comments of this story. Yet,
anyway.

