Tangentially related, there's a new section of the FAQ: Where's the rule that says I have to wear pants?.

Update: At least one person has emailed objecting to any moderator deletions in this thread. I may be wrong, but I don't really see much harm in leaving the thread up. Aside from Dustin making himself out to be a troll (perhaps unintentionally), I don't think anybody embarrassed themselves. If you want me to delete or edit any of your own comments, email me directly and I'll happily do it.

Now I have kids I never swear in public, even when my kids aren't around. Perhaps it's called getting older. But my point is that it's not just about what you think---it's about what everyone around you thinks too and you have to take on board the fact that some people might think differently. That's why people care about this.

Andy Putman said:

@Dustin : I don't think a desire to "shock the prudes" is a sufficient reason to lower the level of civility on MO. Most people grow out of this desire by the time they leave their teenage years...

+100 each. It's all about levels/modes of discourse, surely? I don't take any offence when one of my friends and colleagues swears liberally as emotional punctuation in discussing maths or the business of maths, whether over coffee or beer -- as I do, and as many of us probably do to varying extents. That isn't a reason to do it on MO, because as Kevin says there are people who find it inappropriate, and it is hardly a great effort not to swear while writing an answer, surely?

(See also my old grousing that MO is not a pub. Speaking as someone who likes maths, and likes pubs.)

Andy, my goal was not to shock, as I tried to explain above. And I don't think I lowered the level of civility on MO, either; my "fuck" was not an angry "fuck" -- it was a joyous "fuck", full of tenderness, as you would see were my comment not deleted.

giggle

@Anton: That is exactly what I thought (that the question disappeared, so the problem was no more). I also immediately thought of seminars: in more than 20 years, I don't recall hearing swearing ever at a math talk. As I search my memory, all I can come up with is one corny joke a conference speaker made that left a number of people upset.

@Noah: A more appropriate analogy would be if someone carved that word on the wall of the department tea room for all to enjoy for a long time. Also, are you aware that this specific word is considered demeaning to women?

@Andy: I think it's a rare enough occurrence not to codify the response, but it sets a bad precedent.

@Grétar and Mariano: The fact that we are all adults on a website doesn't make into an adult website. Should we expect strong language in questions themselves now? I mean, we are all adults and math can be frustrating, right? I agree with you that asking your buddy to accept an answer (and in this case, not particularly relevant or mathematical answer) looks bad, but one issue at a time.

@Noah: The difference is that if someone says "fuck" at tea, it's because they know exactly who they're speaking with. I would be pretty surprised if someone was casually swearing at tea regardless of who was standing around listening.

A bit of history: I flagged the comment for moderator attention, shortly afterward the answer disappeared, but it has reappeared since, with the comment intact. I also don't understand the upvotes: are these genuine signs of support or instances of people misclicking while trying to flag it?