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by wswkb 2595 days ago
I should be able to put, say, "this method is fucking up that variable" in a code comment without a puritan telling me not to do so. Which is funny, as it shows that we're going full circle.
3 comments

Personally, I'd prefer "fucking up" to go away, along with "rape" as a colorful equivalent of ruining/causing damage to someone or something.

It associates sex with violence and destruction.

A similar thing used to happen with "gay", which kids would use as an adjective for frustrating or annoying situations.

My preferences notwithstanding, it's still better to be clearer about what's happening. "Fucking up that variable" says very little about the cause of the problem, and its possible solution.

Personally I'd prefer to work in a company where basic elements of the English language aren't policed with authoritarian fervor and would seek out alternatives ASAFP.
What does fucking up have to do with sex? I’d imagine it’s used in a sexual context in a significant minority of the time. And that’s not what it’s associated with.
When I think of something being "fucked up", the last thing I think about is sex. Those words have grown a meaning of their own, away from the one they had.
Why? Are you asking to be able to swear in front of clients too? Because the code isn't guaranteed to stay in front of favourable eyes forever.
If you think that's bad, wait until you see how nit-picky people get in code reviews. I wouldn't be surprised if there were lint rules for swear words.

If you can't deal with criticism of your code, maybe working at a big tech firm isn't for you?

If you can't criticise people's code without swearing maybe working on a professional environment isn't for you?
You've misread my comment. I meant to say that swearing will get caught in code review like anything else.