I have a problem with people swearing at me, if I've done something wrong/bad/etc, because IMO that make the person no better than me. I don't have a problem being called a twat/retard/etc by someone if it's a joke and I know the person saying it, even if I knew it was a joke, from someone I wasn't familiar with, I'd be pretty offended. Well I say offended, I'd be annoyed they'd just come out with it, directed at someone they don't really know much about. I'd be equally annoyed if I saw someone calling one of my mates a twat/retard/etc, if they didn't really know my friend. I don't mind people swearing at themselves, so long as they keep it to themselves, not just proclaim "f**k!" in the middle of Tesco Express or something, that makes me think it's just to show off. Nor do I do I mind it for use to create emphasis on web forums, because past italics, there's no way else, in my opinion, to show exactly how annoyed you are. Never be suprised when some-one is offended by something, jsut because you arn't, there's no reson why they wouldn't be.