Do we give too much power to that word? I can remember the first time I heard it and I thought it was real bad. Really, really bad. Like going to hell bad.
Through the years I've used that word a lot to express frustration. Maybe too much, because it kept me from expressing my frustration in a more intelligent and meaningful way. But it felt so good to say it. It released stress in the short term, but until someone came into my life that I really respected I didn't realize how offensive that word could be to others.
I still reserve the right to use it to make a point that I feel cannot be made without it. Like the website FML does.

Like all words it has its place but it is also over-used. I`ve heard people actually stutter and be unable to carry on a conversation when asked to not use the f word.

Fuckin'-a, a word is a word. It's what words you use in what setting that really matters.

NO.

It's become more common, alas, but I have a great deal of respect for someone who can turn a fine insult without resorting to it.

Check out this page for an extended rant that doesn't use anything worse than one "hell" and one "damn" - and both are appropriate.

Depends on how you use it... If people are going to drop the F-bomb I would rather they didn't say it like they were spitting out a mouthful of cottonballs with it. A more tactful, flippant, utterance is better... it's more subtle and has greater effect.

well i don't have a problem with people uttering the f word- but then again? i swear a lot! petite flower i am not-

pop for Jorjor's link to The Brothers O'Toole. What a fine insult!

Of course it is acceptable. It is a word used by billions of people every day. It is part of our shared humanity. It can be a fairly meaningless word, a sort of social lubricant to signify group membership and everything in between to the most profound and powerful literary expression. On the other hand, the discussion does remind us of being sensitive to people who are scared of words, and we should be appropriately mindful of this when in their company.

Acceptable is one thing.........Meaningful is another.
I hear this word so much that it sounds like a thoughtless utterance, sometimes meant to convey
power, intimidation, or anger. To me it conveys
lack of creativity, trying to jump on the band wagon, and
underlying powerlessness.
By the way, to find a word offensive does not mean
one is afraid of it.

Oops.....forgot..... to debbyski.

Being married to a New Yorker for 10 years has done terrible things to my vocabulary. (You gotta freakin' problem with that? Fuggeddaboudit! )

@iamonetoo:

I kinda feel like this poor fella when I am around you sometimes:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgx1sSfriIA

Its just another word some one some where at some point decided was bad. Some religious group somewhere could just as easily decide to start treating any word in any language as a "bad" word and in 50 years it would be a swear word... FUCK that!

I have an extensive vocabulary and am not afraid to use it. It does, however, include the word fuck, in its many and varied meanings. The word fuck is somewhat like the Eskimo word for snow, encompassing a wide range of subtleties and nuances dependent upon the situation, the verb tense and the intent of the speaker/writer. It is much more difficult to use well when writing, and is best used judiciously for maximum impact, lacking, as it were, the tonal and physical clues that voice,facial and even physical gesture add.