[..]
I agree with the OP, though. Why bother bleeping it? We all know what they're saying anyway. Bleeps are more annoying to me than the words themselves.
Likewise, but I find asterisks on forums more annoying than both.
If I write "The way in which censorship is implemented here is ****ing pointless", then for any reader there are two possibilities:
i) They know that the asterisks are a crude word that can be used as a verb and they can assume that it's the one that fits best and is considered most offensive.
They know what the word is, so it doesn't matter if it's written with the normal spelling or as asterisks.
ii) They don't know what the word is. So it doesn't matter if it's written with the normal spelling or as asterisks.
Either way, it doesn't matter whether the word is written with the normal spelling or as asterisks.
It's a completely pointless form of censorship that serves only to be irritating and insulting. Are we all so stupid that we're fooled by asterisks, like spelling out a word so the dog won't understand it? W - A - L - K.