The value of some self control at work isn't puritanical. Replace "fuck you" with "nice ass" or "Have you met Jesus." You don't need to say it, people don't need to hear it, and it can make work more pleasant.
Alright, let's consider that I'd generally not recommend saying "fuck you" to a colleague. What if I say "that's fucking weird" or "that's bullshit" — not really comparable to sexual harassment or pushing religion.
I agree: "Sorry, this is bullshit" is vastly, vastly preferable.
Has the advantage of depersonalizing the issue and avoiding the (completely unnecessary) sexual/aggressive overtones -- while still sending an unequivocally clear message (that you also wouldn't necessarily mind being quoted for in the press or in a book, some day).
You are 100% correct. However, that is something that should be enforced by the norms and values of the human beings on the team, not HR.
Cursing isn't bad, it's that cursing can be used to express sentiments and intentions that are bad. If you police words and then say 'ok, my job here is done', you have succeeded in removing a symptom and done nothing to address the cause. Moreover, this gives shitty people a policy wall to hide behind.
