Very true. "A friend of mine" was writing some ad copy for a job req. "his" employer was trying to fill, and wanted to use the word "hacker" in the headline. (E.g. "Looking for a great hacker", or somesuch.) The (oursourced, non-technical) HR dept. would not permit the use of that word, as it sounded too much like advertising for someone to break the law.

I've always believed that these terms told you a lot about the speaker, but I was shocked to see such a clear, real-life case.