Some consider it profanity. It doesn't bother me reading a post with a few s' or f' words. I myself tend when the point I'm making calls for it to write a few.

However, some really go over the top and it becomes irritating to read either both ways whether it's spelled out or masqueraded. So I guess it's a personal preference.

That's a tough one.

I wouldn't for my business blogs, but my business readers are mostly corporate types. I'm slipping a "damn" or a "hell" in every now and then, but that's about all.

For HN, I'm moving much more towards using "fuck" and the rest. The crowd is 20-something, and they still think if you say fuck every other word that you must be saying something worthwhile.

So no, I think he did it right. But I were just writing for my HN buds, I wouldn't be so cute.