Originally Posted by
Brilliand
They're aware that they're statement could easily be taken as intended as an offense, but... hmm, what's an offense anyway? It's an emotional thing (of course), that can be felt either by the person saying the thing or by the person hearing/reading it. One who says "no offense" is claiming that they don't feel the offense of it on their end, and is asking that it not be felt on the other end, as it isn't intended. This removes the social implication of offense (that is, the challenge); however, if the statement is offensive to the listener personally, then there's nothing that can be done about it.