Correctly politically incorrect

I have been waiting a long time for someone to speak out on this topic. It is a matter which has long perplexed me. Personally I have a tendency to make mildly risque jokes and on occasion this has got me into a few tricky situations and I've never been entirely sure where I stand. I'm drifting towards the conclusion that the intentions (and crucially, I think, how obvious those intentions are) of the 'joker' are quite important. If you know that certain people are offended easily or in a certain way then it is the polite and decent thing to steer away from that. I'm not sure that there ought to be a duty on people to assume someone will take offence. I've often thought that that would render most jokes obsolete and could extend, worryingly, towards other types of speech...and the world would be a much sadder place...