I agree that the dogs' communication to us should not be suppressed. But it's easy for me to say that, my dog rarely barks at home apart from if there is someone at the door or noise outside the house. She does more dream-barking than real barks, soft whistly barks in her sleep which I find absolutely adorable! The only times she barks a lot is when queueing for her turn at agility.
For people with close neighbours, having a barking dog often leads to big problems.