Archive #1

Hi Roobo7,

In the last several months, you've participated in a discussion on Talk:Zoë Quinn about which preferred gender pronouns to use in the article. So I thought I'd give you a heads up that I'm starting a WP:RFC to hopefully resolve this issue! You can find the relevant discussion here.

Regards. --Shibbolethink ^{(♔ ♕)} 18:28, 16 September 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you for alerting me! I appreciate it. R00b07 (talk) 00:27, 17 September 2017 (UTC)[reply]

While I think the normal gendered pronouns are probably the right call on the subject page, just wanted to point out [1] and any of many Language Log posts, such as [2]. You can certainly make a stylistic argument against it, but "singular they" is a long-time feature of the language. Again, you still might be right, but I think the case is a little more complex. Cheers! Dumuzid (talk) 06:17, 22 September 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Here's the way I look at it. He/She/It are the main, standard, and normal third person singular pronouns. A singular they (as well as "one") is also technically correct, but isn't nearly as practical (IMO, not practical enough to be used in an encylopedia), nor is it used in everyday speech, at least not as much as "he" and "she" are. A singular they is structurally and grammatically correct, but so is "thine" and "thou". I hear people constantly making the Shakespearean argument when it relates to the modern age of 1,352 pronouns, and yet I don't see those same people rallying for other archaic, but otherwise technically correct words from the 1600s. Strange that the confirmation bias gets picked for this one cause. Wonder why?

Anyway, to wrap this up, per WP:MOS, "The goal is to make using Wikipedia easier and more intuitive by promoting clarity and cohesion, while helping editors write articles with consistent and precise language, layout, and formatting. Plain English works best. Avoid ambiguity, jargon, and vague or unnecessarily complex wording."

While we have fundamental disagreements, I respect your opinion. Thanks for coming to my Talk Page, and Cheers :) — R00b07 | Talk 18:12, 22 September 2017 (UTC)[reply]