Re: X Strike Force SVN commit: rev 410 - trunk/debian
On Wed, Aug 20, 2003 at 11:25:32AM -0500, Branden Robinson wrote:
> On Wed, Aug 20, 2003 at 02:18:59PM +1000, Daniel Stone wrote:
> > On Tue, Aug 19, 2003 at 09:57:09PM -0500, X Strike Force SVN Admin wrote:
> > > - don't show the user messages telling him we're not doing anything
> > Women use Debian, too. :P
> That's just a nasty rumor.
And irrelevent. "Him" is the proper _formal_ pronoun to use in
English when referring to a person of unspecified gender. You _can_
change it (there's no reason not to use "him or her" except length and
awkwardness), but it doesn't _need_ to be changed because it's not
wrong.
"Them" _can_ be used for a singular, non-gender-specific pronoun, but
some people are bothered by it. (It's not actually wrong, despite
rumors to the contrary, but it has been _called_ wrong by enough
people that it probably qualifies as colloquial and probably shouldn't
be used formally. Unless you're a Jane Austen fan.)
--
Chris Waters | Pneumonoultra- osis is too long
xtifr@debian.org | microscopicsilico- to fit into a single
or xtifr@speakeasy.net | volcaniconi- standalone haiku
Reply to: