Sharon, On Mon, Apr 16, 2012 at 8:42 PM, <sle...@pipeline.com> wrote:
> Stas: > > Just b/c there are rarely any women at all that participate on this list, > could we at list maintain a facade of gender neutrality? I seriously can't > believe that you used the word "him". What about "her"? Yeah, "her" as in > myself and every other woman who codes with PHP whether to earn her living > or to have a pleasant past-time? I am sure that there are plenty of PHP > women just like me who might really appreciate having the opportunity to > vote on changes that might effect the way we work. > > Currently, it's as clear as mud to me as to what I need to do to be able > to have some kind of voting impact. The protocol or process needs to be > clearly articulated in very clear language so that all concerned PHP men > and women can be informed. > > Sharon Lee Levy, ZCE > > > -- > PHP Internals - PHP Runtime Development Mailing List > To unsubscribe, visit: http://www.php.net/unsub.php > > You raise a valid concern, but I think you were unfairly harsh toward Stas. The gender-neutral "he" is an accepted standard in English. Maybe it shouldn't be, and I would applaud efforts to change that, but berating someone who uses it isn't the best way to get your message across. Personally, I'm a fan of the singular "they". Some people prefer to use "ze" instead, but I think it just sounds stupid. Why? Well, just say the following sentence in a funny accent of your choosing and you'll understand: "What is ze doing?!" ;) --Kris
