Nix at SCALE

Posted Mar 26, 2024 15:22 UTC (Tue) by paulj (subscriber, #341)
In reply to: Nix at SCALE by willy
Parent article: Nix at SCALE

It kinds of goes both ways really. Various factions could do with applying a bit more Postel principle - be courteous in using whatever title when you can, but also don't get worked up over people sometimes getting it wrong (cause... it's often not obvious, and it can be hard to keep up / know, and sometimes people prefer using extant and appropriate constructions).

E.g., English does already have a gender-neutral singular pronoun, with many hundreds of years of use. It should always be considered acceptable as a fall-back. (That shouldn't be controversial, but apparently there are people who get triggered over that).

Nix at SCALE

Posted Mar 26, 2024 16:32 UTC (Tue) by Wol (subscriber, #4433) [Link]

In real life, I get rather upset - sometimes very vocally - when people get my name wrong, but I draw the distinction between "they didn't know/realise" and "deliberate / reckless". The guy who asked me my name over the phone, and then DIDN'T USE the name I told him ... I couldn't get off the phone quick enough. In a GMeet call, my name is on the screen - if you don't know how to address me - use that! If I don't like it, it's my fault for not getting it changed. But if you use the name on screen, and it's wrong, it's clearly completely innocent on their part.

Cheers,
Wol