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This document was mostly written almost a decade ago, and by someone who I think went to a prestigious institution. So the "rules of style" back then aren't wha

This document was mostly written almost a decade ago, and by someone who I think went to a prestigious institution. So the "rules of style" back then aren't what they are today. You're right, we should update it, though.

JadeNB 8y ago
> This document was mostly written almost a decade ago, and by someone who I think went to a prestigious institution. So the "rules of style" back then aren't what they are today. What does the second half of the first sentence have to do with the second sentence?
- waddlesplash 8y ago
  That prestigious institutions up until the past few years used male pronouns to refer to generic individuals as being "proper English", which this document ostensibly is, and this explains the document's use of them?
  - mixmastamyk 8y ago
    Yes, replacing "he/she" with "they" was discouraged because it is plural. Since then gender issues have come to the forefront and this drawback has been deemed less important. "They" is now recommended by most folks, but wasn't the case 12 years ago. Times change.
anonytrary 8y ago
> You're right, we should update it, though. No, you really shouldn't, it's not a real problem. The only people who keep tallies of gender pronouns in documents are internet trolls; don't indulge the trolls. Anyway, switching up pronouns every other time breaks continuity and makes documents harder and painful to read.
- GuiA 8y ago
  No need to keep a tally; in 2018, any document that exclusively uses masculine pronouns for genderless subjects reads as outdated. When writing on technical topics, the chief concern is to be clear, accurate, and straightforward. Anything that might distract your reader is undesirable. By referring to “the user” as “he”, you’re already distracting roughly 50% of your potential readership (if you’re writing the documentation for a Do It Yourself Vasectomy Kit, perhaps you get a pass). Switching up pronouns every other time is a strategy, but it is indeed one that can hurt the readability of a document. This article covers various strategies nicely: https://www.herodios.com/pronouns.html https://www.herodios.com/pronouns.html (Note that this document was written over 20 years ago, so the “rules of style” when this document was written were roughly the same as they are now)
  - anonytrary 8y ago
    > By referring to “the user” as “he”, you’re already distracting roughly 50% of your potential readership (if you’re writing the documentation for a Do It Yourself Vasectomy Kit, perhaps you get a pass). Do you have any research/data to back this up? I'm a male and I am not distracted when people use "she" (or "he" for that matter). I have never heard anyone in person complain about not being able to focus on an article because they used "he" instead of "she". > Anything that might distract your reader is undesirable. Concision is of utmost importance in any language. Many of the examples in your link sacrifice readability and concision for the purpose of avoiding pronouns. What really distracts me is when people use "(s)he", "s/he", "he or she" (oh no -- which one should be first?), or periodically switch between "he" and "she" absolutely everywhere -- all for the purpose of filling a contrived equality quota.
    - GuiA 8y ago
      There is a user, they are using the system, and that’s about as much as we know about them.
      - anonytrary 8y ago

JadeNB 8y ago

> This document was mostly written almost a decade ago, and by someone who I think went to a prestigious institution. So the "rules of style" back then aren't what they are today. What does the second half of the first sentence have to do with the second sentence?

waddlesplash 8y ago
That prestigious institutions up until the past few years used male pronouns to refer to generic individuals as being "proper English", which this document ostensibly is, and this explains the document's use of them?
- mixmastamyk 8y ago
  Yes, replacing "he/she" with "they" was discouraged because it is plural. Since then gender issues have come to the forefront and this drawback has been deemed less important. "They" is now recommended by most folks, but wasn't the case 12 years ago. Times change.

anonytrary 8y ago

> You're right, we should update it, though. No, you really shouldn't, it's not a real problem. The only people who keep tallies of gender pronouns in documents are internet trolls; don't indulge the trolls. Anyway, switching up pronouns every other time breaks continuity and makes documents harder and painful to read.

GuiA 8y ago
No need to keep a tally; in 2018, any document that exclusively uses masculine pronouns for genderless subjects reads as outdated. When writing on technical topics, the chief concern is to be clear, accurate, and straightforward. Anything that might distract your reader is undesirable. By referring to “the user” as “he”, you’re already distracting roughly 50% of your potential readership (if you’re writing the documentation for a Do It Yourself Vasectomy Kit, perhaps you get a pass). Switching up pronouns every other time is a strategy, but it is indeed one that can hurt the readability of a document. This article covers various strategies nicely: https://www.herodios.com/pronouns.html https://www.herodios.com/pronouns.html (Note that this document was written over 20 years ago, so the “rules of style” when this document was written were roughly the same as they are now)
- anonytrary 8y ago
  > By referring to “the user” as “he”, you’re already distracting roughly 50% of your potential readership (if you’re writing the documentation for a Do It Yourself Vasectomy Kit, perhaps you get a pass). Do you have any research/data to back this up? I'm a male and I am not distracted when people use "she" (or "he" for that matter). I have never heard anyone in person complain about not being able to focus on an article because they used "he" instead of "she". > Anything that might distract your reader is undesirable. Concision is of utmost importance in any language. Many of the examples in your link sacrifice readability and concision for the purpose of avoiding pronouns. What really distracts me is when people use "(s)he", "s/he", "he or she" (oh no -- which one should be first?), or periodically switch between "he" and "she" absolutely everywhere -- all for the purpose of filling a contrived equality quota.
  - GuiA 8y ago
    There is a user, they are using the system, and that’s about as much as we know about them.
    - anonytrary 8y ago