>My point is only that even in colloquial usage there are patterns involving "guys" that are clearly gender-neutral at this point and have been for decades. Ye

>My point is only that even in colloquial usage there are patterns involving "guys" that are clearly gender-neutral at this point and have been for decades. Yeah, that's fair. I think we can agree that the meaning is ambiguous. TBH I just figure that "folks" is a change that might, in some cases, make some people feel more welcome, at basically no expense in time, effort or clarity. Seems like a decent cost/benefit to me. But I don't get up in arms about it - this thread notwithstanding. ;) And now I'm tired of talking about this. :)