These aren't really used at all in real-world English though (at least American English). So the result would be a very awkward phrase and probably a phrase tha

These aren't really used at all in real-world English though (at least American English). So the result would be a very awkward phrase and probably a phrase that is understood by fewer people than before. The technically grammatically-incorrect plural pronouns come off sounding better and in my opinion are the better choice if the use of gender-specific pronouns is an issue that needs to be addressed. I don't personally mind the use of masculine pronouns to indicate a generic person, because I think there's nothing inherently wrong with it, but in the tech world it's good to be careful as there clearly are gender issues to be sensitive of. I think another good solution to this kind of wording issue is to just use masculine pronouns in some places and feminine pronouns in others.