5 ms·

When I see "she" it makes me reflexively stop and look back to make sure I haven't missed something, wondering, "who is this 'she', I must have skipped the para

When I see "she" it makes me reflexively stop and look back to make sure I haven't missed something, wondering, "who is this 'she', I must have skipped the paragraph introducing the subject." This is definitely bad for readability, the user, and all that. Please, anyone reading this who complains about line-heights and font-sizes, pay attention to grammar as well.

babby 13y ago
Im one to agree. I can see how a woman would be pleased by seeing this, but, when I scroll up and notice it's a "Nick" who wrote the article, all I can think is; huh? Is this guy trying to be edgy? So I re-read, like you said, and there is no mention of a she. It's just awkward, please stop with the forced gender equality if that's what that is. If it's just being playful then I guess you can shrug it off.
abrons 13y ago
When I see a comment like this, it makes me reflexively stop and look back to see if the commenter is trying to make a joke, or is really so dense and petty that they're trying to make this an issue.
- aaronem 13y ago
  On HN? Do you really have to ask?
jiggy2011 13y ago
From the article (the first time "she" is used): "The developer refuses. She’s worked too hard on Feature X, and dammit, you’ll have to pry it from her cold dead hands!!!" With the exception of the unnecessary extra !! I don't see what is wrong with the grammer, it's clear in this context that "she" is the developer.
- coldtea 13y ago
  "Let's artificially use the statistically unlikely case that the developer is a woman, in order to inspire more women to be programmers"... What kind of BS magic thinking is that? If you want to inspire women, teach them about the technology as girls and encourage those who like to work with it. Pronouns ain't where it's at.
  - girvo 13y ago
    I disagree with you. Although I stick to "they" as I think it's perfectly fine grammar wise, you getting upset because of your own bias and thinking it's an issue because the author wrote "she" instead of "he" is a bit silly, in my opinion. Edit: Oh, and language has a massive effect on our thinking patterns, so yeah, you actual could possibly make the case that pronouns matter. They don't to me, at all, and if they "don't" to you, why express frustration or call it "BS"?
  - jiggy2011 13y ago
    This seems rather a stretch , I don't see anybody suggesting that this is a panacea but I see no downside to this approach. There is no loss of clarity in writing whether your hypothetical developer is a "he" , "she" or any other pronoun. It is certainly preferable to clumsily using "they".
lewispollard 13y ago
Maybe the problem is with you, and not with the text?

babby 13y ago

Im one to agree. I can see how a woman would be pleased by seeing this, but, when I scroll up and notice it's a "Nick" who wrote the article, all I can think is; huh? Is this guy trying to be edgy? So I re-read, like you said, and there is no mention of a she. It's just awkward, please stop with the forced gender equality if that's what that is. If it's just being playful then I guess you can shrug it off.

abrons 13y ago

When I see a comment like this, it makes me reflexively stop and look back to see if the commenter is trying to make a joke, or is really so dense and petty that they're trying to make this an issue.

aaronem 13y ago
On HN? Do you really have to ask?

jiggy2011 13y ago

From the article (the first time "she" is used): "The developer refuses. She’s worked too hard on Feature X, and dammit, you’ll have to pry it from her cold dead hands!!!" With the exception of the unnecessary extra !! I don't see what is wrong with the grammer, it's clear in this context that "she" is the developer.

coldtea 13y ago
"Let's artificially use the statistically unlikely case that the developer is a woman, in order to inspire more women to be programmers"... What kind of BS magic thinking is that? If you want to inspire women, teach them about the technology as girls and encourage those who like to work with it. Pronouns ain't where it's at.
- girvo 13y ago
  I disagree with you. Although I stick to "they" as I think it's perfectly fine grammar wise, you getting upset because of your own bias and thinking it's an issue because the author wrote "she" instead of "he" is a bit silly, in my opinion. Edit: Oh, and language has a massive effect on our thinking patterns, so yeah, you actual could possibly make the case that pronouns matter. They don't to me, at all, and if they "don't" to you, why express frustration or call it "BS"?
- jiggy2011 13y ago
  This seems rather a stretch , I don't see anybody suggesting that this is a panacea but I see no downside to this approach. There is no loss of clarity in writing whether your hypothetical developer is a "he" , "she" or any other pronoun. It is certainly preferable to clumsily using "they".

lewispollard 13y ago

Maybe the problem is with you, and not with the text?