Re: [PATCH 4/4] CodingGuidelines: recommend singular they

Derrick Stolee wrote:

On 6/8/2021 4:11 AM, Felipe Contreras wrote:

quoted

Jeff King wrote:

quoted

On Mon, Jun 07, 2021 at 04:57:48PM +0000, Derrick Stolee via GitGitGadget wrote:

quoted

If we use singular "they/them" pronouns instead of "he/him" or "she/her"
pronouns, then we can avoid this congitive load on the reader.

Using singular "they" is also incredibly efficient. Choosing a gendered
pronoun is usually arbitrary between "he" or "she". Using constructs
such as "he or she", "s/he", or "(s)he" are more complicated than
singular "they".

In general, I do like the efficiency and readability of singular "they".
As a native speaker, I have no problem reading it, and I have little
sense that most of my native-speaker acquaintances would, either.

Does this sound correct to you?

  We thank the reviewer for their helpful comments

In the case of an anonymous reviewer (such as a single-blind review of
an academic paper), then this is exactly how one should acknowledge a
single reviewer.

That was not the question.

-- 
Felipe Contreras