[OTR-users] sexist assumptions in README, process_receiving_im()

[Gregory Maxwell]

On 12/2/05, David Thiel <lx at redundancy.redundancy.org> wrote:
> On Fri, Dec 02, 2005 at 09:37:46PM -0500, Gregory Maxwell wrote:
> > > There are also multiple masculine references in the README. Obviously,
> > > females are also potential users of using the software.
> > I hope you are aware that in English when the gender is unknown we use
> > the masculine.
>
> According to whom?

You're kidding, right? Almost every style guide out there, including
the Chicago Manual of style. Are you not a native speaker of English?
(not trying to be rude, I'm just shocked you don't know this). English
lacks a gender neutral singular personal pronoun.

>Is there some problem with "ended their session"?

'Their' is plural and OTR doesn't yet support multi user sessions?
:)

I don't think it would be bad to rephrase it to avoid a pronoun
alltogher, but it strikes me as an odd complaint.

> Even if you make that claim for the documentation, in the context of the
> status message, the gender of the other person *is* known to the end
> user, thus making the pronoun inaccurate if that person is a female.

It is the software speaking, and it doesn't know.  And why are you so
sure I know the gender of the people I talk to? :)