Re:An Update to Our Community and an Apology
by NeedMoreTea on Saturday October 05, 2019 @08:26PM
(#21168932)
It's a Q&A site, is it stubborn refusal to be decent? It doesn't seem so to me.
I don't see how neutrality could possibly be offensive on a gaming or programming sub-site, or dozens of others. Neutral writing is both common and should be inoffensive to all readers, whatever their preferred terms. That's rather the point. That shouldn't affect being able to helpfully answer their esoteric question. I don't expect to form a friendship, or even converse again, just to answer the question asked. Adding @dwaltrip or he/she/they as you prefer, doesn't affect that answer, or my intended, and hopefully perceived courtesy. So by principle of least harm and for avoidance of mistakes I'd aim to keep my replies neutral.
If there are SE sites where it really does matter, perhaps trans or gender related, yes I can easily see that it might be important to choose more carefully, and for different and more precise terms to apply to those boards.
I don't see how neutrality could possibly be offensive on a gaming or programming sub-site, or dozens of others. Neutral writing is both common and should be inoffensive to all readers, whatever their preferred terms. That's rather the point. That shouldn't affect being able to helpfully answer their esoteric question. I don't expect to form a friendship, or even converse again, just to answer the question asked. Adding @dwaltrip or he/she/they as you prefer, doesn't affect that answer, or my intended, and hopefully perceived courtesy. So by principle of least harm and for avoidance of mistakes I'd aim to keep my replies neutral.
If there are SE sites where it really does matter, perhaps trans or gender related, yes I can easily see that it might be important to choose more carefully, and for different and more precise terms to apply to those boards.