Re: Male/female/other

[Hans Forbrich]

On Monday 13 September 2004 12:09, Han-Wen Nienhuys wrote:
> address@hidden writes:
> > I suppose that since there's only -two- instances in which this is an
> > issue, it really doesn't matter.  And since they're in the wordy
> > introduction rather than the "real" manual, it matters even less.  But,
> > having introduced this matter here, I'd like to get his resolved.  :)
> >
> >
> > (these examples originally used male pronouns; I'd already changed
> > them to female)
> >
> >
> > Reword these sentences as you see fit, and we'll pick which one
> > we like the best.
> >
> > "Engraving was a highly specialized skill, a craftsman had
> > to complete around five years of training before she could
> > be a master engraver."
>
> I think that hand-engraving dates from the time that women did not
> participate much in professional life, so I find this sentence rather
> awkward.

IMO, no matter what we do, the 'gender issue' in documentation will offend 
someone at some point.   The nicest solution I've ever seen was a statement 
in the opening of a book, which I'll paraphrase:

------------
Nothing in this technology, nor any craft even remotrely related, is gender  
specific.   We use terms 'he' and 'she', 'his' and hers', and the like,   
throughout the text to remove the awkwardness of creating a new sublanguage  
that is politically correct.
 
For the sake of simplicity and for the sale of personalization, we assume you,  
the reader, are intelligent enough to perform suitable gender translation.  
In return for your understanding, we will make every attempt to provide an  
even balance across all genders in our examples examples and descriptions.
-----------

I'd suggest the above, or some variant, be included in the documentation.  If 
in agreement, feel free to use my paraphrase or change it as appropriate.

/Hans