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   Paul Cantrell (inthehands@hachyderm.io)'s status on Saturday, 22-Mar-2025 06:19:53 JST Paul Cantrell

   in reply to

   @lime @b0rk
   I’d say that in modern English genderless singular “they” is preferable for an unknown / generic person, for a variety of reasons.

   Passive voice can sound old-fashioned, stuffy, vaguely like you’re hiding something — though it remains stubbornly common in scientific writing.

   This isn’t a recent change, but guides do often lag usage The MLA has approved this singular “they” for decades now, FWIW, and their guide is good to my eyes: https://style.mla.org/using-singular-they/

2. Embed this notice
   Paul Cantrell (inthehands@hachyderm.io)'s status on Friday, 12-Jul-2024 02:31:03 JST Paul Cantrell

   in reply to

   @phranck
   English is a wacky language! (Makes sense, since it’s 3 or 4 languages smashed together and left to stew.)

   Singular “they” is especially confusing because it’s under dispute; some people argue it’s incorrect. It’s similar to the alleged rule that one can’t end a sentence with a preposition — even though that’s (1) common and (2) a rule that one person made up because they thought English grammar should be more like Latin.

   Good guidance on “they:”
   https://style.mla.org/using-singular-they/