Date:          Thu, 10 Dec 1998 20:59:39 -0500
From:          Roger Fajman <[log in to unmask]>

>Well, I was trying to stay out of this, but I can no longer resist.  :-)

>I and a number of other people like to use "they" instead of "he" or
>"she" when the gender is not known.  I know it's not gramatically
>correct, but it will become accepted eventually if enough people use
>the word that way.  It has the advantage of already being the plural
>form.  The same thing can be done with "their" in place of "his" or
>"hers".

absolutley true.....

what a lot of people never realise is that the english language changes on a
constant basis.... what was slang becomes consistant usage and accepted as an
english word.... all you have to do is look at the latest Oxford dictionary's
slang inclusions and you will see what is being replaced and what is being
offered in place of something else.... I can still remember the days when we
used to live in a paper bag on the side of a road.... oh bugger... forgot that
was a python sketch.....  anyway you get the general idea... and if you dont..
just try looking up the word chthonic in any dictionary printed later than
1970......

I truly dont think that this is an important point though... all language
changes and develops over the years.. I only hope that people in general will
grow up enough to get rid of the gender related words emphasis and just get on
with communicating....

make it a much nicer world....

Debra