|
Sender: |
|
Subject: |
|
From: |
|
Date: |
Thu, 10 Dec 1998 02:25:32 -0800 |
Content-Type: |
TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII |
MIME-Version: |
1.0 |
Reply-To: |
|
Maybe it is because it is late at night, but I just noticed that reports
such as the following show a gender bias. I don't know the gender of the
subscriber in question (anonymized for the purpose of this example), so I
don't know how LISTSERV can make an assumption.
Unfortunately, replacing "his" with "his/her" is a simple, but incomplete
solution because it doesn't take reflectors, gateways, or group/role
accounts (helpdesk, postmaster, root) into account.
At the risk of sounding impersonal, "his" could be replaced with
"its/their" (singular/plural).
Or how about "The following 1 subscriber was asked for confirmation of
subscription to the NAUSICAA list."
It is too bad that English doesn't have a gender-neutral pronoun that
can be used for people, in the way that the German "man" is used.
Just a thought.
-- Michael S. Johnson Miyazaki Web and Mailing List Owner
[log in to unmask] www.nausicaa.net/miyazaki/mailing-list
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Wed, 9 Dec 1998 06:00:05 -0500
From: "L-Soft list server at Brown University (1.8b)"
<[log in to unmask]>
Subject: NAUSICAA: Subscription renewal monitoring report
The following 1 subscriber was requested to confirm his subscription to the
NAUSICAA list:
[log in to unmask]
|
|
|