User:SOTO/Forum Archive/The Panopticon/@comment-1451563-20180913002703/@comment-38106373-20190109100352

Amorkuz wrote: Admin note (for umpteenth time). Using "they" is the current policy of the wiki and is mandated for all users in cases discussed above.

Sorry, I'm new...I read "our Panopticon is the home of our greatest policy debates." and assumed the purpose of this forum was to discuss policy. If not then what is it for and where would one go to discuss policy?

Amorkuz wrote: This thread is not about "randomly switching to plural". This thread is actually about randomly switching to singular in cases when the choice of such singular is unclear/unsupported by a narrative.

Please clafiry, as I understand from reading the thread it is about refering to the Doctor (a singular entity) as "they" (a plural pronoun). Actually, to be a bit more accurate the OP is about the misuse of pronouns creating problems in terms of readability, which is also what my comment was about.

Anyway, in essence my point is that this policy of using non-standard grammar is making the wikia harder to read (especially for non-native English speakers such as myself) and therefor I think it would be a good policy proposal to use 'regular' english pronouns.

I really don't see how in-universe information affects fundamental grammar, we're writing this in English for a real world human audience therefor the basic langauge used should be English (either UK/US standard, take your pick) and any non-English should be taken directly from the show not just made up by the users or taken from some obscure random dialect that has no bearing on the show.

EDIT: I didn't go into the "prevalent gender" thing that deeply because it was just an example, not the main point of the comment. Off the cuff suggestions to illustrate a further point don't need citations imho.