I think that this forum's member posts should include their pronoun

[A_Higher_Plane]

We don't know how to address a person on here. I thought that since we already include "First Language" on here, we should include a pronoun for them that they prefer to have themselves be addressed as, such as he/him, she/her, and they, on the left hand side where it shows them.

 

[Kes]

I disagree. You might want to know this, but I might not want to tell you. If this went ahead my reluctance to share any personal details on the internet would almost inevitably lead many people to draw their own conclusions which might be miles from the truth.

 

[Popoto_milk]

Yeah, I'm not a fan of this idea.

There's already spaces to put pronouns if you wish. And pronouns aren't super pertinent anyways. People simply quoting or responding by username is the dominant form of address on forums in general.

Besides, the less personal info about me people know, the better.

I thought that since we already include "First Language" on here,

I see some use in this. Some users might be better served with visuals/a native speaker if they have trouble understanding English, so "first language" helps others know that.

 

[Sword_of_Dusk]

I'm in agreement with the two folks above me. I don't really feel the need to give out more info about myself unnecessarily, and I don't find much merit in addressing other users with pronouns since I prefer to use their usernames instead.

 

[Zeireth]

We don't know how to address a person on here. I thought that since we already include "First Language" on here, we should include a pronoun for them that they prefer to have themselves be addressed as, such as he/him, she/her, and they, on the left hand side where it shows them.

I disagree with you. I agree with Kes and Popoto_milk. Most people on these forums like to be anonymous, and most people just use people's username. Notice how I said Kes and Popoto_milk? I am not going to assume their pronouns.

 

[Mike-Turtle]

I don't think it's necessary, @Sword_of_Dusk makes a good point about usernames.

That being said, what a strange array of responses this thread has sparked. Firstly, in what world would giving out your pronoun lead to you being able to be identified on line? I'm assuming that y'all must have unique or interesting pronouns that are easily searchable? Each of y'all's post history gives way more information about you than a simple pronoun ever could.

 

[slimmmeiske2]

You can always check the profile to see the gender of the user (if they're sharing of course) and base the pronouns on that. If no gender is listed I go with they/them.
The First Language bit is there, so native English speakers know to have a bit of patience with us ESL.

@Mike-Turtle That's not what Kes is saying. They're saying that their reluctance to share can lead others to the (wrong) conclusions.

 

[Popoto_milk]

Each of y'all's post history gives way more information about you than a simple pronoun ever could.

True. But there's no need to advertise such things. It's unnecessary.
Just like I could put up my birthdate or gender or age. But I'd rather not.
Info like that being up isn't always about being afraid of identification. It's simply a matter of privacy.

 

[HexMozart88]

Coming from someone who *wants* everyone to know his pronouns, I don't actually think it's necessary, because you can already glean some info about that from the person's gender in their bio. Having said that, however, I have slipped up a couple of times and defaulted to he. Don't do that. You will anger a lot of women and enbies. Just use they.

 

[arsMori]

While I'm usually for this sort of thing, I agree with the rest of the people in this thread. You can either use your signature or custom title. There's also going to be other stuff to consider depending on the technical stuff on the site end, like if someone were to use pronouns other than the she/he/they ones or those who use multiple pronouns.

(In another forum I used to frequent, putting pronouns and small info was super common with the userbase, so I see no problem why it can't be in here.)

 

[Zeriab]

As long as it is opt-in and option I don't really mind having such an option.
Should such a field be included please make it a free-text field. Could be fun to see what sort of wacky pronouns people can make up.

 

[ATT_Turan]

I disagree. You might want to know this, but I might not want to tell you.

To be fair, it could simply not be a required field which we could leave blank.

And pronouns aren't super pertinent anyways. People simply quoting or responding by username is the dominant form of address on forums in general.

I don't find much merit in addressing other users with pronouns since I prefer to use their usernames instead.

I agree, the number of times I refer to someone in a forum by a pronoun is insignificant - I quote or say "the OP".

I see some use in this. Some users might be better served with visuals/a native speaker if they have trouble understanding English, so "first language" helps others know that.

Right, this is designed so people will have additional tolerance/offer additional material if the person doesn't speak English (which is why it can be frustrating when people claim it incorrectly).

 

[Willibab]

I'm fine with whatever but ngl, I get super defiant whenever someone tells me I HAVE to do something. It just rubs me the wrong way. Childish? Yes....Yes I am

 

[A_Higher_Plane]

Oh just a few things from me, the OP:

• As someone has pointed out, how can it infringe someone's privacy if they have a pronoun? As they have said, what they write gives a lot more intimate information about them than the pronoun every could.
• Having a pronoun would make it easier to say things like he/him, she/her, and they.
• The field could be optional so you won't have to fill out if you don't want to.
• I think that you can include your gender already in a person's bio here in the RPG Maker Web Forums, optionally.

 

[HOLYMOTHER]

• As someone has pointed out, how can it infringe someone's privacy if they have a pronoun? As they have said, what they write gives a lot more intimate information about them than the pronoun every could.

Pronouns are identifying information, opinions aren't. Unless you were like on /baph/ on 8ch back in the day, you can't track someone down with, or validate already existing information by cross-referencing what they think about color palettes and combat mechanics. You CAN do that with pronouns however.

• The field could be optional so you won't have to fill out if you don't want to.

Yeah, but then you'd have subgroups of different factions saying, "Oh, well this user didn't fill out the pronouns, so that means they're an ultranationalist superfascist," or, "That user has the pronouns filled out, which means they're a cryptomarxist fellow traveler." It might sound silly to you, but I've seen that happen in many communities.

 

[Willibab]

Pronouns are identifying information, opinions aren't. Unless you were like on /baph/ on 8ch back in the day, you can't track someone down with, or validate already existing information by cross-referencing what they think about color palettes and combat mechanics. You CAN do that with pronouns however.

Yeah, but then you'd have subgroups of different factions saying, "Oh, well this user didn't fill out the pronouns, so that means they're an ultranationalist superfascist," or, "That user has the pronouns filled out, which means they're a cryptomarxist fellow traveler." It might sound silly to you, but I've seen that happen in many communities.

That totally sounds like twitter xD

 

[Sword_of_Dusk]

As someone has pointed out, how can it infringe someone's privacy if they have a pronoun? As they have said, what they write gives a lot more intimate information about them than the pronoun every could.

It's not so much infringing on privacy as it is giving up a bit of information about yourself that can be used to form a profile. It's probably minor, but if you don't know if I use she/her, he/him, they/them or something else, it's less info to peg my identity with. Of course, there's something to consider regarding this . . .

I think that you can include your gender already in a person's bio here in the RPG Maker Web Forums, optionally.

And that's this. In an environment where you're likely using a username to refer to someone (such as when tagging a person), this is probably enough of an identifier, which as you say, is optional. Anyone who didn't take advantage of this option is probably not worried about pronoun use toward themselves.

Having a pronoun would make it easier to say things like he/him, she/her, and they.

It would . . . but is that necessary? From my experiences, forum users just refer to others by the names they use on the site. For example, people call me Sword or Dusk. It's simple, straight to the point, and reinforces the natural anonymity that being online generally gives.

The field could be optional so you won't have to fill out if you don't want to.

A user above me already provides a potential issue with this, which I have occasionally seen elsewhere.

 

[HexMozart88]

I'm really not sure how pronouns can be used to track you down. There are thousands if not millions of transguys in the world. I'm not seeing how me revealing that I am one is equivalent to me posting my address or credit card. Also believe me, the stuff I've learned about people here from their opinions is unbelievable.

 

[Sword_of_Dusk]

I'm really not sure how pronouns can be used to track you down. There are thousands if not millions of transguys in the world. I'm not seeing how me revealing that I am one is equivalent to me posting my address or credit card. Also believe me, the stuff I've learned about people here from their opinions is unbelievable.

Like I mentioned above, it's not that it gives someone everything they need to track you down. It's that it can let a person go "ah, HexMozart88 is a trans man. Let me just note that for future reference."

Basically, it's simply a small part of the bigger picture. Not necessarily vital, but for some folk, it's like "why give it away if I don't have to?"

 

[WaywardMartian]

Nope. When I originally signed up it was just to look at stuff and it was years before I started participating so I never bothered filling in the gender option. I show up every so often to Like things and drop off sprites, you don't need to know anything else.