display gender?

October 5, 2001 10:03 PM

Most people's usernames aren't indicative of their gender. This leads to people automatically assuming all posters are male until proven otherwise, and this seems to be ticking off a number of female posters. Possibly a preference of 'display user's gender next to their username' would be useful? Turned on, it would display the male or female symbol next to the username (or (m)/(f) in text-only mode), if the user's gender is set in the profile. (Say, depending on what letter it starts with.) People not logged in wouldn't see any of this.
posted by darukaru to Feature Requests at 10:03 PM (12 comments total)

who's getting ticked off?

maybe we should start referring to any user whose gender is unknown as "she".
posted by rebeccablood at 10:12 PM on October 5, 2001

I was not "ticked off". I inserted a BTW bj stands for Barbara Jean. I just corrected an assumption.
posted by bjgeiger at 10:25 PM on October 5, 2001

this reminds me how everyone on irc is always really, really nice to any female on the channel.
posted by moz at 10:33 PM on October 5, 2001

how 'bout the androgynous "hir" and "sie," from the otherkin community?

i dunno, i just like that. *shrug*
posted by po at 10:37 PM on October 5, 2001

how about small phallic and vaginal icons next to usernames?
posted by mathowie (staff) at 11:21 PM on October 5, 2001 [1 favorite]

you're gonna have to get a bigger icon, pal.
posted by Kafkaesque at 1:00 AM on October 6, 2001

Some English guy a while back proposed "horshit" as an all-encompassing "he or she or it" abbreviation. That pretty much sums up my opinion.
Gender is not a factor here; there's no reason to display it. If someone gets pissy(not you, BJ) over a simple mistake, they will hopefully get over it quickly. Besides, Darukaru, have you seen what some people have listed as their genders?
posted by Su at 1:28 AM on October 6, 2001

All this talk of disclosure lately, particularly in light of the Need For Increased Security After The Recent Events, makes my (insert gender-appropriate genital-reference here)s itch.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 5:19 AM on October 6, 2001

Hokay, silly idea. Duly withdrawn.
posted by darukaru at 8:26 AM on October 6, 2001

darukaru, it is not a silly idea. A mouse over or tool tip on a user name could be used. If some want to put their gender or something. No bad words now, okay?
posted by bjgeiger at 5:50 PM on October 6, 2001

I will henceforth refer to all of you as 'it'. Although horshit may be used too.. hmm..
posted by Mossy at 7:21 AM on October 7, 2001

This thread encapsulates everything that rocks about Me(whatever). I just thought I'd point that out.

Perhaps MetaTalk is the new MetaFilter.
posted by websavvy at 9:28 AM on October 9, 2001