I added that bit of snark because a big part of this seems to have been a new (pending) Code of Conduct that apparently could be read as "you're not allowed to use phrasing that would normally be recognized as gender-neutral, you must use individuals' preferred pronouns." I know I'd question that if it meant that (while moderating) I was going to have to go look into what someone's gender pronoun preferences were lest I be accused of violating the CoC.
I haven't read the leaked TL (Teachers' Lounge?) chat transcripts and the whole thing has blown up into a massive drama such that reading all the summaries and resignations and objections and whatnot isn't realistic for me, but I suspect that questions along the lines of "Can I just do this?" were interpreted as challenging the whole new CoC and someone felt like they were being disrespected. The (apparent) summary dismissal outside all existing policies for dismissing moderators would fit with it being a knee-jerk reaction followed by a refusal to back down after a mistake.
Frankly if Monica C hadn't asked for clarification but had simply continued writing in such a way as to avoid using any pronouns this would never have blown up, but I think the question was taken as questioning authority.
Edit: As for the neutral pronoun, yes, more than 20 years ago as part of a community focused around a Usenet group that also had regular social get-togethers all over the country. IIRC, the term(s) in use were zie/zir.
Edit2: And having just done a bit of searching: No, it wasn't alt.polyamory or any related groups, though there might have been overlap in memberships.
IIRC I saw references to them being posted to reddit, but I didn't bother even going to look. I have enough problems keeping up with discussions in communities I'm part of without adding chat logs from a community of technical people in the middle of a controversy.
Yes, they proudly call themselves gender-fluid and state that they change pronouns frequently.
And many state to use non-existing words as pronouns such as xhy, requiring a mental effort to remember a new word they invented and also to remember to whom that word is associated, so the satire of using blerg as pronoun is spot-on while also offensive to some.
> Have you ever met someone who changes their gender identity weekly
Isn't that what "gender-fluid" is?
> or asks people to use a derivation-free nonsense word to refer to them?
Isn't that what pronouns like "xir" are all about?
You seem more hung up on "have you personally met someone like that?" than "do these people really exist?" The answer to the latter question is yes, they do.
I felt that the last sentence tag indicated the author was thinking of gender-fluid people as abstractions rather than actual human beings; hence the verify whether they were snarking from experience or just spreading negative stereotypes they have no experience with.
I can understand the former; the latter corrodes discourse.
And for what it's worth: we're smart people with the ability to attend to the rules of string coercion in JavaScript; we can treat humans as humans and use the words they prefer to use to describe themselves. It's not actually that hard; certainly not as hard as all this cognitive load for JavaScript quirks. ;)
I felt that the last sentence tag indicated the author was thinking of gender-fluid people as abstractions rather than actual human beings
Fluid as in changing frequently? Maybe, I don't personally know anyone who fits that description and frankly I'd probably be unimpressed by someone with gender swinging like a weather vane.
Nonbinary? Yes, an immediate family member who is also stable in their identification and in a stable long term relationship. Also some folks I've interacted with in professional settings where it's none of my business how they identify.
Also several people from my fairly close circle in college, but it's been long enough since I graduated and everyone scattered that I don't talk much with any of that circle regardless of gender.
My snark was directed more at what sounds like a potentially troublesome change that could add a lot of headaches to what I suspect is already an often thankless volunteer position.
Have you ever met someone who changes their gender identity weekly, or asks people to use a derivation-free nonsense word to refer to them?