Assuming maybe wrongfully that they are a man, (i'm uncomfortable with the use of they/them to designate a singular person, english isn't my first language), yeah, I'm seriously impressed by his patience and kindness.

I felt so ashamed to give small answers to him that one time he corrected me with a very understandable and precise paragraph, that I actually became motivated to read a bit of theory.

That's what i call a good influencer.

[–] thatsTheCatch@lemmy.nz 3 points 1 hour ago

Using "they" for a singular person has been used since at least the 14th century, so there's no need to feel uncomfortable with it. I highly recommend reading the Wikipedia page on Singular they, which touches on its history.

A similar example is "you." "You" used to be only a plural, with "thou" being the singular, but over time it fell out of fashion and now "you" can be used as singular or plural, like how "they" can be singular or plural.

Singular "they" was criticised by some people hundreds of years after it started being used. But language cannot be prescribed; it is determined by how people use it.

[–] Maeve@kbin.earth 10 points 7 hours ago (1 children)

The correct pronoun is the preferred pronoun.

[–] Cowbee@lemmy.ml 10 points 6 hours ago

Some apps don't display modified usernames, so it would just show "cowbee" instead of "cowbee [he/they]"