Frequently Asked Questions

This is a single FAQ from the MetaFilter FAQ.

Why are you asking for my pronouns?

The Profile page has a place to specify your pronouns. You can use this field (click here for the edit form) to let people know what pronouns to use for you on the site -- for example, "she", "he", "they" or other terms. It's freeform, but please only use it for real answers, not jokes. (Joking about pronouns, even if it's well-intended, can feel dismissive of other people. Please use the contact form if you see a problematic entry in this field.)

Specifying your pronouns is optional and it’s ok to just leave this blank. The info you enter will be visible on your profile page to logged-in members only, but people may naturally use your pronouns in conversations on public parts of the site. You can check another member's profile (by clicking their username) to see if they've stated a pronoun preference.

Some history of this field: The Pronouns field is new in 2020. It replaces the old Gender/Pronouns field. Originally the field asked only for "Gender", then in 2017 "Pronouns" was added to the prompt. But many members don't update their profile, and might have made jokey answers in the Gender field originally. Over time, a lot of those answers aged badly or were out of place as an answer to the updated prompt. In 2020, we decided to eliminate that old field entirely and start over.
(tags: ) May 11, 2017 - back to questions