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Victoria Whitehorne wonders the correct pronoun to use with user, as in:
> "If the user is ...then customize their session." I think this is
> technically incorrect but I am seeing it more and more.
Geoff Hart gives some suggestions of pronoun usage.
I find that often "the user" appears in situations where instructions are
turned into third person descriptions. For example, instead of writing, "To
put an order on hold, from the action list, select hold, and then enter a
reminder date" some people write, "To put an order on hold, the users
selects 'hold' from the action list and then enters a reminder date."
I find that by writing second-person instructions (click this, select that,
etc.), I can eliminate most of the gender-pronoun worries (e.g., "customize
your session", etc.).
I only write "the user" when the user I am indicating is likely not the user
reading my instructions.
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