If it looks wrong..

[geoff-h -at- MTL -dot- FERIC -dot- CA]

 Tim Covil, responding to my statement that <<"they" has a
 long tradition of being used as a singular, so it's not
 "wrong">>, noted <<I can't argue with your premise.
 However, I can argue that your premise fails to lead to
 your conclusion. You don't really believe that "a long
 tradition" lends a practice justification, I'm sure.>>

 In editing, there's an ongoing battle between "editing by
 the book" and recognizing that languages change and leave
 the books out of date. Because of this recognition, the
 practice of bending the rules to follow usage is a
 long-accepted editorial stragegy. That's not to say that
 you should adopt "Wired" style just because they're trendy.
 My favorite quote on this matter: "In words, as fashions,
 the same rule will hold,//Alike fantastic if too new or
 old://Be not the first by whom the new are tried, Nor yet
 the last to lay the old aside."--Alexander Pope

 "They" has been accepted as singular by the users of the
 English language, and there's a long history of this
 acceptance. (Check out the Oxford English Dictionary or any
 dictionary of contemporary usage if you want an authority
 for this statement.) Ignoring this usage because the more
 familiar use is "they = only plural" is like King Canute
 trying to hold back the sea. My original statement still
 stands: It's a legitimate usage, but it still looks odd
 enough to many readers that I try to avoid it.

 <<What does "wrong" mean, anyway? You said that "they"
 looks wrong to the reader. If it "looks wrong" and is
 therefore inadvisable to use, then what is the
 differentiation between it and something that is "REALLY
 wrong"?>>

 I put "wrong" in quotes in my original message to indicate
 that I'm not using the word in its absolute sense; a more
 correct way to say this would have been "less correct".
 It's obvious to me from following the discussion on this
 issue here and (regularly) in the copyediting-l list that
 there's considerable difference in opinion over this issue
 among language professionals. The difference you've asked
 me to clarify comes down to the following: you should
 generally avoid something that _looks_ wrong because some
 readers will see it as _being_ wrong, but you should always
 avoid something that _is_ wrong.

 --Geoff Hart     @8^{)}     geoff-h -at- mtl -dot- feric -dot- ca
 Disclaimer: Speaking for myself, not FERIC.

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