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Comment by temp8964 | Hacker News Reader

If you look at the examples, "they" are all used in a general sense not pointing to any specific individual.

In this case, Satoshi is a Japanese male name. If you have evidence to suggest otherwise, there is no reason to pretend you don't know the gender.

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I think people already explained above that Satoshi is just a pseudonym so there is nothing certain about the person’s gender.

No. The norm is follow the gender assumption based on the pseudonym. If the person picked a female name, everyone would happily call the person “she”, as it should be.

You seem really upset about this. Why does a pronoun choice bother you so strongly?

Because it’s grammatically inconsistent.

It’s only inconsistent to you because your understanding of english language usage seems to also be inconsistent (at least with mine, others’ commenting on this thread, and the author’s of the linked article). I find this interesting in the abstract.

It's fine to use he/him for a male pseudonym.

However, in an article in which you speculate about the real identity behind a pseudonym, suggesting any possible gender or plurality, you should use /they/, this being the whole point of what your doing.

Can you link a style guide that captures this norm? I usually consider pseudonyms to function like a pointer to the real person when the real person is in scope. If my HN handle was JaneAustism and I was being referenced in a discussion about things pertaining to my meatspace identity and I was a male, I would expect to be described with masculine pronouns. If the discussion was not related to my meatspace identity, I would, in a pseudonymous context, not expect to be referred to as she/her just because my handle contains a female name. My gender is likely irrelevant (or at least unknown) in that context and I would expect they/them.

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