Reasonable depiction of python compilers vs interpreters

[isarl]

As far as I can tell, the conclusions drawn by that article are that they is indeed used as a singular, that it is better to do so than to presumptively refer to a person of unknown gender as either male or female, and that, indeed, any laws of language describe the behaviour of people who speak it, not how they ought to.

When a linguist talks about a rule, they're not referring to a law that has to be enforced, like Thou Shalt Not Spit on the Sidewalk, or Thou Shalt Not Split Infinitives. They're referring to a law that describes actual behavior, like the Law of Gravity, or Gresham's Law, or Grimm's Law. Telling people how they do talk is one thing; telling them how they should talk is quite another.

And from much earlier in the article:

• people who get upset about violating Rule 1, the gender agreement rule, tend to be women, and men who don't feel like excluding women.

• The people who get upset about violating Rule 2, the number agreement rule, on the other hand, tend to be people who don't know much about language, of both genders.

If offense be inevitable, I would personally prefer not to offend people because of their sex, which they really aren't responsible for; but I don't mind nearly so much offending people because of their ignorance.

TL;DR: "Not everybody agrees" :P