h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

A useful rule in many Indo-European languages, which includes most of the languages spoken in Europe, the Americas and Australia, is that names ending in -o are masculine while names ending in -a are feminine. This doesn't always work but can be a little bit of a clue.

V good, v useful with real names (ones that are actual words, coul be found in baby name book) but what happens when people take it upon themselves to make stuff up?

You are... male? (I'm gonna do this to everyone).

-on is a Greek ending for a masculine word. In this case, it is the pointer on a sundial. Coincidentally (or not?) I am male!

Well that's good then.
I think that we tend to instinctively know these things about word segments even if we don't realise it. A name 'just sounds' one way or the other because we are used to names following certain rules.

>> ..following certain rules. << Rules, schmules! Rules are made to be broken. That said, I empathise with your problem. Further, I too am deeply concerned that internet anonymity contributes to the growing general disregard of gender identity. The creeping androgeny of the 20th century seems about to become the impotence of the 21st. All this 'brain to brain' web communciation without corporeal reality can be quite disconcerting. Or it ought to be, to any normal person, who is after all, first and foremost one or the other of two sexes. For this and the several other reasons why 'nicknames' give a false and potentially dangerous reading of a writer's identity I have always just been myself. And have tried to get other people to be more forthcoming: http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/alabaster/F19585?thread=115294&skip=0&show=20 But yes, the absence of gender identity is certainly the most perplexing sin of 'nicknames'. ~jwf~

Me does not smell... ~big sniff~

Greebs.xx

I know you don't smell sweetie.
Hopefully you don't eat rats and molest small furry mammals either. The point is your nickname refers to a fictional character who is not you. (eg I don't often beat up batman or wear black pvc - although awix might be interested if I said I did).

Jwf, I'll read when I have time, but due to the colour of that I implore you to go to http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/classic/F19585?thread=192125 and defend yourself, because it's getting a bit one-sided.