David_Gerard comments on Offense versus harm minimization - Less Wrong

60 Post author: Yvain 16 April 2011 01:06AM

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Comment author: XiXiDu 17 April 2011 10:22:04AM *  5 points [-]

I always use "one" as an indefinite pronoun, similar to how I would do it in German. Is that wrong?

...and only if one thinks this has a real chance of stopping the offending behavior either in this case or in the future.

or

...if so, one should nonjudgmentally request the offender stop while applying the Principle of Charity to the offender, and if one wants the maximum chance of the offense stopping, one should resist the urge to demand an apology or do anything else that could potentially turn it into a status game.

Comment author: David_Gerard 17 April 2011 10:41:10AM *  3 points [-]

It's generally correct in English to use "one" as an indefinite pronoun, but it's not common casual usage and is not easy to do smoothly.

Though I would nevertheless consider it preferable every time to using made-up pronouns. Singular "they" generally works more smoothly than either alternative.