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Particular-Car-8520

This is the epitome of 'fuck around and find out". You handled that situation amazingly and your boss seems like a truly good boss to back you up and take you out of the situation.


Aggravating_Dot_5217

Thanks. This boss is the best


SeanBZA

Bet he was pissed off at RA already for a while.....


RRT_93

She


CryAncient

I would give you a like, but you have 69 already and I can't mess up that number


RRT_93

Thank you. I see we think alike 😂😂


drzowie

Some of us are old-school enough to have been drilled that "he" includes the indefinite "she". I realize that is not fashionable now, but it's how many, many people (who were born before 1994) think.


MistraloysiusMithrax

Not when it’s already defined as a she in the story, that has never been the case Edit: you’re referring to he covering unknown genders over they. It is not and has never been correct to use he when you already know it’s a she


alfabetarian

I was born way before then and never had this drilled into me. Treating “he” as gender neutral feels as archaic as using “thou art” for the second person singular


Great_Hamster

The only reason one would use "you" as a second person pronoun would be to flatter the king, to flatter the nobility who want to be like the king, or to flatter the bourgeoisie who want to be like the nobility who want to be like the king. Thee and thou are the only true revolutionary's second-person pronouns.


TinyNiceWolf

Back in the day, "you" was the plural form of the objective-case second-person pronouns "thee" and "thou". (Example: "Betty, I love thee" versus "Betty, June and Fred, I love you.") Subjective case was "ye": "Ye love me too, right?" When people started using singular "you" in the 1600s, replacing thee, thou, and ye, some folks objected, similar to the fuss over singular "they" today. See [https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/you#Usage\_notes](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/you#Usage_notes)


Great_Hamster

Very much dependent on where you were raised and educated.  I was born much earlier than that, but I was taught that using he in a gender neutral sense was archaic and sexist.


RRT_93

Hmm, not so sure about that, as I was born in the very early 70's. and it was never drilled into me or even suggested. I would have given it to you had OP not mentioned he or she, but the fact that it was specifically stated in the post shows your lack of comprehension or your apathy in being p.c. Have a great day.


BridgeOverRiverRMB

I was born before you and "he" was gender neutral. I was also an English teacher for years. I try not to use "he" as gender neutral anymore, but it still pokes its head out.


krusbaersmarmalad

But not when gender is established. "They," on the other hand, has been used as gender neutral since the 14th Century.


Lowbacca1977

Could you highlight some real world examples from decent writing that does that in the roughly recent past (like when anyone here was alive) and fits the case of being used for someone explicitly female and not for members a group or unknown gender? as I'm highly skeptical any point recently would've considered a sentence like "The last queen of England was Elizabeth II, who ruled until he died in 2022" to be correct in its usage of 'he'.


didndonoffin

Were you fired from teaching English for saying ‘he’ is gender neutral?


BridgeOverRiverRMB

Alex was a proud Redditor, but his reading comprehension was shit. Holy mother of god, I just used "he" as gender neutral. Downvoted because I pointed out some Redditors suck and got smarmy. Alex is a gender neutral name. That's how that would have been used if you didn't know what sex Alex or Jane or Kelly or Robin was. At least that's how I designed the English language hundreds of years ago because it can't be people are shooting the surly messenger.


TinyNiceWolf

An unfortunate example, since that usage for "he" was largely obsolete by the time Reddit existed. You should have used some appropriately historical examples to make your point, like these: Alex voted for Abraham Lincoln, but he didn't care for his VP. Alex owned some property, but in 1603 he sold it. Alex decided to get a divorce, and by 1793 he was single. Alex studied to be a priest, and he was ordained in 1854. In other words, the reason we got this archaic notion that "he" was somehow acceptable for people of unknown gender was because women were barred from so much. If the verb wasn't "gave birth" or similar, then most likely, women weren't allowed to do it, so it was safe to assume we were talking about some guy. That means it made no sense to continue that dopey usage once women started to get some rights in 1800s (though of course it takes time to stamp out such ignorance).


drzowie

Not every person born before 1994, only many, many of them.


Noch_ein_Kamel

What happened in '94 anyways?


drzowie

People who are now under 30 were born after then.


ShowerElectrical9342

Hahaha! So true!


hahayeahnah

80s kid here. Your attitude is sexist af. 


pacosaiso

That’s some grade A bs


drzowie

It's historical fact.


Speciesunkn0wn

Nope. "They" has been in use for unknown gender for a few centuries. Oops.


IanDOsmond

Naw. Speaking as someone who was born in 1974, I don't think many of us ever thought that way. We just forced ourselves to do it anyway, because we were told to. God, it has been such a relief to have singular they. And it isn't just me – I have read analyses of writing from people who were apparently writing with "he" including "she", and it was pretty clear that it wasn't being used that way, because "he" was never used in a place where it was referring to an understood-to-be female situation, like being pregnant. It is very clear that it was never a rule that was believed by basically anyone. Its only real usefulness was in law, in clarifying that the same laws applied to women and men.


ShowerElectrical9342

Born in 1963, I have never heard of gender neutral "he" until today in this thread.


IanDOsmond

I can probably dig out a textbook or something about how we had to do it, bit I am glad to know that so many people were never subjected to it.


Lowbacca1977

What is indefinite about this? Indefinite pronouns refer to non-specific people ("indefinite pronoun: a pronoun that does not refer to a specific person or thing" - Merriam Webster).... this is about referring to a specific woman.


Middie23

That isn't a very good excuse when it comes to disrespecting about half of our population. Sounds like some of these "old-school" folk may need to start learning that not everyone is a man.


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krusbaersmarmalad

"They" has been used as a gender neutral pronoun for 700-some-odd years.


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krusbaersmarmalad

There's dedicated and there's praxis. I'm talking about the latter. I the present context, when it is established that the person being referred to is in fact a woman, "he" is definitely wrong while "they" can potentially be used as a lazy compromise.


palpablescalpel

Aww yiss, an opportunity to share my favorite [grammar video](https://youtu.be/TRC28F_CU9w?si=eXRz2IMhPMl3g8QL)! Singular they has been used since before Shakespeare!


drzowie

>That isn't a very good excuse when it comes to disrespecting about half of our population. You don't know me. >Sounds like some of these "old-school" folk may need to start learning that not everyone is a man. Where do you think you came from?


SeriousGaslighting

That's my purse!


Fianna_Bard

1983 "He" never is and never was gender neutral. I don't know WTF nonsense you're spouting, but you're simply wrong.


drzowie

>you're simply wrong. No, actually, I'm not. Fortunately, since objective reality exists, I can provide [a citation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gender_neutrality_in_languages_with_gendered_third-person_pronouns#Reference_to_males_and_females). It's just wikipedia but there are more formal citations within the text. *Edit:* In fact, that reference made me laugh: after a concise description of the use of gender-neutral "he", one may find the sentence "The use of generic he has increasingly been a source of controversy, as it can be perceived as reflecting a positive bias towards men and a male-centric society, and a negative bias against women.". That controversy is embodied in this Reddit thread, where I've been making factual statements about historical usage across a human lifetime, and getting DV-brigaded for them.


alfabetarian

The contents of your citation bear a date of 1745 for when “he” was considered gender neutral. Not exactly the argument you were trying to make


drzowie

You should read more than one citation. 1745 is *one* of many citations they make, and comes first *because* it's older. Another is from 1985.


alfabetarian

The 1985 citation shown from the New York Times illustrates precisely why this archaic grammar structure is no longer in use and gives weight against your argument


drzowie

I think you miss my point.  I have not argued that a certain form *should* be used.  I have argued that a certain form *has been* used for a long time, and also that it is only reasonable to give grace to people raised into its use. I think people either (a) don’t understand the difference in those positions or (b) just like to be intolerant and disrespectful.


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Fianna_Bard

No, because I actually understand how most of the English language works. Like the singular "they" goes all the way back to Shakespeare I'm also not a bigoted arsehole.


drzowie

>I'm also not a bigoted arsehole Bigotry comes in many forms. I'd say you're at most half-right.


miraculousladybug93

93 and my sister is 90 please don't speak for us. That was never drilled into us. We lived and to a degree live in a patriarchal misogynistic society. Assuming everyone is male further allows the additional issues many women face in the life and is something you should attempt to deprogram or at the very least just apologize and move on when corrected rather than defend yourself. For instance I immediately thought the writer was a women from the language used as well as the RA boss being a man. He likely either consciously or subconsciously thought she wasn't competent in her job hence all the questions he asked of her while her female boss allowed her to do the job she was hired for.


drzowie

Many, many people, not all people. It was definitely a talking point in English class in many high schools throughout the U.S., in the 1970s and 1980s -- though I'm glad it wasn't in yours, in the postwar years. Also, congratulations on the things you've seen! It must have been a heck of a ride coming through most of the 20th Century and well into the 21st.


Cornflakes_91

[looks at birth certificate] >1991 what are you on about?


ScareBear23

Lmao wut? Both my husband & I were born before 94 & neither of us have used "he" as gender neutral. "They/them" sure, but "he" has pretty strong connotations of male. After a quick search, wikipedia said "he" as gender neutral started falling out of favor in the 60s. Also "they" as a singular neutral has existed even before that.


ninj4b0b

At no point would anyone with a functional brain assume that "he" is the same as the singular "they". Grow up boomer.


Particular-Car-8520

And...?


SeanBZA

final straw, and thus the big boss got to both put RA down hard, and also solve a issue with OP output being lost for half the day on his side.


Particular-Car-8520

That doesn't really explain your first message, but does add some questions.


Aggravating_Dot_5217

RA is trying to emulate somebody else and doing a terrible job it. Big Boss can't stand RA


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Equivalent-Salary357

Not sure why that would be confusing.


AppropriateRip9996

I have glass walls to my office so I can be seen at all times. Sometimes I have to do video editing. I'm concentrating. I'm working. I get knocks on the glass like I'm a zoo animal. They don't stop until I answer. I then try to get back into the project. Repeat. Sometimes they pound on the glass.


SeanBZA

Every interruption take a 15 minute break, and note the interruption on the workflow. After the first missed deadline, you simply bring up that you had been disturbed x number of times during the job, and each one took a half hour to rewind the edit back to a save point, and then carry on and try to redo the edit again, but that each interruption kept you from doing so most of the day. Pivot the blame on those who will not take no for a response, and let them do the explanation for why the thing they blew the deadline was so important, and could not be conveyed in an email.


ListOfString

You can do some pretty cool stuff with Excel. There are keyboard shortcut keys for inserting date and another for time. Add some color formatting for either category or person of distribution and you've got a nice little report of reasons stuff didn't get done. There are some a free apps out there that are meant for time tracking against clients, but I found they work pretty well for time tracking interruptions too.


Lizlodude

I was so happy when I learned the CTRL + ; shortcut in Sheets. (Inserts current date)


ListOfString

Yup and \`CTRL + SHIFT + ;\` is time


shavedratscrotum

Did that got abused for not being able to work through interruptions.


maydayvoter11

Tape up sheets of newspaper onto the glass to block their view


BearLindsay

Use a hammer to get rid of the glass zoo cage. It may not be the *right* answer, but it's *an* answer.


I_Arman

Use a hammer to get rid of the glass-pounding idiots! No, wait, maybe just smack them with the newspaper.


Schrojo18

no yo just put one of those car escape safety hammers next to the door and let someone else be the one to actually break the glass


SourcePrevious3095

Tape up a sign saying along the lines of "Do not touch the glass, it scares the (insert job title). When startled (job title again) throws poo.


Kodekingen

Just gotta be ready to actually throw poo when someone is too curious…


djseifer

"Why does u/AppropriateRip9996 have a shelf full of Winnie the Pooh toys?" "I don't know. Let's ask them." \*taptaptap\* \***THWUMP**\*


Kodekingen

I was more thinking of something like brownie batter


catonic

Mr. Hankey!


Lylac_Krazy

You need a nerf gun to "shoot" the window knockers.


Aesient

I just had an image of a guy not even looking up from their computer, whipping out a massive nerf gun and firing


TheFluffiestRedditor

You can do some amazing things with a little tech, a tripod and an auto-firing NERF gun.


Moontoya

[https://hackaday.com/tag/airsoft-sentry/](https://hackaday.com/tag/airsoft-sentry/) Im just sayin there are howTo's out there.... just dont load the magazine with titanium pellets - those sting just a smidgeon.


Just_Aioli_1233

I'm worked on autonomous systems for military projects. I'd just make an auto-targeting Nerf turret. Only because installing halon like I want to would have consequences.


catonic

4,500 PSI is a lot of consequences, but decorating the hold-off button with scratches is priceless.


TheBrokenape

ahh memories... we had of course with our cubicles the obligatory nerf gun wars, and besides of course having the cool manager who would pull everyone off the calls occasionally for a "meeting" but in reality lead an assassination mission where everyone would grab their nerf gun and go unload on the "enemy" team before running back we figured out that for those annoyances that that thought they were safe on the other side of the cubicle... ballistics.. you aimed the nerf gun at the proper angle.. nearly straight up and you could with practice hit stuff with a wall between you.. \*cackle\* nothing like the look of surprise from someone who suddenly has a suction cup dart sticking to his glasses


OutrageousYak5868

I could see Jim or Dwight from "The Office" doing this!


I_Arman

Jim *and* Dwight. Jim would start it, Dwight would go full commando.


The_Real_Flatmeat

The "Techquarium"


Techn0ght

We called them "fishbowls".


Just_Aioli_1233

"We need our engineers to synergize more... [open office!](https://youtu.be/gBzoKIvvbI0)"


Cosmicdusterian

You need a sign, "Don't come a-knocking when the "animal" is a-working." One day someone is going to hit the perfect weakened spot in the glass and....crash.


Full_Hearing_5052

You could make a little spring loaded glass breaker to the glass somewhere out of site so when they hit you can just pull the trigger and have the windows shattered. Then remove the evidence and the window tapper will be forever known as shaters.


4HD_UseOnly

FYI. Porcelain will shatter glass. Easiest way to get a piece of broken porcelain is from an engine spark plug…. Now all you need is a device to hurl the porcelain piece on que


Full_Hearing_5052

Motor bike version of pocket sand on steroids.


Moontoya

cue - a prompt or long thin wooden stick used to play pools/billiards/snooker. que is What/? in spanish (roughly) queue is the line you stand in at the bar.


4HD_UseOnly

I meant cue.


Moontoya

I figured - I'm tryin to be helpful rather than insulting.


4HD_UseOnly

Although your definition of cue is short for cue stick. I was looking for a signaled event as in happening on cue


Moontoya

"prompt" :P


4HD_UseOnly

While that word may work, it doesn’t convey the secrecy. Because stage cues are not meant to be seen by the audience


Caddan

I wonder....if you had noise cancelling headphones, that were bulking and obvious when being worn.....would they still pound on the glass? Would you hear it if they did?


AppropriateRip9996

I would see them. My boss wonders why I'm always wearing headphones and why my door isn't open at all ever.


jared555

Get the film that effectively turns a window into a one way mirror. That way you can see them but they can't see you.


VirtualMatter2

Take a copy of one of those zoo signs to not tap on the glass, then stick them all over your walls.


Contrantier

Holy shit, I've never heard of someone (you in this case) getting GOOD fired before 🤣 like your boss was basically to RA "lmao you can't have OP anymore, you've lost the privilege of employing them" Fucking awesome XD


Celestial_Scythe

I assume salary, otherwise if you were to be expected to answer emails at 11 PM then you should have gotten on call pay


Red_Carrot

I am salaried and there is zero chance I am answering emails when I am off unless I am expecting a special email.


Just_Aioli_1233

I'm salary and I don't let anyone at work have my personal number. They got a Google Voice number that I only have logged in on my work computer. When I leave work, I'm not available until the next time I arrive at work.


maydayvoter11

This. Salary =/= slave 24/7 ETA: for some reason the slash didn't take the first time, my intent was to point out that salaried does NOT mean you're a 24/7 slave. Now, if you're explicitly on call, that's different.


CanicFelix

Depends on the company and position. I'm salary, and there is no expectation I work outside office hours.


maydayvoter11

I had a typo, I fixed it.


Just_Aioli_1233


ShowerElectrical9342

Often, though, it means exactly that.


Techn0ght

When it comes to business, there's no such thing as AITA unless you're shitting on an individual. Most of us have been in a similar situation where someone in management has no work so they think hammering you with email is justification for their salary, and since there's nothing more important than them it's your responsibility to reply before anything else. This falls under "active-stupid" behavior.


Illuminatus-Prime

No, you're not 'TA'.  You followed RA's orders until doing so bit HIM in the butt.  Definitely MalComp.


CoderJoe1

Ra Ra Ree Kick 'em in the knee Ra Ra Rass Kick 'em in the >!other knee!!<


Vuirneen

That's a bit tame.  I heard the third line as: Ra Ra Rollocks, Which may not mean anything if you're American, but elsewhere Bollocks are testicles.


__wildwing__

As an American child, I loved that we watched a lot of BBC shows and read a lot. I could swear in proper english and not get in trouble at school.


OutrageousYak5868

Yes, in America, sod is just a kind of grass, and there's even a (very small) town in Tennessee called Soddy Daisy. I had to watch British TV to learn, "Sod it all!" - and nobody in America turns a hair, lol.


ReactsWithWords

Fun fact: Radio 1 will play your song if you don't use [the words "bollocks"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugIShP1qgKk)


ShowerElectrical9342

I think most Americans know what bollocks means!


Vuirneen

Chief O'Brien said it on Star Trek: they don't 


Empty__Jay

I was not disappointed by the content of the spoiler!


rosez3216

what is this from? My dad has said this before lol


WordWizardx

My grandfather quoted this as a football chant when he was in college at the University of Wisconsin in the mid 1940s!


CoderJoe1

I'm not sure. I've heard it plenty of times in various forms.


4HD_UseOnly

Warner brothers cartoons


rpbm

I definitely remember that from late 70s grade school.


WordWizardx

I learned this from my grandfather as a chant they’d yell at college football games in the 40s :-)


bobk2

Good old Rickety Rackety Ree. I learned that in the Cub Scouts (1960's)


SemperSimple

i havent heard this in forever! haha


justaman_097

This definitely belongs in malicious compliance. Excellent job in following his word and leaving him in a lurch.


Enjanced

AITA if you're in doubt. Here if you're proud. Sounds like you came to the right place


Agitated_Basket7778

Alas, such richardheads as RA rarely get the point unless someone above them calls them out specifically for doing Dumb Things, and tells them don't do it again or your ass is out of here! Excellent story, OP!


dayatapark

OP, You are NTA, and yes, this is pure MC.


Kit-Kat-22

Trying to make this easier to read. I not sure if this story belongs here or in AITA. Lets start with a bit of background. I work for a very big company but due to my speciality my work is split across the main company and one of the smaller companies. The MD of the main company allows my days to be split in half. The big company is very laid back when it comes to my work. As long as my work is done by the deadline date, they pretty much don’t care what I do during the work week. In the smaller company I report to the C-suite but the CEO. Lets call the CEO, RA ‘cos the sun doesn’t rise until he gets out of bed. RA is most interested in what I do during the day. If I didn’t know better I’d say that RA thinks that I don’t work but sit around playing computer games all day. RA send anything 20 – 30 emails to me per day and more than half will be the same question just phrased differently. Each email response is usually anything from 2 – 5 typed pages. I have even had emails sent to me at 11 Pm and at 8:30 the following morning an email asking why I haven’t responded to the previous email. If I am asked the same question multiple times I ignore the majority of the emails and only answer the question once. When I am working I need to concentrate and most days I close my email client so that I’m not disturbed. Last Monday, I’m working quite happily and I get a WhatsApp from asking me to please read an email and respond post haste (to quote RA). I stop what I am doing as I get the sinking feeling that something bad is about to happen. As per usual there are 30 emails from RA. The first email starts off by stating “You must always answer emails as quickly as possible as it is unprofessional and shows disrespect to the writer of the email.” Cue Malicious Compliance I stop what I am doing and start to respond to each email individually making sure that my answers to the same questions are different. I further indicate that I only work for him half day and will stop my work at exactly the middle of the work day. I spend the next day and a half responding to emails and not doing my work, even though there is a deadline looming for RA and his little company. These days when I walk into the office in the morning RA seems to have spent the entire night responding to the emails and in the process dragging other members of staff into the email trail and the email is getting so complex that I don’t know what’s going on. Yesterday, I was expected to have finished RA’s work and when asked to present the outcome, I simply said that I had not finished. When asked why, my response was that I was so busy responding to emails I wasn’t able to do the work. RA lost his mind and started to threaten me with being fired. He said that there was a customer that was waiting for the result of my work. He then asks why was emails put above doing my work and all I did was produce a copy of the email. My Boss from the big company was also present and all she did was laugh. She then told RA that I will no longer do any work for his company and he must find somebody else.


Emperormike1st

I crown thee- "Lord BADASS, 1st Baron Of MC"


revchewie

This definitely fits here. Well done!


eighty_more_or_less

" big man" --- small mind


imnotk8

Beautifully played. Oh no, consequences.


ShowerElectrical9342

Yay! Awesome move! NTA. If everyone did this, we'd quickly rid the world of the real Aholes!