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Hannelore

Winslow (tablet chassis)

Tai

Momo (chibi chassis)

Emily Azuma

Gabby

Claire

Elliot

Momo (current chassis)

Sam Bean

Lydia

May

Melon

Winslow (current chassis)

Tilly

Harriet a.k.a. "Sweet tits"

[Meilu]

You know what does not make me want to be gracious about respecting someone’s wishes when it comes to personal pronouns?

They aren't wishes. They just are. Everyone's pronouns just are what they are. If you don't use them, you're an asshole. Full stop. It doesn't matter if you like them, or like what they do or how they act. You have a choice to use someone's minority status against them (like a bigot) or not. They don't have a choice in pronouns. Not really. Not like you think.

This sequence feels to me painfully overextended, uninteresting, and as if I’m being forceably “playfully” elbowed to the effect of “this wacky new character sure is loveable for such an unwanted annoyance right RIGHT especially because TOLERANCE right RIGHT?!?!”

Not everyone is going to like every character. Showing different types of people isn't pushing some nefarious agenda about "tolerance". You sure seem worked up about this. Have you considered reading a comic that's got nothing but straight white men in it so you can be comfortable again?

[Y]

Finnish is handy in that, we only have one singular 3rd person pronoun, "Hän". Altho' the colloquial use of "Se", which originally means "It", is sadly getting more approval.

In dutch we have zij/hen/hun  (she & they / them & chick / their), so that's what I kept in mind when I was questioning being non-binary.

About today's comic, is this Hanners punishing herself for calling their name wrong, Bart Simpson style?

[oddtail]

About today's comic, is this Hanners punishing herself for calling their name wrong, Bart Simpson style?

I'm assuming this is between that and her trying to repeat it enough times to form an association strong enough that she doesn't keep automatically going for the wrong name.

Sort of a "listening to a song on a loop to get another song out of your head" type of situation.

[lawoot]

If you call me "cisgender", then I am offended. I do not accept this silly term, as it is one that was applied to me without my consent.

[oddtail]

If you call me "cisgender", then I am offended. I do not accept this silly term, as it is one that was applied to me without my consent.

It's your right to be offended by anything, I suppose, but the description is factually correct (assuming you ARE cisgender). You might say you get offended by being called a human, but the term is not inherently offensive, nor can it be interpreted as such...

Or, to put it another way, a straight person might say they're offended by someone describing them as "heterosexual", but it doesn't change the fact that they, y'know, ARE heterosexual.

If you're not cisgender and identify as something else, that's a different matter, of course. Do you?

[Y]

Or, to put it another way, a straight person might say they're offended by someone describing them as "heterosexual", but it doesn't change the fact that they, y'know, ARE heterosexual.

I would suppose, that a straight person could be offended to be called "a heterosexual" as if that's all they are, however if they're called "a heterosexual person" that wouldn't be the case. (feel free to change "heterosexual" with anything)

[lawoot]

My point is that the term"cisgender" didn't exist until recently, and the people that started using it were NOT the "cisgendered" themselves. I Identify as male (an asexual male, but a male nonetheless).

[Welu]

A quick Google says that cis in terms of gender was originally used in German in 1914 by a cis man and then in English in the 90s. My quick look at the prominent names on the Wikipedia turn up one person openly identifying as trans of the five mentioned. Cis, the term itself has been used in other contexts and is originally Latin for "on this side of". Trans as well. These words existed and had usage before being applied to gender. Similar to hetero and homo before sexuality. Not that they need to be invented by the Official Word Board to be valid.

That said, I wonder how recently, relative to the use of cis, and if it was trans people who first started calling themselves trans or an outside group. Hmm.

[Is it cold in here?]

@Bleeds_Daylight, Welcome new person!

Global Moderator Comment

The issue of what to call people whose hypothalamus matches their bits has come up before. We're going to continue with "cis" and "cisgender" because our research says they are practical and neutral. Most of the time it will never come up because there are only a few places on the forum where gender identity is relevant to anything.

(I find "cisgender" too useful to be "silly". )

[oddtail]

Or, to put it another way, a straight person might say they're offended by someone describing them as "heterosexual", but it doesn't change the fact that they, y'know, ARE heterosexual.

I would suppose, that a straight person could be offended to be called "a heterosexual" as if that's all they are, however if they're called "a heterosexual person" that wouldn't be the case. (feel free to change "heterosexual" with anything)

Good point. It's like calling a gay person "a gay". It just sounds a bit off.

(speaking of which, because it's related: in English "gay" is by default an adjective. The Polish equivalent is a noun and only a noun. And there's not really a short, simple word to use as an adjective without sounding semi-offensive or kinda weird.

I've long wondered how that impacts the perception of a person "being a certain way" vs a person "being something", and whether the difference actually impacts how people in Poland view gay people, at least in a minor way.)

[Jakk Frost]

On the "cisgender" debate:  It's like the term "negro" which is considered offensive - these days at least - when all it really is, is the Spanish word for black.  And there was a time it was considered the politically correct thing to say, hence the formation of the United Negro College Fund.  Then it was "black" that was the PC thing to say, then that became a racist term and the new thing was "African American", except now that's not PC, because many black people don't come from Africa, and visiting Africans take offense to being called "African American, and the proper term is once again "black".

The point is, offense can only be taken, not given.  Most SJW-types deliberately try to use "cis" and "cisgender" as pejoratives, ie "woman-hating, rape-apologizing, incest-supporting, cis pieces of s**t scum!". (While ironically not realizing that the term also applies to homosexual people).  Therefore I choose not to take offense, because that's exactly what those kind of people want.

On today's page:  Bad Tilly, bad!  That's not standing on your head, that's a handstand! 

[OldGoat]

Marten should be intuitive enough to have picked up on Hannelore's view of the situation.

As an intuition-challenged person I find this offensive.

[USS Martenclaire]

Ummm.....I vaguely recall this forum being a fairly chill place for peoples of all identities. Where did all the hostility come from? D:

[swapna]

I presume that not calling Tilly by their name was okay was a) because it was a running gag and b) they're  not actually that likable as a character. Which made them the Other, the corporate drone,  Beatrices brainwashed leash sicced on Hannelore - less than human. When they asked for their  correct name? Fuck them, they didn't deserve it. 

Tilly asking for the correct pronouns,  however, makes them human to a lot of people here. Suddenly, the first time someone uses the wrong ones they get corrected.

It is hilarious, though,  and hypocritical. I still think the arc/character aren't great, and Tilly isn't sympathetic to me, but that was/is hilarious to watch.

Of course refusing someone their name is just as dehumanising as denying them their pronouns, if not more so; it is their identity, after all.

[OldGoat]

Would you ever consider not respecting a cis person's pronouns because you didn't like them? That tends to be something only even thought of for nonbinary and trans people.

Clearly you were:

• Never in the military, or
• Had an unusually mellow drill instructor, or
• Have forgotten the DI yelling, "Let's go, girls!  Move it!  Move it!!  MOVE IT!!!"

(PE coaches do it, too, or at least did when I was in junior high.)

[TheEvilDog]

I presume that not calling Tilly by their name was okay was a) because it was a running gag and b) she's not actually that likable as a character. Which made her the Other, the corporate drone,  Beatrices brainwashed leash sicced on Hannelore - less than human. When they asked for their  correct name? Fuck them, they didn't deserve it. 

Tilly asking for the correct pronouns,  however, makes them human to a lot of people here. Suddenly, the first time someone uses the wrong ones they get corrected.

It is hilarious, though,  and hypocritical. I still think the arc/character aren't great, and Tilly isn't sympathetic to me, but that was/is hilarious to watch.

Of course refusing someone their name is just as dehumanising as denying them their pronouns, if not more so; it is their identity, after all.

It is also about respect. Respect is one of those human qualities where you don't have to like someone but you can still show respect. It costs nothing, it hurts no one and its still the right thing to do.

Tilly might not be a particularly popular character, but the instant they say what pronouns they would like people to use, respect that request. Yes, they might be a fictional character, but it is still a good habit to develop. We have a number of non-binary people on the forum, and misgendering people shows them disrespect as well, which frankly riles me up more than Tilly has.

People don't ask for a lot in life, just a little respect and it goes a long way. Those who are quite aggressive in the forum are the exception, not the rule and hopefully things will calm down in the next couple of days and hopefully they will remember that respect goes both ways. If they can't show it, they won't get it.

[swapna]

I presume that not calling Tilly by their name was okay was a) because it was a running gag and b) they're not actually that likable as a character. Which made them the Other, the corporate drone,  Beatrices brainwashed leash sicced on Hannelore - less than human. When they asked for their  correct name? Fuck them, they didn't deserve it. 

Tilly asking for the correct pronouns,  however, makes them human to a lot of people here. Suddenly, the first time someone uses the wrong ones they get corrected.

It is hilarious, though,  and hypocritical. I still think the arc/character aren't great, and Tilly isn't sympathetic to me, but that was/is hilarious to watch.

Of course refusing someone their name is just as dehumanising as denying them their pronouns, if not more so; it is their identity, after all.

It is also about respect. Respect is one of those human qualities where you don't have to like someone but you can still show respect. It costs nothing, it hurts no one and its still the right thing to do.

Tilly might not be a particularly popular character, but the instant they say what pronouns they would like people to use, respect that request. Yes, they might be a fictional character, but it is still a good habit to develop. We have a number of non-binary people on the forum, and misgendering people shows them disrespect as well, which frankly riles me up more than Tilly has.

People don't ask for a lot in life, just a little respect and it goes a long way. Those who are quite aggressive in the forum are the exception, not the rule and hopefully things will calm down in the next couple of days and hopefully they will remember that respect goes both ways. If they can't show it, they won't get it.

Holy crap I used her a few times. Not on purpose though; I'll change it up right away, but that was a mistake.

And I agree on the respect thing, which is why it annoyed me so much when people kept calling them different names, especially since in-comic they corrected Hanners more than once. Why would you see misnaming as okay?

[Is it cold in here?]

Few people and maybe none thought it was OK for Hannelore to get Ms. Birch's name wrong when we thought it might be deliberate.

Mis-naming her on the forum was part of the comic's running gag, but "OK" was too strong a word for something that made so many people uncomfortable.

[Thrudd]

Is the character, that seems to irritate a number of people like the high pitched whine of a mosquito in the room, getting shorter?
Standing on her hands with arms extended she is as long tall as Marten is tall [double checks spelling]

[NemesisDancer]

Then it was "black" that was the PC thing to say, then that became a racist term and the new thing was "African American", except now that's not PC, because many black people don't come from Africa, and visiting Africans take offense to being called "African American, and the proper term is once again "black".

I once encountered someone who said he'd been told off by someone online for referring to himself as "black" and not "African American". He was British.

Is the character, that seems to irritate a number of people like the high pitched whine of a mosquito in the room, getting shorter?
Standing on her hands with arms extended she is as long tall as Marten is tall [double checks spelling]

I was thinking that Marten looks as though he's shrunk a bit - his waist and legs seem shorter than usual.

[Bad Superman]

Hello, and greetings from Germany.
I'm sorry, but my first post here will be a rather negative one...


I don't like Tilly, and I don't see that I ever will. Here's why:

1.: Tilly is a comic relief character... and bad one at that
Tilly follows the "stupid and/or incompetent and/or clumsy and/or annoying = funny" formula, and frankly, I hate characters like that. Especially when they are designed to "fail upwards", meaning that they can say or do stuff that just makes you want to scream at the screen "NO, you stupid fuck!", and, through sheer luck or several inches of plot armor, still come out on top. I call it "the Jar Jar Binks Syndrome". Let me explain:

When we first meet him, Jar Jar has been exiled by his own people because of his clumsiness and stupidity! Yet he "wins" the battle against the robot army on Naboo and becomes a war hero, even though he should have been the first one to go down with the first shot fired. The only reason he survived is, that in the mind of George Lucas he was "the Chewbacca for a new generation! Oh, the fans will love Jar Jar!" Later Jar Jar even becomes a Representative in the Galactic Senate. How? What does he know about being a diplomat? What knowledge does he possess in this highly complex (and sometimes dangerous) field of work?

Sure, we have seen Tilly showing some mad negotiating skills, but "skilled" does not equal "competent". Jar Jar was skilled at foraging in the wilderness. He could have survived on his own. But overall he was a stupid and incompetent character that was protected by the plot. Like Tilly.

A competent Tilly would not have forced themselves into Hannelores private life the way they did. A competent Tilly would have done their homework better, by maybe doing more than just reading a dossier. A competent Tilly would have shown basic empathy towards another human being! I mean, come on, they have been specifically told to disregard Hannelores objections, even when threatened with being removed by the police (or murdered), and they agree with that??? No... Just no!

2.: Tilly adds nothing to the QC universe
Tilly is a plot device. A MacGuffin. A simple catalyst for other characters (mainly Hannelore) to become active in some way or another. Nothing more. This could have been achieved in many other ways. What if Winslow was starting to act weird? Maybe there's something wrong with his new chassis... What if Hanners had fallen down some stairs and both of her arms get broken. Now she's suddenly forced out of her comfort zone. Maybe the others try to take care of her while constantly working around her many OCDs. What happens when Mom and Dad get the news that "the heiress" is injured?
Tillys non-binary-ness is the only thing that make them stand out, but it really adds nothing to them. Go back an read the whole arc from the beginning, now that you know about Tillys preferred pronouns. Does it make any difference? Does it, in retrospect, make Tilly more likeable, or their behaviour any less outrageous?

3.: The QC cast is already big enough as it is.
The QC Wiki lists 138 pages for characters alone. This includes the ones that may have only shown up once and/or played a miniscule role - Doras cat Mieville has its own page - but nonetheless. Even if we say that only 10% of those are really part of the main cast, that would still leave us with ~14 characters to write stories for. Make that 15% and you have ~20 characters. One would think this is more than enough. Why not flesh out an already introduced character instead of adding yet another one to the QC universe?


TL;DR: Tilly reminds me of an overtly exited puppy, especially with them trying to climb over the counter and their almost insane eagerness to please Hannelore, even in the face of severe opposition. I'm sure this was done to make them look cute, but for me it did exactly the opposite. This character is broken. Even if they show some redeeming qualities in the future, I don't think I could warm up to them.
I just want Tilly gone.

Regards
Bad Supes


PS: This them/they stuff really needs some getting used to. It feel like I'm being intentionally rude to someone. Also, in german this would make no sense grammatically. The plural form of almost everything uses the female pronoun “die” (Die Gruppe = the group), with only very few male and neutral exceptions (Der Schwarm = the swarm; Das Quartett = the quartet). And with neutral I mean the plural form of "it".
I don't know how german non-binary people go about this stuff. I would assume that most of them just use the gendered pronoun they feel more comfortable with, but that is nothing more than speculation on my part. Also, the topic of sexuality, gender identity or sexual orientation is something that just doesn't come up much in an ordinary conversation. It's more of a private thing.

[pwhodges]

in german this would make no sense grammatically. The plural form of almost everything uses the female pronoun “die” (Die Gruppe = the group), with only very few male and neutral exceptions (Der Schwarm = the swarm; Das Quartett = the quartet). And with neutral I mean the plural form of "it".
I don't know how german non-binary people go about this stuff. I would assume that most of them just use the gendered pronoun they feel more comfortable with, but that is nothing more than speculation on my part.

You will find our German and Dutch members discussing this in a thread on the subject.

[Is it cold in here?]

Welcome, new person!

[snufflebottoms]

Would you ever consider not respecting a cis person's pronouns because you didn't like them? That tends to be something only even thought of for nonbinary and trans people.

It's disrespectful, but still a common way to insult people, especially calling a boy a girl (though calling a girl a boy happens too as an insult). Sometimes calling a non-transgender person trans is also used as an insult which gets points for being mean to trans folks and insulting to the person you are misgendering by fact of simply misgendering them. 

No one in the comic has done this with Tilly though. Their name was said wrong but it was because Hanners wasn't hearing the corrections (not surprising considering they were done in a softer voice). Also, Tilly is very grating, so it's likely Hanners was tuning her out a bit too. She did apologize for doing it, so I don't think Hanners is in the wrong anymore.

[DesiArxxy]

The way Tilly talks about the dossier, "Oh. Yes. Right. That was in the dossier." And "... The dossier led me to believe." Strongly suggests they did not write it. So when they say they've done the research, they probably mean that they read the document someone else compiled and told them to read.

That's a fair point, but there's still no evidence at all for other poster's aggressive insistence that Beatrice personally must have wrote the dossier and that therefore it proves this, that, and the other about Beatrice; it would be essentially unheard-of for a top-ranking executive to spend so much time on a "grunt" task like that as opposed to directing their staff to do it.

[Zebediah]

You know, I just thought of an obvious candidate for the author of the dossier. Someone who knows Hannelore from childhood, who would have no trouble churning out 900 pages of trivia about her, and who would not be above including a number of deliberate errors in order to troll Beatrice.

That person is Station.

[DesiArxxy]

You know, I just thought of an obvious candidate for the author of the dossier. Someone who knows Hannelore from childhood, who would have no trouble churning out 900 pages of trivia about her, and who would not be above including a number of deliberate errors in order to troll Beatrice.

That person is Station.

Yes, but Station wouldn't have detailed information on the other people around Hannelore. On the other hand, Station could totally have been one of the sources that Tilly and/or Beatrice's staff consulted in making the dossier.

Station probably legitimately doesn't understand human social mores about privacy, and would thus probably answer very comprehensively to a relatively legitimate request for  so, "Hey, can we have some information about Hannelore so we can choose a good assistant for her?"

[Perfectly Reasonable]

My first response to Tilly was "we are supposed to ship this with Winslow?"

My second response was to see this as a a learning experience for Hannelore.

And now I wonder about the verge escapement.  Don't hold back Brün -- tell us what you really think.

"

[Storel]

On today's page:  Bad Tilly, bad!  That's not standing on your head, that's a handstand!

Thank you! I was going to say that if no one else had yet.

[Perfectly Reasonable]

"The verge escapement was a triumph of mechanism. Robust and reliable, it performed its function admirably.
Yet, looking deeper, there were undeniable flaws. And room for improvement. A major issue with the verge escapement was the necessity for the gear train to be briefly driven backwards as the balance oscillated, contributing to wear and inaccuracy. The verge escapement predates the hairspring, although later versions of the verge escapement did use a hairspring with increased accuracy."

[pwhodges]

My first response to Tilly was "we are supposed to ship this with Winslow?"

"This" => "them" as already discussed. 

Or are you saying that in your mind you initially really did see Tilly as neuter, in which case what does shipping even mean?

[Perfectly Reasonable]

Was I thinking about such a thing?  No, not really. Tilly? Tilly! I saw as a creation of Jeph as a  partner for the new Winslow.  Whose preferred pronoun is ??  (waydaminnit)

I mean no offense to anyone  here.  I  commend the mods for their diligence.

[Gyrre]

I have a name with an unusual spelling, so it is prone to misspelling.

I also have a high voice, so people sometimes mistake me as female over the phone (which can be a real problem when trying to establish that you are who you say you are).

I find the latter more annoying, but maybe because that is rarer.

On a different topic: is a comic with an annoying character a bad comic?

Bonus points for including Star Trek in your answer.

IDK, let's ask Ensign Sue.

On the note of name frustrations, I get to deal with the Daniel-David conflation. And despite my name being over 4000 years old, some people still say it wrong. I get that there's a dozen or so variations but either missing all of them or completely ignoring the one I'm using gets really irritating. "dan-yuh l" not "dah-niel", "dah-nile", and especially not "dan-yel". The last one happens to fall under the 'gender connotations in names' thing here, state-side.

Would you ever consider not respecting a cis person's pronouns because you didn't like them? That tends to be something only even thought of for nonbinary and trans people.

*points at my name in proceeding response*

It happens more than you think. Usually by someone being an asshole or a bully. Being that the feminine version has been used commonly in the English speaking world as a girl's name for just over 100 years, how often do you think that happens? I'll give you a hint: from 1981 to 1996, it was in the top 10nmost popular names in the USA, and it hasn't dipped below #55 in the USA for the last 140 years.

[Gyrre]

All hail Hanners, Queen of Cuteness!

[bhtooefr]

Yeah, misgendering (at least against boys) as a method of bullying was definitely a thing when I was growing up.

Considering that my name has a feminine version with the addition of only one letter/syllable... yeah.

(Funnily enough, a trans friend of mine once decided to try to illustrate to me what misgendering feels like, by doing it to me with a completely different feminine name... I stopped her because I didn't need that illustrated, knowing full well what it was like (and actually I had previously hypothesized on these forums that maybe that's something that might be illustrative, funnily enough), and if she was going to do that, at least use the obvious wrong name.)

[shanejayell]

Tilly is growing on me, at least. 

[Welu]

The difference with the most of the examples people have given in response to my post is that the context is, "I'm calling you what you're not to insult you." Which is shitty for multiple reasons in itself. They're also specifically nouns and name calling.
Some people have mentioned what are genuine errors that happen with frequency due to societal assumptions. Which again are sucky.

The specific instance I was replying to:

You know what does not make me want to be gracious about respecting someone’s wishes when it comes to personal pronouns?

And generally when trans and nonbinary people are misgendered, specifically with pronoun use, is the implication that, "I'm calling you what I think you actually are and to call you what you want is at best a misguided courtesy  (which I will only do if I feel like it) and at worst is indulging a delusion."

[OldGoat]

Tilly is growing on me, at least. 

Yeah, like ringworm.

[OldGoat]

In re Pronouns - "They" in its various forms is too useful as a plural to dilute by using it as a singular.  I've been using as a neuter singular it in writing for 30 years and still find it awkward.  English needs a new neuter singular pronoun.  So, why not nominate one?

Strips like QC really are on the bleeding edge of change as far as how language is used.  Maybe Claire can be the person to say, "'They' is too confusing.  Use '[German|Dutch|Finnish|etc word]' instead."  She has the right standing and she'll be approaching it strictly as a matter of practicality.

[snufflebottoms]

Tilly is growing on me, at least. 

Yeah, like ringworm.

I enjoyed that

[Case]

In re Pronouns - "They" in its various forms is too useful as a plural to dilute by using it as a singular.  I've been using as a neuter singular it in writing for 30 years and still find it awkward.  English needs a new neuter singular pronoun.  So, why not nominate one?

Strips like QC really are on the bleeding edge of change as far as how language is used.

The singular they had emerged by the 14th century and is common in everyday spoken English, but its use has been the target of criticism since the late 19th century. Its use in formal English has increased with the trend toward gender-inclusive language.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singular_they

Bleeding softly, that edge ...

Tilly is growing on me, at least. 

Yeah, like ringworm.

Or fungus.

[bhtooefr]

Bleeding softly, that edge ...

If I read OldGoat's post correctly, they're not saying that singular they is on the cutting edge, but rather that Questionable Content is on the cutting edge (but it's more than just that, QC isn't on the cutting edge, it's slightly behind it, and therefore has more mainstream exposure) and could maybe be used to push a neologism or a loanword for a gender neutral pronoun.

[Gyrre]

The difference with the most of the examples people have given in response to my post is that the context is, "I'm calling you what you're not to insult you." Which is shitty for multiple reasons in itself. They're also specifically nouns and name calling.
Some people have mentioned what are genuine errors that happen with frequency due to societal assumptions. Which again are sucky.

The specific instance I was replying to:

You know what does not make me want to be gracious about respecting someone’s wishes when it comes to personal pronouns?

And generally when trans and nonbinary people are misgendered, specifically with pronoun use, is the implication that, "I'm calling you what I think you actually are and to call you what you want is at best a misguided courtesy  (which I will only do if I feel like it) and at worst is indulging a delusion."

Pronoun use specifically, no. But, I had a year and a half where I was cat-called by a bunch of idiots in a truck every other time I walked to work. At some point one of them must have finally spotted my beard (I don't have a mustache due to psoriasis) because the last time they shouted anything at me as they passed was "Fuckn' trap!" Pretty sure I've mentioned this before.

[Stoutfellow]

In the general area of modes of address and reference: is anyone else bothered by Tilly's referring to "Miss" Ellicott-Chatham?

[TheEvilDog]

In the general area of modes of address and reference: is anyone else bothered by Tilly's referring to "Miss" Ellicott-Chatham?

No, but then again in the context of the situation, "Miss" is an honorific to use if one is not already used, such as "Doctor" or "Dame". And it is short for "Mistress", traditionally a term used for an employer or for all women in general, while "Ms." inferred that a lady was unmarried.

Traditionally in the States, you would use "Miss" to address a woman under the age of 30 and with whom you weren't particularly familiar with. Not to mention that in business "Miss" would have the same connotation as it would with "Mr.", largely due to neither being marital specific.

So Tilly is using a term that is usually respectful towards an employer, if Hanners found offence, she would have told Tilly. As Tilly hasn't been corrected (yet), we can infer that Hanners doesn't mind being called "Miss"

[Is it cold in here?]

Station probably legitimately doesn't understand human social mores about privacy, and would thus probably answer very comprehensively to a relatively legitimate request for  so, "Hey, can we have some information about Hannelore so we can choose a good assistant for her?"

That's a fascinating question.

We know Station has audio pickups all over including bathrooms.

On the other hand he did ask "Are you decent?" before projecting himself in Hannelore's room.

He does know enough about human expectations to put a hologram sock on a doorknob when the people inside are being intimate.

[badbum61]

In the general area of modes of address and reference: is anyone else bothered by Tilly's referring to "Miss" Ellicott-Chatham?

Taff...uh, Tilly's repeated addressing of Hanners as "ma'am" has me wondering - are they the Marcie to Hanners' Peppermint Patty?

[Shjade]

He does know enough about human expectations to put a hologram sock on a doorknob when the people inside are being intimate.

But not enough to know it was inappropriate to publicize an employee's exhibitionist exploits at work without being chastised for it after the fact.

I'd call Station's social perspective "undependable."

[JimC]

And there was a time it was considered the politically correct thing to say...

It might be interesting to consider how fast politically correct language changes and mutates - as it clearly does -  and especially consider the relationship with slang. But its ironic that there would be a definite risk of reaching conclusions that might not be considered politically correct, which arguably makes it a very unsafe area of study in the current academic environment.

[JoeCovenant]

Then it was "black" that was the PC thing to say, then that became a racist term and the new thing was "African American", except now that's not PC, because many black people don't come from Africa, and visiting Africans take offense to being called "African American, and the proper term is once again "black".

I once encountered someone who said he'd been told off by someone online for referring to himself as "black" and not "African American". He was British.

Is the character, that seems to irritate a number of people like the high pitched whine of a mosquito in the room, getting shorter?
Standing on her hands with arms extended she is as long tall as Marten is tall [double checks spelling]

I was thinking that Marten looks as though he's shrunk a bit - his waist and legs seem shorter than usual.

I mentioned this a few days ago...

Tilly's height is all over the place!