Terry Harper ) gurgled happily, sounding much
like they were saying :

"Annabel Smyth" wrote in message
...

As may be, but I'm no spring chicken, and I well remember using the
"indeterminate they" when I was at school. Normally along the lines of
"Is anybody sitting there?" "Yes, they are!" (meaning the seat was
reserved). In vain did the school staff point out that "She is" would
be more correct than "they are"......

Presumably, the gender of the person sitting there would be known, though?
Can I also guess that it was a girl's school?

Not always the case on Usenet...

Surely the reply should be "Yes, somebody is". In Yorkshire, it would be
"'appen".

So:-

Terry Harper ) gurgled happily, sounding much
like somebody was saying :

Nah, don't think so. We know who was saying, not just a "somebody". We just
don't know what gender you are. It's relatively easy to take an educated
guess on you from your use of your name (although there are female Terrys),
but "Piccadilly Pilot"? "Magic Mushrooms"? "Solar Penguin"?

How scary is this, when your attribution lines are being grammar-pedanted,
and you're *defending* them....?