There are a few clbuttic errors, sure. It's probably just a big search-and-replace. Who needs to be sophisticated to be fun ;-)?

... also, it has trouble distinguishing the possessive "her" from the pronoun "her".

I can't help but think that the point would be better made if their algorithm was just a *little* bit more sophisticated.

While "man" might be gendered language "don't" most certainly isn't.

Shani has helpfully pointed me at the probable origin of the 'ble' / 'whe' thing, which is a very clever bit of Swift-like satire from the 1980s. And in fact that essay illuminates not only the 'ble' / 'whe' thing but also the usefulness (apart from being entertaining) of the gender-swap option, namely to make one notice gendered language that one might not have noticed before. I feel really stupid now for never before consciously registering 'man!' as a gendered exclamation.

In other news, here's Elif Shafak saying interesting things about how fiction interacts with identity-politics.

(Late as usual and long as usual …)

Jamie: Just playing with regender …

Good goddess, that is fantastic! Easily one of the five coolest things this month. Best of all is its rendering of this very playpen discussion. Hence:

Arlene B: Arlen? The best male equivalent of "Arlene" out there is Arlen? Woman, what?

Kyle: I am Kylee :( I am the unfunny one from South Park.

Bryn: I've never read anything by David Foster Walter, and little by Edward Allen Poe. I admit I quite enjoy the works of Nelson Gaiman, even though they're not so popular around these parts. I also haven't read Daniel Brown, but I hear his works are really bad.

Shimmin: As far as I can see, the only changes to my articles are fun: I like "4th Edition rulebooks, whose rule-filled allure beat my William defence", though "Donald’t get clever with me, mortal. I’ll smite you with divine fire" is a bit odd …

Unfortunately, it can't seem to find anything to do with “Wilkie Collins” but in this gender-flipped parallel universe Jamie has caught a glimpse into, “The God of Small Things” was written by Arundhati Rose (a man, we presume), and, going from one of our most recent articles, one of the biggest stars of bad action movies in the 80s and 90s was apparently Stephanie Seagal. To quote Arlene B:

Why can’t I stop watching Stevel Seagal movies? Is it because of the poise and elegance she displays when waving her arms at people and throwing them through walls? Is it because of the pretty explosions? Is it because of the wit and wisdom on display in the woman’s pithy quips and zen observations?

(You'll notice the typo “Stevel,” which re-gender didn't know how to deal with either.)

It is not omnipotent, as Viorica's profile, while still using the male pronoun, alludes to him spending time (among other things) “fangirling various dead people.” (“Tina Barbara's Albert is a stupid, shoddy movie.”) It really is a strange parallel universe. I think I shall call it “Kevin” (as in “_ knows where it'll all end up”). I further note that a certain comic fantasy author is Sir Terri Pratchett, rather than “Dame,” which offers up a host of interesting questions.

As with Rami, Alasdair, Bryn, Viorica, Shimmin, and Lexa, my name remains the same, “Robinson L,” no matter which way it goes through the re-gender processor. (One wonders, though, what it would do with “Lee.” Or “Leslie.”)

However, my own contributor page does provide ample gender-bending fun, such as these gems from the tagline of my second and third articles:

Robinson L hops halfheartedly aboard the Carl Fisher bandwagon.

And

Robinson L encounters a critical lack of narrative inertia in Linda Alexandra's 1997 children's fantasy.

Reaching back a bit, I see that on this Earth-Kevin, the most-read horror novelist is a middle-aged woman by the name of Stephanie Queen. Meanwhile, Kyle Smith desperately wants to marry Kristopher Cashore, too bad the cover image kinda spoils the joke. (Spell-check assures me “Kristopher” is indeed a word, but it doesn't trust “Cashore” at all.)

It even does all-caps, so my long-ago comment about my computer's sound being K(illed) I(n) A(ction) has become “my sound system still being KIRK”.

Ferretbrain's resident Japanese translator, aspiring author and sparkly emo vampire-hater is Melvin G. Intriguingly enough, in this world the main character of a certain badly-written, rapetastic paranormal “romance” series is Melvin Gentry. Coincidence? You decide.

(It does appear that Mr. Gentry's nickname is still Merry, though. This is either a flaw in the dimension-viewer, or a subtle clue that a certain well-known Hobbit, famous for his part in defeating the Chief Nazgul was not really named Merriadoc after all. I always thought there was something fishy about that name.) (Also, I have to wonder if the Anthony Blanche series is any good. Probably not.) (Oh look, now my tangent tangents are having tangents.)

Likewise, I'm informed On the Jellicoe Road and Finnikin of the Rock were written by Melvin Marchetta. (“Melvin” must be a very popular name on Earth-Kevin.)

Yet another sign that Earth-Kevin is in some ways very much unlike our own: the fourth month in the Christian calender is apparently “Anthony” on Earth-Kevin. One wonders what they call the month of May.

And look, in this dimension, apparently one of the most famous love stories of all time is Wilhemina Shakespeare's immortal tragedy: Rose and Julio. (From this comment, I also learn that on Earth-Kevin, one well-known European country with an iconic history of both revolution and colonialism, originating one of the commonest languages in the world, is the nation of Frank.)

Also, get this gals: the capital form of the word “art” is “Arlene.” (Also, also, “Harriet Potter,” *snarf*)

For maximum hilarity though, check out features such as Danielle Hemmens exploring the dangerous implications of “Nice Gal Syndrome” or discussing (Man)-Boobs With Superpowers. Woman, but all of the Minority Warrior entries regarding feminism must be a hoot. Fantasy Rape Watch ditto.

I've also tried out the other options, including the “wh” and “bl,” but they just produce pronouns like “wher” and “ble,” which doesn't seem to be making a point about racism. Truth be told, without the gender-bending names it isn't nearly as fun, though the “ey,” “they” and “sie” options may be fun when reading an article dealing heavily with gender.

On the positive side, I've discovered the re-gender process remains even when you navigate away to other websites. Have fun!

Also, @Lexa: Good luck!

Just a shameless plug, having seen the team mention that there will be an Edinburgh coverage podcast!
If anyone is at the Fringe Festival from the 6th-16th August, try and get a look at 'Hotel Nowhere'. It's going to be a great show.
http://www.edfringe.com/whats-on/theatre/hotel-nowhere
(It's never too early to start advertising - or at least, that's what I tell myself!)

How can anyone explain in a satisfactory way the means by which magnetic articles perform their various functions? (I do not wish to discuss this issue with a physicist since they are prone to mislead and upset me.)

@Arthur: I assume the magnets are responsible for that. I don't know how, but I'm sure it's them.

Speaking of films: I suspect this is one of those things where the trailer is better than the end result. But the trailer is something to see.

Oh, hey guys, I've just found out they're making a God of War movie. Judging by the trailer, they've done some retooling of the concept, but I think the changes have been all for the better.

That looks amazing!!!

Valve are releasing a new game on Steam for free tomorrow. It looks like this. Anyone want to play it?

Shimmin retains its ambiguity. As far as I can see, the only changes to my articles are fun: I like "4th Edition rulebooks, whose rule-filled allure beat my Wilma defence", though "Donna’t get clever with me, mortal. I’ll smite you with divine fire" is a bit odd...

The regender machine doesn't seem to recognize me, so I remain Viorica. On the other hand, my Star Trek article is now about "Kimberly's niece Peggy and her girlfriend Alexandra." Also, it was written by Davida Gerrold.

I've never read anything by Davida Foster Wanda, and little by Edna Allison Poe. I admit I quite enjoy the works of Nellie Gaiman, even though they're not so popular around these parts. I also haven't read Danielle Brown, but I hear her works are really bad.

Vladimir Nabokov apparently remains the same. Spoilsport.

@Kyra: At least you get to be the voice of reason...

I like how Sister Magpie turns into Brother Magpie. I also like how all of these Playpen comments with their gendered language themselves become prey for the regenderer and her feminine wiles. (I don't really believe that the regenderer has wiles of any sort, I was just hoping to see if it flips that about in an interesting way.)

I am Kyle :(

I am the unfunny one from South Park.

Hm, and apparently the feminine form of "Alasdair" is..."Alasdair."

...

...


MY NAME TRANSCENDS MERE GENDER! NO CATEGORY CAN CONTAIN ME!

I AM THE DUALITY!!!!!!

Arlene? The best female equivalent of "Arthur" out there is Arlene? Man, what?

Just been playing with regender, which adjusts genders in whatever website you plug into it in various ways. You can ask it to swap them all round, use either of two popular sets of gender-neutral pronouns, or use a set of pronouns that begin with 'bl' or 'wh' in order to make some kind of point about racism I think possibly? Anyway, the gender-swap option is obviously most fun, not least when it makes mistakes. On gender-swapped Ferretbrain, for example, I get 'regendered' to James, Guy becomes Gal, and it doesn't know what to do with Rami at all.

@ Sister Magpie: Ah. My cunning plan to send you a direct message in Twitter has failed because I misunderstood how direct messaging works. Shall we try again with the original plan where you e-mail an address that has editor at the beginning and then an at-sign and after that the name of this site with a dot com at the very end?

(Hope that was sufficient circumlocution to deflect the spam-bots.)

@ Guy: As if to prove your point, my latest article, which does indeed contain footnotes with parentheses in them, is apparently written like Foster Wallace.

Also I enthuse about early modern revolutionaries in a manner reminiscent of Jonathan Swift and complain about libraries in the style of HP Lovecraft, both of which feel vaguely appropriate.

@ Sister Magpie: Aha! I didn't see that, no, though now I have. Excellent - I shall communicate my e-mail address to you through yet another electronic system of communication.

@ Kyra: Improv Everywhere does seem a lot of fun, even if it isn't really what I'd call improv. I especially liked Ted's birthday.

@Kyra: Oh wow, today's things that are not steampunk is especially shameless...

Hey folks, anyone feel like a collaboration?

Didn't know if you saw my comment to you elsewhere--Ferretbrain was being wonky and not letting me post here or get to the e-mail link you put in! I'm not expert on fanfic but I've read it enough to be up for it.