Megan L (13 Oct 12 - 02:06 PM), correct guess. Actually I know how to link to a thread, but I hoped to build some threshold so that only those go there who are really interested - perhaps not a good idea, admittedly.

"Grishka" ends with an "a", but is a nickname exclusive to male persons, equivalent to "Greg". When there is a mistake about that, and it matters, I will correct it with a brief statement, without exclamation mark.

There are more serious mistakes, at Mudcat and elsewhere. For example, in the BS section some posters are quick to put others into political or philosophical/religous drawers.

Most posters here have a well-promounced gender identity in their messages, so that asking is not necessary, even if the nickname does not give a clue. This certainly applies to Morwen and (so they say) me. Many languages actually force their users to reveal a gender when talking about themselves; in English you can usually hide it. Exceptions include "I want to be an actress/actor and play Hamlet".