• Lvxferre [he/him]@mander.xyz
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      7 days ago

      I’m aware of that list. I mean names used exclusively as placeholders. Like “thingamajig” or “ACME” but for people.

      Because, for example. Let’s say I told you a story about “Alice”. Without “Bob”, “Charlie” etc. to offer you context, it’s ambiguous if I’m talking about a real person called Alice, or if it’s just a placeholder name. The same wouldn’t happen with PT “Fulano” — because it isn’t a personal name like Alice, it’s used exclusively as a placeholder.

      Some also use John Doe, I guess. Or John Smith. But the same issue. (Or perhaps I’m just babbling about language as usual, sorry.)