(10-08-2019, 03:23 AM)Avengium Wrote: We could keep the alphabetic and put people of other genders whose names start with the corresponding alphabetical letter. That way we achieve both things.
Personally, since they ARE alphabetized, I just think of them by letter. I could see regional variations where the names were different but the key initial was the same.
So, on the planet this encyclopedia is based on, for instance, the months could be listed:
Addams, Barks, Capp, (or Crumb, if you're feeling particularly trollish), Disney, Eisner,...
Another location might list them:
Atanasoff, Berry, Cray, Dix, Estridge,...
Too bad both Wang and Turing are beyond the 13th letter, but Hopper comes in under the line.
Some locations could even change it up. Replacing the names periodically, annually, or, like we do with hurricanes, retiring month names after something really notable happened.
(Of course, then there is my suggestion to reorder the alphabet so that 'Q' comes first, followed by 'W', then 'E', and ending with 'M'...)
Edit. I was going to suggest "Barbara" for the 'B', but then I noticed "Barks" was responsible for a large chunk of the Disney stable.
Edit2. On those worlds that use the calendar to enshrine individuals of local importance, the years could alternate, so on odd-numbered years, the calendar runs A-M, and on even-numbered years, it could run N-Z. Of course, then everyone needs to have a ROT-13 script in their heads.