Pronouns

Pronouns replace nouns. When you use pronouns in your writing, make sure that the pronoun correctly refers to the noun it replaces, known as its antecedent.

Gender-neutral pronouns

Write for inclusivity and don't make assumptions about sex or gender. When you write Splunk documentation, avoid gender-specific and sexist language.

Most of the topics in Splunk documentation use the second-person singular pronoun, "you" and "your", to address a single user directly. If you have to write in the third person or refer to someone in the third person, make sure that you choose gender-neutral third-person pronouns, such as "they", "their", and "them".

In Splunk documentation, it's acceptable to use a plural pronoun with a singular antecedent when you refer to people. Use third-person-plural pronouns when you refer to a person. Don't write "him or her" or "his or hers".

Correct

The end user must add lines of code to their app to enable it in Splunk Enterprise.

In most cases, you can make the antecedent plural to keep agreement with the pronoun.

Correct

End users must add lines of code to their app to enable it in Splunk Enterprise.

In many cases, and preferably, you can rewrite the sentence to be more direct.

Correct and better

You must add code to your app to enable it in Splunk Enterprise.

The following examples are not acceptable uses of pronouns in Splunk documentation:

Noninclusive

The end user must add lines of code to his or her app to enable it in Splunk Enterprise.

Sexist

The end user must add lines of code to her app to enable it in Splunk Enterprise.

Sexist

The end user must add lines of code to his app to enable it in Splunk Enterprise.

If you refer to an actual person in your writing, ask for their pronouns and use those. Don't assume or guess.

Personal pronouns

Use the second-person pronoun, "you", in Splunk documentation. Avoid first-person pronouns, such as "I", "our", "us", and "we", unless you are responding to customer feedback or are writing a tutorial.

Relative pronouns

"That", "which", and "who" are relative pronouns and don't all mean the same thing.

That

"That" introduces an essential clause. If you remove the words after "that", the sentence doesn't make sense.

Correct

For HDFS working directory, provide the path in HDFS that you want Hunk to use as a working directory.

Which

"Which" introduces a nonessential clause. If you remove the words after "which", the sentence still makes sense, although it is less detailed.

Correct

Splunk Enterprise changes one of the default port settings in the server.conf file, which is one of the stanzas you copied but didn't edit.

Who

When referring to a person, use "who" instead of "that".

Vague pronouns

Avoid ambiguous references between a pronoun and its antecedent. Vague pronouns include "this", "that", "which", and "it". To add clarity, replace the vague pronoun with a noun.

Correct

Set the enableReduction value to true.

Incorrect

Set it to true.