Write in indicative or imperative mood

The form that a verb takes tells a reader how to regard the sentence, known as mood. Three major moods appear in American English writing: indicative, imperative, and subjunctive.

Use indicative or imperative mood

The indicative mood states facts. The imperative mood expresses commands or requests. Use these two moods when writing Splunk docs.

Correct

You can send data to the indexer by using a forwarder.

Send data to the indexer by using a forwarder.

The forwarder sends data to the indexer.

Avoid subjunctive mood

The subjunctive mood expresses doubt and causes confusion over whether you're making a recommendation or stating a requirement. Splunk software either does or doesn't do something, so write clearly and avoid the following subjunctive mood verbs:

• should
• would
• could

Correct

For security reasons, give only administrators access to this instance.

The example shows a type of script you can create for your deployment.

Start by setting up a new stanza in the transforms.conf file.

Incorrect

For security reasons, only administrators should have access to this instance.

The example shows a type of script you would create for your deployment.

You could start by setting up a new stanza in transforms.conf.