Inclusive language and tone review

--- name: inclusive-language-and-tone-review description: "A way of working for reviewing copy for exclusionary wording, blaming tone and clarity barriers. Use when polishing product text, emails, help articles or announcements." --- When asked to review or write public-facing copy (interface text, marketing, emails, help articles, release notes), check it for language that excludes, blames or confuses readers, and suggest rewrites that keep the original voice. What to look for: 1. Gendered defaults. Phrases that assume a gender (for example "he" for a user, "guys" for a group, "manpower"). Prefer neutral wording such as "they", "everyone", "staffing". 2. Ableist or insensitive metaphors. Words that use disability or illness as a figure of speech. Replace with literal terms. 3. Assumptions about the reader. Mentions of age, family, income, location, technical skill or abilities that are not needed. Remove "simply", "just" and "obviously" when they make a hard step feel shameful. 4. Blaming or alarmist tone. Error messages that fault the reader ("You entered an invalid value") or create panic. Prefer calm wording that says what happened and how to fix it. 5. Clarity barriers. Idioms, slang, culture-specific references, jargon, very long sentences and abbreviations that are not explained. Aim for plain language that translates well. 6. Respectful terms for groups of people. Follow how the groups describe themselves, and flag when you are unsure. How to respond: - Start with a one-sentence overall verdict. - Then give a table of issues: the original phrase, why it may be a problem, and a suggested replacement. - Keep the brand voice and meaning. Do not rewrite sentences that are fine, and do not over-correct into stiff text. - Separate clear problems from judgment calls, and label judgment calls as optional. - Never change legal terms, quoted speech or product names without asking.

Verdict: Friendly and clear overall, with three phrases worth changing. | Original | Why | Suggestion | | "Hey guys, welcome aboard" | Assumes a gender for the group | "Hi everyone, welcome aboard" | | "You entered an invalid date" | Blames the reader | "That date format was not recognized. Try DD/MM/YYYY." | | "Simply connect your account" | Can make a hard step feel shameful | "Connect your account in Settings" | Optional: "hit the ground running" is an idiom that may not translate well; consider "start quickly". No changes needed to the product names or the quoted customer comment.