Avoid First-Person Plural Pronouns

This rule helps maintain a consistent and professional tone in documentation by flagging instances of first-person plural pronouns and expressions. Using first-person plural ("we," "us," "our") can create ambiguity about who exactly is being referred to and can make documentation feel less direct. Instead, documentation should generally use second-person ("you") to address the reader directly, making the content more clear and actionable.

The rule promotes Microsoft's style guidance which recommends avoiding first-person plural to maintain clarity and directness in technical writing.

Examples of what gets flagged:

❌ "We recommend using this approach"
❌ "Let's configure the settings"
❌ "Our documentation explains..."
❌ "This feature helps us to..."
❌ "We've updated the interface"
❌ "We're going to explain..."

Instead, you should write:

✅ "Use this approach"
✅ "Configure the settings"
✅ "The documentation explains..."
✅ "This feature helps you to..."
✅ "The interface has been updated"
✅ "This section explains..."

Rule Source

This rule comes from: https://github.com/jonathanalgar/smarteditor

Rule Definition

description: Try to avoid using first-person plural
link: https://github.com/OutSystems/docs-validation/blob/master/style-guide/content.adoc#use-second-person
extends: existence
message: "Try to avoid using first-person plural like '%s'."
link: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/style-guide/grammar/person#avoid-first-person-plural
level: suggestion
ignorecase: true
tokens:
  - we
  - we'(?:ve|re)
  - ours?
  - us
  - let's