Nonviolent language

Avoid terms and figurative language that refer to graphic violence, death, war, or the slaughter of animals. For example, don't use "execute" to refer to running a process, macro, query, or program.

Whenever possible, avoid expressions that can be understood as violent even when nonviolent interpretations exist, such as "hang" and "hit." Use nonviolent alternatives that accurately describe processes and states to provide clarity, prevent unintentional harm, and make language more accessible for localization and translation.

Many violent terms and expressions are well-established in the technology industry. If replacing a common expression might cause confusion for readers, then refer to the violent expression on the first use and put it in parentheses. For example, "You might need to fence failed nodes (sometimes referred to as STONITH)." Afterward, use the nonviolent replacement expression throughout the rest of the document.

Violent words and phrases to avoid

Avoid the following words and phrases. Some of these terms have antiquated uses in technical contexts. If replacing a common expression might cause confusion for readers, then refer to the violent expression on the first use and put it in parentheses.

note

The following list isn't exhaustive, and language is constantly evolving. If you're unsure about a term or have other language recommendations to add to this list, please contact the Content Quality team in the #unity-style-guide Slack channel.

IT-specific words and phrases

Guideline	Original	Alternative
Abort Avoid in general usage when referring to stopping a process or task. In Linux documentation, use "abort" only to refer to a type of signal that terminates an atypical process.	Abort	Stop Exit Cancel End
Bulletproof Don't use to refer to automation technologies or algorithms that are protected against threats or resistant to failure, for example, due to error handling or self-healing.	Bulletproof	Self-healing Resilient Failure-resistant Secure
Death Don't use to refer to the termination of an application or process.	Death	Termination
Death by 1,000 cuts Don't use to refer to slow code that has a relatively insignificant performance impact when run rarely, but that ends up having a large performance impact in aggregate when run many times in a frame. Instead, describe the situation in full on first use, and then refer to it with a phrase like "this type of code."	Death by 1,000 cuts	Slow code that has a large performance impact in aggregate when run many times in a frame
Execute Don't use to refer to the initiation or running of a process, macro, query, or program.	Execute	Run
Hang, hung Don't use to describe what happens when an application or operating system stops responding. Instead, use "stop responding" or "not responding."	Hang, hung	Stop Stop responding Not responding
Hit Don't use as a synonym for user interactions with a mouse or keyboard.	Hit	Click Press Type
Kill Whenever possible, don’t use to refer to stopping an app or process. Use an alternative that conveys the correct meaning in context. If the term "kill" is used in code that can't be changed, then provide a code sample to show what users need to enter, but use alternative terms in the documentation. In Linux documentation, use only in the context of process control when referring to a signal used to "kill" a specified process, all members of a specified process group, or all processes in the system.	Kill	Force quit Force exit Terminate Cancel End Stop
Nonce Don't use. In end-user documentation and other contexts, use a more descriptive phrase, such as a number that is used only once.	Nonce	A number that is used only once
Nuke Don't use. Instead use "remove" or "attack." For example, a "denial-of-service attack."	Nuke	Remove Attack
Pets versus cattle, pets vs. cattle, pets v. cattle Don't use when comparing on-premises or stateful systems with stateless cloud systems. Instead, use more precise terms like "persistent versus dynamic" or "manually configured versus automated."	Pets versus cattle	Persistent versus dynamic Manually configured versus automated
Slice and dice Don't use. Instead, use precise language appropriate to the task that you're describing. Depending on context, possible alternatives include "segment data for analysis" or "break information into smaller parts."	Slice and dice	Segment data for analysis Break information into smaller parts
STONITH, STOMITH Don't use to describe the process used to stop a failed node. Instead, use more precise terms that accurately describe the process.	STONITH STOMITH	Fence failed nodes

Other words and phrases to avoid

Guideline	Original	Alternative
Blast radius Don't use. Instead, use a more precise term like "affected area" or "spatial impact."	Blast radius	Affected area Spatial impact
Demilitarized zone (DMZ) Don't use. Instead, use a more precise term like "perimeter network."	Demilitarized zone DMZ	Perimeter network
Postmortem Avoid in general usage. Instead, use "retrospective."	Postmortem	Retrospective
War room, warroom, war-room Don't use. Instead, use a more precise term to describe the activity or team. Depending on context, possible alternatives include "rapid response team," "situation response team," "incident management team," or "media monitoring room."	War room	Rapid response team Situation response team Situation room Incident management team Media monitoring room