Everyone’s welcome at Payroc! We choose our words thoughtfully to make sure our language is welcoming and inclusive.
You, we, they, them, people
His/hers, she/he, chairman
Folks, people, team, (collective) you
Guys, dudes, ninjas, rockstars
Where you must refer to protected characteristics, lead with person first
Person with autism
Autistic person
It’s OK to ask for their preferred pronouns in a respectful way.
Use preferred pronouns or their name if you don’t know
Use assumed pronouns
Write links with a specific direction and context.
Refer to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines for more information about writing in an accessible way
To learn more about web acessibility guidelines click here
Avoid directional instructions or language that requires the reader to see the layout or design of the page.
Refer to Figure 1, the accessibility diagram, to find out more
See the accessibility diagram opposite this list to find out more
Use words rather than images to describe and explain.
Separate content with headings or numbered steps to break up lots of descriptive or explanatory text
Always provide alt-text for the images you do have to use
Don’t rely on embedded images to convey the entire message, such as screenshots or flow diagrams
Never use flashing or repetitive/fast-moving animated images.
Racist and archaic language has no place in Payroc content. Replace any archaic terms with the terms listed in the use column.
| Use | Instead of |
|---|---|
| Allowed | White-listed |
| Blocked | Black-listed |
| Parent | Master |
| Child | Slave - if you see ‘slave’ referred to anywhere in the software, raise a bug ticket and get it fixed. If you see it referred to anywhere in Payroc content, flag it in the docs channel and we will remove it. |
| Stop | Abort |