Avoid excessive claims

In documentation, don't make excessive claims. An excessive claim is an assertion in the documentation that does any of the following:

• Makes a statement about performance or cost that isn't easily verifiable with data that's available to the reader.
• Makes a statement about security that would be invalidated by a security incident.
• Makes a statement that might be interpreted as subjective or even disparaging, especially about third-party products.

When you're assessing whether some text makes an excessive claim, take into account not just what's true today about a product's performance, cost, security, or functionality, but what might be true in the future.

Consider the following guidelines:

• When you describe products, avoid superlatives like best , simplest , fastest , never , and always . Similarly, be careful about words like ensure and guarantee and use them only when something can truly be ensured or guaranteed.
• If you make specific performance claims—how fast a product is, how much storage it requires, and so on—make sure that you reference the source of your information.
• If documentation claims that a product is secure, the documentation is invalid (and not credible) if someone succeeds in compromising the product. It's safer to suggest that a feature "helps with security" or "is designed for security" because those statements are true even if a security incident occurs.
• A statement that you make about a competitive product might be untrue if you misinterpret how the product works, or later if the other company comes out with a new release.

The safest approach is always to write factually and objectively, limiting what you say to verifiable information that will be true over the lifespan of your documentation.

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