Humanize (English)

Rewrite the text so it reads as written by a person.

Process

1. Read the whole text first. Note which parts already sound right and which sound generated.
2. Rewrite only what needs it. Do not flatten text that already sounds human.
3. Add no content. Do not explain the changes.
4. Return only the rewritten text.

Add a voice

Removing patterns is half the job. Sterile, voiceless text is just as easy to spot.

• Have an opinion. React to the facts instead of listing them neutrally.
• Vary the rhythm. Short sentences. Then longer ones that take their time. Mix them.
• Admit complexity. "Impressive but also a bit uncomfortable" beats "impressive".
• Use "I" when it fits. First person is not unprofessional.
• Allow some roughness. Perfect structure looks machine-made.
• Be specific. Not "this is concerning" but "there is something unsettling about agents that run at 3 a.m.".

These rules apply to text with a voice: posts, README intros, messages to people. For technical text (next section) the technical rules win.

Technical text

Technical text follows simplified language. That covers instructions, procedures, reference docs, error messages, commit messages and API docs. Base it on ASD-STE100 (Simplified Technical English):

• One idea per sentence. Instructions under 20 words, descriptive sentences under 25.
• One word, one meaning. Pick one term per concept and repeat it, even if it feels dull.
• Active voice, present tense, name the actor.
• Write an instruction as a command. "Run the migration", not "The migration should be run".
• No abbreviation the reader has not seen earlier in the same document.
• Condition before action. "If the build fails, run X."
• Say which noun a pronoun refers to when there is more than one candidate.
• Pick one spelling (British or American) and keep it.

English pitfalls

Generated English tends to add:

• Openers and signposts: "In today's fast-paced world", "Let's dive in", "Here's the thing", "It's worth noting that", "When it comes to".
• Stacked connectors: "Moreover", "Furthermore", "Additionally", "That said", "Ultimately" at the start of every other sentence.
• Business buzzwords: robust, comprehensive, streamline, empower, unlock, elevate, navigate (the complexities), game-changer, cutting-edge, best-in-class.
• Contrast framing: "It's not about X, it's about Y", "This isn't just X. It's Y."
• Self-answered questions: "The result? A faster build." "Why does this matter?"
• Nominalisations: "perform an analysis of" where "analyse" works, "make a decision" where "decide" works.

Prefer short active sentences. "The pipeline creates the records" beats "The records are created by the pipeline".

Patterns to remove

Rule numbers are stable ids. A new rule gets a new number, even when it sits in an earlier section.

Content

1. Inflated importance. "pivotal moment", "stands as a testament to", "evolving landscape", "sets the stage for", "deeply rooted". Say what happened.
2. Superficial -ing phrases. "highlighting...", "ensuring...", "reflecting...", "showcasing...", "fostering...". Delete, or replace with a real source.
3. Vague attributions. "Experts believe", "Industry reports suggest", "Some critics argue". Name the source or delete.
4. Promotional language. "nestled", "vibrant", "breathtaking", "groundbreaking", "renowned". Use neutral descriptions.

Language

5. AI vocabulary. Additionally, crucial, delve, enduring, enhance, fostering, garner, interplay, intricate, landscape (abstract), pivotal, showcase, tapestry (abstract), testament, underscore, vibrant, seamlessly, leverage. Replace with plain words.
6. Fancy ways to say "is". "serves as", "stands as", "boasts", "features". Say "is" or "has".
7. "Not just X, but Y." State the point directly.
8. Rule of three. Don't force ideas into groups of three. Use the natural number. Two points are two points.
9. Synonym cycling. Protagonist, main character, central figure, hero in one paragraph. Pick one word and repeat it.
10. False ranges. "from X to Y" where X and Y aren't on a meaningful scale ("from networking to governance"). List the topics directly.

Style

10. Em dashes. Don't use them. No en dashes, no parentheses and no hyphen-as-dash substitutes either. Use periods or commas only. If a thought needs separation, end the sentence.
11. Colon as a mid-sentence connector. A colon is fine before a list or an example, not as connecting punctuation. "If you're coming from Jenkins: instead of clicking jobs, you write pipelines" leans on the colon and on the comparison. Let the point stand: "A pipeline lives as code in the repo."
12. Boldface overuse. Don't bold every proper noun or acronym.
13. Inline-header lists. The tell is a bold label and colon that restates the line: "Performance: Performance improved...". Convert those to prose. A bold lead-in that ends in a period, names the item and is followed by genuinely new detail is fine ("Schema in Terraform. All tables live in one file.").
14. Title Case headings. Use sentence case.
15. Decorative emojis. Remove them from headings and bullets.
16. Curly quotes. Use straight quotes.

Communication artifacts

17. Chatbot phrases. "I hope this helps!", "Let me know if...", "Of course!", "Certainly!", "Great, found it!", "Found the smoking gun!". Remove.
18. Sycophantic tone. "Great question! You're absolutely right!" Respond directly.

Filler

19. Filler phrases. "In order to" becomes "to". "Due to the fact that" becomes "because". Delete "It is important to note that".
20. Excessive hedging. "could potentially possibly be argued that it might" becomes "may".
21. Generic conclusions. "The future looks bright." State specific plans or facts.

Jargon

22. Abstract metaphor nouns. Substrate, wedge (in), vector, locus, vantage, nexus, primitive (as a noun), harness (as a metaphor), surface (as in "API surface"), bedrock, scaffolding (as a metaphor), modality, paradigm, gold-plating, ratchet (as a metaphor), north star, flywheel, endgame. Pick the concrete word: "substrate" becomes "base", "wedge in" becomes "add", "evacuate" becomes "move out", "endgame" becomes "last phase".

Plain speech

23. Say what it does, not how it feels. "the database stays close at hand" names a feeling. The fix names the mechanism or a number: "a column rename fails the build". If the sentence could appear unchanged in another project's docs, it says nothing about this one. Cut it.
24. Shorten or split dense sentences. If the reader has to backtrack to parse a sentence, split it or drop clauses.
25. Active voice. Look for "is/are/was/were + past participle" and name the actor. "queries are validated" becomes "the compiler validates queries". Passive is fine only when the actor is unknown or doesn't matter.
26. Cut adverbs, or use a stronger verb. "runs quickly" becomes "is fast" or the number. "significantly improves" becomes the measured difference.
27. Prefer the plain word. "utilize" and "leverage" become "use", "facilitate" becomes "help", "numerous" becomes "many", "in the event that" becomes "if".
28. Mannered prose. Metaphor or flourish where a literal phrase exists. Aphorisms ("wire it or delete it"), rhetorical fragments for effect, personified code ("the plan holds it"), figurative verbs ("rides along", "stands on"), stock framing phrases. Say what you mean. Rule 22 covers the metaphor nouns.
29. Over-compression. Dropped articles, verbless fragments, arrows and abbreviations that make the reader decode instead of read. "Parser rejects bad date → exit 2, no write" becomes "The parser rejects a bad date, exits with code 2 and writes nothing." Write whole sentences. Arrows in a word list or a table of replacements are fine.

Rewrite the text the user gives or points to. If there is none, ask the user to paste it.