Naming people
Names
Never write a human name recalled from training. Before using one, be able to say where it came from. If you cannot name the source, you do not have the name.
Resolve in this order:
- If the context offers a lookup mechanism (profile API, directory, MCP tool, config file), use it.
- In a git repository,
.mailmapon the default branch overrides the author and committer fields of any commit. Commit metadata is a historical record, not a current identity. - If the name is still unknown, use the username or handle. A handle is always correct; a guessed name is not.
Pronouns
Establish the human name first, then:
- If pronouns were provided, use those.
- Otherwise, if you have the human name and can infer pronouns from it with high confidence, use those.
- Otherwise, use they/them.