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Submitted via IRC for TheMightyBuzzard
Try this simple technique to write messages that help users understand the reason for errors.
The first time a user encounters an application's documentation, it's not always with the user manual or online help. Often, that first encounter with documentation is an error message.
Technical writers should be involved in writing error messages. It's an important, although often overlooked, part of the job. After all, error messages are documentation, albeit documentation that's embedded in the code.
[...] An error message should be meaningful. By that, I mean full of meaning not only for a developer, but also for the user of the software. To prevent any panic or confusion, the message should be clear.
A meaningful error message should:
- be short (you can write in sentence fragments);
- contain a description, in plain language, of what went wrong; and
- use wording or a tone that doesn't (whether explicitly or not) blame the user.
Source: https://opensource.com/article/17/8/write-effective-error-messages
(Score: 3, Informative) by KritonK on Friday August 18 2017, @09:00AM (4 children)
I intentionally specified an invalid URL at their web site, hoping to get an unhelpful 404 error. Instead, I got a very helpful "Unfortunately the page you are looking for no longer exists. We'd love for you to stick around, so visit our homepage to get started OR feel free to try a new search." with a link to said homepage and followed by a site-specific search box.
They do practice what they preach!
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Wootery on Friday August 18 2017, @09:21AM (1 child)
Technically though the message of their 404 page isn't accurate.
No, it never existed.
(Score: 3, Funny) by kazzie on Friday August 18 2017, @01:41PM
Oh, so you think time flows that way....
(The Bird/Guide MkII, HHGG Quandary Phase)
(Score: 2) by el_oscuro on Friday August 18 2017, @11:46PM (1 child)
That is a pretty good 404 page. However I like Ars better:
https://arstechnica.com/x/sdjskjed [arstechnica.com]
SoylentNews is Bacon! [nueskes.com]
(Score: 2) by KritonK on Monday August 21 2017, @11:03AM
Actually, the ars technica 404 page is what the article preaches against. A big 404 and an image of a shark, coming at warp speed at you from the moon, isn't very helpful. The opensource.com 404 page follows the principles of the article, explaining what the error is, without blaming the user. (It's our fault, for not having the page you requested, instead of yours, for trying to visit a non-existent page.)