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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: 2) by Runaway1956 on Friday August 18 2017, @02:30PM (3 children)
Let's Keep It Simple Stupid. In fact, let's keep it succinct. To hell with clarity.
"You're fucked."
Or, maybe,
"Self destruct initialized", but that was covered in the first posts.
"Meltdown."
I mean, is it really necessary to offer hints, or explanations, knowing that no one reads them anyway? Alright, maybe not exactly "no one", but a few geeks aren't statistically significant, are they?
Abortion is the number one killed of children in the United States.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Friday August 18 2017, @02:33PM
Oh, how about, "Your financial credentials failed to email to 20,000 random email accounts. Try again?"
Abortion is the number one killed of children in the United States.
(Score: 3, Touché) by tangomargarine on Friday August 18 2017, @02:43PM
"An error occurred. Windows will now futilely pretend to check the Internet for solutions to this problem."
"Is that really true?" "I just spent the last hour telling you to think for yourself! Didn't you hear anything I said?"
(Score: 2) by maxwell demon on Friday August 18 2017, @04:17PM
All too long. All you need is a simple
Oops.
The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.