Example System Error Messages
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Error Message Examples Text
posting ads with us User Experience Questions Tags Users Badges Unanswered Ask Question _ User Experience user friendly error messages Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for user experience researchers and experts. Join them; it only takes a minute: Sign up Here's how error message list it works: Anybody can ask a question Anybody can answer The best answers are voted up and rise to the top What is the recommended wording for a generic error message up vote 36 down vote favorite 19 What would
Error Messages Ux
be the best wording for a generic error message? With generic error message I mean a message for an error that has occured but there are no details on what the error is or how to recover from it. It will be used exclusively as a fallback solution when it is not possible to determine the error either because the server did not sent any additional details or there is a "probable" timeout... and other similar edge cases. It should be aimed
Good Error Message Text
to minimize the amount of frustration/anger. I've read a few threads but none of them seems to be 100% relevant Recommendations for good resources on writing good error messages Standardized (web) application error messages? [closed] This is actually a very close match but error reports are out of scope in my case What will be the Best notifications and error messages? Error Message Advice (for asynchronous/background tasks) Generic/vague error messages to pass to spammy users? copywriting error-message wording share|improve this question edited May 4 '13 at 13:32 JohnGB♦ 57.7k19154265 asked May 3 '13 at 15:11 Toni Toni Chopper 8821718 An unexpected error occurred... –Justin Meiners May 4 '13 at 0:07 add a comment| 9 Answers 9 active oldest votes up vote 39 down vote accepted A good error message should: Let you know what the problem is. Make you feel like there is something that you can do about it. Speak like a human, and be a consistent extension of the personality of the rest of the application. For generic error messages, you can't do much about the first point, but you can do something about the other two. Do something that lets the user know that the problem isn't being ignored. Let them take some action such as submit the logs or send an error report. Alternatively let them know that automatic action has already been taken and that your technical staff have automatically been notified that this error
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500 Error Message Examples
Template App Search How to Write Error Messages: Faster, Stronger, Better February 23, 2015 By Ivan Walsh error messages best practices Blame the cat, TV, or the neighbors if you want. The thing is: stuff happens. When it does, you need some way to fix it, pronto. Aren't I http://ux.stackexchange.com/questions/39101/what-is-the-recommended-wording-for-a-generic-error-message right? This is where error messages can save you bacon. No one thinks of writing an error message guide until it's too late. So, I'm telling you now, grasshopper: Get cracking on that Error Message Guide before it happens. Why oh why do I need an Error Message Guide? Here's the skinny… These guidelines will help http://www.ihearttechnicalwriting.com/write-error-messages/ you write error messages that are easy to update and useful for customers. If you think about it, error messages are the first line of customer support. If written poorly, error messages increase technical support costs. They also frustrate customers, lose sales, and reflects poorly on your software, app, or website. Errors are a fact of life in software development. Every site has 404 errors. Every software has bugs, known issues, and glitches. Once we accept that, we can begin to help customers use our software, and help them get around the issues they encounter. If you think of it like that, the issue isn't the error message it is our attitude to creating error messages. Ok, let's assume that we want to create really helpful error message, you know, the type we'd like to see if we got lost on a website, using an app, or trying to fill a form on an application. What's the purpose of an error message? A well-written error message tells you,
here for a quick overview of the site Help Center Detailed answers to any questions you might have Meta Discuss the workings and policies of this site About Us Learn more about Stack Overflow the company Business Learn more about hiring developers or posting ads with http://stackoverflow.com/questions/194537/how-does-one-write-good-error-messages us Stack Overflow Questions Jobs Documentation Tags Users Badges Ask Question x Dismiss Join the Stack Overflow Community Stack Overflow is a community of 4.7 million programmers, just like you, helping each other. Join them; it only takes a minute: Sign up How does one write good error messages? up vote 36 down vote favorite 19 While this is more of a written language issue than a coding one, it is something that programmers must do in circumstances where copy is not provided by a error message client or someone else. Any examples of error messages, good or bad, are welcome to make the point. I briefly searched and could not find a dupe thread. Ok, have at it. Thanks, all. usability custom-errors share|improve this question edited May 2 '12 at 10:33 Mr Lister 25k85381 asked Oct 11 '08 at 20:05 MrBoJangles 6,014134568 1 @[Thohan]: just create a boy-scout tag ;-) –Steven A. Lowe Oct 15 '08 at 16:35 1 Check out this guide from Microsoft, comes with examples error message examples and best practices. –user509209 Nov 16 '10 at 7:46 add a comment| 16 Answers 16 active oldest votes up vote 25 down vote Apologise. Say what went wrong. Say how to resolve it. Be polite. The message should be worded so that the application accepts responsibility for the problem. Never blame or criticize the user or make them think it's their fault. Example: "Sorry, the file could not be opened. Please check that the file is not already opened by another program and try again." If there are additional details that would scare the user such as an error number or something else only a developer would understand, don't show them. Write them to a log file, or have a details button that can be pressed to get to them. I'm assuming you're talking about showing error messages to users in message boxes or on screen. share|improve this answer edited Oct 11 '08 at 22:05 answered Oct 11 '08 at 20:35 Scott Langham 28.1k2493149 3 Don't overdo the obsequiousness. How does a user check that a file is not already opened by another program? I really hate alert messages that force me to push "OK" when it is anything but OK in my view. –Jonathan Leffler Oct 11 '08 at 20:45 2 You're picking up on my specific example. I think the points I've raised apply in general. For this specific example, if you have better wording, please share it. If this occurred while trying to open a file, yo