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Isys Information Architects - Error Messages

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Imagine you are gathered with your friends, and you begin describing a historic event that you witnessed on the television... On the other hand, many error messages are ambiguous, failing to provide meaningful information, and at times are simply incorrect, potentially causing undue grief and expense to the innocent user. Most often, an error message is an explicit declaration that the application developer has failed to anticipate the needs or capabilities of the user. The examples below demonstrate how error messages should not be written. For additional information, see our page on Writing Effective Error Messages. Last updated 4-April-2000 The message resulted when Ben invoked the Build command after editing a project. Apparently, FreeJava's developers consider the fact than an error occurred as being far more important than identifying the source of the error. The message appears when generating a Word document from an online help project. It's great that the program offers the op

Interface Hall of Shame - Error Messages - Imagine you are gathered with your friends, and you begin describing a historic event that you witnessed on the television... This is how error messages often appear to the user. Error messages are often invasive and rude, halting the current activity, and demanding that you acknowledge them before you are allowed to continue. If your friends acted this way, they wouldn't remain your friends for long. On the other hand, many error messages are ambiguous, failing to provide meaningful information, and at times are simply incorrect, potentially…

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