TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
But tell the user what wrong information was entered,
and provide a list (if possible) of the valid information.
Otherwise, refer them to the User's Guide, system Notification Guide,
etc., Help information, etc.
For instance:
You entered "A". The correct input for this field is "F", "G", or "H".
You entered all numbers "2000/02/01" in this field. The expected input was
"Feb 01, 2000"
System Notification: 3451. Refer to the "System Notification Guide" for
assistance.
(Been there, done that, in assembler, no less)
Harry M. Bacheler, Jr.
Consultant
VGS, Inc.
"The thoughts, ideas, and opinions expressed in my portion
of this email are mine and mine alone. They are not the
thoughts, ideas, and/or opinions of any past, present, or
future employers, or any group that I might belong to."
> -----Original Message-----
> From: bounce-techwr-l-20951 -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com
> [mailto:bounce-techwr-l-20951 -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com]On Behalf Of Aoidìn
> Scully
> Sent: Wednesday, 01 March, 2000 10:29 AM
> To: TECHWR-L
> Subject: RE: Writing error messages? (longish)
>
>
> >>I am of the opinion that most (at least three-quarters) of
> "error" messages
> >>are really not errors in the first place. They are just
> inserting the wrong
> >>value in a field, or something to that effect.
>
> Call me picky...but isn't 'inserting the wrong value in a field' an
> error?
>
> ... snip, snip ...