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.
Subject:Re: Programmers and error messages? From:"Robyn M. Nace" <robyn -at- HOTMAIL -dot- COM> Date:Thu, 24 Dec 1998 12:57:44 -0500
At my company, I'm just beginning to take control of the error message
effort. Speaking of horrid error messages!
>
> <<Second (and this is a more root issue), I'm a firm believer that
> error messages are bad... I agree with Cooper when he says that good
> software design will alleviate the need for nearly every possible
> error message. >>
Sometimes it's not the software design that causes error messages. Our
product communicates with an outside source to return prices. If that
source is down, or if the system administrator hasn't correctly
configured the connection to that source, the users are going to receive
an error message. When creating Web-based software, that software relies
on any number of servers, routers, etc. that can go down or malfunction.
While it's a great idea to correct the UI to prevent users from doing
harm, it's not always their "fault" nor is it necessarily the "fault" of
the software.
Happy Holidays!
--
-Robyn
"He's never in a happy mood. He's not the elf-life creature
we once thought him to be."
-s
