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1. ok1234+Mh[view] [source] 2026-01-02 04:29:02
>>xpe+(OP)
100% agree.

If it's someone else's project, they have full authority to decide what is and isn't an issue. With large enough projects, you're going to have enough bad actors, people who don't read error messages, and just downright crazy people. Throw in people using AI for dubious purposes like CVE inflation, and it's even worse.

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2. Sohcah+XU1[view] [source] 2026-01-02 18:20:59
>>ok1234+Mh
> people who don't read error messages

One of my pet peeves that I will never understand.

I do not expect users to understand what an error means, but I absolutely expect them to tell me what the error says. I try to understand things from the perspective of a non-technical user, but I cannot fathom why even a non-technical user would think that they don't need to include the contents of an error message when seeking help regarding the error. Instead, it's "When I do X, I get an error".

Maybe I have too much faith in people. I've seen even software engineers become absolutely blind when dealing with errors. I had a time 10 years ago as a tester when I filed a bug ticket with explicit steps that results in a "broken pipe error". The engineer closed the ticket as "Can Not Reproduce" with a comment saying "I can't complete your steps because I'm getting a 'broken pipe error'".

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3. tracer+072[view] [source] 2026-01-02 19:32:55
>>Sohcah+XU1
> I do not expect users to understand what an error means

I'm not sure I agree.

Reason ?

The old adage "handle errors gracefully".

The "gracefully" part, by definition means taking into account the UX.

Ergo "gracefully" does not mean spitting out either (a) a meaningless generic message or (b) A bunch of incomprehensible tech-speak.

Your error should provide (a) a user-friendly plain-English description and (b) an error ID that you can then cross-reference (e.g. you know "error 42" means the database connection is foobar because the password is wrong)

During your support interaction you can then guide the user through uploading logs or whatever. Preferably through an "upload to support" button you've already carefully coded into your app.

Even if your app is targetting a techie audience, its the same ethos.

If there is a possibility a techie could solve the problem themselves (e.g. by RTFM or checking the config file), then the onus is on you to provide a suitably meaningful error message to help them on their troubleshooting journey.

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4. Sohcah+kz2[view] [source] 2026-01-02 22:23:52
>>tracer+072
There are people that when using a computer, if anything goes remotely wrong, they completely lose all notions of language comprehension. You can make messages as non-technical as possible and provide troubleshooting steps, and they just throw their hands up and say "I'm not a computer person! I don't know what it's telling me!"

20 years ago, I worked the self-checkout registers in retail. I'd have people scan an item (With the obvious audible "BEEP"), and then stand there confused about what to do next. The machine is telling them "Please place the item in the bag" and they'd tell me they don't know what to do. I'd say "What's the machine telling you?" "'Please place the item in the bag'" "Okay, then place the item in the bag" "Oh, okay"

It's like they don't understand words if a computer is saying them. But if they're coming from a human, they understand just fine, even if it's the exact same words.

"Incorrect password. You may have made a mistake entering it. Please try entering it again." "I don't know what that means, I'm going to call up tech support and just say I'm getting an error when I try to log in."

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5. pixl97+Q73[view] [source] 2026-01-03 02:56:19
>>Sohcah+kz2
>completely lose all notions of language comprehension

I see this pretty often. These aren't even what should be called typical users in theory. They are people doing a technical job and were hired with technical requirements, an application will spit out a well written error message in the domain they should be professionals in and their brain turns off. And ya, it ends up in a call to me where I state the same thing and they figure the problem out.

I really don't get it.

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6. shevve+8p7[view] [source] 2026-01-04 15:20:48
>>pixl97+Q73
I think part of it is that most users at some point encounter an error message that is just straight up wrong. For example, a login page that says "wrong password" when in reality the user is typing EXACTLY what they typed on account creation, but the site silently truncated the password. Even one such frustrating experience is enough to teach many users that as soon as they see any error message, they should stop trusting anything the system tells them, including the error message. It's extremely difficult to rebuild user trust after this sort of UX contract violation, particularly because less technical users don't mentally differentiate separate computer systems. All the systems are just "the computer."

Also arguably the users are kind of right. An error indicates that a program has violated its invariants, which may lead to undefined behavior. Any output from a program after entering the realm of undefined behavior SHOULD be mistrusted, including error messages.

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