zlacker

[return to "Why users cannot create Issues directly"]
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.

◧◩
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'".

◧◩◪
3. sowbug+2Y1[view] [source] 2026-01-02 18:39:22
>>Sohcah+XU1
If I can victim-blame for a moment, I don't know what my mom is supposed to do when a streaming service on her TV says there's a problem and will she please report a GUID to the support department.

No, my mom is not eidetic, and no, she's not going to upload a photo of her living room.

Totally agree with you, though, when the full error message is at least capable of being copied to the clipboard.

◧◩◪◨
4. cinnta+bd2[view] [source] 2026-01-02 20:09:50
>>sowbug+2Y1
Most (all?) photo apps include a crop function, allowing your mom just crop out everything else.
◧◩◪◨⬒
5. monkey+QX2[view] [source] 2026-01-03 01:18:50
>>cinnta+bd2
I hope you’re being sarcastic. If not, expecting someone’s parent to know how to use a photo app’s crop functionality just to communicate an error state is a failure of understanding typical streaming app users.
◧◩◪◨⬒⬓
6. cinnta+mx6[view] [source] 2026-01-04 06:12:00
>>monkey+QX2
I wasn't being sarcastic. This is not a case of not being capable of doing something, it's about not knowing the functionality exists. Cropping is very simple. I assumed the GP didn't know about it either or he would have taught his mom already.

Could the manufacturer solve this in a better way? Probably but that won't solve the issue the customer has now.

◧◩◪◨⬒⬓⬔
7. sowbug+VA8[view] [source] 2026-01-04 23:09:05
>>cinnta+mx6
Poe's Law goes both ways. As a matter of fact, my mom invented digital photo cropping (or "pixel array extent adjustment," because even in her prime she wasn't a marketing genius, bless her heart). We know better than to expect her to submit a bug report once she's settled down to watch TV for the evening.

Jokes aside, "upload a photo of her living room" was meant to highlight the ridiculousness of the UX. I believe the designer of that flow had an OKR to decrease the number of reported bugs.

[go to top]