Error Messages Are Evil

[Dar Scott]

Long ago, deep in a previous century, I set up a Cromemco or MITS Altair for my secretary to do some word processing while I was out.  

When I came back, she was in tears.  The computer told her, “Invalid!  Jump to!”

I looked at the screen.  At the bottom was the line “Invalid jump to 0000.”  

I hadn’t emphasized that programs crash and what the crash might look like.  I had neglected to say that if something goes wrong is was unlikely to be her fault.  

We have come a long way, computers and I.  

Dar


On May 11, 2014, at 12:48 PM, Alejandro Tejada <capellan2000 at gmail.com> wrote:

> Recent article published by Don Norman.
> http://www.jnd.org/dn.mss/error_messages_are_e.html
> 
> "Error messages punish people for not behaving like machines. 
> It is time we let people behave like people. When a problem 
> arises, we should call it machine error, not human error:
> 
> the machine was designed wrong, demanding that we conform 
> to its peculiar requirements. It is time to design and build 
> machines that conform to our requirements. 
> 
> Stop confronting us: Collaborate with us."
> 
> 
> 
> --
> View this message in context: http://runtime-revolution.278305.n4.nabble.com/Error-Messages-Are-Evil-tp4679382.html
> Sent from the Revolution - User mailing list archive at Nabble.com.
> 
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