But deadpan errors are not great either. Error messages can cause anguish, and it would be good to have emotionally intelligent messages communicated to humans.

But deadpan errors are not great either. Error messages can cause anguish, and it would be good to have emotionally intelligent messages communicated to humans. It doesn't need to be "cutesy", but it can communicate in language that makes people feel less anguish. They should also tell the user what to do next, not just "that didn't work". Don't leave the user hanging.