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"Cancel" should never be on an "Are you sure" prompt. Labels the buttons with what they DO. "Don't delete", or "Keep", or "Save", and "Delete", would be appro

"Cancel" should never be on an "Are you sure" prompt. Labels the buttons with what they DO. "Don't delete", or "Keep", or "Save", and "Delete", would be appropriate button labels.

happytoexplain 3y ago
Sorry, I disagree. I've seen the pattern you're describing. Yes, it is perfectly acceptable (usually preferable, even) to replace "OK" or "Yes" with an explicit verb. But please do not do the same for the cancel button. It creates an unnecessary cognitive prompt. Always give the user a no-thinking safe way of dismissing a confirmation prompt - we have trained users for decades that "Cancel" is that escape hatch. As another commenter pointed out, I agree with the HIG here: https://developer.apple.com/design/human-interface-guidelines/alerts https://developer.apple.com/design/human-interface-guideline... > Always use “Cancel” to title a button that cancels the alert’s action.
- kccqzy 3y ago
  > Are you sure you want to cancel your flight? > [Cancel] [Cancel] I totally agree that it is preferable to replace "OK" or "Yes" with an explicit verb. The same thing should be done to the usual "Cancel" button. If you are already thinking of an explicit verb to replace "OK" with, just add "Don't" to the other one.
  - happytoexplain 3y ago
    And as always, the unstated first rule of UI is: Also use common sense :) E.g. in this case, the first option should be "Cancel Flight" or "Yes", and the second option should be "Do Not Cancel" or "No", though I'm sure there are other reasonably explicit options. Edit: We each made essentially the same suggestion as an edit to our posts at the same time. The only difference is that I consider this an exceptional case. I still contend that "Do Not XXX" requires more thinking than "Cancel" when there isn't an obvious semantic conflict. You say "if you are already thinking of an explicit verb...", but I am not concerned with saving myself cognitive effort - I am concerned with the user. Edit: Also, note that this is all tangential. The only point I was interested in writing about at the top of the thread is that, when you do see a "Cancel" button, it should never be destructive.

"Cancel" should never be on an "Are you sure" prompt. Labels the buttons with what they DO. "Don't delete", or "Keep", or "Save", and "Delete", would be appropriate button labels.

happytoexplain 3y ago

Sorry, I disagree. I've seen the pattern you're describing. Yes, it is perfectly acceptable (usually preferable, even) to replace "OK" or "Yes" with an explicit verb. But please do not do the same for the cancel button. It creates an unnecessary cognitive prompt. Always give the user a no-thinking safe way of dismissing a confirmation prompt - we have trained users for decades that "Cancel" is that escape hatch. As another commenter pointed out, I agree with the HIG here: https://developer.apple.com/design/human-interface-guidelines/alerts https://developer.apple.com/design/human-interface-guideline... > Always use “Cancel” to title a button that cancels the alert’s action.

kccqzy 3y ago
> Are you sure you want to cancel your flight? > [Cancel] [Cancel] I totally agree that it is preferable to replace "OK" or "Yes" with an explicit verb. The same thing should be done to the usual "Cancel" button. If you are already thinking of an explicit verb to replace "OK" with, just add "Don't" to the other one.
- happytoexplain 3y ago
  And as always, the unstated first rule of UI is: Also use common sense :) E.g. in this case, the first option should be "Cancel Flight" or "Yes", and the second option should be "Do Not Cancel" or "No", though I'm sure there are other reasonably explicit options. Edit: We each made essentially the same suggestion as an edit to our posts at the same time. The only difference is that I consider this an exceptional case. I still contend that "Do Not XXX" requires more thinking than "Cancel" when there isn't an obvious semantic conflict. You say "if you are already thinking of an explicit verb...", but I am not concerned with saving myself cognitive effort - I am concerned with the user. Edit: Also, note that this is all tangential. The only point I was interested in writing about at the top of the thread is that, when you do see a "Cancel" button, it should never be destructive.