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It depends on the message, but a "Sorry" can set the right tone so a user doesn't feel "yelled at". Omitting the pleasantry might make things seem too terse. S
by gary_0 3y ago
It depends on the message, but a "Sorry" can set the right tone so a user doesn't feel "yelled at". Omitting the pleasantry might make things seem too terse.
Sorry, your e-mail failed to send.
Your e-mail failed to send.
I much prefer the first one. Software intended for typical end users should have a respectful tone and avoid sounding like it's blaming the user. On the other hand, something like strerror()'s output (eg. "Bad file number") is appropriately terse due to being meant more for programmers.
- bhawks 3y agoBoth these error messages fail the "where do we go from here?" test - disrespecting the user with requiring open ended work on their part. Having some breadcrumbs to get back to the right track is much more valuable than flowery wordings. Eg: Message too large - failed to send email. Network unavailable - failed to send email. Subscription expired - failed to send email. Unexpected service outage - https://email.io/status https://email.io/status - failed to send email.
- gary_0 3y agoThe details of the error weren't the point of my example. And being that terse sounds like you're barking orders at the user. Once again, shortness is fine for programmer communication, but personally for an end user just going about their day I would avoid such an impertinent tone.