An error occurred while processing this directive.
How does one make this seem more convincing?
An error occured while process907934799zcxvsdljljl;
No. That doesn't look convincing enough. The touch typist in me is too stuck on focusing on the numbers row to create '907934799' and then the home row and lower row indicate the dabbling of my fingers 'zxcvsdljljl;' My error message appears much too contrived.
If I am to say it twice, does it seem more convincing?
An error occurred while processing this directive.
An error occurred while processing this directive.
No. An error wouldn't waste time to make something look coherent. How about if I repeat this continuously for maybe 7 times without any carriage returns.
An error occurred while processing this directive. An error occurred while processing this directive. An error occurred while processing this directive. An error occurred while processing this directive. An error occurred while processing this directive. An error occurred while processing this directive. An error occurred while processing this directive.
Now, that looks pretty good. Maybe we can make it more "graphic" by making it blood red like Quentin Tarantino might suggest.
An error occurred while processing this directive. An error occurred while processing this directive. An error occurred while processing this directive. An error occurred while processing this directive. An error occurred while processing this directive. An error occurred while processing this directive. An error occurred while processing this directive.
Color is always effective when there is more so let's do that, and let's also add an abrupt interruption.
An error occurred while processing this directive. An error occurred while processing this directive. An error occurred while processing this directive. An error occurred whi
Oooh. That's good. I feel a chill tingling up my spine at the realism of it all.
Do we want to see error messages? The alternative is for the computer to stay completely silent when something wrong has occurred. But do we really like to hear the computer whine? I guess it depends. If it is an error that we can correct through some conscious interaction, then I think that those kind of error messages are tolerable. You feel an itch. And you are able to scratch it.
But when there is an error message that occurs, and you haven't the slightest idea how to address it ... you get, well, angry. Sure, I'm all for gaman when it comes to the weather or the big things, but when I'm sitting there for an hour trying to hook a USB label printer to my computer and I am having simply no luck, then I have to say that my blood pressure does indeed rise.
Error messages are a way for a device to admit some form of fault, whether it be its own fault or pointing the finger at the other technology it might be tethered to. Wait a second. The "silent treatment" that a delinquent device can give you might be worse than irresolvable error messages. There is no admission of guilt by the device. It sits there all kind of innocent. Who me? Operating improperly? No. It's got to be you doing something wrong.
And then when all hope seems lost, you pick up the manual to see if the manual really tells you how to fix the problem. I recall the entirely unhelpful phrase uttered many times by upperclassmen when I was a neophyte to computer programming "RTFM." Maybe my early trauma surrounding manuals prevents me from placing any faith in them at all? In the end, I figured out my problem with hooking up the USB label printer without referring to the manual. The solution was to not pay any attention to the manual, and to do something completely illogical. My blood pressure is back to normal again.
Posted by maeda at June 9, 2005 08:21 PM