Tagged Questions
15
votes
6answers
621 views
What is the recommended wording for a generic error message
What would be the best wording for a generic error message?
With generic error message I mean a message for an error that has occured but there are no details on what the error is or how to recover ...
24
votes
7answers
746 views
How to phrase button labels?
How should I phrase the following button labels:
"Import image" or "Import an image"?
"Create app" or "Create an app"?
"Add description" or "Add a description"?
If you could also supply the ...
5
votes
5answers
262 views
“Millions of colors” vs “24-bit”: should technical concepts be simplified to ease understanding at the cost of precision?
Macs indicate 24-bit color depth by using the term "millions of colors", while Windows calls it "24-bit" or "32-bit". (I'm aware that Windows "32-bit" color simply adds an alpha channel that doesn't ...
3
votes
3answers
136 views
Contact page. Which is the better wording?
What is the most appropriate Contact page title for a website?
Contact, Contacts, Contact us or other?
Contacts is used, among others, in iOS and Android.
Seems to me more related to a list of ...
4
votes
1answer
118 views
Startup screens: “Show this page at startup” vs. “Don't show this on startup”
I'm currently working on an iOS app where the user is presented with a startup screen until the user disables it.
I am insisting that this startup screen should have an already ticked checkbox that ...
3
votes
2answers
121 views
Is there a better label for the “OK” button in message boxes with just one button?
Having read "Should I use Yes/No or Ok/Cancel on my message box?", I do understand that message boxes with two or more buttons should use verbs instead of e.g. Yes and No.
To further improve the user ...
9
votes
5answers
264 views
Word to indicate moving from “Draft” to “Live”
I'm looking for a friendly, widely understood word to indicate that something is going from a "Draft" state into a "Live" state.
The difference between these two states is that once it is "Live" ...
7
votes
3answers
151 views
“Activate” / “Enable” + “noun verbing” or simply “Verb noun”?
A popular chatting application has the global option "Enable buddy icon animation". Would this be better phrased as "Animate buddy icon" or not? And if so, is this a general rule? For example, ...
6
votes
4answers
189 views
Why write “Polite Notice” on a sign?
I was parking my car this morning, and saw a sign attached to someone's front gate...
Polite Notice:
Do not park in front of these gates at any time.
...and I wondered about why the author ...
3
votes
2answers
86 views
How does individual vs pluralistic language affect community?
Pluralistic
Imagine our goal is creation of a community environment (perhaps such as UX.stackexchange).
Through our word choices, we can choose individual or pluralistic expressions - and the words ...
248
votes
14answers
28k views
Should error messages apologize?
We are having a discussion on our team about an error message that says "Sorry, you do not have permission to access this feature. Please contact your administrator for assistance."
Is it ...
3
votes
3answers
157 views
The term “User Experience” in sales
This might be redundant, but I'm curious about the end user's experience when they read the phrase "User Experience".
I've seen a number of websites say that they design the best user experience, but ...
2
votes
4answers
197 views
Best words to indicate appreciate/depreciate instead of like/dislike
we have designed a system that creates a personalized stream of (text based) content for users. In order for the system to adapt, the users have to constantly give some feedback based on whether a ...
9
votes
2answers
160 views
How do you test phrasing of labels, links, and descriptive text?
At my workplace, an academic library, we often have extended conflicts over exactly how to phrase labels, links, and descriptive text.
For example, one link on our home page goes to a list of topics, ...
5
votes
5answers
211 views
Is “<Object name>: <quantity>” notation acceptable in most popular localization?
This question was originally asked in the linguistics SE (which is not a good place to ask this kinds of thing).
Full question follows
I follow the software localization guideline, that states ...
5
votes
3answers
225 views
Should field labels be nouns or verbs?
On a web form should field labels be nouns or verbs? This issue arose from two fields on an account request form that currently read:
Temporary Password
Re-Enter Temporary Password
There is debate ...
6
votes
5answers
291 views
Alternative wording to 'upgrade from free trial to a paying plan'?
Looking for an alternative to 'upgrade'. The problem is that in our web-app ui and communication, we are currently using two different versions of upgrade:
the common upgrade/downgrade of the ...
7
votes
4answers
653 views
Error-message to indicate invalid data has been entered?
Sorry for the subjective question....
I'm working on the micro-copy that appears on a web-form when a user submits invalid data: eg: invalid date/time. We've used inline validation and date time ...
