the set of structural rules that govern the composition of clauses, phrases, and words in any given natural language
24
votes
7answers
757 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 ...
7
votes
3answers
248 views
What is the correct way to indicate something can be either singular or plural?
Taking it as a given that the system is not intelligent enough to be able to recognise a single result as apposed to multiple results (don't ask!), what is the correct way to represent the possibility ...
3
votes
3answers
94 views
How do I best describe a “confirm a download” in a dialog box?
We have a feature that offers subscription-based downloads. There are limitations to the counter back-end so to make sure a customer does not get charged by mistake, we have implemented a pop up box ...
2
votes
5answers
121 views
Clarification on letter case in button text
I'm looking for clarification on the use of letter case.
The two examples are:
"Duplicate Search" vs "Duplicate search"
this is in the context of performing a search of users in order to detect if ...
23
votes
5answers
1k views
Can you sacrifice grammar to keep instructions simple, specifically when using a(n)?
Because of the way the form is written, step-by-step in first person, it is necessary to put the a(n) to keep them grammatically correct for the Administrator case. However I feel like it makes the ...
4
votes
3answers
202 views
Which grammatical person should I use when writing to the user?
Say a user is signed in to my website and looking at his dashboard which may have a section for his/her incoming messages.
Should I label that section "My incoming messages", "Your incoming messages" ...
5
votes
6answers
357 views
Text for email address validation!
When validating email address on sign-up/login page which is the right grammar?
"Please insert a valid email address."
OR
"Please enter a valid email address."
OR just
"Invalid email address." ...
5
votes
3answers
231 views
Where should I put the punctuation?
In a few programming tutorials I am writing, I use quotations to indicate what the program should display if the output is short; such as:
The program should output "Hello World"
However, it ...
12
votes
1answer
3k views
Is there a difference between “login” and “log in”?
I always thought login is the noun and log in is the verb. For example, "you need to log in using the modal login window". Is this really the case or can they be used interchangeably? Does logout and ...
31
votes
7answers
2k views
What is the impact of spelling mistakes for users?
My team developed a site that has a lot of spelling and grammatical mistakes.
Does this leave a bad impression for first time visiting users?
3
votes
3answers
368 views
What are the best guidelines for grammar and punctuation in alerts and user messages?
I know that button titles shouldn't just be "Okay", "Yes" or "No", but be the name of the specific action the button will perform. What about the message itself?
For example, I display this modal ...
1
vote
1answer
279 views
Contraction (grammar) in User Interface
Is it considered unprofessional to use contractions (doesn't instead of does not) in UI. Should I avoid contractions completely or are some ok and some not?
17
votes
5answers
1k views
Is it correct to sometimes capitalize words mid-sentence in computer user interfaces?
I've noticed that many sites and user interfaces tend to capitalize certain words or sentences like so:
Choose File
Select a File to Upload
Account Settings
How to Format
but in some other ...
