Timeline for Messages such as "Operation Successfully Completed": Is word "successfully" really necessary?
Current License: CC BY-SA 3.0
5 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
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| Mar 14, 2022 at 16:21 | comment | added | Pablo H | @sampathsris "User does not have to know that database call can fail [...]". I beg to defer. People should know that pencil lead tends to break when pencils fall, that they can be scalded by hot coffee, that doctors can make mistakes, that cars can break down, and should have a rough, very rough, idea of how computers work and can fail. | |
| Jul 18, 2014 at 7:57 | comment | added | Alexej Froehlich | "User does not have to know that database call can fail, server can overload..." <-- And to supplement your comment @Krumia: While we're talking about system issues, we actually say to the user that she successfully checked out (she must be thinking we expect her to be retarded and not always able to checkout) -- So yes, "Checkout complete" is a much much much much better way to go. As I already stated, get rid of all "successes" if they do not refer to the user. | |
| Jul 18, 2014 at 4:35 | comment | added | sampathsris | PS: Your username is redundant :P | |
| Jul 18, 2014 at 4:34 | comment | added | sampathsris | How about phrases like "You have successfully checked out your items" (online shopping cart). At the first glance, the word is needed here. But my argument is, it implies that the checkout process can fail. The programmer knows this and unintentionally adds the word success. But the message should have been simply "Checkout complete". User does not have to know that database call can fail, server can overload, or a multitude of things can happen during the checkout process, making it unsuccessful. | |
| Jul 18, 2014 at 4:01 | history | answered | 200_success | CC BY-SA 3.0 |