81
votes
Accepted
How can I unambiguously ask for a new user's "Display Name"?
This is a great question and it may take a few more attempts to get it right. As a rule, people don't read, so a short description is key. I'd try:
Preferred Full Name
Nicknames are fine, titles are ...
- 827
39
votes
Options for "Cancel this operation?" are "Cancel" and "Yes"; what would be better wording for customers in a hurry?
These misleading UIs are everywhere.
They're mostly long-life radioactive waste left behind by the MFC MessageBox() function. Back in the day it was quite a lot of work to make a custom popup, and ...
- 491
37
votes
How can I unambiguously ask for a new user's "Display Name"?
Don't give instructions. Give clear, concise, impossible-to-ignore examples.
Display Name
(e.g., Bob Jones, Liz Johnson)
The example names that you choose, like the ones here, need to ...
- 481
27
votes
How can I unambiguously ask for a new user's "Display Name"?
Does your system allow users to control their own display name at a later point in time? E.g., once hired, can Robert V. Jones go into some settings panel somewhere and change their own display name ...
- 1,222
26
votes
Alternative term to "Blacklist" and "Whitelist"
Semantic alternatives to whitelist/blacklist:
greenlist/redlist (ablist; will also be obsolete with traffic lights in 50-100 years)
passlist/faillist ("ill" is hard to read)
grantlist/blocklist (four ...
- 361
24
votes
Accepted
Technical Term for 'Annoyances'
I call stuff like this "impediments", since stuff that causes annoyance to the user is basically stopping/impairing the user from what he is trying to achieve.
But i think there are many words that ...
- 10.8k
23
votes
Alternative term to "Blacklist" and "Whitelist"
Safelist / Blocklist and Allowlist / Denylist have been adopted in the wild.
I personally like Grantlist and Blocklist for semantic and syntactic reasons, though I understand some might be irrelevant ...
- 331
19
votes
Options for "Cancel this operation?" are "Cancel" and "Yes"; what would be better wording for customers in a hurry?
Rather than thinking of this as a continue/abort or yes/no prompt, you can treat it as a full choice between two actions, and describe those actions to the user.
Since this is a modal dialogue with no ...
- 322
17
votes
Options for "Cancel this operation?" are "Cancel" and "Yes"; what would be better wording for customers in a hurry?
Be explicit.
"... this operation" (with its 9 meanings there) isn't at all.
Are you sure?
Cancel buying ticket[s]¹. Yes No
¹ Singular or plural dynamically depending ...
- 581
14
votes
Alternative term to "Blacklist" and "Whitelist"
While I find a lot of this to be silly semantics, I've actually wondered in my 30 years as a Linux admin how it must feel to be a black person, and hear constantly that a good "hacker" is a ...
- 141
14
votes
How to label resources belonging to users in a two-sided marketplace?
I think you're on a bad footing if there's any confusion over the role the user is in when viewing a page. It's generally a good idea to use a non-overlapping language appropriate to the role, and set ...
- 71.3k
12
votes
Technical Term for 'Annoyances'
What about "obstacle"?
It's a general term for something that is making something else difficult.
- 12.1k
12
votes
Accepted
To hyphenate or not to hyphenate: Grammatically correct or aesthetically pleasing text?
The Associated Press Stylebook, commonly adopted by publications and marketing departments, used to require hyphens between compound adjectives but changed its guidelines in 2019:
We updated our ...
- 146
11
votes
Technical Term for 'Annoyances'
If you are looking for a phrase that connects with technical UX literature, I suggest "cognitive burdens".
The term cognitive burden /cognitive load comes from psychology, but it is commonly used in ...
- 2,577
10
votes
Accepted
"Visual clues" vs "Visual cues"?
Visual cue is an academic term used in cognitive psychology. User experience experts have adopted it too as UX is tightly coupled with cognitive psychology.
Visual cues are sensory cues received by ...
- 11.5k
9
votes
Changing password - 'Old password' vs 'Current password'
A two-step approach to changing passwords eliminates the need to use either term (see below). However, if you're going to use a single-form approach, I'd recommend "current" as it's more accurate.
...
- 2,529
9
votes
How can I unambiguously ask for a new user's "Display Name"?
Display name is just alright.
With this wording, nearly all the managers that try to register new people are providing answers that are clearly intended for usernames, such as bjones, either ...
- 18
9
votes
Wording for t-shirt sized plans: 'XXL' or '2XL'?
As mentioned in the comments, the ommission of the standard S, M and L in your proposed XS, SM, MD, XL, 2XL, 3XL, 4XL does confuse things slightly. For example why is it XS and not XSM? Why not ditch ...
- 274
7
votes
6
votes
Spelling: Id vs. ID
Camel case does not apply to this because Camel case is a style method for programming. You are asking about how to abbreviate an English term. The proper use is ID; never Id.
Unfortunately, this ...
- 2,844
6
votes
How can I unambiguously ask for a new user's "Display Name"?
I'd still try to do testing
So long as you have a user base you can still do testing. Just go to the existing users in person, with a bit of paper with the field on it, and ask them to write down what ...
- 3,810
6
votes
Wording for t-shirt sized plans: 'XXL' or '2XL'?
Well depends on which size it is, since XXL and 2XL are not the same size(2XL is larger).
9.73 The Dawg: Why XXL and 2XL are not the same size
The Sun: People realising XXL and 2XL aren't the same ...
- 259
5
votes
How to deny the usage of my product to a user?
We aim for delightful and pleasant experiences. Unfortunately, there are times where you have to deliver bad news to a user. There are a few things you can do to ease the sense of frustration and ...
- 9,921
5
votes
User instruction wording - refresh browser / reload page?
Reload Page
Some users don't even know what the "browser" is. They just "go to the internet". But everyone, hopefully, knows what a web "page" is, so "reload page&...
5
votes
How to label resources belonging to users in a two-sided marketplace?
I think everything in a site of this sort would fall into one of three categories:
User acting as a "Host" = Selling
User acting as a "Guest" = Buying
Configuration - username/...
4
votes
Alternative term to "Blacklist" and "Whitelist"
UK's NCSC now recommends (and uses) allow list and deny list. I feel like these are very close analogs to the now, archaic, whitelist and blacklist.
- 141
4
votes
Spelling: Id vs. ID
From https://stackoverflow.com/questions/1151338/id-or-id-on-user-interface, specifically https://stackoverflow.com/a/1151345/881441:
According to Merriam-Webster, the abbreviation is "ID". If it ...
- 141
4
votes
Ask for donations vs ask for investments
Please read the whole answer, especially the last part!
User Experience Viewpoint:
A donation in the microcopy way is something you do out of charity or generosity. It is not awarded with huge give-...
- 616
4
votes
Accepted
"Images" or "Pictures" as a user term?
Overthinking?
Designers sometimes overthink things, and I have a gut feeling this question is possibly an example.
One of your main roles in UX, most of the time at least, is to reduce users' ...
- 32.8k
4
votes
How to name shops, cafes, entertainment centers in one word for good UX?
Instead of looking for the kind of store or establishment, what can be helpful is to search the activity type:
Leisure
Free time
Entertainment
- 20.4k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible