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I use the blithering idiot test. Only end an error message with an exclamation mark if the punctuation mark could reasonably be replaced with the phrase "you blithering idiot!" For example, "th...
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#3: Attribution notice added
by
System
·
2019-12-08T12:03:07Z (almost 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/45627 License name: CC BY-SA 3.0 License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision
by
MZB
·
2019-12-08T12:03:07Z (almost 5 years ago)
I use the blithering idiot test. Only end an error message with an exclamation mark if the punctuation mark could reasonably be replaced with the phrase "you blithering idiot!" For example, "this will turn off the life support systems and kill everyone you blithering idiot! Do you wish to continue?" Or "You have entered the wrong password fifteen times in the last ten minutes!" As an end user, an error message with an exclamation mark feels insulting and so it should only be used in extreme cases. It's ok to use an exclamation mark icon for errors though (c.f. Microsoft Windows).
#1: Imported from external source
by
System
·
2019-05-31T20:47:27Z (over 5 years ago)
Original score: 8