Products · Pattern or everyday thing
Error messages
Raised as a usability problem by 80 people on Hacker News over 20 years (2007–2026), in 58 threads.
- 1
- 2
Every issue, all time, most people first
Generic error messages leave users unable to fix problemsUnreviewed
20072026- Error messages were stripped to just "ERROR", so users can't tell what went wrong or report it2026-07-24
- Cryptic error messages shown to end users that make no sense to them2026-05-13
- Users see 'error' or 'warning' and skip reading the actual instructions2026-04-12
Users dismiss error dialogs without reading why they failedUnreviewed
20072026- Users dismiss error popups reflexively before reading them2026-01-10
- Users forget the error message once they close the dialog to contact support2022-08-04
- Error dialog's contact link forces users to leave the app and lose the message2022-08-04
Unreviewed issues were grouped by machine: Claude Haiku labelled each comment as a usability complaint, named what it's about and summed up the problem in a line, and a small model grouped similar problems. Nobody has checked them by hand. Expect mistakes.
The newest 50 complaints
- Modal error popups interrupt work and are almost always unhelpful2026-08-30
- Error messages were stripped to just "ERROR", so users can't tell what went wrong or report it2026-07-24
- Cryptic error messages shown to end users that make no sense to them2026-05-13
- Users see 'error' or 'warning' and skip reading the actual instructions2026-04-12
- Users dismiss error popups reflexively before reading them2026-01-10
- Error says file not found without naming which file was missing2025-12-20
- Cryptic error codes on machines and websites that users can't interpret2025-10-30
- Vague error messages don't say whether the user caused the problem or what to do next2025-10-26
- Error messages on name fields feel like a hostile rejection rather than a polite explanation2024-11-27
- Cannot change the zoom level on the page2024-08-27
- Error messages give no useful information about what went wrong or what to do2024-08-07
- Generic error messages leave users unable to tell what went wrong or how to fix it2024-06-02
- Error messages are so obscure they don't point to the actual cause2024-04-02
- Error messages lack context or next steps, leaving users unable to fix problems2024-02-07
- Generic error messages give no context, so users must dig through logs2024-02-07
- Error messages assume a cause, misleading users about what went wrong2024-02-07
- Cryptic error messages don't say what went wrong or how to fix it2023-07-15
- Error messages are remapped to a fixed text that doesn't match the real error, misleading users and developers2023-03-06
- Errors show developer debugging details instead of consequences and recovery steps2023-02-16
- Error messages blame the user's own action and hide the real cause2023-02-16
- Technical jargon in errors makes users stop reading and avoid fixing problems2022-10-19
- Users lock up on errors and repeat the same failing action2022-10-19
- Real error is buried among repeated messages or scrolled off screen2022-10-19
- Generic error messages give no context, so users must strace or dig through data to diagnose2022-10-19
- "File not found" error doesn't say which file is missing2022-10-19
- Users forget the error message once they close the dialog to contact support2022-08-04
- Generic error messages give users nothing to act on or report2022-08-04
- Vague 'Something went wrong' errors leave users unable to act or get help2022-08-04
- Cutesy wording confuses non-native speakers, who may not realize it is an error2022-08-04
- Links in error messages dump users out of the app or onto confusing pages2022-08-04
- Error dialog's contact link forces users to leave the app and lose the message2022-08-04
- Errors suggest retrying when it won't help, and give no guidance on what to do instead2022-08-04
- Users dismiss error popups by reflex, so they never read the error2022-07-25
- Error points to a confusing position far from the actual problem, making fixes hard to find2022-06-18
- Error message gives no clear guidance on which component is failing2022-03-13
- Error messages hold huge technical dumps and rarely give a useful suggestion, so people can't take them in2022-02-10
- Users ignore alert and error messages, assuming they will be meaningless2022-02-10
- Error messages lack what failed, expected behavior, and how to resolve it2022-02-06
- Error messages are opaque, so users can't tell why authentication failed2021-11-19
- Users zone out on cryptic error codes and need errors read aloud2021-09-03
- Error messages are so poorly written that people struggle to understand them2021-09-03
- Error messages are cryptic and only make sense to people who already understand the system2021-09-03
- Beginners can't tell what went wrong from error messages and stack traces2021-08-09
- Error wording shared by many unrelated issues makes the right fix hard to find by search2021-07-31
- Cryptic, vague or wrong error messages get ignored because they rarely help2021-06-10
- Abort message gives no clue how the code reached the impossible state2021-06-09
- Error messages are vague and unactionable, so people ignore them2021-04-04
- Users see cryptic errors or generic apology, cannot tell what went wrong2020-09-19
- Apps vanish or show errors that give no useful information to act on2020-09-16
- Mother dismisses error dialogs immediately, so she never reads what they say2020-09-13