20:
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started to be displayed with whimsical characters, termed Fail Pets or Error
Mascots. The term "Fail Pet" was coined, or at least first used in print, by Mozilla Engineer Fred Wenzel in a post on his blog entitled "Why Knowledge (XXG) might need a fail-pet — and why Mozilla does not." Dr. Sean Rintel
562:
Some systems have technical limitations that may constrain the amount of information an error message can contain. For example, a printer with a sixteen-character alphanumeric display can only show a very limited amount of information at once, so it may need to display very terse error messages.
575:
When designing error messages, software designers should take care to avoid creating security vulnerabilities. The designer should give the user enough information to make an intelligent decision, but not so much information that the user is overwhelmed or confused. Extraneous information may be
543:
appear to notify a user about a condition without interrupting their work. On
Windows, notification icons appear in the System Tray. On Mac OS X, notification icons may appear in the menu bar, or may take the form of an application's icon "bouncing" in the Dock. The
501:
Error messages on hardware devices, like computer peripherals, may take the form of dedicated lights indicating an error condition, a brief code that needs to be interpreted using a look-up sheet or a manual, or via a more detailed message on a display.
39:, often display error messages using dialog boxes. Error messages are used when user intervention is required, to indicate that a desired operation has failed, or to relay important warnings (such as warning a computer user that they are almost out of
566:
The nature of the error determines the amount of information required to effectively convey the error message. A complex issue may require a more detailed error message in order to adequately inform the user of the problem.
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in the user interaction. In many cases the original error can be avoided by error prevention techniques. Instead of raising an error message the system design should have avoided the conditions that caused the error.
98:
This error message is commonly seen when the hard drive of the computer is having problems. If the computer can boot from a network, it may instead display the message "Media test failure, check cable".
108:
may have caused the error. Alternatively, the file might not exist, or the user has mistyped its name. This is most commonly seen on the internet with outdated links to web pages that
236:. DFS stores files in non-fragmented contiguous disk space, this error is caused when trying to extend an open random-access file into space that is already occupied by another file.
559:
The three main factors that influence the design of error messages are technical limitations, the amount of information to be presented, and what kind of user input is required.
563:
Even with computer monitors, the programmer must consider the smallest monitor that a user might reasonably use, and ensure that any error messages will fit on that screen.
207:- On Microsoft Windows and ReactOS operating systems, this screen appears when Windows or ReactOS can no longer run because of a severe error. It is roughly analogous to a
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186:
856:
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799:
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While various graphical user interfaces have different conventions for displaying error messages, several techniques have become common:
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usage) and delete some files (normally temporary files, or other files after they have been backed up), or get a bigger hard drive.
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1096:
19:
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1055:
815:
610:
380:). "However, that same recognition carries the danger of highlighting service failure." The most famous fail pet is Twitter's
56:
486:
533:, appears in a window on the screen, blocking further interaction with the computer until it is acknowledged. On Mac OS X,
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hidden by default or placed in a separate location. Error message should not expose information that can be exploited by a
588:
880:
323:) that occurs when the program has detected an error condition, yet the actual error message printing routine relies on
935:
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which may show either "invalid user" or "invalid password" depending on which is incorrect, and the error page in the
376:
and loyalty. Fail pets are of interest to marketers because they can result in brand recognition (especially through
605:
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On computers, error messages may take the form of text printed to a console, or they may be presented as part of a
313:
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This error occurs when the hard drive is (nearly) full. To fix this, the user should close some programs (to free
1122:
1086:
198:
36:
282:- An error on several HP laser printers that simply asked the user to add "Letter" size paper in a confusing way
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This error occurs when the system has run out of memory or tries to load a file too large to store in
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288:- Seen on many computer systems when the received instructions are in a format they don't understand
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which provides a complete technical description of the error including a source code fragment.
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This message and similar ones are displayed by several operating systems when program causes a
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276:", and which is sometimes output when the nature of the error is seemingly entirely different
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246:, roughly analogous to a kernel panic or BSOD, also adopted by more recent products such as
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92:(or a bad disk) in the disk drive and the system tries to perform tasks involving that disk.
44:
32:
260:, usually resulting from a link to a page that has been moved or deleted, or a mistyped URL
185:
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765:"The Evolution of Fail Pets : Strategic Whimsy and Brand Awareness in Error Messages"
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devices, which states a current running application unexpectedly stops working or crashes.
239:
230:
40:
555:, a small portion of an application's window that can display brief messages to the user.
226:
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339:). This is a form of sloppy error handling that is particularly confusing for the user.
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space). Error messages are seen widely throughout computing, and are part of every
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342:- Error occurs on Mac systems when it takes more time to connect wireless networks.
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105:
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272:- A Unix error message that is confusing due to its now obsolete use of the word "
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will infamously reply with a single question mark for nearly all error conditions.
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The form that error messages take varies between operating systems and programs.
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452:: Televisions (on main site), light static inside video window (embedded video)
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is the information displayed when an unforeseen problem occurs, usually on a
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422:
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to obtain information that is otherwise difficult to obtain. Examples are
548:
user interface for Unix systems can display notification icons in a panel.
312:<application name> has stopped - An error message commonly found on
301:
Error 1603 - An error that states that a problem during installation of a
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1004:
999:
368:
364:
291:
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109:
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The following error messages are commonly seen by modern computer users:
23:
An error message when attempting to use the
Knowledge (XXG) Visual editor
471:
467:
449:
443:
385:
360:
328:
306:
792:
The Humane
Interface: New Directions for Designing Interactive Systems
419:: Cloud with Apple System 7 emoticon-style face and a magnifying glass
437:
416:
410:
404:
181:
51:
device. The proper design of error messages is an important topic in
266:- A Unix warning that the printer may be "on fire", literally or not
146:. The fix is to close some programs or install more physical memory.
327:
to print the error reported by the operating system (in this case,
545:
350:
320:
243:
220:
212:
184:
18:
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197:- Another notoriously common and confusing error message seen in
743:"why wikipedia might need a fail-pet — and why mozilla does not"
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are a form of dialog box that are attached to a specific window.
216:
869:
104:
The file concerned may have been damaged, moved, deleted, or a
372:
argues that error messages are a critical strategic moment in
816:"Non-Fatal Errors: Creating usable, effective error messages"
298:
stating that a gateway timeout occurred in the internet link.
74:
This error occurs if the user does not have privileges to a
849:
Avoid being embarrassed by your error messages (UX Matters)
718:"LaserJet turns 25 ... 'PC LOAD LETTER' still unfathomable"
693:"Blue Screens of Death (BSOD): Everything You Need to Know"
319:
Success - one of the error messages (in this instance,
355:
Tumbeasts gnawing on servers, used by Tumblr in 2011
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1079:
1038:
992:
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903:
335:have succeeded and report no errors (in this case,
854:Oops! I ruined your life. :) (Cooper Journal)
794:. ACM Press Series. Addison-Wesley. p. 178.
180:- A notoriously confusing error message seen in
112:. On a local computer, this is more frequent on
35:or other device. Modern operating systems with
88:This error most often occurs when there is no
881:
8:
446:: Fail Whale / Twitter Robot (July 30, 2008)
388:service outages). Other fail pets include:
888:
874:
866:
509:. Error messages are often presented as a
359:With the rise of Web 2.0 services such as
189:An example of an Error message .vbs script
434:: Between the cushions (January 31, 2018)
363:, end-user facing error messages such as
657:
513:, which makes them cause a following
256:- A file not found error seen on the
7:
305:, this error particularly occurs on
16:Computer message indicating an error
551:Minor errors may be displayed in a
667:"How to Write Good Error Messages"
14:
124:and users do not type file names.
1097:List of SMTP server return codes
844:A more useful 404 (A List Apart)
763:Rintel, Sean (2 November 2011).
1092:List of FTP server return codes
665:Minhas, Saadis (May 30, 2018).
440:: Tumbeasts (January 25, 2011)
413:: Broken robot (March 2, 2011)
1:
788:"6-4-2: Messages to the User"
716:McNamara, Paul (2009-04-29).
741:Wenzel, Fred (August 2009).
489:: Giga scratching their head
395:: Moon Shark (March 3, 2013)
242:- an error message from the
1165:
1149:Human–computer interaction
691:Fisher, Tim (2019-01-16).
611:Human–computer interaction
606:Definitive diagnostic data
474:with a helmet floating in
120:where files are presented
57:human–computer interaction
1123:2024 CrowdStrike incident
1087:List of HTTP status codes
118:graphical user interfaces
37:graphical user interfaces
1051:Bad command or file name
507:graphical user interface
331:), while the underlying
294:- An error found on the
229:- an error message from
195:Bad command or file name
154:general protection fault
82:by some program or user.
165:Specific error messages
114:command line interfaces
993:Device and data errors
356:
190:
24:
979:Fatal exception error
631:User interface design
401:on Facebook: Sad cow.
354:
188:
63:Common error messages
22:
786:Raskin, Jef (2000).
205:Blue Screen of Death
149:has stopped working.
78:, or if it has been
55:and other fields of
1118:Windows wait cursor
1056:Halt and Catch Fire
1046:Abort, Retry, Fail?
967:Application failure
483:: Sad Vkontakte dog
178:Abort, Retry, Fail?
984:Segmentation fault
916:Fatal system error
859:2014-08-25 at the
636:Exception handling
616:Interaction design
541:Notification icons
432:Palliser Furniture
357:
191:
25:
1131:
1130:
1113:Spinning pinwheel
936:Red Ring of Death
931:Linux kernel oops
801:978-0-201-37937-2
309:computer systems.
95:Disk Boot Failure
49:computer hardware
1156:
1071:Does not compute
1025:Not a typewriter
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883:
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818:. Archived from
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646:Does not compute
601:Alert dialog box
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303:computer program
270:Not a typewriter
85:Device not ready
45:operating system
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1144:Computer errors
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946:Screen of death
921:Guru Meditation
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861:Wayback Machine
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456:Cartoon Network
374:brand awareness
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240:Guru Meditation
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110:no longer exist
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12:
11:
5:
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1030:PC LOAD LETTER
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904:System failure
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897:Error messages
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838:External links
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531:pop-up message
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280:PC LOAD LETTER
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258:World Wide Web
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172:ed text editor
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127:Low Disk Space
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101:File not found
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1066:Out of memory
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822:on 2009-05-08
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767:. UX Magazine
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722:Network World
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29:error message
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926:Kernel panic
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824:. Retrieved
820:the original
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791:
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769:. Retrieved
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746:. Retrieved
736:
725:. Retrieved
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711:
700:. Retrieved
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674:. Retrieved
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641:Medium error
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458:: BMO : Domo
393:Ars Technica
378:earned media
358:
333:system calls
286:SYNTAX ERROR
227:Can't extend
209:kernel panic
66:
28:
26:
1020:lp0 on fire
264:lp0 on fire
156:or invalid
90:floppy disk
1138:Categories
826:2007-02-16
771:8 February
748:8 February
727:2019-01-30
702:2019-01-30
652:References
626:User error
586:web server
553:status bar
527:dialog box
515:mode error
511:dialog box
382:Fail Whale
337:errno == 0
274:typewriter
248:VirtualBox
158:page fault
122:iconically
911:Bomb icon
621:Usability
423:Macintosh
407:: Octocat
399:FarmVille
347:Fail pets
325:C library
132:swap file
53:usability
41:hard disk
1061:HTTP 418
1015:HTTP 500
1010:HTTP 404
1005:HTTP 403
1000:HTTP 402
857:Archived
697:Lifewire
595:See also
571:Security
369:HTTP 500
365:HTTP 404
292:HTTP 504
254:HTTP 404
170:? - the
116:than on
33:computer
1106:Related
941:Sad Mac
676:Jan 30,
589:IIS 5.0
582:systems
578:cracker
487:Scratch
472:Red fox
468:Patreon
464:: T-Rex
450:YouTube
444:Twitter
427:Sad Mac
386:Twitter
361:Twitter
329:errno.h
314:Android
307:Windows
798:
535:sheets
438:Tumblr
417:iCloud
411:Google
405:GitHub
199:MS-DOS
182:MS-DOS
80:locked
1080:Lists
1039:Other
974:ABEND
956:Black
546:GNOME
529:, or
476:space
384:(see
321:POSIX
244:Amiga
231:Acorn
221:macOS
219:, or
213:Linux
951:Blue
796:ISBN
773:2012
750:2012
678:2019
367:and
217:Unix
203:The
76:file
234:DFS
211:on
144:RAM
106:bug
47:or
27:An
1140::
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695:.
671:UX
669:.
525:A
481:VK
470::
425::
215:,
59:.
889:e
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
