Speak the user's language

When I open a document in the so-called PDF format in my web browser, I first get this message:

It is nice that the program tells me what it is doing while I am waiting for the document, but this message is not very understandable. First, the title "Viewing Location" is confusing: I don't want to view a location, I want to view a document. The text "Spawning External Viewer" is even worse: "Spawning" is something that a fish does. It doesn't make sense here, except to a proficient C programmer. The word "External" is also confusing. The viewer is external from the programmer's point of view, because it is provided by somebody else. But as a user, I don't want to think of who programmed which part of my software, I want to concentrate on the contents of the document I am about to see.

Therefore: Speak the user's language!

You don't have to go to extremes, though. Sometimes users may be offended by a language that sounds too childish, and there may be situations where the users need to learn the technical terms anyway. But in general, you have to use a language that the users understand.

This page was last modified 2008-Dec-08