[uf-discuss] Error messages

[Evan Prodromou]

One of the most common HTML patterns in Web applications is error
messages. We see them all the time on the Web: login errors, form
validation errors, backend errors and user input errors. But what if
this common pattern was standardized?

If HTML error messages all followed a similar format, we could have
browser plugins that recorded and analyzed the errors that come up. They
could either feed back this structured error data when we needed it --
say, when filing a bug report or talking to a tech support rep -- or use
the error data to help us find workarounds or documentation online.

I brought the idea up in the #microformats channel on Freenode, and it
got a good response, so I took the next step and created a list of
examples and a brainstorming page on the microformats wiki.

         http://microformats.org/wiki/error-message-examples
         http://microformats.org/wiki/error-message-brainstorming

I'd greatly appreciate the help of people on this list in collecting
error messages from the wild, and hopefully in building up a draft
microformat.

~Evan

-- 
Evan Prodromou - evan at prodromou.name - http://evan.prodromou.name/