[GitHub] Antonio-Maranhao commented on issue #1038: [Feature request] Add more detailed error messages

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Antonio-Maranhao commented on issue #1038: [Feature request] Add more detailed error messages
URL: https://github.com/apache/couchdb-fauxton/issues/1038#issuecomment-353121199
 
 
   Hey @popojargo I believe the real goal here should be better error messages. 
   I agree 100% the generic `Error doing_something` is not helpful and goes against UX best practices. Having `Something wrong. Reason:`+`<couchdb_msg>` is relatively better (depending on the user) but it might not be ideal for all cases. CouchDB messages are sometimes not helpful either. Besides it's an API response, more for robots than humans. 
   
   To be clear, I'm not against your idea at all. I've [done it myself](https://github.com/apache/couchdb-fauxton/blob/master/app/addons/documents/index-results/actions/fetch.js#L107) because it's better than a generic message alone.
   
   Ultimately we want the error messages to be helpful. Tell me why it didn't work and how can I fix it. I realize it's a bigger ask then what you're proposing here, and not easy/quick to implement, but I wanted to raise these points nevertheless.
   
   There are some low hanging fruits though. For instance making the existing messages better by following a couple of guidelines:
    - Avoid negative words: _Oops, Error, Failed, Problem, Invalid, Wrong, Prohibited_
    - Avoid exclamation marks
    - Don't blame the user
    - If an error can be avoided (e.g. input validation) change the code to prevent it
   
   

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