About Face 2.0(c) The Essentials of Interaction Design

Error message boxes validate the idea that the computer is the final arbiter of correctness, and the user is there just to serve its digital majesty. This attitude influences both programmers and users. It tempts programmers to make bad judgments in design and to take shortcuts in implementation. These compromises necessitate the use of yet more error messages. Also, users are anesthetized by error messages so they cannot visualize the possibility of error-free computing.