UX Writing #12
Writing for fake name detection.
This is an interesting challenge especially from the Account provider’s side as there are thousands of cultures all over the world and a common name in a village in India can sound fake to a person in the UK or a name in a very small town in Africa may sound fake to a person in India.
The system may be tailored based on IP address, so if a person from Africa is creating an Account in Africa, many of the common names though uncommon outside Africa, will not be flagged. But what if an African is creating an Account say in India?
Considering the advancement in ML/AI as we speak, I am sure more such complex use-cases is and being solved.
Above was a digression.
In today’s time where everything fake (news, email, etc) is a serious problem, checks and balances should exist to contain it as much as possible…at the same time not offending the genuine use-cases who are trying to create an account for their Business/Personal use.
UX Writing is for the User and not for the system. A user when interacting with any system under any circumstance should get an experience what hopefully brings delight to them, hence its called User Experience.
Let’s break down the brief —
Note — I am assuming this scenario is for a genuine user and not bots.
Scenario
A user is creating an account. When they come to the step where they are asked to enter their name, they get an error message. A fraud detection software thinks their name is fake — but it’s wrong 5% of the time.
enter their name, they get an error message — For the user, this can be funny and if after repeat entry the system still doesn't accept their name as real, it can be down-right frustrating. My name is my identity and I can't even use it to create an account on the internet. Seriously??
Perhaps, the system can prompt for a CAPTCHA (I hate it though) or some kind of a question (2+2 = , what color is sky, identify pictures which has food in it and so on).
The fact that the system is unable to accept the real name, means the system has failed the user. Now how it can come back in a way to save its own face and delight is the real key.
it’s wrong 5% of the time — statistically speaking one in a million would face this and even then if I am that one in a million and not in a very good way, in this case, the system better not offend me.
Challenge
Write an error message that prompts them to fix the error without shaming them for having a fake-sounding name.
prompts them to fix the error — literally speaking this process is lengthy as one would have to change their name in real and legal terms. :)
What the system can do is to have another layer to validate the name is indeed real and not fake.
One important thing is that the user MUST be able to FIX the error of what the system has thrown up. It’s not funny when you see a lot of products throw up random error messages without giving a clue of what the user should do.
To take a step back, even the error messages would require someone to be a Ph.D. to decipher what exactly the error is about.
without shaming them — Super important and most systems are not designed for this. Firstly the system has failed and then it shames us as if we made a mistake, it’s like getting slapped without doing anything.
Those who create UX Writing guidelines should make it keeping a deep empathy for the user, as they are also the users, if not for their own products but for someone else's product. If everyone keeps the user in mind, the experience becomes humane for everyone.
Let’s get to it…
Version-ONE
Oops, looks like our algorithm messed up and unable to recognize your name. Please re-enter your real name.
Version-TWO
I know you like your name, even we do.
Please enter your name again.
Version-THREE
You have a unique name, we like it!
Please follow the instructions so that we can create your account right away.
Version-FOUR
Sorry, we are unable to match your name with the probable ones we have with us. Please re-enter and then follow the instructions to create your account.
Version-FIVE
Sorry, our systems are still learning and mistakenly thinks you are not a person.
Please re-enter your name and follow the instructions.
Which version would you prefer receiving without getting offended?
Past UX Writing challenges —
