Rules to Better Interfaces (Popups and Messages)

• Popup - Do you know Pop-ups are evil?
• Popup - Do you know JavaScript alerts are evil?
• Popup - Do you know when Popup forms are good?
• Do you know that popup/modal forms should never have ShowInTaskbar=True?
• Messages - Do you avoid message boxes at all costs?
• Messages - Do you avoid giving an "Error" message for validation purposes?
• Messages - Do you avoid 'OK' button when the action is clear?
• Messages - Do you know how to make message boxes user friendly? (1/3 Titles)
• Messages - Do you know how to put the technical info? (2/3 Description)
• Messages - Do you know what icons to use? (3/3 Icons)
• Messages - Do you clearly show a pass, fail or warning?
• Messages - Do you use green tick, red cross and spinning icon to show the status?
• Messages - Do you use messages that are concise?
• Do you have a clean “no match found” screen?
• Help - Do you help users when they get errors by directing them to a wiki or KB?