> Similarly, a support agent might tell you to “Go to your cases” over webchat or a phone call. This is confusing if the UI says “My cases”.

Simpsons did it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vihwYGENbFg

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oneeyedpigeon 8 hours ago | parent | next [-]

I was thinking about this exact kind of issue yesterday, while watching an interview with Jeremy Corbyn, a British politician who has formed a new party that is, provisionally, called "Your Party". The back-and-forth with the interviewer just highlighted how bad an idea this is, with one of them referring to "your party" and the other one also referring to "your party". In some contexts, it's absolutely fine. In others, it's a complete mockery.

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eru 7 hours ago | parent | next [-]

I am inclined to agree, however often any publicity is good publicity, and stumbling over the name a bit makes it perhaps more memorable (and takes time away discussing any of the real issues, which might actually have something for people to disagree with).

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OJFord 7 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Ugh I hadn't heard about that. That seems especially silly given 'People's Party' is so well established as how you convey that.

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oneeyedpigeon 7 hours ago | parent [-]

In fairness, it's supposed to be a placeholder, but a) it's been in place for ages, with interviews taking place in the meantime, and b) placeholders can take root if you're not careful.

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esafak 2 hours ago | parent [-]

It's just a prototype!

	▲	fragmede 2 hours ago \| parent [-]
		Wait but is that your prototype, or my prototype?

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Waterluvian 8 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

The Simpsons always has at least one reference suitable to be shoehorned into a topic. But that one is pretty much a perfect bullseye.

I’ve had this problem at times and it feels like one of those cases where a designer responsible for consistency is helpful. I end up oscillating between first and second person.

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kijin 8 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

I don't see what would be so awkward about saying "Go to My Cases" even if it was spoken over the phone. The user is already looking at a screen that contains a menu that says "My Cases". You are reading out the name of that menu. That's enough context for most people IRL.

If you are genuinely worried that the user might try to look up your cases instead of their own, you can just add a few words to clarify: "Click the menu that says My Cases."

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teiferer 5 hours ago | parent [-]

And you my friend are demonstrating why this keeps being used. It's so common that now generations of devs and designers are so used to it that they don't see anything wrong. And if on the phone with grandma, instructing her to go to "my files" and her asking where to find my files (instead of hers), that's shrugged off as stupid user rather than an UX fail.

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tdeck 3 hours ago | parent [-]

If you're talking to someone who is mostly computer illiterate, you'd say something like "do you see a folder icon on the screen that says My Cases? Double click on that." and not "go to My Cases"

	▲	kmoser 2 hours ago \| parent [-]
		Yeah, if somebody is really that computer-illiterate, you'll also need to tell them where on the screen to look since they're likely overwhelmed by all the other things. These tend to be the same people who, unfortunately, haven't installed ad blockers, and are constantly tempted to click on an ad, thinking it's the "right" place to click.

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mattigames 8 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

When spoken it helps to tell the user "my cases" in a monotonic voice (and/or slightly lower tone), which hints that is just a verbatim label (the reason this works is because it mimics how a lot of people sound when reading aloud).

	▲	oneeyedpigeon 7 hours ago \| parent [-]
		It's even more accurate to say "the my cases link/button".