Message Length

Wordiness or verbosity of messages should depend on the component. Consider the following guidelines on message length:

• Strings from components that have the potential to destroy an installation or cause the system to crash should include more explanation and user guidance. For example, Setup and STOP messages can contain more text.
• Strings from components that are displayed often to less technical users (as opposed to administrators or technical support) can also be longer. For example, Print Manager and IIS messages can be longer.
• Strings that display mostly to technical users should be shorter. Explanation and user action fields in the Messages Help file can go into more detail for these users. For example, WINS and TCP/IP messages should be brief and to the point.