If Error Messages Were Honest (and Cats)
Tags: jokes, watercooler, webdev, development
Published: 2024-05-24 14:59:02


  

  

We’ve all been there... Staring at the screen, deciphering cryptic error messages that seem designed more to confuse than to inform.  

But what if, instead of cryptic text, error messages just told us what was really going on?  

Let’s dive into a world where error messages are not only helpful but also honest.

  
[Cat images from http.cat](https://http.cat/)

  

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## 404 Not Found
**Look, I’ve searched high and low and I can’t find this page. Are you sure it ever existed?**
  

This error might as well be telling you that the page has packed up its bags and moved to a remote island. It’s a reminder of the ghost towns in the digital world—places that were once populated but now exist only in memory (or not at all).

  

![cat representinf the 404 error](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/mk725j4dxrp1rrquk6ei.jpg)

  

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## 500 Internal Server Error
**Something broke, and it’s definitely not your fault this time. But it’s still a mystery to all of us.**

  

Imagine if your car just stopped working and the mechanic shrugged and said, “It’s broken.” That’s your 500 error—unhelpful and a bit mysterious, leaving everyone involved a bit perplexed.

  

![cat demosntrating error 500](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/e2qpaa7irzd4th9jcylr.jpg)

  

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 {% endcta %}

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## 403 Forbidden
**You shall not pass! No, seriously, you don’t have permission to be here.;**
  

It’s like getting turned away at the door of an exclusive club. You know there’s something awesome on the other side, but you just can’t get in.

![cat representation of error 403](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/bggmmq8vnygkbeypymzs.jpg)

  

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## Syntax Error
 

**You missed a semicolon on line 237. Seriously, a semicolon!?**

  

It’s the programming equivalent of tripping over your own shoelaces. A tiny punctuation mark can be the downfall of an entire script. And it happens ALL THE TIME.

  

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## Timeout Error

  

**I waited and waited, but this is taking forever. I’ve got other things to do!**

  

This is the digital version of waiting in line at the post office. It’s taking too long, and your patience has run out.

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 {% endcta %}

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## Out of Memory Error

  

**I’m stuffed. Can’t fit anything more in here, so stop trying.**

  

Picture a suitcase so full that you can’t squeeze in another sock. That’s your computer on a memory overload.

  

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## Got a favorite ‘honest’ error message?
If error messages really spoke to us this way, maybe we’d get a few more laughs out of our programming blunders (And things done faster, maybe?).

Share your favorite in the comments below!  
Let’s find some humor in our coding misadventures.


**Thanks for reading,**

Pachi 💚
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