Right now, if I have an error message on any OS (Mac, Windows, Linux) or application, I type the error message in google. Usually I find some sort of resolution in a mailing list archive reply.
It would be nice to have A CENTRAL PLACE such as a website that is a database of error messages, along with the application and os. People could post resolutions to it.
Problem is, sometimes you don't find your error. Microsoft's support site is particularly sucky at this. If the programmers bothered to create a bunch of error messages in the program, why didn't they put them up on MS' site?
Programmers would build-in capabilities to report to this central place, like netscape or microsoft error reporting. That way, anytime an error occurs, it's sure to be on the site. Then, you can see statistics on the error, whether anyone has any [re]solutions, etc.-- lawpoop, Oct 24 2003 EventID.net http://www.eventid.net/Baked for errors that occur in the Windows NT/2000/XP event logs. [krelnik, Oct 04 2004] (?) Errorbuddy http://developer.sp...rce.com/errorbuddy/Full-text-indexed documentation with a view towards resolving error messages. [jutta, Mar 22 2006] You said it, Google.com. Helped me fix a tricky installation error for my wife's new Palm just yesterday.-- DrCurry, Oct 24 2003 A CENTRAL PLACE is better to avoid duplication and increase effeciency. I'm not saying that that *needs* to happen, but you are more likely to find a solution to your problem when you have less places to look in.-- lawpoop, Oct 24 2003 There is rarely a 'central place' for anything on the internet. That is one of its most fundamental strengths and most annoying weaknesses. It's a strength because, if you want to create something new or redo something that already exists in a different way, there is rarely anything (other than a great deal of effort) to stop you. A weakness because whatever you try to look something up there are probably five or more sources of the data you want, each of which will be incomplete in different ways.-- st3f, Oct 24 2003 i doubt you could have a central place. I bet the guy who was incharge of making errors was tired an ran out of coffee so just started making up crap. i bet they dont even know what half of the errors are on there own program-- ShadowFire666, Dec 14 2005 Riiiight. Why does your betting that a mythical "bug creator's" coffee supply failed make you doubt that a centralized bug base can work?-- bristolz, Dec 14 2005 It would be useful if all errors had a unique code that could be searched for, rather than having to rely on the error text being unique. All ORACLE errors have a code ORA-00xxx and searching on that code usually leads directly to the Oracle documentation online for that fault, which states the main causes, and also other pages where people have encountered the same problem.-- Minimal, Dec 14 2005 wow - what about a really central log for ALL errors. "[neilp] really should have done the washing up last night"-- neilp, Dec 14 2005 How about, instead of having the programmers go to this site and enter the error, simply have the instructions (or whatever the site would provide) given with the error. Come to think of it, what would the site provide.
Or just have the programmers, every time they would enter an error into this website, fix the error. That would be much more friendly.-- dbmag9, Dec 14 2005 random, halfbakery