Write software in 1st or 3rd person?

Question

I am creating a software in C# and I would like to know if I should write it in 1st or 3rd person. I remember that once my teacher of logic programming came to comment on this (which software should be in 3rd person, I do not remember for sure, because not always who is typing the login and password for example is the user account owner)!

For example, I must write FORGOT THE PASSWORD? or FORGOT YOUR PASSWORD? or I FORGOT MY PASSWORD?

Answer 1

There is no standard that we can consider universal. As every aspect of UX we have to analyze who the user is, what he expects, because one makes more sense than the other, and this includes analyzing the platform they are using, since doing something different what is "normal" will be less intuitive.

The microsoft guide says you should use the second person to talk to the user, and it seems to me the most suitable even, if you’re going to tell him what to do, call him directly, and this is the 2nd. person.

And the guide tells you to use the first person when you’re asking the user to indicate what you want the software to do. Nothing strange, so a conversation is established. Generally I find this a little confusing in most situations.

They say not to use the third person who is too formal, or even half schizophrenic :). Unless you’re referring to the same third person, but that’s rare.

Something I was thinking about and reviewing my answer, is that the use of the possessive can be a good one. This is the third person and fits in some contexts, I quote below where the third person is neither the computer nor the user. You can even use the 3rd person for the user if it is a list of multiple users' possessions. There it is standardized. Or you can differentiate the user on purpose, even to highlight what he is of himself, then the 1st. person only in the current user can be useful.

Do you, as a user, want to send or be sent? Then the first person makes more sense.

It is often best to leave a neutral tone:

I can’t do this operation because of...

You cannot do this operation because of...

Xablau cannot do this operation because of... / The user cannot do this operation because of...

This operation cannot be performed because of...

Which do you think is better? Accuse the user, take the blame, pretend to be someone else, even if not, or just inform?

Perhaps the first person is interesting to a button with an action that must be done in your name, neutrality when it is not an action, it is just an object, something that exists, and the second person when it is a direct instruction for you. What’s best?

I need to be told what to do

You must tell me what to do

Xablau should inform me what to do / The user should inform me what to do

Tell me what to do

or

Meus Documentos
Seus Documentos
Documentos do Xablau / Documentos do usuário
Documentos

Does it need the same pronoun? Perhaps, when there are several "people" involved.

Choosing:

Issue my certificate

Issue your certificate

Issue certificate from Xablau / Issue user certificate

Issue the certificate

A variation:

I issue the certificate

Issue the certificate

Issue the certificate

Issue of the certificate

I suggest reading this excellent response to better understand the context.

The guide of the nearly dead Yahoo! better details when using one or the other, but does not give the option of neutrality that I think better.

This answer is based on SE User Experience responses. There is even discussion whether or not Microsoft follows its own guide. So when it involves language we enter a subjective field.

There are indications in other responses when the 3rd. person can be used as long as not by pronoun. If we use the person’s name we avoid deciding which pronoun to use.

One more choice, in an ERP (you are the user responsible for the company’s billing):

Minhas Notas Fiscais
Suas Notas Fiscais
Notas Fiscais da empresa
Notas Fiscais

We also learned that it should be consistent, unless it has a strong reason to change, which would still make it consistent.

UX is something in our scope and can’t talk about it without some degree of subjectivity. Developers will never be good at UX, they can be reasonable. Of course I disregard bad professionals, dev or UX, these will always be bad. For the basic we can take care of the UX, for a strong UX it is better to leave with experts of great competence. If you use a specialist, it has to look really good, which I don’t see happening much.

We have guides, but not a definitive answer.

See more on a specialized website.