Summary: The phrase “This text does not appear to contain a story that can be extracted and rewritten. The provided text seems to be an error message related to an insufficient account balance. It does not contain a narrative or a main story that can be rewritten. The text simply describes the error condition and provides a message to the user to recharge their account.” is not just an error log—it's a textbook example of system-to-human communication done with zero empathy, clarity, or persuasion. It teaches us exactly what not to do when a user encounters friction. In this post, we’ll dissect this kind of communication—what it reveals about system design thinking, customer experience gaps, and why stripping the human element out of transactional messages causes drop-off, irritation, and churn.
Error Messages as Micro-Moments of Trust
When a user receives a message like the one above, they’re not just seeing technical data. They’re hitting a wall. That error message is a point of decision: quit or continue. These moments are tiny, but packed with signals of how much—or how little—you respect your customer’s time and emotional state. This text fails on every front: it’s cold, it’s mechanical, and it assumes that clarity equals neutrality. It doesn't.
Transactional messages, particularly failure notifications, must address both the rational "what happened?" and the emotional "why now?" A user with no funds may be frustrated, hurried, or confused. Telling them “this text cannot be rewritten” treats them like a bot. How often have users received dead-end messages like this and quietly walked away? What would that cost your business if repeated a few thousand times per month?
Why This Message Fails: Disconnected Language
Let’s look at this line verbatim: “This text does not appear to contain a story that can be extracted and rewritten.” What exactly is this telling the user? From a system usability perspective, it's packed with internal logic—the kind that’s helpful for developers, not everyday users. It reveals a mindset that prioritizes internal auditing over external understanding.
Now contrast that with what a user-facing message should do: confirm the issue, clarify the next step, and calm the user. Confirmation, clarity, and calm. Those are the three Cs of any effective failure message. When they’re missing, a fourth C replaces them: churn.
No Story to Rewrite—Or a Story Not Written?
The message says: no story can be rewritten here. But what if that’s the story? The user comes in, tries to proceed, and is blocked by insufficient balance. That is a story. It's brief, but powerful: "You hit a limit. You can't go further unless you recharge." That’s not just data. That’s a crossroads for a decision, and treating it like a dead-end is poor system design and terrible marketing.
What if we reframed the message to reflect that real story? For example:
“You’ve run out of balance and we’ve paused processing. Don’t worry—it happens. Recharging now keeps everything running smoothly. Ready to continue?”
Or, use Chris Voss’s negotiation principle of mirroring and open-ended questions:
“Looks like the balance is low and that caused a pause. What’s the best way for you to handle top-ups right now?”
These messages acknowledge the issue, lower the user’s emotional temperature, and invite collaboration. That’s connection. That’s persuasion.
The Cost of Robotic Precision and the Payoff of Relatable Language
Too many systems are honest but not helpful. They say what happened without helping the user deal with it. This is a mistake of false objectivity—assuming that being correct is enough. It isn’t. Your users don’t judge you based on how centered your text is or how accurate your log files are. They care about one thing: “Can I trust this app to respect my time and agency?”
Cialdini’s principle of Reciprocity reminds us: if you show understanding first, people give attention back. Empathy leads to completion. Cold language triggers resistance. That means every message must earn its keep by reinforcing user confidence, not draining it. A robotic message is like showing up to a negotiation and reading tax code aloud—it’s factual, and also completely useless in securing action.
The Hard Truth: UX Writing Is Not a Developer’s Side Gig
This kind of failure happens when error communication is left to devs and backend tools. Yet the message is what the user sees. That is the brand in that moment. Telling someone “nothing to rewrite here” is dismissive. Users hate gaslighting. Even if user error caused the failure, blaming the input is the worst path possible. Always own the communication experience, even if you don’t own the technical root cause.
This is exactly what Blair Warren meant when he said you can persuade anyone if you encourage their dreams and validate their struggles. Even in an error message. Especially in an error message.
Fixing It: Error Messaging That Converts Instead of Derails
Let’s fix this. Here are elements that should be included in better message design when balances are insufficient or transactions fail:
- Clear status: What’s happened in plain terms?
- Emotional acknowledgment: “These things happen”—signals understanding
- Next action: One tap to recharge or resolve it now
- Optional support: A quick link if the user needs help or is unsure why this occurred
Don’t write to confirm the database state—write to keep the conversation going. Make the user feel like there's a human on the other side, not an auditor scanning their usage logs.
Conclusion: Every Message Is a Moment of Marketing
So, what do you want your user to feel when things go wrong? Confused, blamed, ignored—or seen and supported? That’s your UX choice. An error like “nothing to rewrite” may seem harmless. But it trains users to expect doors that close instead of bridges that reconnect. Fixing this isn’t about adding personality. It’s about adding humanity. Let the system speak like a person, not a protocol. Let each error build trust, not break it.
Next time you log a bug report or send an error message out into production, ask yourself: What story is the user living through right now—and how can I make sure they stay in it, not walk away from it?
#UserExperienceMatters #UXWriting #MicroCopy #CustomerRetention #ProductDesign #UXFailFix #HumanCenteredDesign
Featured Image courtesy of Unsplash and Frederic Köberl (VV5w_PAchIk)