Eli5 When applications crash, why do they provide an obscure error code instead of a small description of what the issue actually is?
In: Technology
If it’s an extremely common error, they often do include descriptions. For instance, open a file on your computer, then try to cut-paste it somewhere else. Windows will specifically tell you that it can’t do that operation because the file is currently in use.
However, if the error is uncommon or if they developers don’t think that the average user will be able to resolve it themselves, then it’s better to have an obscure error code that is extremely descriptive for the technical support team rather than a generic description of the problem that the user can’t solve on their own and isn’t descriptive enough for technical support to immediately diagnose the issue.
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