A user error is an error made by the human

user Ancient Egyptian roles * User (ancient Egyptian official), an ancient Egyptian nomarch (governor) of the Eighth Dynasty * Useramen, an ancient Egyptian vizier also called "User" Other uses * User (computing), a person (or software) using an ...

of a complex system, usually a computer system, in interacting with it. Although the term is sometimes used by

human–computer interaction Human–computer interaction (HCI) is the process through which people operate and engage with computer systems. Research in HCI covers the design and the use of computer technology, which focuses on the interfaces between people (users) and comp ...

practitioners, the more formal term

human error Human error is an action that has been done but that was "not intended by the actor; not desired by a set of rules or an external observer; or that led the task or system outside its acceptable limits".Senders, J.W. and Moray, N.P. (1991) Human Er ...

is used in the context of

human reliability In the field of human factors and ergonomics, human reliability (also known as human performance or HU) is the probability that a human performs a task to a sufficient standard. Reliability of humans can be affected by many factors such as age, ...

. Related terms such as PEBKAC ("problem exists between keyboard and chair"), PEBMAC ("problem exists between monitor and chair"), identity error or ID-10T/1D-10T error ("idiot error"), PICNIC ("problem in chair, not in computer"), IBM error ("idiot behind machine error"), skill issue ("lack of skill"), and other similar phrases are also used as slang in technical circles with derogatory meaning. This usage implies a lack of computer savviness, asserting that problems arising when using a device are the fault of the user. Critics of the term argue that many problems are caused instead by poor

product design Product design is the process of creating new Product (business), products for businesses to sell to their customers. It involves the generation and development of ideas through a systematic process that leads to the creation of innovative products ...

s that fail to anticipate the capabilities and needs of the user. The term can also be used for non-computer-related mistakes.

Causes

Joel Spolsky points out that users usually do not pay full attention to the computer system while using it. He suggests compensating for this when building usable systems, thus allowing a higher percentage of users to complete tasks without errors: Experts in

interaction design Interaction design, often abbreviated as IxD, is "the practice of designing interactive digital products, environments, systems, and services." While interaction design has an interest in form (similar to other design fields), its main area of foc ...

such as Alan Cooper believe this concept puts blame in the wrong place, the user, instead of blaming the error-inducing design and its failure to take into account human limitations. Bruce "Tog" Tognazzini describes an anecdote of ''

Dilbert ''Dilbert'' is an American comic strip written and illustrated by Scott Adams, first published on April 16, 1989. It is known for its satire, satirical office humor about a White-collar worker, white-collar, micromanagement, micromanaged offic ...

'' creator

Scott Adams Scott Raymond Adams (born June 8, 1957) is an American author and cartoonist. He is the creator of the ''Dilbert'' comic strip and the author of several nonfiction works of business, commentary, and satire. Adams worked in various corporate r ...

losing a significant amount of work of comment moderation at his blog due to a poorly constructed application that conveyed a wrong

mental model A mental model is an internal representation of external reality: that is, a way of representing reality within one's mind. Such models are hypothesized to play a major role in cognition, reasoning and decision-making. The term for this concept wa ...

, even though the user took explicit care to preserve the data.

Jef Raskin Jef Raskin (born Jeff Raskin; March 9, 1943 – February 26, 2005) was an American human–computer interface expert who conceived and began leading the Macintosh project at Apple in the late 1970s. Early life and education Jef Raskin was bo ...

advocated designing devices in ways that prevent erroneous actions.

Don Norman Donald Arthur Norman (born December 25, 1935) is an American researcher, professor, and author. Norman is the director of The Design Lab at University of California, San Diego. He is best known for his books on design, especially '' The Design o ...

suggests changing the common technical attitude towards user error:

Acronyms and other names

Terms like PEBMAC/PEBCAK or an ID10T error are often used by

tech support Technical support, commonly shortened as tech support, is a customer service provided to customers to resolve issues, commonly with consumer electronics. This is commonly provided via call centers, online chat and email. Many companies provide ...

operators and computer experts to describe a user error as a problem that is attributed to the user's ignorance instead of a software or hardware malfunction. These phrases are used as a humorous way to describe user errors. A highly popularized example of this is a user mistaking their

CD-ROM A CD-ROM (, compact disc read-only memory) is a type of read-only memory consisting of a pre-pressed optical compact disc that contains computer data storage, data computers can read, but not write or erase. Some CDs, called enhanced CDs, hold b ...

tray for a cup holder, or a user looking for the " any key". However, any variety of

stupidity Stupidity is a lack of intelligence, understanding, reason, or wit, an inability to learn. It may be innate, assumed or reactive. The word ''stupid'' comes from the Latin word ''stupere''. Stupid characters are often used for comedy in fictio ...

or ignorance-induced problems can be described as user errors.

PEBKAC/PEBCAK/PICNIC

Phrases used by the tech savvy to mean that a problem is caused entirely by the fault of the user include PEBKAC (an

acronym An acronym is a type of abbreviation consisting of a phrase whose only pronounced elements are the initial letters or initial sounds of words inside that phrase. Acronyms are often spelled with the initial Letter (alphabet), letter of each wor ...

for "problem exists between keyboard and chair"), PEBCAK (an alternative, but similar, acronym for "problem exists between chair and keyboard"), POBCAK (a US government/military acronym for "problem occurs between chair and keyboard"), PICNIC ("problem in chair not in computer") and EBKAC ("Error between keyboard and chair"). Another variant is PEBUAK (Problem Exists Between User and Keyboard). In 2006,

Intel Intel Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California, and Delaware General Corporation Law, incorporated in Delaware. Intel designs, manufactures, and sells computer compo ...

began running a number of ''PEBCAK'' web-based advertisements to promote its

vPro The VPRO (stylized vpro; originally an acronym for ''Vrijzinnig Protestantse Radio Omroep'', lit. 'Liberal Protestant Radio Broadcaster', nowadays known as ''Omroepvereniging VPRO'') is a Netherlands, Dutch Public broadcasting, public broadca ...

platform. If the same sentiment wants to be conveyed without using an acronym, the phrase "chair to keyboard interface error" is often used.

ID-10-T error

ID-Ten-T error (also seen as ID10T and ID107) is a masked jab at the user: when ID-Ten-T is spelled out it becomes ID10T ("

IDIOT An idiot, in modern use, is a stupid or foolish person. "Idiot" was formerly a technical term in legal and psychiatric contexts for some kinds of profound intellectual disability where the mental age is two years or less, and the person cannot ...

"). It is also known as a "Ten-T error" or "ID:10T error". The ''

User Friendly ''User Friendly'' was a webcomic written by J. D. Frazer, also known by his pen name Illiad. Starting in 1997, the strip was one of the earliest webcomics to make its creator a living. The comic is set in a fictional internet service provider a ...

'' comic strip presented this usage in a cartoon on 11 February 1999. In United States Navy and Army slang, the term has a similar meaning, though it is pronounced differently: *The Navy pronounces ID10T as "eye dee ten tango". *The Army instead uses the word 1D10T which it pronounces as "one delta ten tango".

In other languages

In Danish, it is called a , or 'error 40', indicating that the error was from the device. Swedish has a similar expression, ''Felkod 60'', referring to the error being 60 centimeters away from the device. In Swedish, the phrase ('shit behind the levers') or ('shit behind the steering wheel') or the abbreviation is used. A variant used in the ICT domain is ('shit behind the keys/keyboard') abbreviated . In French, it is described as an problem (), a problem with the keyboard–chair interface, very similarly to the PEBKAC. In Québec, it is called a , indicating that the error was from the device. Better known as 'code-18'. In Brazilian Portuguese, it is often called a BIOS problem (), translated as 'ignorant animal operating the system', or a USB error (), translated as 'super dumb user'. In Spanish, some call it 'Error 200' (), because it rhymes with the explanation. When asked for the full explanation, it's often offered as "" ('yeah, error 200, between the desk and the seat'). Other multiples of 100 also work because of the same rhyme. Also called ' (8th layer error) referring to the OSI Protocol layers when the user is the one who caused the error, for example ' (Server is not accessible due to an 8th layer error) when users can not access a server because they typed in the wrong password. In German, it is called a (), literally translated as 'dumbest assumed user', referring to the common engineering acronym (), for a maximum credible accident, or

worst-case scenario A worst-case scenario is a concept in risk management wherein the planner, in planning for potential disasters, considers the most severe possible outcome that can reasonably be projected to occur in a given situation. Conceiving of worst-case sc ...

. In Bulgarian, it is called a "Problem with behind-keyboard device" ().

In subcultures

The computing jargon refers to " wetware bugs" as the user is considered part of the system, in a hardware/software/wetware layering. The automotive repair persons' version is referring to the cause of a problem as a "faulty steering actuator", "broken linkage between the seat and the steering wheel", "loose nut between the steering wheel and the seat," or more simply, "loose nut behind the wheel." Similarly, typewriter repair people used to refer to "a loose nut behind the keyboard" or a "defective keyboard controller." The

broadcast engineering Broadcast engineering or radio engineering is the field of electrical engineering, and now to some extent computer engineering and information technology, which deals with radio and television broadcasting. Audio engineering and RF engineering a ...

amateur radio Amateur radio, also known as ham radio, is the use of the radio frequency radio spectrum, spectrum for purposes of non-commercial exchange of messages, wireless experimentation, self-training, private recreation, radiosport, contesting, and emer ...

version is referred to as a "short between the headphones". Another term used in public safety two-way radio (i.e. police, fire, ambulance, etc.) is a "defective PTT button actuator". Another similar term used in the United States military is "operator headspace and timing issue" or "OHT," borrowing terminology related to the operation of the

M2 Browning The M2 machine gun or Browning .50-caliber machine gun (informally, "Ma Deuce") is a heavy machine gun that was designed near the end of World War I by John Browning. While similar to Browning's M1919 Browning machine gun, which was chambered ...

machine gun. "(It's a) carbon based error", indicates a user problem (humans are a carbon-based life-form), as opposed to a silicon-based one. Some support technicians refer to it as "biological interface error". The networking administrators' version is referring to the cause of a problem as a "

layer 8 Layer 8 is a term used to refer to ''user'' or ''political'' layer on top of the 7-layer OSI model of computer networking. The OSI model is a 7-layer abstract model that describes an architecture of data communications for networked computers. Th ...

issue", referring to the "user" or "political" layer on top of the seven-layer

OSI model The Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model is a reference model developed by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) that "provides a common basis for the coordination of standards development for the purpose of systems inter ...

of computer networking. In

video game culture Video game culture or gaming culture a worldwide subculture formed by video game enthusiasts. As video games have grown more sophisticated, accessible, and popular over time, they have significantly influenced popular culture, particularly among a ...

, user error is sometimes referred to as a "skill issue", often as a retort to the player complaining about the game's perceived unfairness.

References

{{reflist Computer humour Computer jargon In-jokes Internet slang Internet terminology User errors