

Ask HN: Should I use “My” or “Your” at all in web app verbiage? - alanh

Should possessive adjectives be used at all in web app UI elements?<p>I consider it a given that helpful copy should use “you” when relevant: “Drag the image into your browser,” “Don’t [you] reload during this process.”<p>But what about UI elements like tabs and buttons? Should they use “My,” “Your,” or neither?<p>“My Account,” “My Profile.”<p>“Your Account,” “Edit your profile.”<p>“Account,” “Profile.”<p>I know there’s been research done in this area, but a couple Google, DuckDuckGo, and SearchYC searches came up empty.  Does anyone have this advice bookmarked?
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znt
Well Facebook uses "My Profile" etc. I guess they may know a thing or two
about this, by looking at the number of their users.

Gmail uses none, just "Contacts", "Inbox" etc.

Twitter uses "Create your account" but when signed in turns into non possesive
nouns.

I guess using possesives while calling to an action is an efficent practice.

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Clarko
I try to avoid them altogether. Gun to my head, I'd go with "Your". See also:
[http://weblog.muledesign.com/2010/06/unsuck_it_special_byeby...](http://weblog.muledesign.com/2010/06/unsuck_it_special_byebye_my.php)

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michael_dorfman
Sounds like you should be able to A/B test this.

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alanh
Maybe we could. We don’t necessarily have the resources right now, though.

