

Ask HN: Better 1st person (My Photos) or 2nd (Your Photos)? - barredo

In apps or web apps, in usability, UI and/or UX terms.
======
cing
How about option 3: "Items" and "Photos"? Unless of course you have to
differentiate between "Mine" and "Everyone Elses"

~~~
sapphirecat
Agreed. Users will be reading "My" every time they see it, so unless it's
vital, leave it out.

For example, Microsoft abandoned the "My" prefix in Vista for Documents,
Pictures, etc. in the UI.

~~~
Lagged2Death
_Microsoft abandoned the "My" prefix in Vista for Documents, Pictures, etc. in
the UI._

And then they brought it back in 7. I guess people complained.

I agree that omitting the "My" or "Your" where possible is the right way to
go. If the overall context of the web page or application doesn't make it
clear whose items are in question, adding "My" isn't always going to help
much, or at all.

Consider Facebook, for example. Look at a friend's page. It probably has a
"Photos" link. Would "My Photos" be clearer? Would "My Photos" refer to photos
belonging to the logged-in user or photos belonging to the person depicted
above the link?

It's the context in which the "Photos" link appears that makes its purpose and
meaning clear, and that is usually the case.

~~~
sp332
Actually, it took me a while to figure out why "Photos" _didn't_ take my to My
photos, but to a photo stream of all of my friends. (Also, Win7 did not add
the "My" prefix back to computer, documents, pictures, or anything.)

~~~
Lagged2Death
_Actually, it took me a while to figure out why "Photos" didn't take my to My
photos, but to a photo stream of all of my friends._

Me too, but I believe that's a context problem, not a phrasing problem.

 _Also, Win7 did not add the "My" prefix back to computer, documents,
pictures, or anything._

Well then somebody has some explaining to do.

<http://i.imgur.com/k9ppY.png>

In fairness, there are aliases of some kind set up such that "John\Documents"
and "John\My Documents" are synonyms. But the GUI very much puts "My" front
and center for me.

------
po
I'm really shocked about the differing opinions on this. I have always thought
that the "my X" label triggers selfishness and suspicion in users, putting
their guard up. I prefer "Your X" so that people feel like a team has been
formed. They trust you with their data because they are entering information
into your site. We're a team.

I guess it is understandable that you might not have yet gained the user's
trust but I feel like then they wouldn't be your user.

~~~
pasbesoin
Qualification: This is based upon my personal experience and opinion but not
on extensive work experience producing publicly published copy.

For many people, it's going to feel/be more natural to write in the second
person. Writing in the first person, when you are instructing someone else
rather than describing yourself, takes more conscious effort. It's easy to
forget and slip tenses. Also, and important, the resulting language/copy often
ends up reading "stilted" -- it doesn't seem natural.

Unless you have a particular impression in mind, and the skill to pull it off
well, I'd consider going with second person. It will probably be quicker to
write, and if you really need to switch to first person, you'll have pre-
existing copy from which to start.

P.S. I also tend to favor leaving such qualifiers off of labels, except when
they clearly help distinguish an item.

------
sgk284
Yahoo's YUI has a whole write up on this in their design patterns:
[http://developer.yahoo.com/ypatterns/social/core/yourvmy.htm...](http://developer.yahoo.com/ypatterns/social/core/yourvmy.html)

They explain why they've determined that "your" is best.

------
MoreMoschops
"My Computer" et al. sounded patronising and childlike when it started and
continues to do so now.

How about just "Items" and "Photos"? Unless there is something marked "Someone
else's items" and "Someone else's photos", is it necessary to specify that
they belong to the user?

~~~
frou_dh
I actually create a "my" subdirectory in my home directory that I put all my
stuff under (~/my/videos/ ~/my/dotfiles/ etc.)

This is a reaction to being fed up with OSs and programs putting things in the
predefined directories without asking.

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allbutlost
A good discussion arose on this question a while back - it might be worth
checking out <http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1714184> and the original
article that spawned the discussion ->
[http://weblog.muledesign.com/2010/06/unsuck_it_special_byeby...](http://weblog.muledesign.com/2010/06/unsuck_it_special_byebye_my.php)

I tend to prefer using the 2nd person, if I have to choose one over the other.

[edit] - Sorry, should also add the link to the Yahoo patterns article, which
also recommends the 2nd person
[http://developer.yahoo.com/ypatterns/social/core/yourvmy.htm...](http://developer.yahoo.com/ypatterns/social/core/yourvmy.html).

------
asolove
All you have to do is list out all the things you want to say, and the answer
becomes clear:

"My photos" v. "Your photos": both seem to work

"We weren't able to complete your request" v. "Someone else wasn't able to
complete my request."

"Please enter your valid email address" v. "Please enter my valid email
address"

"To (...), you need to upgrade to a Pro Plan" v. "To (...), I need to upgrade
to a Pro Plan."

The user is the second person, because sometimes your app or company needs to
speak to them using the first person.

------
lucianof
I noticed that Google uses +You in English (as a plug for Google+ if you're
not logged in) and +Ich (= +I) in German. Maybe they really just want a three
letter word.

Researching further: French: +Vous (polite 2nd person) Italian: +Tu (casual
2nd person)

German seems to be the exception, Googl prefers 2nd person.

~~~
_delirium
In Google Scholar, though, the link to your own Scholar page (if you've set
one up and are logged in) is "My Citations" in English, so they seem to be
using it inconsistently between products.

------
swah
Also, if you want to buy an AK47 do you google for "buy ak47" or "sell ak47" ?
Its the prisioners dillema!

------
jschuur
If it's inherently private data, use first person. For shared/public stuff,
use second person. 'Your passwords' sounds too much like someone else is
talking about my confidential data.

~~~
kes
Quoting cing:

    
    
        How about option 3: "Items" and "Photos"? Unless of course you have to differentiate between "Mine" and "Everyone Elses"
    

Combine these two ideas, and I think you're starting to make sense.

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Terretta
If you're talking about labeling things that belong to the user, and your site
or app is supposed to feel like the site or app itself belongs to the user
(their space), go with what the user would label them. For photos, what would
the user write on a shoebox of their own prints? Most likely “My Photos”, but
they also could just “Photos” if nobody else's things are stored anywhere
nearby.

If the app or site does not belong to the user, but is clearly a third party
the user gives things to in order to process them or perform some action on or
with them, label it as a service person would speak to the user. How would the
service person at Costco refer to those same prints? Probably “Your Photos” in
contrast with "Everyone's Photos". In this case, the label "Photos" would be
most likely to apply to all photos, not just the user's own.

Going with conversational style, keeping in mind who is the speaker for a
given action, goes a long way to clarifying which stories need which terms.

This gets more complicated in "the cloud" but the same distinction (ownership
vs operation, and who is the speaker for an action) can apply.

------
spking
Once you've chosen "My" or "Your" it becomes a boobytrap you have to avoid in
all your labels, navigation and copy.

See: [http://stackoverflow.com/questions/1924102/my-account-or-
you...](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/1924102/my-account-or-your-account-
labels)

The second most popular answer is the one I'd strive for.

------
brudgers
The technically more descriptive "Private" and "Public," perhaps?

------
weel
This is a classic example of a question that can only really be answered with
data. Generic studies are good, but nothing beats data you gather about your
particular UI.

------
buster
I'd probably see the website as a third entity presenting stuff to me, so it's
coming down to:

Your = "I'm presenting you your photos which i just store for your
convenience".

My = "You've uploaded your private photos, now they are mine, dumbass!"

Definitely "Your", in my oppinion.

------
Alex3917
Never use second person for UI, it's alienating because it subconsciously
tells people that they aren't a part of the group and they don't belong.
Studies show that conversion rates are much lower when you talk to people in
second person for this reason.

~~~
benjamind
Do you have a reference for this? I'd love to see the stats.

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cpi
I've actually been having a similar internal debate with an app I'm working on
now, although for me it's between "My Whatever" and just "Whatever." Currently
leaning towards "My."

"Your Whatever" isn't even an option though... don't like it at all.

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gerad
All else being equal, use the shorter word.

~~~
deepkut
I agree with gerad, use "My" -- it's shorter, cleaner, and appeals to the user
more. "Your" creates distance between the app and the user, if one were all
alone, "My" would still exist, but "Your" would not.

------
DiabloD3
Shouldn't this be a poll?

And "your" is very accusation and confrontational. "My" rubs the ego the right
way. So, my vote goes for "my".

Have you considered just "Items" and "Photos"? If you end up splitting
public/private, "My Public...", "My Private..." is a mouthful.

This ultimately is an exercise in KISS imo.

------
est
It really depends, but whatever you choose, make it consistant.

------
vaksel
for a landing page where you tell them about the product, your.

for actual app interface, my is better

