I think I’ve mentioned that I’m running experimental software for my desktop environment. So every now and then it crashes. And the first time I log back in after my desktop environment crashes, I get this bizarre error: “Nautilus can’t be used now due to an unexpected error.”

I know that Nautilus is GNOME’s file manager, but I bet not everyone does. So imagine that your computer randomly locks up and, when you come back, the only thing you get is this message that a program you’ve never heard of can’t start for unknown reasons.

Of course, knowing what Nautilus is doesn’t help. Why is it starting a file manager? Well, apparently, because it draws the icons on my desktop.

But there’s a little “Show more details” box. (Kudos on this, BTW: it’s a good way to accommodate both the technical and the non-technical people.) Here’s what it says, verbatim

Nautilus can’t be used now, due to an unexpected error from Bonobo while attempting to locate the factory.Killing bonobo-activation-server and restarting Nautilus may help fix the problem.

And what does that mean? What factory is Nautilus looking for (is that even a technical term?)? What does Bonobo have to do with it? Why is there no space between “factory” and “Killing,” making it look like it’s looking or a file called factory.Killing?

I like the idea of having a simple error with the option to see the technical explanation. That’s a really good idea, and a great usability enhancement. But some notes:

• An error saying that something meaningless to the user can’t be used for unknown reasons really conveys no information at all.
• The technical explanation is even worse. Even when you figure out what Bonobo is, the explanation is bad. What was the unexpected error? If it keeps coming up, how might I go about fixing this “unexpected error” that I can’t even see? What does locating the factory mean? Is it a file path issue? Is it safe to kill bonobo-activation-server while I’m working, or will it bring everything down? Am I killing it or restarting it? Or will Nautilus do that? Why isn’t there a “Try to fix” button to do exactly what it tells me to try?

Maybe it’s a step in the right direction, up from “Error -134239520439: An error has occurred in UNKNOWN” type stuff. But if the error message ‘knows’ how to fix the problem, why doesn’t it do it? And why can’t error messages ever give a good explanation of what happened? What’s wrong with, “Nautilus has failed to start. Without Nautilus, your desktop will not have any icons. Click on ‘Show more details’ to see what happened and how to fix it,” with not just an OK (or “Dismiss”) button, but an “Autofix” button?