Experience tells us that filenames do not work as well as they should; they are a nuisance when we save and often fail us when we try to retrieve. Specifically, filenames are a bother when you are about to save because you must stop in the middle of the saving process to invent a name for the file. Inventing names is difficult. You have to invent a unique and memorable name on the spot, in a few seconds, that conforms to the rules of the filesystem. Furthermore, at that moment, your locus of attention is on saving your work, not on naming filenames. Filenames make it awkward to retrieve a file, too. The name you chose may not have been especially memorable, so you may have forgotten it in a few weeks (if not sooner). I, for one, can rarely recall a filename unless I have used it very recently, and just looking at a list of names can be confusing. What, for example, is in the file named “notes ybn 32”? When I chose it, it seemed so clever and memorable. Also, many files are very similar. How many different, original, and memorable names can you invent for letters to your accountant regarding last year’s income tax?

I replied that most people who use bibliographies can read, and it is usually better to use words.

When you are about to write an error message, stop and change the interface so that the condition that created the error cannot happen.

Jef Raskin, “The Humane Interface: New Directions for Designing Interactive Systems”

Another quote from Raskin:

Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest.

Mark Twain