Not actually an error.
This shows the result of trying to follow someone who is already followed in Socialite.
To the system, the follow command can’t be completed because it is blocked (by the fact that the user is already followed). The API reports this action as having failed based on its internal model of actions and requirements.
This, of course, is not how a user thinks. The user’s intent was to follow a Twitter account and the result is that they are following them. Whether or not they were previously following them is meaningless — they could be selecting the option “just to be sure.”
The simple solution is to change this to an information dialog, and report only that I am following the account. The current text leads with two unnerving statements — “Error occured” and “Could not follow user.” Both of these leads me to believe that I am not following the account.
After those statements, I read “{user} is already on your list,” which brings up a issue of nomenclature. The command was “follow,” not “add to list.” This should contain the same term used in the command, and say something along the lines of “you are already following {user}.” There’s far too much thinking going on in this message to figure out what it actually means.
Good contingency design takes attention to detail. But the real lesson of all of this?
Don’t let users select “follow” on a user they are already following. (And show them they are being followed, while you’re at it.)
