Mostly yours, sometimes mine

Dustin Curtis wrote about the usage of words “my” and “your” in software. Should an interface say “my profile” or “your profile”? He goes through the implications of using either option and arrives to the conclusion that you should always use the form “your profile”.

I agree with his reasoning but could think of an exception to his final conclusion of always going with “your profile”. In certain cases using “my” can be in order in games. In cases when the player plays as a certain character in the game, when viewing the items the character is carrying, they could be labeled as “My inventory”. I’m the player, immersed in the game acting as a character and the items are “my items”.

There might be other examples where the software experience is so immersive that the usage of “my” is the right choice, but like Curtis says, usually the user is transacting with an interface so it’s better to use “your”.