Style guide should define whether or not to use abbreviations in error messages (e.g."can't" vs "can not")

[kud1ing]

We're using "can't" and "can not" in error messages. I think for consistency we should settle on one.

[pyfisch]

I think, that we should use always "can not" since documentation is usually written in formal language.
This also applies for all other short forms like for example "isn't".

[chris-morgan]

Bear in mind that “can not” is ambiguous in some locales; in consequence, it should never be; the unambiguous “cannot” should instead be used.

I contest that documentation is usually or should be written in rigidly formal language; I believe “can’t” to be entirely acceptable. (This simply leaves me ambivalent about which direction it goes.)