Question

I am creating an application where users can create cards and decks of cards.

One thing they can do is create a card and share an instance of it among decks. So if they modify this card all the instances in all the decks will be changed too. This is very useful in my app however it might surprise users so I want to explain this in a simple way.

How would you go about explaining that? As programmers we all know what instances are, but are regular users familiar with the concept? Should I use the word “instance” at all or is there an equivalent word with which users would be more familiar?

Answer 1

I don’t think “instance” is a completely terrible term to use, but maybe an alternate way to explain it is something like:

Every card that you create is unique. No matter how many decks you add your
card to, only one actual copy exists. Modifying the card in any one
deck will cause the same updates to automatically appear in every
other deck that includes the same card.

…or some such less verbose variation.