diff --git a/lib/OpenLayers/Ajax.js b/lib/OpenLayers/Ajax.js
index c19a928bd6..693b1c1097 100644
--- a/lib/OpenLayers/Ajax.js
+++ b/lib/OpenLayers/Ajax.js
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ OpenLayers.ProxyHost = "";
  * @param {} request
  */
 OpenLayers.nullHandler = function(request) {
-    alert(OpenLayers.i18n("unhandledRequest", {'statusText':request.statusText}));
+    OpenLayers.Console.userError(OpenLayers.i18n("unhandledRequest", {'statusText':request.statusText}));
 };
 
 /** 
@@ -55,13 +55,13 @@ OpenLayers.nullHandler = function(request) {
  * onComplete - {Function} Optional callback for success.  The callback
  *     will be called with this set to caller and will receive the request
  *     object as an argument.  Note that if you do not specify an onComplete
- *     function, <OpenLayers.nullHandler> will be called (which pops up an
- *     alert dialog).
+ *     function, <OpenLayers.nullHandler> will be called (which pops up a 
+ *     user friendly error message dialog).
  * onFailure - {Function} Optional callback for failure.  In the event of
  *     a failure, the callback will be called with this set to caller and will
  *     receive the request object as an argument.  Note that if you do not
  *     specify an onComplete function, <OpenLayers.nullHandler> will be called
- *     (which pops up an alert dialog).
+ *     (which pops up a user friendly error message dialog).
  *
  * Returns:
  * {<OpenLayers.Request.XMLHttpRequest>}  The request object. To abort loading,
diff --git a/lib/OpenLayers/Console.js b/lib/OpenLayers/Console.js
index 8cb309556e..bfb40163ff 100644
--- a/lib/OpenLayers/Console.js
+++ b/lib/OpenLayers/Console.js
@@ -86,6 +86,21 @@ OpenLayers.Console = {
      * object - {Object}
      */
     error: function() {},
+    
+    /**
+     * APIFunction: userError
+     * A single interface for showing error messages to the user. The default
+     * behavior is a Javascript alert, though this can be overridden by
+     * reassigning OpenLayers.Console.userError to a different function.
+     *
+     * Expects a single error message
+     * 
+     * Parameters:
+     * object - {Object}
+     */
+    userError: function(error) {
+        alert(error);
+    },
 
     /**
      * APIFunction: assert
diff --git a/lib/OpenLayers/Control.js b/lib/OpenLayers/Control.js
index d0d16a83aa..ce6ec13345 100644
--- a/lib/OpenLayers/Control.js
+++ b/lib/OpenLayers/Control.js
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@
  * >     },
  * >
  * >     notice: function (bounds) {
- * >         alert(bounds);
+ * >         OpenLayers.Console.userError(bounds);
  * >     }
  * > }); 
  * > map.addControl(control);
diff --git a/lib/OpenLayers/Control/OverviewMap.js b/lib/OpenLayers/Control/OverviewMap.js
index 87c8aca53b..0da1f056c0 100644
--- a/lib/OpenLayers/Control/OverviewMap.js
+++ b/lib/OpenLayers/Control/OverviewMap.js
@@ -497,7 +497,7 @@ OpenLayers.Control.OverviewMap = OpenLayers.Class(OpenLayers.Control, {
         // as the base layer for the main map.  This should be made more robust.
         if(this.map.getUnits() != 'degrees') {
             if(this.ovmap.getProjection() && (this.map.getProjection() != this.ovmap.getProjection())) {
-                alert(OpenLayers.i18n("sameProjection"));
+                OpenLayers.Console.userError(OpenLayers.i18n("sameProjection"));
             }
         }
         var pxBounds = this.getRectBoundsFromMapBounds(this.map.getExtent());
diff --git a/lib/OpenLayers/Format.js b/lib/OpenLayers/Format.js
index c6f02d1edd..c809c46f92 100644
--- a/lib/OpenLayers/Format.js
+++ b/lib/OpenLayers/Format.js
@@ -68,7 +68,7 @@ OpenLayers.Format = OpenLayers.Class({
      * Depends on the subclass
      */
     read: function(data) {
-        alert(OpenLayers.i18n("readNotImplemented"));
+        OpenLayers.Console.userError(OpenLayers.i18n("readNotImplemented"));
     },
     
     /**
@@ -82,7 +82,7 @@ OpenLayers.Format = OpenLayers.Class({
      * {String} A string representation of the object.
      */
     write: function(object) {
-        alert(OpenLayers.i18n("writeNotImplemented"));
+        OpenLayers.Console.userError(OpenLayers.i18n("writeNotImplemented"));
     },
 
     CLASS_NAME: "OpenLayers.Format"
diff --git a/lib/OpenLayers/Format/WFS.js b/lib/OpenLayers/Format/WFS.js
index 1af2cb13a4..9c942c5b86 100644
--- a/lib/OpenLayers/Format/WFS.js
+++ b/lib/OpenLayers/Format/WFS.js
@@ -129,7 +129,7 @@ OpenLayers.Format.WFS = OpenLayers.Class(OpenLayers.Format.GML, {
      * feature - {<OpenLayers.Feature.Vector>} 
      */
     update: function(feature) {
-        if (!feature.fid) { alert(OpenLayers.i18n("noFID")); }
+        if (!feature.fid) { OpenLayers.Console.userError(OpenLayers.i18n("noFID")); }
         var updateNode = this.createElementNS(this.wfsns, 'wfs:Update');
         updateNode.setAttribute("typeName", this.layerName);
 
@@ -186,7 +186,7 @@ OpenLayers.Format.WFS = OpenLayers.Class(OpenLayers.Format.GML, {
      */
     remove: function(feature) {
         if (!feature.fid) { 
-            alert(OpenLayers.i18n("noFID")); 
+            OpenLayers.Console.userError(OpenLayers.i18n("noFID")); 
             return false; 
         }
         var deleteNode = this.createElementNS(this.wfsns, 'wfs:Delete');
diff --git a/lib/OpenLayers/Layer/GML.js b/lib/OpenLayers/Layer/GML.js
index 142e878690..6f99a970a6 100644
--- a/lib/OpenLayers/Layer/GML.js
+++ b/lib/OpenLayers/Layer/GML.js
@@ -162,7 +162,7 @@ OpenLayers.Layer.GML = OpenLayers.Class(OpenLayers.Layer.Vector, {
      * request - {String} 
      */
     requestFailure: function(request) {
-        alert(OpenLayers.i18n("errorLoadingGML", {'url':this.url}));
+        OpenLayers.Console.userError(OpenLayers.i18n("errorLoadingGML", {'url':this.url}));
         this.events.triggerEvent("loadend");
     },
 
diff --git a/lib/OpenLayers/Layer/Vector.js b/lib/OpenLayers/Layer/Vector.js
index 4eb2a9ede7..421a7a7460 100644
--- a/lib/OpenLayers/Layer/Vector.js
+++ b/lib/OpenLayers/Layer/Vector.js
@@ -109,7 +109,7 @@ OpenLayers.Layer.Vector = OpenLayers.Class(OpenLayers.Layer, {
 
     /**
      * APIProperty: reportError
-     * {Boolean} report error message via alert() when loading of renderers
+     * {Boolean} report friendly error message when loading of renderer
      * fails.
      */
     reportError: true, 
@@ -271,7 +271,7 @@ OpenLayers.Layer.Vector = OpenLayers.Class(OpenLayers.Layer, {
      */
     displayError: function() {
         if (this.reportError) {
-            alert(OpenLayers.i18n("browserNotSupported", 
+            OpenLayers.Console.userError(OpenLayers.i18n("browserNotSupported", 
                                      {'renderers':this.renderers.join("\n")}));
         }    
     },
diff --git a/lib/OpenLayers/Layer/WFS.js b/lib/OpenLayers/Layer/WFS.js
index 4dfcddf0d7..f0ea8fedd3 100644
--- a/lib/OpenLayers/Layer/WFS.js
+++ b/lib/OpenLayers/Layer/WFS.js
@@ -511,7 +511,7 @@ OpenLayers.Layer.WFS = OpenLayers.Class(
      * response - {String} full XML response
      */
     commitReport: function(string, response) {
-        alert(string);
+        OpenLayers.Console.userError(string);
     },
 
     
diff --git a/lib/OpenLayers/Util.js b/lib/OpenLayers/Util.js
index a0f9775c00..3ae1169a58 100644
--- a/lib/OpenLayers/Util.js
+++ b/lib/OpenLayers/Util.js
@@ -1141,7 +1141,7 @@ OpenLayers.Util.isEquivalentUrl = function(url1, url2, options) {
     //compare all keys (host, port, etc)
     for(var key in urlObj1) {
         if (options.test) {
-            alert(key + "\n1:" + urlObj1[key] + "\n2:" + urlObj2[key]);
+            OpenLayers.Console.userError(key + "\n1:" + urlObj1[key] + "\n2:" + urlObj2[key]);
         }
         var val1 = urlObj1[key];
         var val2 = urlObj2[key];