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We care so much about design because all the thousands of hours we've collectively wasted being confused by Reddit and Craigslist's interfaces could have been m

by andkon 9y ago

We care so much about design because all the thousands of hours we've collectively wasted being confused by Reddit and Craigslist's interfaces could have been much better spent elsewhere. Why improve anything? Because by doing so, we find what really should be.

pathseeker 9y ago
That statement might hold if these 'modern' designs weren't oversimplifications presenting less information density and reduced feature-sets that heavy users depend on.
ryanbrunner 9y ago
Here's the thing though - generally speaking, I don't know of many people who are confused by Craigslist. It's an effective design for what it needs to do - browsing is easy and obvious, searching is easy and obvious. It's just "ugly", which is a different thing. I will say Reddit is a bit of a different beast - there's too many hidden and confusing features, and it's probably fair to say that iterating on the design was necessary. My biggest concern is that what I've seen from the redesign seems to be focused on making Reddit less ugly than making it more obvious and functional. We're both posting on what might be one of the "ugliest" discussion forums on the internet - but I've rarely been confused as to how to do something on HN, which I can't say for many, many "modern", "pretty" websites.
- matuszeg 9y ago
  HN always felt like a minimalist reddit. Just a better tech subreddit I like to use the parent/old person test for ui usability(obviously not every old person will do, you know the type tho). I showed my parents reddit and they picked it up right away. Both failed to learn snapchat and struggle through most "modern" websites. I blew their minds when I showed them if they click the three lines on lpta of websites, really a hamburger menu, they get options and stuff. Often users are just expected to know these "design paradigms" like symbols(hamburger menu) or which direction to swipe(im still guessing half the time Snapchat). Whatever happened to using words like settings to open the settings menu. When did GUIs' forget to show available commands to users in an understandable format.
- tomtheelder 9y ago
  Craigslist is one of the most frustrating user experiences I have ever had. Every attempt I have made to use it has ended with me looking elsewhere, and each time I have had vastly better experiences on other sites. Everyone has a huge bias for what they already know. If you already understand and like Craigslist, I'm sure it's great. As a new user, it's awful.
  - nugi 9y ago
    Are you trolling?
prepend 9y ago
This is interesting as I think the UX for these two sites is simple and honest and easy to use. Although in its limited functionality. Can you give some examples of the hours you’ve spent being confused? It may just be a different way of thinking for different people situation. For me, I prefer simple and honest vs pretty wit targeted ads trying to divert.

by andkon 9y ago

pathseeker 9y ago

That statement might hold if these 'modern' designs weren't oversimplifications presenting less information density and reduced feature-sets that heavy users depend on.

ryanbrunner 9y ago

Here's the thing though - generally speaking, I don't know of many people who are confused by Craigslist. It's an effective design for what it needs to do - browsing is easy and obvious, searching is easy and obvious. It's just "ugly", which is a different thing. I will say Reddit is a bit of a different beast - there's too many hidden and confusing features, and it's probably fair to say that iterating on the design was necessary. My biggest concern is that what I've seen from the redesign seems to be focused on making Reddit less ugly than making it more obvious and functional. We're both posting on what might be one of the "ugliest" discussion forums on the internet - but I've rarely been confused as to how to do something on HN, which I can't say for many, many "modern", "pretty" websites.

matuszeg 9y ago
HN always felt like a minimalist reddit. Just a better tech subreddit I like to use the parent/old person test for ui usability(obviously not every old person will do, you know the type tho). I showed my parents reddit and they picked it up right away. Both failed to learn snapchat and struggle through most "modern" websites. I blew their minds when I showed them if they click the three lines on lpta of websites, really a hamburger menu, they get options and stuff. Often users are just expected to know these "design paradigms" like symbols(hamburger menu) or which direction to swipe(im still guessing half the time Snapchat). Whatever happened to using words like settings to open the settings menu. When did GUIs' forget to show available commands to users in an understandable format.
tomtheelder 9y ago
Craigslist is one of the most frustrating user experiences I have ever had. Every attempt I have made to use it has ended with me looking elsewhere, and each time I have had vastly better experiences on other sites. Everyone has a huge bias for what they already know. If you already understand and like Craigslist, I'm sure it's great. As a new user, it's awful.
- nugi 9y ago
  Are you trolling?

prepend 9y ago

This is interesting as I think the UX for these two sites is simple and honest and easy to use. Although in its limited functionality. Can you give some examples of the hours you’ve spent being confused? It may just be a different way of thinking for different people situation. For me, I prefer simple and honest vs pretty wit targeted ads trying to divert.