4 ms·

Lots of people saying this is for the benefit of non-technical users. For me, this is a minor inconvenience, precisely because I'm technically capable/interest

Lots of people saying this is for the benefit of non-technical users. For me, this is a minor inconvenience, precisely because I'm technically capable/interested enough to handle the inconsistency. But this kind of stuff (and I am speaking somewhat generally here) tends to frustrate me, precisely when I'm trying to educate or deal with a non-technical user in some capacity where it happens to matter. I can't just tell them, "that is the address of the page, and that will always lead to the exact same place if you type it fully and correctly, and that's that". Instead I have to get my head around what if they're using browser X or operating system Y, I have to ask on the phone first, "hang on, tell me what you see on your screen", I have to say to the lady who's eagerly sat in front of me with pen hovered above paper waiting for me to dictate how to do a thing in straightforward steps, "well it depends, first you have to check this thing, and if it's like this then you can do this but it might also be like that in which case it's a bit different, let me explain" - and this is usually the point at which the non-technical user gets tired and throws the book at me. In short, I think consistency of information and process is usually much more understandable and useful to users of any level, than the dumb 'simplification' of this half-baked information-hiding.

GuB-42 8y ago
Yeah, I think that consistency is greatly undervalued. Grandma has no problem with technical details being shown, she just ignores them, she just knows that clicking on the button on the top left will go the the webmail and that she needs to click the big red button in order to write a new email. Change anything and she will get lost, click everywhere, and usually find the solution, but sometimes make a mess. There are also security implications. I told her to be aware of any change, because it may imply a phishing attempt, or some malware. But how is it going to work if legitimate software always change. You are basically training them to stop thinking about what happens, which is terrible since thinking is the only thing that can protect them since they don't have the technical intuition most of us have.
euske 8y ago
I wholeheartedly agree with this. There are two sides of the debate now. One side says that the machines should be clever enough to guess the user's intention and go around of their mistakes, while the other side says that the machines should stay as dumb and square. The question is about who is handling the complexity of this world, and in my opinion it should be often left to the human, not to the machines.
- masswerk 8y ago
  The worse outcome may be, if there's an ambiguity involved and the smart system takes precedent, but occasionally happens to take the wrong route – and suppresses any feedback for the user to intervene or even notice. Which is much, where we have arrived by this. I guess, collateral damage has become a matter of everyday life.
masswerk 8y ago
This! Consistency. Browser start screens with a large search box in the center haven't helped either. Some users do see no difference between the location-field and this search box. Some have even unlearned this. Arguably, it facilitates ignorance of the location, the significance of URLs and how they work. Reading a URL isn't witchcraft, it's just about three simple things. But dumbing things down towards convenience at the expense of consistency will not empower users. (Surprisingly, ordinary people have been able to manually dial a phone or to parse a street address without the help of a map service in the past. It can't be that bad.)

GuB-42 8y ago

Yeah, I think that consistency is greatly undervalued. Grandma has no problem with technical details being shown, she just ignores them, she just knows that clicking on the button on the top left will go the the webmail and that she needs to click the big red button in order to write a new email. Change anything and she will get lost, click everywhere, and usually find the solution, but sometimes make a mess. There are also security implications. I told her to be aware of any change, because it may imply a phishing attempt, or some malware. But how is it going to work if legitimate software always change. You are basically training them to stop thinking about what happens, which is terrible since thinking is the only thing that can protect them since they don't have the technical intuition most of us have.

euske 8y ago

I wholeheartedly agree with this. There are two sides of the debate now. One side says that the machines should be clever enough to guess the user's intention and go around of their mistakes, while the other side says that the machines should stay as dumb and square. The question is about who is handling the complexity of this world, and in my opinion it should be often left to the human, not to the machines.

masswerk 8y ago
The worse outcome may be, if there's an ambiguity involved and the smart system takes precedent, but occasionally happens to take the wrong route – and suppresses any feedback for the user to intervene or even notice. Which is much, where we have arrived by this. I guess, collateral damage has become a matter of everyday life.

masswerk 8y ago

This! Consistency. Browser start screens with a large search box in the center haven't helped either. Some users do see no difference between the location-field and this search box. Some have even unlearned this. Arguably, it facilitates ignorance of the location, the significance of URLs and how they work. Reading a URL isn't witchcraft, it's just about three simple things. But dumbing things down towards convenience at the expense of consistency will not empower users. (Surprisingly, ordinary people have been able to manually dial a phone or to parse a street address without the help of a map service in the past. It can't be that bad.)