5 ms·

When almost every person does it wrong, the problem isn’t the person.

andrewflnr 8y ago
There's a limit to this principle. There's not always something you can fix to prevent people from abusing your product or system. Are the instructions for the Club bad, or what? I'm usually the first person to say "you don't need to propose an alternative for your criticism to be valid". I think in this case, however, where the validity of the criticism is predicated in the existence of alternatives, you really need to give one.
- xsmasher 8y ago
  Sounds like the club needs more "affordances" to help the user. Maybe a sticker with ↑up↑ and ↓down↓ printed on it, in such a way that the text is upside down if the club is locked incorrectly.
deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
CamperBob2 8y ago
When common sense fails, it's time for the manufacturer to take some responsibility. A good example of this phenomenon might be the tendency of people to record videos with their phones held upright. Given that it's apparently impractical for the smartphone OS vendor to pop up a warning or advisory notice when eomeone does this, how hard would it be to embed some small contacts in the bezel to administer a mild electrical shock? In the Club's case, it might have helped to include a simple "This end up" label in the appropriate spot.
- reificator 8y ago
  I thought you were going to suggest rotating the sensor or cropping from a square in software. Not that I'm opposed to your approach either...
fipple 8y ago
That’s not true of “The Road Not Taken.” It’s not the poem’s fault, but 90% of people read the completely wrong meaning from it.
- cm2012 8y ago
  Art ia different than practical things though.
brewdad 8y ago
I think the trouble comes from the fact that most drivers want to place the Club before exiting the vehicle. Installing the Club correctly means that it then blocks your ability to get out of the car. That's the whole point of why it should be placed that way, but if it inconveniences the user then it will be installed wrong and be less effective.

There's a limit to this principle. There's not always something you can fix to prevent people from abusing your product or system. Are the instructions for the Club bad, or what? I'm usually the first person to say "you don't need to propose an alternative for your criticism to be valid". I think in this case, however, where the validity of the criticism is predicated in the existence of alternatives, you really need to give one.

xsmasher 8y ago
Sounds like the club needs more "affordances" to help the user. Maybe a sticker with ↑up↑ and ↓down↓ printed on it, in such a way that the text is upside down if the club is locked incorrectly.

deleted 8y ago

[deleted]

CamperBob2 8y ago

When common sense fails, it's time for the manufacturer to take some responsibility. A good example of this phenomenon might be the tendency of people to record videos with their phones held upright. Given that it's apparently impractical for the smartphone OS vendor to pop up a warning or advisory notice when eomeone does this, how hard would it be to embed some small contacts in the bezel to administer a mild electrical shock? In the Club's case, it might have helped to include a simple "This end up" label in the appropriate spot.

reificator 8y ago
I thought you were going to suggest rotating the sensor or cropping from a square in software. Not that I'm opposed to your approach either...

fipple 8y ago

That’s not true of “The Road Not Taken.” It’s not the poem’s fault, but 90% of people read the completely wrong meaning from it.

cm2012 8y ago
Art ia different than practical things though.

brewdad 8y ago

I think the trouble comes from the fact that most drivers want to place the Club before exiting the vehicle. Installing the Club correctly means that it then blocks your ability to get out of the car. That's the whole point of why it should be placed that way, but if it inconveniences the user then it will be installed wrong and be less effective.