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> To our astonishment, a number of users said that they wouldn’t read the information in the boxes. They likened them to advertising on news sites Well done, a

> To our astonishment, a number of users said that they wouldn’t read the information in the boxes. They likened them to advertising on news sites Well done, ad people. I hope you didn't kill anyone.

karl_schlagenfu 8y ago
Ad people, scum of the earth.
- anoncake 8y ago
  Now that goes too far.
  - liability 8y ago
    Corporate propagandists may not be the very lowest of the low, but they're certainly in unflattering company.
  - markovbot 8y ago
    Not in the least.
  - taneq 8y ago
    Scum is useful in some ecological niches, after all.
mortenjorck 8y ago
While banner blindness has been a thing for some time, this takes it to a new level. Apparently years of "You've won a £50 Amazon Gift Card!" and fake software update bottom-of-the-barrel advertisements have engendered a broader disregard of genuine alert messages than previously understood. This seems to invite its own study.
- Illotus 8y ago
  Anything that looks like an ad will be largely ignored. This has been understood for over 20 years now. However, flashy looking boxes have always been the first idea that pops into anyones head, so here we are.
kurtisc 8y ago
I also notice myself missing road signs while driving in areas with lots of advertising.
yardstick 8y ago
The cynic in me now expects advertisers to adopt these techniques in future ads. What works well for content creators likely works for advertisers too. It’s sadly a cat and mouse game.
- cafebabbe 8y ago
  It's already there.... native ads, designed to fit perfectly in the content around it
moring 8y ago
Ironically, the exact same site greets users with a cookie warning, training them towards the behavior they were surprised about.
- jve 8y ago
  Brexit can provide them a way to remove that nonsense. I mean they will be free to adjust their local laws away from EU regulations where needed.
  - yardstick 8y ago
    Many sites outside EU jurisdiction still abide by EU privacy/cookie laws. Not all for sure. It is typically easier for a developer to target the most demanding laws for all users vs different experiences and more code paths to dynamically offer based on region. I don’t expect anything to change in this regard. The bigger problem about these nag screens is the poor UX. I often just accept the defaults because it is far, far quicker than trying to find the Opt out option. I especially hate sites that then take you to a config screen to pick and choose from providers. All I want is a binary Yes or No, with each option getting equal equivalence in the UI.
    - anoncake 8y ago
      > I often just accept the defaults because it is far, far quicker than trying to find the Opt out option. That is why opt-out is illegal.
      - yardstick 8y ago
        Agreed. I guess the sites I'm complaining about are technically opt-in by legal terms, although opt-out in usability terms (making the no tracking option far more hassle than the yes tracking option)
        alxlaz 8y ago
        The legal definition of "opt-out" is exactly the same as the "usability" definition: if you need to click anything other than "OK" in order to opt out of being tracked, then it's opt-in.
TeMPOraL 8y ago
Adding this to my ever-growing list of examples why advertising is a cancer on society.

karl_schlagenfu 8y ago

Ad people, scum of the earth.

anoncake 8y ago
Now that goes too far.
- liability 8y ago
  Corporate propagandists may not be the very lowest of the low, but they're certainly in unflattering company.
- markovbot 8y ago
  Not in the least.
- taneq 8y ago
  Scum is useful in some ecological niches, after all.

mortenjorck 8y ago

While banner blindness has been a thing for some time, this takes it to a new level. Apparently years of "You've won a £50 Amazon Gift Card!" and fake software update bottom-of-the-barrel advertisements have engendered a broader disregard of genuine alert messages than previously understood. This seems to invite its own study.

Illotus 8y ago
Anything that looks like an ad will be largely ignored. This has been understood for over 20 years now. However, flashy looking boxes have always been the first idea that pops into anyones head, so here we are.

kurtisc 8y ago

I also notice myself missing road signs while driving in areas with lots of advertising.

yardstick 8y ago

The cynic in me now expects advertisers to adopt these techniques in future ads. What works well for content creators likely works for advertisers too. It’s sadly a cat and mouse game.

cafebabbe 8y ago
It's already there.... native ads, designed to fit perfectly in the content around it

moring 8y ago

Ironically, the exact same site greets users with a cookie warning, training them towards the behavior they were surprised about.

jve 8y ago
Brexit can provide them a way to remove that nonsense. I mean they will be free to adjust their local laws away from EU regulations where needed.
- yardstick 8y ago
  Many sites outside EU jurisdiction still abide by EU privacy/cookie laws. Not all for sure. It is typically easier for a developer to target the most demanding laws for all users vs different experiences and more code paths to dynamically offer based on region. I don’t expect anything to change in this regard. The bigger problem about these nag screens is the poor UX. I often just accept the defaults because it is far, far quicker than trying to find the Opt out option. I especially hate sites that then take you to a config screen to pick and choose from providers. All I want is a binary Yes or No, with each option getting equal equivalence in the UI.
  - anoncake 8y ago
    > I often just accept the defaults because it is far, far quicker than trying to find the Opt out option. That is why opt-out is illegal.
    - yardstick 8y ago
      Agreed. I guess the sites I'm complaining about are technically opt-in by legal terms, although opt-out in usability terms (making the no tracking option far more hassle than the yes tracking option)
      - alxlaz 8y ago
        The legal definition of "opt-out" is exactly the same as the "usability" definition: if you need to click anything other than "OK" in order to opt out of being tracked, then it's opt-in.

TeMPOraL 8y ago

Adding this to my ever-growing list of examples why advertising is a cancer on society.