but its the choices you hate Indeed. However, the poor choice would not matter if there was option to fix that. we end up with much more useful tools, better

but its the choices you hate Indeed. However, the poor choice would not matter if there was option to fix that. we end up with much more useful tools, better experiences, and innovative ideas. I definitely agree with the 2nd and 3rd points, but how is a piece of software more useful or a better experience because I cannot customize it to be more useful to myself? you end up with animated Myspace backgrounds, skinable MP3 players, and corporate portals. Actually, two of these are examples of designers not giving an option to change things. Backgrounds should be able to be turned off (see how most IM clients will allow you to disable font styles to make things readable when talking to that friend who uses dark purple text on a black background). Corporate portals are example where there's no choice, assuming I'm reading that right. As for "skinnable MP3 players", I absolutely love foobar2000 specifically for that feature. I'm truly not getting how that's a bad thing, at all. But I'm not going to trash Twitter for taking that risk. Should they have thought it through more? I think so. Should they keep doing things in a similar spirit? Yes. This is where I think we simply disagree in philosophy. I can see how, as a designer, forcing new and interesting interfaces on a user can sometimes lead to innovation and change for the better. But as a user, I've found that I really dislike 99% of the time that's attempted, and I'd rather have the ability to overwrite what a bad designer decided was brilliant. There are good designs out there that I'm fine with and have never had to change, but most of the time, one interface does not fit everyone. Giving the user choice to tailor the interface to their preference and their use reflects that. Edit: to expand further, I strongly agree with statement "good design should be transparent". The user should not have to think about the UI; it should enable them to do what they'd like painlessly. If a user goes looking for an option to change something that annoys them in the interface, then the interface is getting in the way of the user. As a side note, this philosophy can be seen at the root of people who love Apple/hate Apple. Those who love Apple tend to admire them for their excellent sense of design and wonderfully made products. Those who hate Apple tend to dislike the idea that Apple tends to make decisions for its users, and have run up against that lack of choice one too many times. At least, that's my perspective as someone on the "generally disliking" side.