7 ms·

Is there an agreed upon name for this, where a website or app loads elements piecemeal so we click the wrong thing by mistake? I know it exists as an intention

by hnick 6y ago

Is there an agreed upon name for this, where a website or app loads elements piecemeal so we click the wrong thing by mistake? I know it exists as an intentional dark pattern (so we just think that's what happened). But it also seems so common now across computing and it pisses me off every time.

ashishb 6y ago
I want to know this too. Another example is Google search. If you search, click on a search result and then go back then a panel slowly appears below that link. So if you are going to click the next link, it interferes with that.
redkinght99 6y ago
https://www.darkpatterns.org/types-of-dark-pattern https://www.darkpatterns.org/types-of-dark-pattern Maybe one of these?
- hnick 6y ago
  A dark pattern is intentional, most of the stuff I'm talking about seems to be from ignorance or indifference. Asynchronous element loading saves time overall but it costs time when key UI elements rearrange. It's probably difficult to pull off but linear/blocked/sequential loading for the current viewport and offscreen asynchronous loading is probably what we need to avoid this (or ugly placeholders).
  - freehunter 6y ago
    Google prioritizes time to first draw. Do they prioritize time before the page is completely loaded? I don’t know the answer but if they’re going to stay in the business of ranking pages on speed, they should be putting that as a higher priority for their rankings. Too many times I’m reading the content and yet the browser is still loading... something. What? I have no idea.
sergiotapia 6y ago
Google recently started doing this. I literally never click google ads, and today about four times I've click on ads because the thing I want is result #1 but just as I'm about to click three ads load in and I click the first ad.
- ahartmetz 6y ago
  Wild guess: it's a bug but it looked good in A/B testing. The change was supposed to increase ad click rates and it did. Job well done, ship it!
- huffmsa 6y ago
  I swear I've had images and videos switch places as I'm clicking on the search results tab. Or maybe I have 15 years of expectation that images is going to be the second tab. Edit: nope, just did a search, it started web images videos then right when the page finished loading it switched to web videos images So only does search not work anymore, it's unnavigable Edit 2: it's not just video, it rearranges the tabs based on relevance. "John wick" will move videos to the second spot. "San Francisco" will move news second and maps 3rd. I get it, but I also don't.
mehrdadn 6y ago
This happens with Google Chrome address bar suggestions on Android too. Drives me nuts every time.
- adishy 6y ago
  The Chrome reload gesture also gets in the way sometimes. It's especially infuriating when there's a link you want to click on the page (that's still loading), but additional content causes the content to scroll down as you're tapping the screen so Chrome misinterprets this as you wanting a page reload.
cubedrone 6y ago
In my opinion, Windows search is the absolute most infuriating example of this, compounded by how slow it is. Let's name it so we can shame it
- hnick 6y ago
  Just yesterday I tried to type "Network and sharing center". Apparently it does not exist in the index which is quite annoying, I have to click through the control panel (after accidentally ending up on a web search). Windows 10 is an odd beast with multiple generations of UIs all nestled away.
  - HeWhoLurksLate 6y ago
    Trying to get to the network devies page is equally infuriating- it's under network adapters and options in Control Panel, and may or may not actually be accessible from the new Settings app- I don't remember.
    - 2fast4you 6y ago
      Even better, try setting the dead zones on an XInput game pad. Off the top of my head, it goes something like: “Settings” > “Bluetooth and other devices” > “Printers and other devices“ > Right click your game pad > “Gamepad Settings” > select your gamepad > “Ok” > “Deadzones”
      - ethbro 6y ago
        The really sad thing is that Windows has multiple accessibility layers for every visual control (e.g. Active Accessibility). So there is literally already a textual, and usually interpretable, path to any window. Apparently tying search into that made too much sense though, and so instead we get a reinvented (slightly square) wheel.
    - Avery3R 6y ago
      Win+R -> ncpa.cpl
Groxx 6y ago
"reflow" or "layout jank" are ones I've seen a fair number of times (not sure if "jank" was intended as "stuttering" or "unreliable", but both work if you go for the feeling)
- derefr 6y ago
  I've heard "jank" in speedrunning used to mean "badly-implemented interaction logic that makes the timing for a reflex action non-deterministic / non-learnable", which fits perfectly here.
shaggyfrog 6y ago
Three Card Monte? I find this happens with computer game UIs a lot, too, especially for dynamic UI elements that float above static UI elements. Especially when there is a lag due to animations.
liggitt 6y ago
Laggy loading of items into a tappable target area is begging to be called the “slow poke” pattern
habosa 6y ago
Someone once told me this is called being "matador-ed" because it's just like pulling the cape away from the charging bull. I love that term and the Android share dialog has always been my top example.
exikyut 6y ago
"Progressive enhancement" came to mind with an /s subtext on the side. But then I thought of: "Percusssive enhancement". Maybe not semantically 100%, but... not 0%.

by hnick 6y ago

ashishb 6y ago

I want to know this too. Another example is Google search. If you search, click on a search result and then go back then a panel slowly appears below that link. So if you are going to click the next link, it interferes with that.

redkinght99 6y ago

https://www.darkpatterns.org/types-of-dark-pattern https://www.darkpatterns.org/types-of-dark-pattern Maybe one of these?

hnick 6y ago
A dark pattern is intentional, most of the stuff I'm talking about seems to be from ignorance or indifference. Asynchronous element loading saves time overall but it costs time when key UI elements rearrange. It's probably difficult to pull off but linear/blocked/sequential loading for the current viewport and offscreen asynchronous loading is probably what we need to avoid this (or ugly placeholders).
- freehunter 6y ago
  Google prioritizes time to first draw. Do they prioritize time before the page is completely loaded? I don’t know the answer but if they’re going to stay in the business of ranking pages on speed, they should be putting that as a higher priority for their rankings. Too many times I’m reading the content and yet the browser is still loading... something. What? I have no idea.

sergiotapia 6y ago

Google recently started doing this. I literally never click google ads, and today about four times I've click on ads because the thing I want is result #1 but just as I'm about to click three ads load in and I click the first ad.

ahartmetz 6y ago
Wild guess: it's a bug but it looked good in A/B testing. The change was supposed to increase ad click rates and it did. Job well done, ship it!
huffmsa 6y ago
I swear I've had images and videos switch places as I'm clicking on the search results tab. Or maybe I have 15 years of expectation that images is going to be the second tab. Edit: nope, just did a search, it started web images videos then right when the page finished loading it switched to web videos images So only does search not work anymore, it's unnavigable Edit 2: it's not just video, it rearranges the tabs based on relevance. "John wick" will move videos to the second spot. "San Francisco" will move news second and maps 3rd. I get it, but I also don't.

mehrdadn 6y ago

This happens with Google Chrome address bar suggestions on Android too. Drives me nuts every time.

adishy 6y ago
The Chrome reload gesture also gets in the way sometimes. It's especially infuriating when there's a link you want to click on the page (that's still loading), but additional content causes the content to scroll down as you're tapping the screen so Chrome misinterprets this as you wanting a page reload.

cubedrone 6y ago

In my opinion, Windows search is the absolute most infuriating example of this, compounded by how slow it is. Let's name it so we can shame it

hnick 6y ago
Just yesterday I tried to type "Network and sharing center". Apparently it does not exist in the index which is quite annoying, I have to click through the control panel (after accidentally ending up on a web search). Windows 10 is an odd beast with multiple generations of UIs all nestled away.
- HeWhoLurksLate 6y ago
  Trying to get to the network devies page is equally infuriating- it's under network adapters and options in Control Panel, and may or may not actually be accessible from the new Settings app- I don't remember.
  - 2fast4you 6y ago
    Even better, try setting the dead zones on an XInput game pad. Off the top of my head, it goes something like: “Settings” > “Bluetooth and other devices” > “Printers and other devices“ > Right click your game pad > “Gamepad Settings” > select your gamepad > “Ok” > “Deadzones”
    - ethbro 6y ago
      The really sad thing is that Windows has multiple accessibility layers for every visual control (e.g. Active Accessibility). So there is literally already a textual, and usually interpretable, path to any window. Apparently tying search into that made too much sense though, and so instead we get a reinvented (slightly square) wheel.
  - Avery3R 6y ago
    Win+R -> ncpa.cpl

Groxx 6y ago

"reflow" or "layout jank" are ones I've seen a fair number of times (not sure if "jank" was intended as "stuttering" or "unreliable", but both work if you go for the feeling)

derefr 6y ago
I've heard "jank" in speedrunning used to mean "badly-implemented interaction logic that makes the timing for a reflex action non-deterministic / non-learnable", which fits perfectly here.

shaggyfrog 6y ago

Three Card Monte? I find this happens with computer game UIs a lot, too, especially for dynamic UI elements that float above static UI elements. Especially when there is a lag due to animations.

liggitt 6y ago

Laggy loading of items into a tappable target area is begging to be called the “slow poke” pattern

habosa 6y ago

Someone once told me this is called being "matador-ed" because it's just like pulling the cape away from the charging bull. I love that term and the Android share dialog has always been my top example.

exikyut 6y ago

"Progressive enhancement" came to mind with an /s subtext on the side. But then I thought of: "Percusssive enhancement". Maybe not semantically 100%, but... not 0%.