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I can understand that there are places/screens/experiences where you'd like some peace and quiet but the idea that communication with technology should as a "ge

I can understand that there are places/screens/experiences where you'd like some peace and quiet but the idea that communication with technology should as a "general rule" not "ever. ever ever" be anything but unidirectional from user to device is absurd.

tomc1985 5y ago
No, it isn't. Many of us do not want our devices talking to us without really good reason
ninkendo 5y ago
I’d welcome a challenge to this rule or trying to find an exception to it! I actually think about this a lot. I try to keep mental track for every notification I get and they’re all either: 1. A person contacting me 2. The response for some action I took, and is typically just a chime or small transient notification (a download finished, etc) 3. Something that shouldn’t exist at all (“try new feature” dialogs, etc) 4. The grey area: Something I wanted to know, but could have been implemented in a better way. The “other way” things should be implemented in case 4 varies, but here are some examples: - Xcode shouldn’t alert me with a modal popup when something fails, it should just put the failed status in a multi-item notification drawer that can be ignored - That thing telling me my password is incorrect shouldn’t be a modal popup, but just a small status text on the UI I’m already using - The “tips”/“what’s new in X” information should be in the app’s menu in a section that can have some level of prominence so long as it’s reasonable (bold, highlighted, etc, but never in a dialog that I have to dismiss to continue using your app.)
- u385639 5y ago
  I was clumsily pointing out the oddity of saying "ever" in a rule ostensibly "general" aka with exceptions. Otherwise, it just looks like a preference to me. Why should (3) never exist at all? I've definitely found features that have existed for a long time in a product and wished I somehow new earlier. Does it mean they could have designed it better? Perhaps. An app driven nudge is a hammer, sure, but it's not a sacred violation.

tomc1985 5y ago

No, it isn't. Many of us do not want our devices talking to us without really good reason

ninkendo 5y ago

I’d welcome a challenge to this rule or trying to find an exception to it! I actually think about this a lot. I try to keep mental track for every notification I get and they’re all either: 1. A person contacting me 2. The response for some action I took, and is typically just a chime or small transient notification (a download finished, etc) 3. Something that shouldn’t exist at all (“try new feature” dialogs, etc) 4. The grey area: Something I wanted to know, but could have been implemented in a better way. The “other way” things should be implemented in case 4 varies, but here are some examples: - Xcode shouldn’t alert me with a modal popup when something fails, it should just put the failed status in a multi-item notification drawer that can be ignored - That thing telling me my password is incorrect shouldn’t be a modal popup, but just a small status text on the UI I’m already using - The “tips”/“what’s new in X” information should be in the app’s menu in a section that can have some level of prominence so long as it’s reasonable (bold, highlighted, etc, but never in a dialog that I have to dismiss to continue using your app.)

u385639 5y ago
I was clumsily pointing out the oddity of saying "ever" in a rule ostensibly "general" aka with exceptions. Otherwise, it just looks like a preference to me. Why should (3) never exist at all? I've definitely found features that have existed for a long time in a product and wished I somehow new earlier. Does it mean they could have designed it better? Perhaps. An app driven nudge is a hammer, sure, but it's not a sacred violation.