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I don’t mind the green bubble except that it seriously harms readability for me. The green is so bright. I wouldn’t think anything of the “green bubble strategy

I don’t mind the green bubble except that it seriously harms readability for me. The green is so bright. I wouldn’t think anything of the “green bubble strategy” if it weren’t for how garish and unreadable the text appears. It’s a questionable decision from a UI/accessibility perspective.

barbs 5y ago
I wonder if the illegibility is intentional?
- basisword 5y ago
  Given the iPhone shipped for 3 or 4 years with only green bubbles (for SMS, pre iMessage) it’s definitely not intentional.
  - jtd13 5y ago
    Another user pointed out that it used to be black text on a green background. Now it is white on green. I think I agree that it is harder to read.
    - dane-pgp 5y ago
      There really needs to be some catch-all law that prevents dark patterns like this. (Please excuse the irony that in this case the dark pattern is light text). If an engineer or designer is told to deliberately spend time making an experience less good for someone, they should be able to report that to a government ombudsman, and if their whistleblowing is proven correct, the company should be forced to reverse the decision and continue to pay the developer their salary for the next 10 years even if they choose to quit. I suppose there are cases when the dark pattern is actually intended to add friction to a path that leads to user errors, like accidentally making private files world-readable, but something like a jury of users should be able to unanimously reach a verdict on whether a given "feature" is really a benefit.
    - basisword 5y ago
      Possibly. Did that change with the iMessage launch? Either way I feel the choice is for aesthetic purposes rather than anything sinister.
analyte123 5y ago
I don't think it's an accident.
- steve_adams_86 5y ago
  No, me either. They get enough UI right (I know, many of you will disagree) that this particular mistake in a prominent part of one of their most important applications is almost certainly intentional.

barbs 5y ago

I wonder if the illegibility is intentional?

basisword 5y ago
Given the iPhone shipped for 3 or 4 years with only green bubbles (for SMS, pre iMessage) it’s definitely not intentional.
- jtd13 5y ago
  Another user pointed out that it used to be black text on a green background. Now it is white on green. I think I agree that it is harder to read.
  - dane-pgp 5y ago
    There really needs to be some catch-all law that prevents dark patterns like this. (Please excuse the irony that in this case the dark pattern is light text). If an engineer or designer is told to deliberately spend time making an experience less good for someone, they should be able to report that to a government ombudsman, and if their whistleblowing is proven correct, the company should be forced to reverse the decision and continue to pay the developer their salary for the next 10 years even if they choose to quit. I suppose there are cases when the dark pattern is actually intended to add friction to a path that leads to user errors, like accidentally making private files world-readable, but something like a jury of users should be able to unanimously reach a verdict on whether a given "feature" is really a benefit.
  - basisword 5y ago
    Possibly. Did that change with the iMessage launch? Either way I feel the choice is for aesthetic purposes rather than anything sinister.

analyte123 5y ago

I don't think it's an accident.

steve_adams_86 5y ago
No, me either. They get enough UI right (I know, many of you will disagree) that this particular mistake in a prominent part of one of their most important applications is almost certainly intentional.