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> There is a reason they have always been front and center in all web browsers. Just because a design idiom had prevailed doesn't mean that it's correct or eve

by MAGZine 12y ago

> There is a reason they have always been front and center in all web browsers. Just because a design idiom had prevailed doesn't mean that it's correct or even good. People generally don't care about the url, they care about the site. This is like the browser saying "Starbucks" rather than "Starbucks, 3-1202 21st E, Falseville BC".

VMG 12y ago
> > There is a reason they have always been front and center in all web browsers. What's more, the URL is not front and center in any web browser. The window title is taken from <title>, the path and query parts are displayed in lower contrast than the host part, and the address bar is not only hidden on iOS but also on Android when the user scrolls down the page. This is just the same nerd-rage when Firefox introduced omnicomplete, only with less people vowing to switch to Opera.
tty 12y ago
>This is like the browser saying "Starbucks" rather than "Starbucks, 3-1202 21st E, Falseville BC". Is it? What if "Starbucks" were your bank? What if you knew that apart from your bank there's non-bank entities mimicking your bank's looks in an effort to get your personal information? Would location still be irrelevant?
- true_religion 12y ago
  No one is mimicking your bank by putting the info to the right of the domain name. They mimick the look of the bank and pick a domain like your.bankofamerica.getreadygo.com
  - cynwoody 12y ago
    A few years ago I got an email advising me my account had been compromised, and I needed to follow a link to get the matter resolved. Mousing over the link, I saw https://www.bankofamerica.com/[lots https://www.bankofamerica.com/[lots of gobbledygook followed by an ellipsis]. So, to see it all, I copied it to the pasteboard and pbpasted it into an open Terminal window. The gobbledygook ended with an @-sign and a domain that resolved to a Chinese IP. About the @-sign syntax: http://stackoverflow.com/a/4981309/315083 http://stackoverflow.com/a/4981309/315083
tumultco 12y ago
I'm curious if there have been studies about people not caring about the URL or showing it is a more of a usability hinderance than help. I remember arguments about this back in the late 90s (some suggested VRML navigation as a solution!), and the web has still seemed to take off despite no significant changes to the URL bar before the last few years. In your example, wouldn't the "BC" be the domain name and not "Starbucks?" I don't know if there's any way to know with certainty in all URLs whether the domain name or the path components are more important to a user.
Pacabel 12y ago
While the existing approach may have its flaws, the wholesale removal of valuable information and functionality from the browser UI very likely isn't the right fix, either. In my opinion, this is up there with the removal of the URL protocol, the removal of the status bar, the removal of the menu bar, the removal of the ability to disable JavaScript easily, and the other similar changes we've seen from Chrome and/or Firefox over the past few years. This useful functionality is removed under the guise of "increasing usability" or "improving security" or some equally vague justification. So-called "average users" don't even notice any improvement, while power users are forced to endure a dumbed-down, less effective browser experience.

by MAGZine 12y ago

VMG 12y ago

> > There is a reason they have always been front and center in all web browsers. What's more, the URL is not front and center in any web browser. The window title is taken from <title>, the path and query parts are displayed in lower contrast than the host part, and the address bar is not only hidden on iOS but also on Android when the user scrolls down the page. This is just the same nerd-rage when Firefox introduced omnicomplete, only with less people vowing to switch to Opera.

tty 12y ago

>This is like the browser saying "Starbucks" rather than "Starbucks, 3-1202 21st E, Falseville BC". Is it? What if "Starbucks" were your bank? What if you knew that apart from your bank there's non-bank entities mimicking your bank's looks in an effort to get your personal information? Would location still be irrelevant?

true_religion 12y ago
No one is mimicking your bank by putting the info to the right of the domain name. They mimick the look of the bank and pick a domain like your.bankofamerica.getreadygo.com
- cynwoody 12y ago
  A few years ago I got an email advising me my account had been compromised, and I needed to follow a link to get the matter resolved. Mousing over the link, I saw https://www.bankofamerica.com/[lots https://www.bankofamerica.com/[lots of gobbledygook followed by an ellipsis]. So, to see it all, I copied it to the pasteboard and pbpasted it into an open Terminal window. The gobbledygook ended with an @-sign and a domain that resolved to a Chinese IP. About the @-sign syntax: http://stackoverflow.com/a/4981309/315083 http://stackoverflow.com/a/4981309/315083

tumultco 12y ago

I'm curious if there have been studies about people not caring about the URL or showing it is a more of a usability hinderance than help. I remember arguments about this back in the late 90s (some suggested VRML navigation as a solution!), and the web has still seemed to take off despite no significant changes to the URL bar before the last few years. In your example, wouldn't the "BC" be the domain name and not "Starbucks?" I don't know if there's any way to know with certainty in all URLs whether the domain name or the path components are more important to a user.

Pacabel 12y ago

While the existing approach may have its flaws, the wholesale removal of valuable information and functionality from the browser UI very likely isn't the right fix, either. In my opinion, this is up there with the removal of the URL protocol, the removal of the status bar, the removal of the menu bar, the removal of the ability to disable JavaScript easily, and the other similar changes we've seen from Chrome and/or Firefox over the past few years. This useful functionality is removed under the guise of "increasing usability" or "improving security" or some equally vague justification. So-called "average users" don't even notice any improvement, while power users are forced to endure a dumbed-down, less effective browser experience.