5 ms·

For technical reasons: we want to allow users to annotate arbitrary segments of text, so what better (or other) way is there than adding an annotate button to h

For technical reasons: we want to allow users to annotate arbitrary segments of text, so what better (or other) way is there than adding an annotate button to highlighted text? For philosophical reasons: genius is about annotating text, and as a result, about close reading. We'd rather optimize for a close read than a speed read.

scrollaway 12y ago
The annotate button covers the highlighted text. And I don't just highlight text when I speed read, I do it all the time because it is easier on the eyes - it is just a habit common to speed readers as that's where most people pick it up. Moreover you actually break selection pretty badly along with it. There are other ways to annotate than to pop crap up every time a user highlights text. I'm in no mood of solving UX problems for a website that has gotten me so disgusted within seconds of opening it. And no, this is not an exaggeration. Imagine if, while reading the newspaper, every few seconds some really annoying guy moved it out of the way and yelled "DID YOU SEE THE SPORTS SECTION?" or similar crap you don't care about. This is the most direct analogy I can find to explain the situation to someone who doesn't highlight-read.
- azernik 12y ago
  So perhaps the more specific ask here is "don't have your pop-up on highlighted text cover other text." Would this bother you as much if the "Annotate" pop-up was off in the margin?
Intermernet 12y ago
It seems everyone would be happy if the annotate button didn't overlap the highlighted text. Would it be possible to move the button just to the right of the highlighted block? Then speed-readers don't get hindered, and the annotate functionality remains usable.
icelancer 12y ago
Highlight-read is done by a lot of non-speed readers for chunking. I am one of them. Please move the annotation.
anon4 12y ago
Maybe not exactly rule 1 of web design (also applies to ui design in general), but pretty close: DO NOT fuck with basic functionality.
e12e 12y ago
Would be nice to just add a toggle for the annotations? I rarely use genius for the various annotations, but with the wealth of song (rap) lyrics, I often end up on the site. Being able to switch off annotations would be great. [edit: Come to think of it, I'd love to see three modes: the current highlight, none, and footnotes (which one might hoover/click). Whenever I read annotated texts, I rarely care about all annotations -- I only look up the things I need to look up. And the highlights are really annoying when reading a text.]
breadbutt 12y ago
You can just display the "annotate" dialog outside the main text. Also it's pretty annoying that it wants me to click just to take me to a login screen. Fuck this.
danabramov 12y ago
You can calculate position so it doesn't cover the text.

scrollaway 12y ago

The annotate button covers the highlighted text. And I don't just highlight text when I speed read, I do it all the time because it is easier on the eyes - it is just a habit common to speed readers as that's where most people pick it up. Moreover you actually break selection pretty badly along with it. There are other ways to annotate than to pop crap up every time a user highlights text. I'm in no mood of solving UX problems for a website that has gotten me so disgusted within seconds of opening it. And no, this is not an exaggeration. Imagine if, while reading the newspaper, every few seconds some really annoying guy moved it out of the way and yelled "DID YOU SEE THE SPORTS SECTION?" or similar crap you don't care about. This is the most direct analogy I can find to explain the situation to someone who doesn't highlight-read.

azernik 12y ago
So perhaps the more specific ask here is "don't have your pop-up on highlighted text cover other text." Would this bother you as much if the "Annotate" pop-up was off in the margin?

Intermernet 12y ago

It seems everyone would be happy if the annotate button didn't overlap the highlighted text. Would it be possible to move the button just to the right of the highlighted block? Then speed-readers don't get hindered, and the annotate functionality remains usable.

icelancer 12y ago

Highlight-read is done by a lot of non-speed readers for chunking. I am one of them. Please move the annotation.

anon4 12y ago

Maybe not exactly rule 1 of web design (also applies to ui design in general), but pretty close: DO NOT fuck with basic functionality.

e12e 12y ago

Would be nice to just add a toggle for the annotations? I rarely use genius for the various annotations, but with the wealth of song (rap) lyrics, I often end up on the site. Being able to switch off annotations would be great. [edit: Come to think of it, I'd love to see three modes: the current highlight, none, and footnotes (which one might hoover/click). Whenever I read annotated texts, I rarely care about all annotations -- I only look up the things I need to look up. And the highlights are really annoying when reading a text.]

breadbutt 12y ago

You can just display the "annotate" dialog outside the main text. Also it's pretty annoying that it wants me to click just to take me to a login screen. Fuck this.

danabramov 12y ago

You can calculate position so it doesn't cover the text.