6 ms·

So? I like Netflix's front-end. So does my daughter, my mother, my mother's mother, my dad (who is terrible with tech), and almost everyone else I know. Craig

So? I like Netflix's front-end. So does my daughter, my mother, my mother's mother, my dad (who is terrible with tech), and almost everyone else I know. Craigslist is much the same, what they have is easy to recognize, very easy to use for both sellers and buyers, and it has been consistent. If it's not broken don't fix it.

bduerst 12y ago
>If it's not broken don't fix it. That's some serious survivor bias with Craigslist. There have been a slew of useful services that have sprung up over the years (e.g. Padmapper) involving Craigslist data, only to have Craiglist send cease and desists. If anything, Craigslist has stymied the progression of internet classifieds by not changing with the internet.
- waps 12y ago
  Most of the non-tech users I know respond enormously negative to changes, so much so that any improvement would have to be gigantic indeed to justify that cost.
  - bduerst 12y ago
    To immediate, drastic, noticeable changes. Amazon, which arguably has the same userbase, has successfully managed to change their interface over the years by gradually adding functionality. Craigslist has only bullied others who make a better experience for users.
    - RollAHardSix 12y ago
      The types of people who use Amazon, are going to be different then the types of people who use Craigslist. You said it yourself, Craigslist is the internet classifieds. Young people don't use the classified sections, it's predominantly used by those who would have used the classifieds in a regular newspaper, the older, geriatric population; and these people just don't appreciate change. It may be a positive change, it may make things easier, but they learn one way to do it, and gosh darn it, that's exactly how they want it to work every-time. I should add, I think craigslist is one of the few sites out there that can get away with not updating their UI, so it's not so much that I disagree with several of your points, as it is, I disagree with your points in this specific case. :) From my perspective, it's just Craiglist has done a magnificent job of evaluating their user-base.
  - robryan 12y ago
    They do, but as long as the change is generally positive they eventually come around. Each of Facebooks major UI/functionality changes over the years has come with a heap of resistance from users. Not many though if given the choice now would want to undo the past 5 years or more of changes.
fragmede 12y ago
> So? I like Netflix's front-end. So does my daughter, my mother, my mother's mother, my dad (who is terrible with tech), and almost everyone else I know. Not sure what your point is here. I don't particularly like it, I have friends who complain about it, and some of my coworkers (who are great with tech, btw) also dislike it. Have none of the people you mentioned have ever recognized an actor but have been at a loss for where they've previously seen them? Say, that's not something that Netflix could help with? The continued existence) of InstantWatcher, CanIStreamIt?, Flixster, Fanhattan, Yidio, proves that there's a not-entirely-satisfied portion of their customer base. Why it seems they're doing nothing to appeal to those users is beyond me. > Craigslist is much the same, what they have is easy to recognize, very easy to use for both sellers and buyers, and it has been consistent. It is consistent, I'll give you that. Sellers ignoring phone calls, not returning voice mails, unreplied emails, listings for things which have already been sold with an irate seller that does pick up but then calls you an idiot for not telepathically knowing the item has been sold, bait-and-switch tactics masquerading as incompetence, the poor quality of listings themselves - that listing in autos for $1 is definitely accurate. Listings gaming the search by cramming half the dictionary at the end of the post. People saying they'll meet you to buy the item and then being an hour late or just completely flaking. Yeah, that's totally not broken. > If it's not broken don't fix it. Back in 2006, smartphones weren't broken, but I'm sure glad Apple came along and 'fixed' it.
- pduszak 12y ago
  > People saying they'll meet you to buy the item and then being an hour late or just completely flaking. Clearly a problem with the front-end.
  - fragmede 12y ago
    Craigslist could have an escrow service for money so as to disincentive not following through, or only staking claim to an item if you're serious about paying for it. They could have a seller/buyer rating system cough eBay. I mean, you're not even trying...
    - 12y ago
dap 12y ago
Has any of them tried to find movie recommendations from Netflix? For me, it sometimes shows me a dozen or so recommendations on the front page. Almost all of them are TV shows. One or two are movies that only showed up after I added them to My List on my own, and I have no interest in the rest. Meanwhile, sometimes I stumble across a DVD-only movie for which it recommends 4.8 stars for me. So where can I just list those? [edit: addition:] When it comes to instant, I usually end up browsing for half an hour and giving up, but that might be more a function of the kind of content that's there than the interface.
- mod 12y ago
  You get mostly TV shows because most of the good content on Netflix is TV. They can show you movie recommendations, but I'm guessing you won't like many of them.

bduerst 12y ago

>If it's not broken don't fix it. That's some serious survivor bias with Craigslist. There have been a slew of useful services that have sprung up over the years (e.g. Padmapper) involving Craigslist data, only to have Craiglist send cease and desists. If anything, Craigslist has stymied the progression of internet classifieds by not changing with the internet.

waps 12y ago
Most of the non-tech users I know respond enormously negative to changes, so much so that any improvement would have to be gigantic indeed to justify that cost.
- bduerst 12y ago
  To immediate, drastic, noticeable changes. Amazon, which arguably has the same userbase, has successfully managed to change their interface over the years by gradually adding functionality. Craigslist has only bullied others who make a better experience for users.
  - RollAHardSix 12y ago
    The types of people who use Amazon, are going to be different then the types of people who use Craigslist. You said it yourself, Craigslist is the internet classifieds. Young people don't use the classified sections, it's predominantly used by those who would have used the classifieds in a regular newspaper, the older, geriatric population; and these people just don't appreciate change. It may be a positive change, it may make things easier, but they learn one way to do it, and gosh darn it, that's exactly how they want it to work every-time. I should add, I think craigslist is one of the few sites out there that can get away with not updating their UI, so it's not so much that I disagree with several of your points, as it is, I disagree with your points in this specific case. :) From my perspective, it's just Craiglist has done a magnificent job of evaluating their user-base.
- robryan 12y ago
  They do, but as long as the change is generally positive they eventually come around. Each of Facebooks major UI/functionality changes over the years has come with a heap of resistance from users. Not many though if given the choice now would want to undo the past 5 years or more of changes.

fragmede 12y ago

> So? I like Netflix's front-end. So does my daughter, my mother, my mother's mother, my dad (who is terrible with tech), and almost everyone else I know. Not sure what your point is here. I don't particularly like it, I have friends who complain about it, and some of my coworkers (who are great with tech, btw) also dislike it. Have none of the people you mentioned have ever recognized an actor but have been at a loss for where they've previously seen them? Say, that's not something that Netflix could help with? The continued existence) of InstantWatcher, CanIStreamIt?, Flixster, Fanhattan, Yidio, proves that there's a not-entirely-satisfied portion of their customer base. Why it seems they're doing nothing to appeal to those users is beyond me. > Craigslist is much the same, what they have is easy to recognize, very easy to use for both sellers and buyers, and it has been consistent. It is consistent, I'll give you that. Sellers ignoring phone calls, not returning voice mails, unreplied emails, listings for things which have already been sold with an irate seller that does pick up but then calls you an idiot for not telepathically knowing the item has been sold, bait-and-switch tactics masquerading as incompetence, the poor quality of listings themselves - that listing in autos for $1 is definitely accurate. Listings gaming the search by cramming half the dictionary at the end of the post. People saying they'll meet you to buy the item and then being an hour late or just completely flaking. Yeah, that's totally not broken. > If it's not broken don't fix it. Back in 2006, smartphones weren't broken, but I'm sure glad Apple came along and 'fixed' it.

pduszak 12y ago
> People saying they'll meet you to buy the item and then being an hour late or just completely flaking. Clearly a problem with the front-end.
- fragmede 12y ago
  Craigslist could have an escrow service for money so as to disincentive not following through, or only staking claim to an item if you're serious about paying for it. They could have a seller/buyer rating system cough eBay. I mean, you're not even trying...
  - 12y ago

dap 12y ago

Has any of them tried to find movie recommendations from Netflix? For me, it sometimes shows me a dozen or so recommendations on the front page. Almost all of them are TV shows. One or two are movies that only showed up after I added them to My List on my own, and I have no interest in the rest. Meanwhile, sometimes I stumble across a DVD-only movie for which it recommends 4.8 stars for me. So where can I just list those? [edit: addition:] When it comes to instant, I usually end up browsing for half an hour and giving up, but that might be more a function of the kind of content that's there than the interface.

mod 12y ago
You get mostly TV shows because most of the good content on Netflix is TV. They can show you movie recommendations, but I'm guessing you won't like many of them.