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UX Myths (2014)

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Re: UX Myths (2014)

#21

Post by kristopolous »

firasd wrote: post #18
kristopolous wrote: post #4

I'll take serious issue with #12. There's undirected scatterbrained interfaces and that's bad sure. But there's the other extreme. Like in Google mobile search, you can't do custom date ranges... they've removed one menu item just on mobile. On SoundCloud mobile you can't delete your own uploads. On reddit mobile you can only do text posts. Or that new version of gas buddy or Google maps or in Google photos on mobile…

It's a tough balance. I guess the right way to is to have UI metaphors that minimize extra controls from scratch (i.e. if you remove 'save as' find a way to remove files as a metaphor; you can just have automatic save, undo, and 'duplicate this'.)

The way we currently have it has worked for at least 30 years and takes at most, a few seconds of explaining and everyone I've ever met understands the file metaphor.

There's this anecdotal story about how people in the early 80s couldn't figure out that the mouse should be intentionally rolled around on the table without a demonstration but once shown it was clear.

We shouldn't have some visceral animosity against something if it takes non-zero time to learn; especially if we are talking about under 30 seconds.

Many major common things take months of time to figure out; literacy, basic arithmetic, cooking, any mode of transportation, relationships, temper, finance, and time management; infants even take a significant time to figure out sleeping.

Anyway, what we have is fine - no further simplification required.

Re: UX Myths (2014)

#22

Post by firasd »

kristopolous wrote: post #21
firasd wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a tough balance. I guess the right way to is to have UI metaphors that minimize extra controls from scratch (i.e. if you remove 'save as' find a way to remove files as a metaphor; you can just have automatic save, undo, and 'duplicate this'.)

The way we currently have it has worked for at least 30 years and takes at most, a few seconds of explaining and everyone I've ever met understands the file metaphor. There's this anecdotal story about how people in the early 80s couldn't figure out that the mouse should be intentionally rolled around on the table without a demonstration but once shown it was clear. We shouldn't have some visceral animosity against s…

If we followed that idea though (keep it as it has been for 30 years) then Google Drive or iOS would have you browsing through hierarchical folders like Windows Explorer.

Re: UX Myths (2014)

#23

Post by DanBC »

I thought presenting a list like this was sub-optimal, because people see it and remember the written statement, not the myth.

Thus, people remember "stock photos enhance user experience", and not "stock photos harm user experience".

Re: UX Myths (2014)

#24

Post by reitanqild »

firasd wrote: post #22
kristopolous wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The way we currently have it has worked for at least 30 years and takes at most, a few seconds of explaining and everyone I've ever met understands the file metaphor. There's this anecdotal story about how people in the early 80s couldn't figure out that the mouse should be intentionally rolled around on the table without a demonstration but once shown it was clear. We shouldn't have some visceral animosity against s…

If we followed that idea though (keep it as it has been for 30 years) then Google Drive or iOS would have you browsing through hierarchical folders like Windows Explorer.

I think no.

I think they changed because search became affordable enough to become a valid strategy, not because some genius figured out people are confused by folders.

Re: UX Myths (2014)

#25

Post by kristopolous »

firasd wrote: post #22
kristopolous wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The way we currently have it has worked for at least 30 years and takes at most, a few seconds of explaining and everyone I've ever met understands the file metaphor. There's this anecdotal story about how people in the early 80s couldn't figure out that the mouse should be intentionally rolled around on the table without a demonstration but once shown it was clear. We shouldn't have some visceral animosity against s…

If we followed that idea though (keep it as it has been for 30 years) then Google Drive or iOS would have you browsing through hierarchical folders like Windows Explorer.

That would be wonderful!

I've had many non technical people ask me how to create folders in those systems...

People can live with a flat file structure; Early versions of DOS were like this. Maybe we should go back to line editors too... So much prettier and simplified! No menus or dialogs! You don't even see a pageful of content at once! Just a blinking cursor and some brief commands. No messy interface...

(I can unfortunately actually see this happening)

Re: UX Myths (2014)

#27

Post by shostack »

kristopolous wrote: post #4

I'll take serious issue with #12. There's undirected scatterbrained interfaces and that's bad sure. But there's the other extreme. Like in Google mobile search, you can't do custom date ranges... they've removed one menu item just on mobile. On SoundCloud mobile you can't delete your own uploads. On reddit mobile you can only do text posts. Or that new version of gas buddy or Google maps or in Google photos on mobile…

My personal favorite...

The Google keyboard on Android offers text recommendations and let's you tap backspace after typing a word with the swipe-style keyboard to delete it in every other app except the native Google search app interface.

Searching on Google with the Google keyboard is painful. This is all on Android 5.1.1 at least. Searches for this bug turn up lots of equally frustrated people.

Re: UX Myths (2014)

#28

Post by jwdunne »

twoshedsmcginty wrote: post #9

Agree with so much of this, but definitely not with #28. White space has become a design curse. I know how to manage information; I'm not bewildered if I see a lot of it in one place, and I don't need to be guided through it. And I'm truly tired of clicking ellipses to 'see more' Just load the damn page, load the damn comments and paginate. Abandoned Gawker for this reason long ago.

This is the problem here. User experience is subjective. It's based on who your users actually are. The myth, for example, says people don't read, they scan. In the general case, maybe, but I don't because I search for content that I actually want or need to read top to bottom. The footnotes touch on this but what good will scannable, text light design do for a site with articles directed towards experienced programmers? You'd have a job. User experience is all about the users and knowing who your users are is the fundamental step - not a general list of what to do and not to do.

The second point: that's incredibly annoying and to me the motive looks more like increasing eyeballs on the ads directly below the content and not really about the experience. I understand on Wikipedia, where a particularly long article may kill render times and scrolling experience.

Best thing to do is understand your audience. A 60 year old researching dental implants will need a much different experience than a 21 year old learning Java or a 5 year old reading fairy tales.

Re: UX Myths (2014)

#29

Post by erikb »

shostack wrote: post #27
kristopolous wrote: post #4

I'll take serious issue with #12. There's undirected scatterbrained interfaces and that's bad sure. But there's the other extreme. Like in Google mobile search, you can't do custom date ranges... they've removed one menu item just on mobile. On SoundCloud mobile you can't delete your own uploads. On reddit mobile you can only do text posts. Or that new version of gas buddy or Google maps or in Google photos on mobile…

My personal favorite... The Google keyboard on Android offers text recommendations and let's you tap backspace after typing a word with the swipe-style keyboard to delete it in every other app except the native Google search app interface. Searching on Google with the Google keyboard is painful. This is all on Android 5.1.1 at least. Searches for this bug turn up lots of equally frustrated people.

Yeah the Google search in android is painful. Also in the subway with bad connectivity it's still possible to load facebook with gifs, pictures, texts etc. But a simple Google search is not possible.

Re: UX Myths (2014)

#30

Post by firasd »

kristopolous wrote: post #25
firasd wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If we followed that idea though (keep it as it has been for 30 years) then Google Drive or iOS would have you browsing through hierarchical folders like Windows Explorer.

That would be wonderful! I've had many non technical people ask me how to create folders in those systems... People can live with a flat file structure; Early versions of DOS were like this. Maybe we should go back to line editors too... So much prettier and simplified! No menus or dialogs! You don't even see a pageful of content at once! Just a blinking cursor and some brief commands. No messy interface... (I can un…

It's a definite balance though, is my point. You have to make these determinations all the time while making consumer-facing software.

For example, I'm making a 'Newsfeed for Twitter' right now (top tweets people you follow have liked/shared) and people I show it to want keyword muting so the feed isn't dominated by Trump news. From a UX perspective I really resist adding keyword muting. Instead I added a 'Tailored' mode that shows top items your friends are talking about that aren't being talked about across the network.

Similarly I had "Top -> 12 Hours | Day | Week" and to remove the "12 Hours | Day | Week" submenu, I created a feed that algorithmically balances popularity and recency.

So I'm saying these choices are ever-present when making software. Some moves like Apple removing the 'Escape' key seem like random silliness but some hard choices are important when making a good product.

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