Ask HN: Bad user experience angers and depresses me – what can I do about it? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: Bad user experience angers and depresses me – what can I do about it?

#31

Post by throwaway894028 » Sun, Feb 16, 2020, 9:52 PM UTC

lordnacho wrote: post #5

Shouldn't you adjust your expectations as the evidence comes in? If you think something should have been done differently, next time don't expect so much? By updating your priors as evidence comes in, your disappointment is reduced. I see incompetence everywhere, but I don't feel angry and depressed. One thing that I've found essential is to have a reservoir of people who are dependably competent. A few guys who can…

> I see incompetence everywhere, but I don't feel angry and depressed.

Well, that's where you and I differ, I suppose. It upsets me that I'm often on the other end of this incompetence, and that I am powerless to change it. My only recourse is to endure it. It feels wrong, and it bothers me.

Re: Ask HN: Bad user experience angers and depresses me – what can I do about it?

#32

Post by throwaway894028 » Sun, Feb 16, 2020, 9:53 PM UTC

jerf wrote: post #4

If this bothers you enough, you may want to seek out a therapist. I don't want to and can't diagnose you over the internet, but certain phrases you use suggest to me there are some elements that they may be able to help you with. On the self-help front, you may want to pursue mindfulness studies, with an eye towards the sort that helps you interrogate your own mind about why you feel the way you do. You may be surpri…

> If this bothers you enough, you may want to seek out a therapist.

This is probably good advice, though I am skeptical it would help. I think it would be helpful if you could tell me which elements that they may be able to help me with.

Re: Ask HN: Bad user experience angers and depresses me – what can I do about it?

#33

Post by throwaway894028 » Sun, Feb 16, 2020, 9:59 PM UTC

Doctor_Fegg wrote: post #26

Become an open source contributor. OSS has some of the worst UX in the world. Look at Inkscape. Look at the GIMP - probably the only piece of software in existence where the name is bad UX in itself. But because it’s open source, you can fix it. You won’t be able to fix all the bad UX in the world. But you could make a massive difference by applying yourself to just one project like this.

That would feel like a drop in the ocean. It's not going to change the frequency of my encounters with bad UX, and it's not going to change how I feel whenever such an encounter occurs.

Re: Ask HN: Bad user experience angers and depresses me – what can I do about it?

#34

Post by craftinator » Sun, Feb 16, 2020, 9:59 PM UTC

wool_gather wrote: post #25

_y5hn wrote: post #19

There's this story about the two shoe salesmen. The first one visited this hot climate country, and nobody was wearing any shoes. He got really depressed, said "Nobody is wearing any shoes here, goodbye" and left hurriedly with the next train. The other guy smiles arriving while looking excitedly around, and then exclaims: "Wow! Everyone is a potential customer. Nobody has even one shoe. I must set up shop immediatel…

I'm not sure about this parable; it reminds me of Chesterton's fence. Our optimistic salesman may be completely ignoring the fact that no one is wearing shoes because no one needs or wants to .

Ah, but that is why Sales and Marketing were invented! Why else would we need to pay people to convince and manipulate other people into buying our product?

Re: Ask HN: Bad user experience angers and depresses me – what can I do about it?

#35

Post by sdtsui » Sun, Feb 16, 2020, 10:02 PM UTC

Have you built/coded/made/delivered things to other people? Being on the other side of the table, so to speak, may help - as receiving their criticisms (and knowing internally why you didn't think of making it better, or knew but didn't have time/funding/certainty) can give a window into what was going on when you see examples of poor design. In a way, it's narrowing the window of "indefensibility".

In the same vein, you could consider learning more about why the poor design decisions are the way they are. At all levels (from building and city UX to individual products), there are myriad uncertainties and trade-offs when building something.

Some commenters are gesturing at to mental health issues - I don't know you well enough to feel comfortable with making a judgment like that, but on some level, if this is bothering you deeply, anger and depression may be symptoms of a deeper mental health issue: this might help! https://ncase.me/mental-health/#toc_4

Re: Ask HN: Bad user experience angers and depresses me – what can I do about it?

#36

Post by s1artibartfast » Sun, Feb 16, 2020, 10:02 PM UTC

trynewideas wrote: post #30

s1artibartfast wrote: post #22

>So, I think to myself, is the whole world just lazy? Stupid? Apathetic? Why would somebody make this thing the way it is, and think it is acceptable? In my personal opinion, yes, the designers probably don't care about your use case, or about the product at all. The designers were probably happy to collect a check and go home.

How many designers? Who was removed during the project to work on something else? What was the budget and deadline, and how were they changed during the project? Were the designers professional, full-time designers or someone from another discipline pressed into the task? Were the design elements crafted for the task or adapted from a library? Was the design in-house, through an agency, through multiple agencies? The…

There are tons of organizational challenges that can lead good designers to make crappy product. What I had in mind was more along the lines of fixed fee development in India and China.

Re: Ask HN: Bad user experience angers and depresses me – what can I do about it?

#37

Post by sdtsui » Sun, Feb 16, 2020, 10:03 PM UTC

Doctor_Fegg wrote: post #26

Become an open source contributor. OSS has some of the worst UX in the world. Look at Inkscape. Look at the GIMP - probably the only piece of software in existence where the name is bad UX in itself. But because it’s open source, you can fix it. You won’t be able to fix all the bad UX in the world. But you could make a massive difference by applying yourself to just one project like this.

Yeah! It's nice to be able to see the opportunity in bad UX.

Re: Ask HN: Bad user experience angers and depresses me – what can I do about it?

#38

Post by open-source-ux » Sun, Feb 16, 2020, 10:05 PM UTC

Doctor_Fegg wrote: post #26

Become an open source contributor. OSS has some of the worst UX in the world. Look at Inkscape. Look at the GIMP - probably the only piece of software in existence where the name is bad UX in itself. But because it’s open source, you can fix it. You won’t be able to fix all the bad UX in the world. But you could make a massive difference by applying yourself to just one project like this.

"But because it’s open source, you can fix it."

You can't fix it really because everyone (understandably) wants a say in the visual and interaction design of the software, but you can't design by committee. Having many participants contributing to source code can work well, but I don't think this model works well for design.

It sounds really undemocratic (why shouldn't everyone have their say?). And it undoubtedly contributes to the stereotype of the designer as diva or precious about their work. But can you think of an open source project praised for it's visual and interaction design that was collaboratively developed with dozens or more participants? If you can, it will be an exception, not the rule.

When there are too many participants in the design of a program, you end up with a project pulled in every direction and pleasing to no-one. But if you go the opposite route and limit design decisions to a dedicated UX team, you end up generating resentment from contributors or users who feel their input is being ignored.

Re: Ask HN: Bad user experience angers and depresses me – what can I do about it?

#39

Post by yesenadam » Sun, Feb 16, 2020, 10:28 PM UTC

I had listed examples, ranging from NYC subway gripes, double doors where one door is locked and the handles are ambiguous, cell phone gripes, google maps, windows, etc, but there is no space for it in this post.

You can add a complete list as a comment. Please?!

Re: Ask HN: Bad user experience angers and depresses me – what can I do about it?

#40

Post by wott » Sun, Feb 16, 2020, 10:28 PM UTC

If you want to feel worse, take an interest in something in your neighbourhood that seems wrong. After a bit of research, you will find that it is indeed wrong, so you will get in touch with your local representatives to get this obvious stuff fixed. That's when you will realise that they don't give a damn, that they won't fix it even if it is their responsibility and duty to do it, that they don't give a damn about that either, and that they have done plenty of similar wrongs everywhere around and plenty of other wrongs too, once you start paying attention to it (and the more informed you get about a subject, the more wrongs you find). Then you understand that you can do whatever you want, you're never going to get them to fix them, even though they are obliged by law to do so, and you realise at the same time that you lived happier before you tried making stuff better or just normal.