Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Request for comments regarding topics to be discussed at Dark Patterns workshop

regulations.gov

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

361–370 of 542 posts

Re: Request for comments regarding topics to be discussed at Dark Patterns workshop

#361

Post by thunkshift1 »

novok wrote: post #132
pcarolan wrote: post #121

I think a more effective route forward here is for places like YC to set standards for their portfolio companies. Only the strongest investors can do this, but once they do, it will setup a new playing field and the YC brand could mean 'no dark patterns here' in the way that buying an Apple product signifies quality hardware and privacy. It could act as an 'integrity' label that companies purchasing software would us…

Consumers do not know what YC is, and I'm not sure if YC wants to become a consumer brand certification.

I think this is less about yc aiming for customer brand recognition and more about doing the right thing for the companies which want yc funding, which will serve products to said customers.

Re: Request for comments regarding topics to be discussed at Dark Patterns workshop

#362

Post by thunkshift1 »

nfRfqX5n wrote: post #347

airbnb issues refunds as credit. when you go to book a place, the default option to pay is "pay half now, half later". the trick is, they don't let you use credit for the 2nd payment. users can only find this by digging through the rules. currently dealing with this as I am just trying to use my credit due to covid cancellations (credits also EXPIRE after a year)

Yup this is a good (bad? ) one.. this forced customer lock in is definitely a dark pattern

Re: Request for comments regarding topics to be discussed at Dark Patterns workshop

#363

Post by pmcollins »

amalcon wrote: post #276
ryandrake wrote: post #125

Although not software, gym memberships are notorious for using all manner of slimy tactics to keep you paying. Online reps can't do anything, your local gym somehow never has a "manager" around who can do anything. You can "freeze" your account but then they can just arbitrarily unfreeze and start charging you again. Very close to having my CC company issue a charge-back to our local gym for fraud. Very shady and hop…

There was a chain of gyms in Boston that famously required you to go there in person to cancel. When they closed due to COVID, they continued charging their members. The closure prevented members from both cancelling and making use of gym services. That got shut down pretty quickly, but it's telling that they even thought they could get away with something so brazen.

The Economist magazine doesn’t let you cancel your online account online. You have to call. But they closed their call centers due to covid, so there is no way to cancel your account.

Re: Request for comments regarding topics to be discussed at Dark Patterns workshop

#364

Post by nicbou »

The worst one is a tool that lets you invest a lot of time in creating a result, then refuses to let you see/download/print/submit it without creating an account. This requirement is not disclosed until you have invested a lot of time in the product.

This is very common with price calculators and online image editors.

Re: Request for comments regarding topics to be discussed at Dark Patterns workshop

#365

Post by xwdv »

Mixtape wrote: post #71
lima wrote: post #51

Slack has a fun dark pattern - they purposefully remove functionality from their web app to make you install their native app. The web app has a workspace switcher sidebar, but it only appears on ChromeOS, where you can't install the native client. https://webapps.stackexchange.com/questions/144258/slacks-we...

Reddit is just as guilty of this. If you want to see all the comments on a thread on their mobile site, you're pushed to install their official app and presumably create an account when doing so. As far as I can tell, the best workaround is to use the desktop site.

After installing the official app I can’t remember why I was so resistant to installing it in the first place. Why do you resist?

Re: Request for comments regarding topics to be discussed at Dark Patterns workshop

#366

Post by joshstrange »

catillac wrote: post #242
armchairhacker wrote: post #228

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For iOS, I recommend Apollo ( https://apolloapp.io/ ). A reddit client that isn't from Reddit.

Thank you! I almost universally use the mobile website but it just keeps getting worse, presumably on purpose. I installed the official app but it’s very bad. I’ll download this one now!

You will still have the annoyance of search results only opening the official client but Apollo is a great app made by a single developer who has put a lot of time and effort into the app. He (Christian) is also very active on the /r/apolloapp subreddit and communicates upcoming features/bug fixes. Apollo does have an option to scan your Copy/Paste buffer so when you open the app, and if there is a reddit link in your buffer, it can open it for you. The downside is you will always see "Apollo read the clipboard" (or whatever the iOS message is) when you open Apollo. Another workaround is to create (or use an existing [0]) iOS shortcut. The way this works is you will pretend you are sharing the reddit page and then click on the shortcut and it will launch Apollo and open the page you are on. The shortcut is pretty basic, just uses some string replacement and Apollo's url scheme to achieve it.

[0] https://www.reddit.com/r/apolloapp/comments/9ijiji/siri_shor...

Re: Request for comments regarding topics to be discussed at Dark Patterns workshop

#367

Post by peteretep »

lioeters wrote: post #357
chiefofgxbxl wrote: post #8

Windows 10 does not respect the "default browser" setting when opening web-based content through apps. For example, clicking on "Help" links or search results from the start menu always opens in Edge. This seems far worse than their IE-bundling issue back in the day... at least users have a few web browsers to choose from, but what good is that when user preference is overridden?

That reminds me.. On macOS, the default application to open files with the .html extension is Safari, which I found is impossible to change. A tiny thing but it still makes me angry that someone at Apple intentionally removed my ability as a user.

> the default application to open files with the .html extension is Safari, which I found is impossible to change

Do you have some more context? I have found this trivial to change...

Re: Request for comments regarding topics to be discussed at Dark Patterns workshop

#368

Post by joshstrange »

lioeters wrote: post #357
chiefofgxbxl wrote: post #8

Windows 10 does not respect the "default browser" setting when opening web-based content through apps. For example, clicking on "Help" links or search results from the start menu always opens in Edge. This seems far worse than their IE-bundling issue back in the day... at least users have a few web browsers to choose from, but what good is that when user preference is overridden?

That reminds me.. On macOS, the default application to open files with the .html extension is Safari, which I found is impossible to change. A tiny thing but it still makes me angry that someone at Apple intentionally removed my ability as a user.

You might want to check again. I just checked and mine is set to (and works with) Chrome. Right click an HTML file and click "Get Info". Then look for the "Open With:" section and select your prefered browser. Then click the "Change All.." button. I just tested this with `echo "Hello World" > test.html` and then double-clicked it in Finder and it opened in Chrome.

Re: Request for comments regarding topics to be discussed at Dark Patterns workshop

#369

Post by joshstrange »

ryandrake wrote: post #125

Although not software, gym memberships are notorious for using all manner of slimy tactics to keep you paying. Online reps can't do anything, your local gym somehow never has a "manager" around who can do anything. You can "freeze" your account but then they can just arbitrarily unfreeze and start charging you again. Very close to having my CC company issue a charge-back to our local gym for fraud. Very shady and hop…

Yes, this is a terrible practice. When I wanted to cancel my Planet Fitness membership during the pandemic I ended up using a third-party service to cancel it for me. It was well worth the 1-time $14-or-so fee to another company to send the required letter. Could I have done it myself? Probably, but after dealing with them I just wanted to pay once and never have to think about it again, well worth it.

Re: Request for comments regarding topics to be discussed at Dark Patterns workshop

#370

Post by deviation »

nicbou wrote: post #364

The worst one is a tool that lets you invest a lot of time in creating a result, then refuses to let you see/download/print/submit it without creating an account. This requirement is not disclosed until you have invested a lot of time in the product. This is very common with price calculators and online image editors.

This is a very common theme in many resumé websites, preying on people desperate for work. They won't prompt you to pay a dime, but will let you design and write up your perfect resumé for over an hour... All before charging you $x for a one-time download or losing it all.
Post reply on HN