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

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

#441

Post by vulcan01 »

joshstrange wrote: post #368
lioeters wrote: post #357

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Thanks for this tip! I have the opposite problem of GP; I installed Edge, and though it has never been my default browser, it's now the default browser for .html files... This fixed that issue.

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

#442

Post by throwaway3699 »

drexlspivey wrote: post #378
bogwog wrote: post #152

A common one is fake consent popups for system notifications. Websites need to ask for consent before sending system notifications via the Notifications API. If a user declines, that website is blocked from asking again (for obvious reasons) But many websites cheat this by showing a fake consent popup designed to mimic what the browser would show. If a user clicks "Decline" on the fake popup, the website won't show t…

A similar one is asking you to rate the app via the native modal (which does nothing) and if you rate with 5 stars they redirect you to the app store to vote there (where it counts). If you rate them with 1-3 stars they prompt you to leave feedback instead.

To a certain extent I can't blame apps for doing this. It would be much better for Android and iOS to have a better experience for leaving feedback or giving reviews.

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

#443

Post by dnsbty »

hn_throwaway_99 wrote: post #420
drexlspivey wrote: post #378

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A similar one is asking you to rate the app via the native modal (which does nothing) and if you rate with 5 stars they redirect you to the app store to vote there (where it counts). If you rate them with 1-3 stars they prompt you to leave feedback instead.

IIRC didn't Apple or Google start banning apps that did this?

On a related note, Google Maps has on occasion deleted reviews from businesses that used software that employed this tactic for requesting reviews. I’ve seen several businesses lose hundreds of five star reviews because of it.

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

#444

Post by bentona »

This might be a bit contentious, but there's no top-level comment starting the discussion about regulation of UX patterns. My concerns are mostly those that could apply to related regulation (cookies, internet traffic, etc.), but I'm wondering about other perspectives

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

#445

Post by flanbiscuit »

hn_throwaway_99 wrote: post #424
swiley wrote: post #310

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm so thankful for the Reddit redesign, I had a serious problem spending way too much time on that site. Now it's almost completely unusable.

So is letting you know about old.reddit.com a bad thing?

On mobile old.reddit.com loads in desktop mode and is very hard to use.

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

#446

Post by loldk »

eHarmony.com changes it's prices based on your income. The more you make and more religious you sound, the cheaper it is.

They also use bait and switch by displaying per-month pricing, but then in fine print charge users the full term all at once.

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

#447

Post by chrismorgan »

reificator wrote: post #236
coddle-hark wrote: post #206

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This was driving me crazy too, turns out that my adblocker was breaking the consent box. Clicking “Accept” didn’t do anything.

The trick there is to use your adblocker to pick the consent box and hide it, and then edit the custom rule to apply to every site.

There are actually cosmetic filter lists for removing such elements from the page.

For uBlock Origin, go to the Dashboard, Filter lists tab, and look at the Annoyances lists.

Both Fanboy’s Annoyances and EasyList Cookie include ##.js-consent-banner, which deals with Stack Overflow’s huge obnoxious banner.

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

#449

Post by Hnrobert42 »

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 wants you in the app, so it’s harder to block ads. Slack doesn’t make money from ads like Reddit. So while Slack might prefer you use the app and make the web version less appealing, I’m not sure this qualifies as a “dark pattern.” Certainly not one that should be regulated.

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

#450

Post by avmich »

> how they affect consumer behavior, including potential harms

I'd consider a dark pattern links to terms of use, privacy policies etc. which are not on the same page, which are easy enough to not read before agreeing and which are written in a way which could be misunderstood.

If something is important, it should be presented in a way which would leave little to the chance of not getting the information - it should be unimportant to be able to avoid it.

On the other hand, the paper version of that is widely used as well, so I don't hold my breath.

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