Live data from Hacker News

Scrollbars are becoming a problem

artemis.sh

21–30 of 944 posts

Re: Scrollbars are becoming a problem

#22
post #4

The best part is that every website now feels it necessary to completely override the unusable skinny built-in browser scroll bar, then add a useless, non-interactive horizontal progress bar at the top of the screen instead.

As I'd commented on the Fediverse thread discussing this post, the distraction of having a horizontal animation responding to a vertical movement is absolutely maddening.

On desktops, I'll remove that horizontal bar via uBlock Origin's element remover or a Stylus CSS rule.

Re: Scrollbars are becoming a problem

#23
post #17

> And while the bars were shrinking, another feature silently disappeared: buttons to click and hold down to scroll left/right in increments. This feature still exists, with a larger clickable surface, but with lower affordance – the entire area above and below the scroll bar is a "button" for exactly that purpose.

However, this area moves the screen a page per click, instead of a line per click. It actually replaces another, now long forgotten scrollbar button found on the Xerox Star and in some Lisa applications.

Re: Scrollbars are becoming a problem

#24
post #13
post #7

I don’t think this is UX/UI designers not knowing/caring about accessibility. It’s their bosses saying the tiny scrollbar is preferred because it sells 20% more due to the aesthetics being better. Who cares about the 0.5% of disabled people that weren’t likely to buy your app anyway. Same for browsers, FF may care about accessibility, but they won’t lose the browser wars (bit of a moot point by now, but eh) because m…

Do Gnome and GTK sell any better because they use tiny scrollbars? Or Macs, or Windows? Apps do what the OS let them do.

I mean, take an average person, show them the UI of a current mac, then the UI of windows 95, and ask them which they prefer?

It’s not the only factor, but it is a factor.

Re: Scrollbars are becoming a problem

#25
post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I find it ironic that in order for your comment to be accessible the reader must lookup “a11y” to find that it means “accessibility”.

That's like saying you shouldn't use slang because people have to look it up.

When speaking to diverse stakeholders I will not use acronyms, slang, colloquialism, or jargon because I want to be accessible.

Re: Scrollbars are becoming a problem

#27

Once again I have to give firefox credit for giving users the tools in about:config to disable this. It's cute fluff at best and annoying/abusive at worst. The browser's UI should more or less be fully off the table when it comes to what a website can change, and that includes scrollbars.

This even works on Mobile, though I'd have to look up the specific incantation to override this.

I think this might be it:

https://www.makeuseof.com/change-firefox-scrollbar-style/>

Re: Scrollbars are becoming a problem

#28
post #8

Whenever I read a piece like this or another UX blog, it just becomes so obvious how little we care about a11y. “Good” (as in accessible) design is pretty boring and decluttered compared to most modern expectations of web apps. I read Adam Silver’s book on forms and came away realizing that we’re doing it entirely wrong from an a11y standpoint but that’s just not a priority.

I find it ironic that in order for your comment to be accessible the reader must lookup “a11y” to find that it means “accessibility”.

First time hearing the term a11y for me too. I hope to never come across it again.

Re: Scrollbars are becoming a problem

#29
post #17

> And while the bars were shrinking, another feature silently disappeared: buttons to click and hold down to scroll left/right in increments. This feature still exists, with a larger clickable surface, but with lower affordance – the entire area above and below the scroll bar is a "button" for exactly that purpose.

Not really the same feature. Typically, scroll-bar clicks will scroll by pages, while the little buttons will scroll by lines.

Also: using the little buttons, you can position the cursor once and then click repeatedly for repeated movements, taking you ultimately to the very top or bottom of the page. But when clicking the scroll bar, page movement generally stops as soon as the slider moves underneath your cursor.

Re: Scrollbars are becoming a problem

#30

I feel like the iOS scroll bars fall into this a lot as well. They’re so hard to consistently get with you finger

My god... I've been using iOS for ten years and your comment just made me realize you can actually press onto and grab the razor-thin scrollbar that disappears about a second of idle time. What a farce.
Post reply on HN