Why our website looks like an operating system • Hacker News Board

Re: Why our website looks like an operating system

#61

Post by weare138 » Fri, Sep 12, 2025, 4:36 AM UTC

BobbyTables2 wrote: post #39

Twey wrote: post #3

I've always thought ‘multi-document interfaces’ as we used to call them are an anti-pattern. I have a perfectly good window manager; why does every app need its own incompatible, usually inferior window manager built in? (Mind you on mobile I very much don't have a perfectly good window manager, and indeed can't even open multiple instances of most apps…)

Compared to the experience of something like “Gimp”, I prefer something contained to a single window. Otherwise two or three such apps running at the same time becomes a game of “where’s my window”. I hate the idea of a toolbar being its own window to be managed.

As a long time Gimp user, I remember dealing with the same thing but they did eventually fix that. It actually runs in a single window by default now.

Re: Why our website looks like an operating system

#62

Post by argomo » Fri, Sep 12, 2025, 4:45 AM UTC

notpushkin wrote: post #58

rmunn wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What I mean is that if they don't add it, they're going to get threatening emails from regulators saying "Hey, you don't have a cookie banner". Those regulators don't have any way of knowing how their site operates, so the small banner at least manages to inform them and keep Posthog from receiving emails. That is what I meant by "practically". I mean "in a practical sense" as opposed to in a theoretical sense.

Those regulators will need to study their own laws better then.

There's a general principal in regulated businesses that it's best to be above suspicion and below the radar at all times. You don't want to give regulators or opponents (such as competitors or advocacy groups) any ammunition.

This is how you minimize headaches and your legal bill. And on the day that people come after you for some unforeseeable tragedy or perhaps genuine wrongdoing (covered up by unscrupulous employees or less-than-honest vendors), you'll be better positioned to deflect legal repercussions and bad press.

The unnecessary cookie banner is a no-brainer: it costs you nothing and poses but a minimal irritant to users.

Re: Why our website looks like an operating system

#63

Post by ggnore7452 » Fri, Sep 12, 2025, 4:48 AM UTC

so immersive i actually hit ctrl+w and closed the whole tab.

Re: Why our website looks like an operating system

#64

Post by ttiurani » Fri, Sep 12, 2025, 4:54 AM UTC

Retr0id wrote: post #33

> Legally-required cookie banner > PostHog.com doesn't use third-party cookies, only a single in-house cookie You're legally required to let me opt out of that cookie. Unless it's essential to the site functionality, in which case you don't need the banner at all.

Exactly. If they indeed only use the cookie for essential functionality, this kind of joke banner only makes their choice to respect visitors' privacy equally annoying.

Even worse: because it makes it seem like the EU law is just meritless pestering of people, they are actually fighting for the right for worse sites to spy on their visitors.

It's baffling.

Re: Why our website looks like an operating system

#65

Post by dotnet00 » Fri, Sep 12, 2025, 4:57 AM UTC

Twey wrote: post #3

I've always thought ‘multi-document interfaces’ as we used to call them are an anti-pattern. I have a perfectly good window manager; why does every app need its own incompatible, usually inferior window manager built in? (Mind you on mobile I very much don't have a perfectly good window manager, and indeed can't even open multiple instances of most apps…)

I think the issue is partly that most OS window managers really don't seem to optimize for having a dozen small windows on your screen in the way that the custom window managers in, say, art software or CAD software, often do. Mainly in terms of how much space their title bar takes/wastes.

Re: Why our website looks like an operating system

#66

Post by unglaublich » Fri, Sep 12, 2025, 4:57 AM UTC

keyle wrote: post #31

righthand wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

SEO was about documents. Now days everyone wants to make games. How do you rank games?

I think it's about user retention. If people have fun on your website, they'll stick around and they might even read some text!

If your website is about finding things, then spending more time is a bad sign.

Re: Why our website looks like an operating system

#67

Post by xp84 » Fri, Sep 12, 2025, 4:59 AM UTC

ttiurani wrote: post #64

Retr0id wrote: post #33

> Legally-required cookie banner > PostHog.com doesn't use third-party cookies, only a single in-house cookie You're legally required to let me opt out of that cookie. Unless it's essential to the site functionality, in which case you don't need the banner at all.

Exactly. If they indeed only use the cookie for essential functionality, this kind of joke banner only makes their choice to respect visitors' privacy equally annoying. Even worse: because it makes it seem like the EU law is just meritless pestering of people, they are actually fighting for the right for worse sites to spy on their visitors. It's baffling.

> EU law is just meritless pestering of people

It is that. It has done literally nothing to improve anything whatsoever, in any country. And most of the "cookie management" scripts that people use, barely even work. Both the law and the way it's complied with in practice are a dumb solution to a problem that the EU should have forced browser vendors to solve. Only the user's browser can choose not to send back cookies, and it would be trivial for the user to be shown a dialog when they navigate to a previously-visited site in a new session saying:

  Last time you were here, the site stored information that may help them recognize you or remember your previous actions here.

   / 

  [ ] Also keep these third-party cookies 
  [x] Remember my choice and don't ask again for ycombinator.com

Re: Why our website looks like an operating system

#68

Post by almosthere » Fri, Sep 12, 2025, 4:59 AM UTC

Retr0id wrote: post #33

> Legally-required cookie banner > PostHog.com doesn't use third-party cookies, only a single in-house cookie You're legally required to let me opt out of that cookie. Unless it's essential to the site functionality, in which case you don't need the banner at all.

Man it's 2025 and we still WANT to opt out of cookies visually? Why don't we just have browsers that just do that.

Re: Why our website looks like an operating system

#69

Post by viccis » Fri, Sep 12, 2025, 5:00 AM UTC

ttiurani wrote: post #64

Retr0id wrote: post #33

> Legally-required cookie banner > PostHog.com doesn't use third-party cookies, only a single in-house cookie You're legally required to let me opt out of that cookie. Unless it's essential to the site functionality, in which case you don't need the banner at all.

Exactly. If they indeed only use the cookie for essential functionality, this kind of joke banner only makes their choice to respect visitors' privacy equally annoying. Even worse: because it makes it seem like the EU law is just meritless pestering of people, they are actually fighting for the right for worse sites to spy on their visitors. It's baffling.

>this kind of joke banner only makes their choice to respect visitors' privacy equally annoying

Their name is "PostHog", a dirtbag left joke from years ago. If they were trying to make joyless scolds happy with their humor, their site would be very different.

Re: Why our website looks like an operating system

#70

Post by jolmg » Fri, Sep 12, 2025, 5:01 AM UTC

em-bee wrote: post #53

boredtofears wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To throw gasoline on the fire: this how I’ve always felt about tmux. Why use an incomplete in terminal windowing system when I can just have multiple terminal windows open managed by the superior OS window system. (That said I know tmux is sometimes the only option and then it makes sense to me)

because the OS window manager isn't superior. i have two dozen tmux windows in half a dozen sessions locally. i have shortcut keys to switch between sessions and between windows. i can do that while mixing the terminal with other gui apps. i have yet to find a window manager that lets me group so many terminals into sessions all on the same workspace.

> i have two dozen tmux windows in half a dozen sessions locally.

> i have yet to find a window manager that lets me group so many terminals into sessions all on the same workspace.

Locally-speaking, I don't really see the point of mixing tmux sessions and tmux windows. I wonder if you mean "sessions" -> tmux windows and "windows" -> tmux panes.

What about i3/sway? You can have a tabbed container (functions like tmux windows) with split containers inside (functions like tmux panes). You can even float the tabbed container with all windows organized inside.