The Age of Snarky UI

#1

Post by sondr3 » Thu, Apr 16, 2026, 11:07 AM UTC

Re: The Age of Snarky UI

#2

Post by td12 » Thu, Apr 16, 2026, 1:10 PM UTC

I understand the smart watch complained, and the "guess your not using notifications"

But i think the car thing is valid. People driving tired is way more common. iirc, around 20% of car accident happen due to drowsy driving.

So actively suggesting to stop driving is imo the correct thing to do.

Re: The Age of Snarky UI

#3

Post by windows2020 » Thu, Apr 16, 2026, 1:18 PM UTC

Windows 11 decides to update and says, "You're x% there."

Later, the computer jumps from 30% to nothing. "You might want to plug in your PC."

Then the next morning Copilot appears.

Too many cooks in the kitchen it seems.

Re: The Age of Snarky UI

#4

Post by vegadw » Thu, Apr 16, 2026, 1:51 PM UTC

td12 wrote: post #2

I understand the smart watch complained, and the "guess your not using notifications" But i think the car thing is valid. People driving tired is way more common. iirc, around 20% of car accident happen due to drowsy driving. So actively suggesting to stop driving is imo the correct thing to do.

I think the author agrees, just that it's a phrasing problem

Re: The Age of Snarky UI

#5

Post by techteach00 » Thu, Apr 16, 2026, 3:06 PM UTC

These small annoyances just keep adding up. The result, a less happy population which most likely correlates with a lower life expectancy. It's also just less and less human agency. My cars software is going to monitor and manage my behavior? Seems maddening.

Re: The Age of Snarky UI

#6

Post by mx7zysuj4xew » Thu, Apr 16, 2026, 3:22 PM UTC

Somewhere in the mid 2010s software developers stopped respecting its users.

Instead of giving terse, succinct messages it was assumed the user was lazy with an iq below 80 and and needed to have friendly, patronizing responses

Re: The Age of Snarky UI

#7

Post by mx7zysuj4xew » Thu, Apr 16, 2026, 3:42 PM UTC

vegadw wrote: post #4

td12 wrote: post #2

I understand the smart watch complained, and the "guess your not using notifications" But i think the car thing is valid. People driving tired is way more common. iirc, around 20% of car accident happen due to drowsy driving. So actively suggesting to stop driving is imo the correct thing to do.

I think the author agrees, just that it's a phrasing problem

I wish we lived in a world where

  driver attention system: irregular behavior - unexpected lane drift (possible driver fatigue or distraction)`

Rather than

  Consider taking a break

was the norm

Re: The Age of Snarky UI

#8

Post by elainanatario » Thu, Apr 16, 2026, 4:24 PM UTC

vegadw wrote: post #4

td12 wrote: post #2

I understand the smart watch complained, and the "guess your not using notifications" But i think the car thing is valid. People driving tired is way more common. iirc, around 20% of car accident happen due to drowsy driving. So actively suggesting to stop driving is imo the correct thing to do.

I think the author agrees, just that it's a phrasing problem

Author here! Yup exactly! I don't mind that it's telling me things (well, I do, but that's another post), I just want it to tell me _why_ instead of giving me a weak suggestion with no context so I can make a judgement on how to proceed. Feels like a passive aggressive mom telling you "Maybe try on another outfit" when what she really means is "I think your shirt is horrific and I can't be seen with you in it."

Re: The Age of Snarky UI

#9

Post by tpmoney » Thu, Apr 16, 2026, 4:47 PM UTC

mx7zysuj4xew wrote: post #6

Somewhere in the mid 2010s software developers stopped respecting its users. Instead of giving terse, succinct messages it was assumed the user was lazy with an iq below 80 and and needed to have friendly, patronizing responses

I think this is less about “respect” and more about the general change in business attitudes that happened over the 90s and the ability for software to be more verbose.

On the attitude side, software development, developers and management shifted heavily from stodgy “IBM suits” to “renegade / hacker” teams. That shift showed in more than just dress codes, it showed in how software talked in general and in how companies talked to their customers. And more screen real estate, more dynamic software and more dynamic interfaces meant communication could be more verbose. “PC LOAD LETTER” is plenty succinct, and most people hated it.

Re: The Age of Snarky UI

#10

Post by tpmoney » Thu, Apr 16, 2026, 4:49 PM UTC

mx7zysuj4xew wrote: post #7

vegadw wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the author agrees, just that it's a phrasing problem

I wish we lived in a world where driver attention system: irregular behavior - unexpected lane drift (possible driver fatigue or distraction)` Rather than Consider taking a break was the norm

Except that former message takes too long to read, especially if you’re actually driving at the time.