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Dark Patterns – User Interfaces Designed to Trick People [video]

darkpatterns.org

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Re: Dark Patterns – User Interfaces Designed to Trick People [video]

#191

Post by nommm-nommm »

saberworks wrote: post #161

Does it count if there's no user interface? Amazon has my email address, I've been a customer since the late-nineties. They keep inventing new email lists and signing me up for them. Each time I get a new "newsletter" it says something like, "You got this message because you're subscribed to the 'Tablet News' newsletter." I click the unsubscribe link to remove myself from it. Along with the unsubscribe link there's a…

For what it's worth, marketplace sellers don't have access to your email address, Amazon relays email messages through their servers.

I am a seller on Amazon. I didn't think I have access to email addresses but you got me curious. I just went into an order and clicked "contact buyer." It gives a contact form that has the receivers address as something like dq22t5nz9n27qma@marketplace.amazon.com with a note "IMPORTANT NOTICE: When you submit this form, Amazon will replace your email address with one provided by Amazon in order to protect your identity, and forward the message on your behalf. Amazon will retain copies of all e-mails sent and received using this service, including the message you submit below, and may review these messages as necessary to resolve disputes. By using this service, you consent to this action."

Personally, I don't contact my buyers at all ever unless its a reply to a question they asked me.

On the email front, I've been getting bizarre emails from Trulia about 1-2 times a month for the last six months. I don't open them but the subject is "1 new rental available in $(my town)." I own a house and I don't remember giving Trulia my email address ever even when I was apartment hunting many years ago. This only started six months ago. I wonder how I got on that list?

Re: Dark Patterns – User Interfaces Designed to Trick People [video]

#192

Post by djsumdog »

eric_h wrote: post #142
exolymph wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Spirit Airlines is an interesting case, though, because like someone else said, they're very up-front about this. Is it still a dark pattern if the company admits it and essentially warns the user?

The unmissable warnings don't really happen until you get to the terminal though. Admittedly, I have not used spirit for some time. But the signs that say "we don't really want you to have to pay $100 for the carryon you forgot to pay for on the website, but you didn't pay for it, so tough shit" don't seem terribly genuine. I will never fly spirit again, though. They just straight up cancelled a flight of mine an hou…

I've flow then once. Both the flight there and return were over an hour late. They had no automated bag tagging terminals, so you still had to wait in line even if you checked in via phone.

The prices were just crazy too. They depend on people overlooking fees and getting screwed over to make them profitable. I got away with paying nothing over what I was quoted on the website. I will still never fly them again.

Re: Dark Patterns – User Interfaces Designed to Trick People [video]

#193

Post by username223 »

bottled_poe wrote: post #165
saberworks wrote: post #161

Does it count if there's no user interface? Amazon has my email address, I've been a customer since the late-nineties. They keep inventing new email lists and signing me up for them. Each time I get a new "newsletter" it says something like, "You got this message because you're subscribed to the 'Tablet News' newsletter." I click the unsubscribe link to remove myself from it. Along with the unsubscribe link there's a…

Not just Amazon, I am constantly clicking through those unsubscribe links but just get auto-signed up for new lists. Fuck you Amazon and anyone else that does this. I'll buy your junk when and if I need to. Leave me alone and stop wasting my life.

Never click a spammer's "unsubscribe" links -- that just tells them they have a valid account. If you use a big email provider like gmail, flag them as spam. Otherwise, make a rule in your mail client to automatically file anything from their domain to the trash.

Re: Dark Patterns – User Interfaces Designed to Trick People [video]

#195

Post by artursapek »

a_c wrote: post #194

Does darkpatterns.org support api query? There ought to be one available so that various tools can be built. For instance, a browser plugin to warn users upon visiting dark pattern websites

Take it further - introduce a "darkness rating" like Google's old pagerank value. I wish Google would punish websites for doing this stuff.

Re: Dark Patterns – User Interfaces Designed to Trick People [video]

#196

Post by nullc »

cle wrote: post #27

One pattern that I consider "dark", but don't see in this list, is using loaded options on a dialog box. One that I often see in apps is like: Rate our app! Those really get under my skin because the developer is clearly trying to play a psychological trick on me, but it's so brazen and obvious that it just pisses me off. And bigger companies do it too (e.g. Google).

My favorite one of those was Android 6's "share my location and the wifi ssids of everyone around me with google button" on a Nexus 5.

It had a [don't ask me again] checkbox that when set greyed out the option to disagree.

Re: Dark Patterns – User Interfaces Designed to Trick People [video]

#197

Post by nullc »

EvilTerran wrote: post #45
JadeNB wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your experience seems to support , not refute, the idea that these are conscious decisions (albeit at a marketing, rather than coding, level, which I think is probably what the original meant) rather than inadvertent bugs.

I don't get the impression GP's disagreeing with the "not mistakes" bit, only the "carefully crafted with a solid understanding of human psychology" side of things - they're deliberate, yes, but more often than not they're clumsily-applied snake-oil, not the evil-genius stuff they're pitched as.

> not the evil-genius stuff they're pitched as.

They're refined by evolution-- ones that make money get kept, ones that don't get removed. That is about as much genius as is really needed.

Better, in fact-- if no one really knows whats going on then no one can have any pangs of ethics, no one can turn whistleblower after getting fired, etc.

Re: Dark Patterns – User Interfaces Designed to Trick People [video]

#198

Post by taneq »

tgb wrote: post #185
artursapek wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's a tumblr for that! They call it "confirm shaming". http://confirmshaming.tumblr.com/ And yeah, it's UX cancer.

This one might be the best: https://copyhackers.com/2014/01/fallen-scuzzy-design-trend-p... (Note the content of the article, then move your mouse up to try to go to close the tab. Irony!)

That has /got/ to be deliberate.

Re: Dark Patterns – User Interfaces Designed to Trick People [video]

#199

Post by emodendroket »

module0000 wrote: post #47
emodendroket wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> When this type of UI disappears from the internet, then you will know that the majority of consumers agree with your viewpoint. Until then, people keep buying those insurance upgrades, and not caring(if they cared, we wouldn't be in this situation). In a situation where you are legally compelled to buy insurance and essentially all providers do this that's completely wrong.

Huh? What type of insurance are you talking about? I'm talking about airline flight insurance, like in the article.

OK, so I got that wrong. The airline industry is hardly an example of robust competition either.

Re: Dark Patterns – User Interfaces Designed to Trick People [video]

#200

Post by emodendroket »

tgb wrote: post #185
artursapek wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's a tumblr for that! They call it "confirm shaming". http://confirmshaming.tumblr.com/ And yeah, it's UX cancer.

This one might be the best: https://copyhackers.com/2014/01/fallen-scuzzy-design-trend-p... (Note the content of the article, then move your mouse up to try to go to close the tab. Irony!)

Honestly one that only appears when you go to close the tab is a lot less obtrusive. And besides that I don't think being in-your-face really makes something fall into "dark patterns."
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