Please stop asking me to use the app • Hacker News Board

Re: Please stop asking me to use the app

#251

Post by jopsen » Wed, Jul 04, 2018, 9:35 AM UTC

twhb wrote: post #239

jopsen wrote: post #173

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Things don't always change for the better because you complain. But things rarely change for the better when you don't complain. Reddit is trying to build a community too, because otherwise they wouldn't have visitors. It's naive to think that speaking up never makes a difference.

History doesn’t support your comment. People have complained endlessly about ISPs, various video game mechanics, Google and Facebook tracking; no change, because the people complaining don’t leave. People generally don’t complain about ugly interfaces, stores far away, confusing calls to action; they constantly change and improve, because the people who hit these problems often leave. When speaking up has made a diff…

Google and Facebook have done a Lot of things to mitigate privacy concerns. Both have decent controls, you can see your data, delete data, see apps that have access, etc.

Sure, privacy issues aren't solved, largely because people don't care, don't understand the tools, and marketing companies are ever more aggressive.

But to say that Google and Facebook have done nothing in the face of public outrage is wrong.

Rome wasn't built in day - things get better step by step - speaking up is often a good start.

We spoke up, and the EU is largely without software parents. It's easy to forget our victories in the face of all the upcoming battles.

Re: Please stop asking me to use the app

#252

Post by tim333 » Wed, Jul 04, 2018, 11:04 AM UTC

danielbarla wrote: post #186

twhb wrote: post #162

I see threads like this all the time, and they don't make sense. Reddit is an ad company. It's not an effort to build you a nice website, it's a machine for taking your time and attention from you then selling it. Asking Reddit to "please stop" grabbing at better attention hooks is like asking McDonald's to "please stop" raising prices. The right way to say this is timeless: refuse to make the trade. If Reddit goes t…

> Asking Reddit to "please stop" grabbing at better attention hooks is like asking McDonald's to "please stop" raising prices. It's more like asking McDonald's to stop trying to sell / serve me a worse product that I didn't order, halfway through my order. And despite them knowing who I am, repeating this question every time. "Hi, I'd like two McMea- WOULD YOU LIKE A SALAD INSTEAD??" If they are not making sufficient…

Also McDonnalds are in fact sensitive to the "please stop raising prices" stuff. It's been their main USP for ages that they are cheaper than most of the competition.

Re: Please stop asking me to use the app

#253

Post by tgtweak » Wed, Jul 04, 2018, 1:21 PM UTC

froindt wrote: post #71

tgtweak wrote: post #41

The app doesn't have ad blockers and they can spam notifications, hence the push. Also I'm sure somewhere "mobile users" is a metric in a company valuation equation. Pinterest is the worst offender of a mobile app that doesn't need to exist since the web counterpart can do 100% of the job. This being a product that leveraged JavaScript in browser bookmarks to get "pins" without an app or extension. When Reddit stoppe…

>When Reddit stopped allowing non-email-verified signups and conveniently locked everyone out who did have a non-email legacy account, the writing was on the wall. While I haven't verified it, I recently read a post that they didn't stop allowing email-less account creation, they did add a dark pattern around it. I believe it was someone like an email prompt and next button, but allowing the email field to remain emp…

Mine can no longer log in and you cannot recover it without an email address. You cannot add an email after this happens. I've had multiple other real-life Reddit users with the same situation recently. The odds that all these passwords were compromised is nearly zero. None of the accounts have posted or done any activity since. This is circa 4 months.

Re: Please stop asking me to use the app

#254

Post by stuntkite » Wed, Jul 04, 2018, 2:59 PM UTC

megaremote wrote: post #113

Rjevski wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The redesign completely kills my 12-inch MacBook by freezing Safari’s UI for a good second or two while it’s loading all that shit JavaScript. I can load actual apps faster than their content-focused website.

You can switch it off. And supposedly they will support the old design for a long time.

old.reddit.com

Re: Please stop asking me to use the app

#255

Post by petters » Wed, Jul 04, 2018, 7:08 PM UTC

LoSboccacc wrote: post #185

petters wrote: post #127

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree this is great and I use it on Android, but it is not a good solution to the spammy notification problem. Apps get one chance. One instance of spam and they are banned from ever notifying again.

> Apps get one chance. I go even stricter. Unless it’s a messaging app it goes silent straight off. That said apple notification center is doing a bad job at exposing app setting. I’ve forgot some app at vibrate only and it’s just too much hassle to go find it so every now and then the phone vibrates and I’ve no clue why.

The reason I am not as strict as you is that sometimes (rarely) apps surprise with useful notifications. Example: streaming apps like Netflix showing a notification while playing to a Chromecast.

Re: Please stop asking me to use the app

#256

Post by newen » Thu, Jul 05, 2018, 3:20 AM UTC

eksemplar wrote: post #220

Shibaru wrote: post #218

Earlier quoted context omitted.

r/imverysmart

I see your point, but I’m not sure how else to describe it. Every time I visit HN I read something interesting. I can’t remember the last time I read something that interested me on Reddit, outside of /r/space. I mean, I know it sounded arrogant to say I was the most knowledgeable, it simply happens to be true, but it only applies to Reddit. It’s extremely rare that I feel like that anywhere else, even Facebook is mu…

I agree with you. Most discussions I see on reddit are dumb. Maybe it's because it's popularity means more uneducated people are going to the site, resulting in lower quality of discussion. Also anonymity means people aren't as afraid to sound dumb in their comments compared to facebook. I see better discussion on facebook probably because most of my friends have gone through higher education.

Re: Please stop asking me to use the app

#257

Post by runeks » Thu, Jul 05, 2018, 12:10 PM UTC

I find it interesting that many web apps are so keen on getting users to download their very similar local app counterpart.

Let’s brainstorm a bit on why this is the case.

Does it just come down to ad blockers not being available for local apps? At least on iOS, access to e.g. notifications, address books, pictures etc. is optional. But maybe most users just answer “yes” when asked, and the reason local apps are preferred is because access to this stuff isn’t possible via web apps?

Re: Please stop asking me to use the app

#258

Post by vonseel » Thu, Jul 05, 2018, 12:26 PM UTC

wingerlang wrote: post #130

vonseel wrote: post #115

Kind of ironic how this immediately opens the Reddit app on iOS. Edit: just saw post is about reddit. I had assumed it was about the practice in general, since it is not uncommon to open a website and immediately be redirected to the App Store for some random site, article, etc. medium is one that comes to mind. Imgur. It’s a common thing.

Not that ironic, since opening in apps is a user setting. You, at one point, said "yes" to opening reddit links in their associated app.

Oh... ::facepalm::

Re: Please stop asking me to use the app

#259

Post by kapad » Thu, Jul 05, 2018, 2:50 PM UTC

goostavos wrote: post #114

kirubakaran wrote: post #10

I'm thankful for their new design, actually. After many years of trying, I have now managed to successfully kick my Reddit habit completely and have gained precious hours in my day.

I've been trying to pin down _why_ I've had the same reaction as you, but I really can't put my finger on it. Something about the new site just somehow puts me off. While I could mindlessly browse the old site endlessly, something about the new actively makes me want to close the tab. Either way, a good thing.

I've also been using a lot less of reddit. All reddit and most sites for that matter need to do is be responsive to screen size. And do away with dedicated apps.

Re: Please stop asking me to use the app

#260

Post by franga2000 » Thu, Jul 05, 2018, 9:31 PM UTC

What pisses me off the most is how the big red "Continue" button takes you to the app store and the tiny "go to mobile site" link dismisses the message. NO! I already am on the mobile site, you I can not "go to it". And opening an app store isn't "Continuing". It's taking me to a completely different place and making me wish for BBSs to come back. What do they have to gain from this? I get Facebook pushing their data-hoovering app, but what is Reddit's reasoning? Especially when their web app is actually really good.