Flutterby™! : The evolution of UX

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The evolution of UX

2024-01-26 18:12:28.758471+01 by Dan Lyke 1 comments

RT Alex C @neuralex@neurodifferent.me

When I was a smartass computer nerd in the 80s and 90s, an eternal theme was people asking me for tech support help and me having to slowly, patiently explain to them that computers aren't scary, they're actually predictable, they won't explode or erase your data (unless you really make an effort), and they operate by simple (if somewhat arcane) rules. Edit > Cut, then click, then Edit > Paste. Save As. Use tabs, not spaces. Stuff like that. Maybe not easy, but simple, or at least consistent and learnable.

But that's not true anymore.

User interfaces lag. Text lies. Buttons don't click. Buttons don't even look like buttons! Panels pop up and obscure your workspace and you can't move or remove them -- a tiny floating x and a few horizontal lines is all you get. Mobile and web apps lose your draft text, refresh at whim, silently swallow errors, mysteriously move shit around when you're not looking, hide menus, bury options, don't respect or don't remember your chosen settings. Doing the same thing gives different results. The carefully researched PARC principles of human-computer interaction -- feedback, discoverabilty, affordances, consistency, personalization -- all that fundamental Don Norman shit -- have been completely discarded.

My tech support calls now are about me sadly explaining there's nothing I can do. Computers suck now. They run on superstition, not science. It's a real tragedy for humanity and I have no idea how to fix it.

#HCI #UX #UI #okdoomer

[ related topics: Nostalgia Interactive Drama User Interface Boats ]

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#Comment Re: The evolution of UX made: 2024-01-27 20:15:32.018367+01 by: meuon [edit history]

the run on rampant capitalistic greed and code monkey academy 3 week wonders doing whatever they are told. And phat frameworks that nobody understands.

Why the Frelling Bumfuddle does that under 10 interface web application need an huge MVC framework with more dependency issues than a 23 year old drugged addicted nymphomaniac?

Once upon a time, great companies were built by and and run by engineers for the good of humankind.

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