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1500 questions
196
votes
13 answers
Why shouldn't we use words such as 'here' and 'this' in textlinks?
Over the years of surfing on the web I have found numerous examples of people saying that you shouldn't use the word "here" in a textlink etc. Personally I like the idea of using the word, because it is so straightforward for your visitors to know…
Paul Olyslager
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193
votes
13 answers
Language of language names in the language selector?
Imagine a site that's available in multiple languages. The language is detected automatically by looking at the IP or the browser header. But that's not bulletproof, so a few users might end up on a page in language they don't understand.
I am…
greenforest
- 8,786
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193
votes
9 answers
Is the "hot network questions" element on Stack Overflow a dark pattern?
I asked a question on meta about hiding the "hot network questions" element on stackoverflow.com. One of the comment replies was that the "hot network questions" is basically a way for Stack Overflow to keep me on the site longer even to the point…
Karan Harsh Wardhan
- 1,499
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191
votes
13 answers
"Your" vs "My" in user interfaces
Some user interfaces feature titles such as:
My documents
My photos
My previous orders
While others opt for:
Your documents
Your photos
Your previous orders
Are their any guidelines addressing which is more suitable to pick in different…
Philip Morton
189
votes
13 answers
Is there a point to paginating articles online?
Is it better to paginate a long article or show the entire article on one page?
The following is a side-by-side of the same article. On the left is page one with navigation and on the right is the full article.
Is there data to support that one is…
magzalez
- 2,346
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- 18
185
votes
20 answers
How would you have avoided the Miss Universe 2015 mistake?
In case you missed it, over a week ago Steve Harvey incorrectly announced Miss Colombia as winner of the Miss Universe 2015 pageant. He later apologized and corrected himself; Miss Philippines won.
Harvey essentially blamed his cue card for being…
Tim Huynh
- 3,336
- 2
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182
votes
9 answers
When to use icons vs. icons with text vs. just text links?
Are there any rules on when to use icons vs. icons with text vs. just text links in a web application?
For example:
vs.
save
vs.
save
Extra question: Is save -or- save preferable?
jmb
- 1,975
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180
votes
18 answers
Why is it impossible to deselect HTML "radio" inputs?
In HTML, there are currently two types of "checkbox" style controls:
Checkbox: Allows toggling on/off, multiple values can be selected
Radio: Only one value in a group may be selected, does not allow toggling off individual inputs
If anything is…
Mog
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177
votes
7 answers
Why is the 0 next to 9, not next to 1?
On almost all keyboard layouts I have ever seen, the 0 is to the right of the 9, rather than to the left of the 1 (the original Dvorak layout is the only exception I can think of; it has 0 between 9 and 2):
1234567890
Why is the 0 to the right of 9…
gerrit
- 2,556
- 3
- 17
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173
votes
8 answers
At what point does a user lose trust in a Busy Spinner?
The first scenario is an action that could take roughly 2–5 seconds to execute once the user has pressed a button. A Busy Spinner will be displayed in the button until the process has been completed.
After the action is complete feedback is…
Ralt
- 1,563
- 2
- 10
- 8
173
votes
14 answers
Do people really want to look at multiple windows at once?
I'm referring to Jakob Nielsen's alertbox from November 19, 2012. He complains about the lack of windows in Windows 8:
Lack of Multiple Windows = Memory Overload for Complex Tasks
One of the worst aspects of Windows 8 for power users is that the
…
Anna Prenzel
- 2,996
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- 21
172
votes
13 answers
Why is this design considered cluttered or overwhelming?
I'm developing a web app for Desktop and Tablet browsers. All of my UX knowledge stems from personal experience and iteration - I've never been formally trained. I took great care in presenting the information on this website to keep it as organized…
Jack Guy
- 1,863
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- 11
170
votes
17 answers
How to discover what users NEED and not what they WANT?
I have been thinking a lot about my favorite quote from Henry Ford:
If I asked people what they wanted, they would have said 'Faster Horses'. -Henry Ford
The trouble I have been having is that I know how to make something usable, but I am an…
jonshariat
- 9,250
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165
votes
12 answers
Why do idle elevators close the doors?
If the elevator stops on a floor, opens the doors to let the passengers out, and hasn't received a command to go on another floor, why does it close its doors afterwards?
If the elevator is not on my current floor then I can understand the reason…
Mike Baxter
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160
votes
9 answers
What's the purpose of "This page is intentionally left blank" we see in books?
What's the purpose of "This page is intentionally left blank" we see in books? Why not just leave the page blank and write nothing on it?
talles
- 1,593
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