- Post scrolls out of view - Notification vanishes - Video autoplays into oblivion - Hero carousels into oblivion - Modal popup hides content mid-scroll - Search gives different results for same input - Search results update mid-click - Second alert hides first alert - “Continue watching” nowhere to be found - Web page breaks the back button - Android back button is •always• broken - iOS doesn’t have a back button - etc etc etc
(And no, this is not a request for Windows Recall, that’s like fixing a burst water main by trying to stuff a giant bucket underneath the house’s foundation)
@inthehands the Explore tab on Mastodon. It's mildly infuriating, because the tab usually surfaces interesting posts, particularly stuff I've missed overnight.
@inthehands Oh, my wife has this all the time and Facebook is the worst for it. She spots a useful video, or a helpful post. Minutes later, sometimes seconds, it's gone, and she can't find it because the algo's moved onto the next "thing it thinks you want".
@inthehands My hypothetical dream browser does the equivalent of a core dump you can load and examine in frozen state every time a page attempts to do some async reflow, removal, or obscuring of contents that aren't aligned with user interaction.
Several replies about saving and restoring state at some platform level, and yeah, sure, that’s one part of this idea and interesting — but what I’m talking about is at least as much “Leave things where I left them!” as it is about restoring past state.
Like…I leave a messy pile of papers on my desk, but it’s •my• mess. I want my computer to be at least as predictable as my paper pile.
Using modern software is like trying to flip through one of those giant old-school paper encyclopedias with two spastic toddlers and a cat all in my lap.
ME: Ah! Here’s the…
TODDLER 1: [flips to a different random page]
TODDLER 2: I’m HUNGRY!!!
TODDLER 1: [rips a page out]
CAT: Here is a dead mouse I found for you [plop]
TODDLER 2: [suddenly slams book shut]
TODDLER 1: [pees pants, while climbing on my head]
@inthehands one of the biggest bummers about this is that back/forward caching in browsers has been around forever and really helps with this kind of thing, but then the JS thought leaders decided to ignore all that because using native browser features is apparently for chumps. Thus ruining web UI forever after.
@slackline@FibroJedi@dpnash We really need a single Mastodon FAQ we can just link to about why replying with “just stop using it then” is worse than useless. I’m so tired of explaining this.
Why not ditch Farcebook then? It only persists because people use it. If individuals vote with their feet and leave it will disappear and "something", hopefully less pernicious, will take its place.
(personally never been in Farcebook, was on Tw@ter until a few years ago, very much like the severally nature of Mastodon and the central vibe)
@dpnash@inthehands It assumes people don't make decisions after a split second, but some of us like to pause and think before clicking. Apparently that's a bad thing 🤣.
I use FB messenger and post to my blog's page, but haven't used the feed properly in years. When I post personally I call it "hit and run". I post something then check back days later to see if anyone saw it. usually not. Which is fine.
@FibroJedi@inthehands This precise set of shenanigans is the main reason I left Facebook almost entirely about 5 years ago. I still have some family members who are there all the time, so I drop by occasionally to look at some of what they're up to, but it's been a *long* time since it was even sort of useful for its ostensible purpose of staying connected to any significant number of important people in my life.
Apparently the change from "mostly reverse chronological, plus ads and similar junk" to "engagement, engagement, engagement all the time!" meant that "I *just* saw this but didn't engage with it right away" was considered a negative factor for "I may, just may, want to see it again in the future".