Original question text by @phantomwise@lemmy.ml

What are the modern design trends you hate most? Feel free to rant! Mine are:

  • Physical buttons are out of fashion, now EVERYTHING must have a touch screen instead! Especially if it makes the appliance more inconvenient to use. Like having to press a flimsy touch screen ten times to scroll through a washing machine’s programs instead of just turning a physical knob and pressing a physical start button.
  • Every website looks like it’s made for a phone and was vomited by the same app in slightly different flavors of vomit.
  • Actually EVERYTHING looks like it’s made for a phone… Like what’s the deal with all those hamburger menus on DESKTOP apps? Please just put a regular menu and same me some pointless clicking, it’s not like you’re lacking screen space. I especially hate that those menus can’t be opened from the keyboard like regular menus.
  • gabelstapler@feddit.org
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    7 days ago

    The “toggle switch”. In the past we had these checkboxes. A black square. If it had a x or check mark in it, it meant this option was active, otherwise not.

    Now we have these fancy toggle switches. If it’s on the left side, is it on or off? What if it’s blue, or grey?

      • loiakdsf@discuss.tchncs.de
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        7 days ago

        left is definetly not always off. i am curious what you mean by delayed effect that cannot also affect a checkbox. especially if some cookie settings now havetoggles with three options, each one in a different color, some just slide between the rightmosg and middle option etc.

        no matter what you say, this is not intuitive, a checkbox is! if there are more than two options, choose another ui element. foem over function is way too common for (at least my) comfort nowadays

        • Left is always supposed to be off. If not, the UI/UZ designer who made the page messed up.

          What I mean by immediate effect is that a switch is supposed to toggle something instantly. Checkboxes are more common in forms, where you expect to submit your choices later.

          Switches with more than one option are generally bad, agreed with you there.

    • BigDanishGuy@sh.itjust.works
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      7 days ago

      Counter offer: dark themes as default for professional software.

      I don’t write software in a dimly light geek cave, I do it in a well lit office. And I can’t tell that dark red string from the background.

  • BigDanishGuy@sh.itjust.works
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    7 days ago
    1. the lets put a lot of shit in the title bar of our app trend. Fuck off, I use that bar to pull the window around.
    2. The idea that I should adapt to the technology, and not the other way around. Don’t force changes on me, especially when they’re only implemented to be able to slap a new version number on the box.
  • EighteenthNerd@lemmy.world
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    7 days ago

    Apartment complex websites that photoshop (outright lie) about what the apartment is like and you’re not allowed to see the actual place before renting (current tenant is still there, or the manager/owner just doesn’t want you to see even if it’s empty). And - there’s so much competition for apartments in the area you either sign the lease sight-unseen or you live in your car.

    I’ve done OK in some of these. None were what the website pics and descriptions offered, but they were still OK. Some others, though, turned out to be absolute broken down dumps. And every single one of these places have great online reviews. Imagine that.

  • magic_lobster_party@fedia.io
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    8 days ago

    Showing ”2 weeks ago” or ”1 month ago” instead of the actual date. ”1 month ago” can be anything between 30 days and 60 days ago.

    • Camelbeard@lemmy.world
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      8 days ago

      We use gitlab and I knew my coworker commited something yesterday, I deployed a new version yesterday but I wasn’t sure if I deployed before or after his commit. Why do they just show yester instead of a normal timestamp. Do these developers think we can’t read?

      • aesthelete@lemmy.world
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        7 days ago

        I honestly think a lot of it is that they have to keep twiddling with shit to have something to do.

        These pieces of garbage have come across my desk as “requirements” too because they get copied and pasted from other “best of breed” apps from the web.

        Most of the designers I’ve encountered in my day to day work love nothing better than to copy from other apps rather than actually think for fifteen seconds about how to design something.

    • qevlarr@lemmy.world
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      8 days ago

      Even worse: “last week/month/year” lumps everything together when you start the next week/month/year

    • nicerdicer@feddit.org
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      8 days ago

      The option is called “relative date” (as opposed to absolute date). On macos you can switch it off:

      • open Finder, go to list view
      • select very first item in hierarchy
      • click on the little triangle next to the (folder-)icon to expand but press the option key wihle doing so
      • hit “cmd” + “J” - a settings panel will open
      • there is a tick box that says “relative date” that needs to be disabled (unticked)
      • if you want to apply this settings as the new default setting for all finder windows, press the “apply as standard”-button at the bottom. All dates will show now the actual date instead of “today”, “yesterday” and such.

        • nicerdicer@feddit.org
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          7 days ago

          Tthis setting is not intended to apply to websites. With this setting you can change whether the date is shown as absolute (dd.mm.yyyy) oder relative (today, yesterday,…) for your own files on your computer.

      • magic_lobster_party@fedia.io
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        8 days ago

        It’s annoying when going through a list of multiple ”1 month ago” entries. Maybe I’m looking for an entry at a certain date. Aim with mouse, wait one second, repeat.

        What I could easily visually identify in less than 1 second can take more than 10 seconds to find.

        It also greatly increases the cognitive load of using the program. If there are many entries to look for, then it’s going to be difficult to keep all actual dates in memory.

        ”Where was the 14 April entry? I need to check again. Ah there it is! Now I need to compare it against the 30 April entry. Where was it again? It was just in front of me…”

        Then mouse hover doesn’t work on mobile.

  • bleistift2@sopuli.xyz
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    9 days ago
    1. No error messages, ever. Because apparently users hate information with all their heart and are at risk of burning down cities if they ever find out what the fuck went wrong with an application.
    2. Disappearing scroll bars
    • shutz@lemmy.ca
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      9 days ago

      Users have somehow been trained to ignore and dismiss error messages. Probably from getting too many ad pop-ups.

      • BenLeMan@lemmy.world
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        8 days ago

        Users are lazy AF and hate to read. No matter how instructive the error message, some people would rather open a helpdesk ticket because “the computer isn’t working again”.

        It says right there your USB drive is full and suggests deleting some files to free up space, Karen! 🤨

        • 6nk06@sh.itjust.works
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          8 days ago

          Users have always hated computers but they now must use them and treat them as appliances.

          When my parents needed a new computer, I told them “no hp ever, and don’t buy an anti-virus, it’s built-in now.” They obviously knew better than me and asked the salesman instead. They bought a hp computer with a McAffee subscription…

      • discount_door_garlic@lemmy.world
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        8 days ago

        Uh oh! We made an oopsie 👉👈 sowwy we wost your data

        Two buttons on the bottom of the window:

        • “It’s okay fam!”

        and

        • “I’m a grumpy meanie who doesnt understand things happen!”
    • kratoz29@lemm.ee
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      7 days ago

      Disappearing scroll bars

      Isn’t this triggable in most OSs? Unless we are talking about mobile, which I lean towards disappearing because of screen sizes.

  • Brkdncr@lemmy.world
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    9 days ago

    Items are no longer made to last past their warranty.

    They are made to last past the time you’re allowed to leave a review.

  • Rob T Firefly@lemmy.world
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    8 days ago

    A pair of buttons forcing you to choose Yes or Maybe later. The word is NO, assholes!

    I want to find the marketing genius who started that shit and ask them, “do you want me to whomp you over the head with a rusty manure shovel? Yes or Maybe later?”

    • cabillaud@lemmy.world
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      7 days ago

      Even yes or no infuriated me to start with… The words I would choose are “never ever”

    • EighteenthNerd@lemmy.world
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      7 days ago

      It only accomplishes making me feel better, but it’s a side benefit I get from using the uBlock Origin extension’s “zapper mode” function: getting to one-click nuke these things and move on with my life like a normal person.