secretGeek.netMessenger Disgruntlement
MSN Messenger just interrupted me (and millions of other people), insisting on installing a new version.
I was stunned by its arrogance. Not the interruption aspect. I've come to expect that from software. (It lives to annoy, and I am its humble servant). What gets me is the assumptions it makes on my behalf.
Why would I possibly want to use MSN Search for finding things? They know they're not the best at this. I'm offended at even being given the option, let alone having it default to true.
And am I likely to want MSN as my home page? Sure it's possible, but likely? Are they deliberately trying to ruin my online experience? Is this why people say that microsoft want to kill the web?
This is identical to the problem old Jakky N. wrote about, five years ago, in an article on Mailing List Usability:
Getting Subscribers
Users must opt-in before getting your email newsletter. Many sites try to do so by having a user registration form that contains a little box for "I want to receive valuable marketing promotions" that is checked by default. This is not good.Sure, some users will overlook the box and will not uncheck it. That does not mean that they will welcome your newsletter. On the contrary, they will detest your company for sending them spam. Even worse, those users who do notice the little box will lose trust in your site because they will feel that the site is trying to trick them.
Much better to leave the box unchecked and only collect those users who are eager to get your material.
I'll check back in another five years and see if MSN get it yet.
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