SIGIA-L Mail Archives: RE: SIGIA-L: How users react to pop-up w
RE: SIGIA-L: How users react to pop-up windows
From: Elisabeth Paine (epaine_at_ImageWks.com)
Date: Wed Feb 07 2001 - 17:46:53 EST
>Yves: I agree with you that it is not about us but about the users. That's
>definetely not up for debate. However, before we ask the users the same
>question, we need to know what we are defining as pop-up windows and in
>which context they are presented.
>
>It is a very important distinction because we are comparing apples and
>oranges.
I would respectfully disagree. We need to know how USERS define pop-ups. Do
they recognize context (ad versus helpful) or just assume the worst? Do they
see apples and oranges or do they just see fruit? And if so, what is their
reaction to apples vs. oranges vs. fruit? Do they ignore one but not
another?
I once was doing usability testing with a programmer present. He was
indignant that users were not seeing a link on the page. He wailed, "But
its right there!!" He finally got it that it didn't matter if it was right
there, it only mattered that people didn't see it. Can you stand over each
and every user's shoulder and say, "But that pop-up wasn't an ad! It had
valuable info that you NEEDED!!?"
Elisabeth Paine
Customer Experience Strategist
Image Works
207-773-1101 ext. 106
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-sigia-l_at_asis.org [mailto:owner-sigia-l_at_asis.org]On Behalf Of
Elisabeth Paine
Sent: Wednesday, February 07, 2001 3:45 PM
To: 'Rebecca Davis'; Amy.Belanger_at_kohls.com;
sigia-l-digest_at_asis.slis.indiana.edu
Subject: RE: SIGIA-L: How users react to pop-up windows
>I think we need to make a distinction between different kinds of popups.
The
>article you sent was about advertisements. However, I'd be interested in
>what people think about functional popups (wizards).
I am not so much interested in what "we" think on this list - I am
interested in what users think. The big question for me is whether they
distinguish between advertising pop-ups and functional pop-ups. Do they even
wait long enough to decide which it is before closing down the pop-up?
(Anecdotally, there seems to be a growing behavior pattern of NOT waiting.
Users close it without looking.)
If pop-ups become so pervasively annoying that the blocking software
mentioned earlier in this discussion becomes prevalent, it won't matter how
useful our pop-up could be to the user - they will never see it.
Any one have any stats, or even observations from recent tests?
Elisabeth Paine
Customer Experience Strategist
Image Works
207-773-1101 ext. 106
-----Original Message-----
From: Rebecca Davis [mailto:rebeccalynnedavis_at_hotmail.com]
Sent: Wednesday, February 07, 2001 11:43 AM
To: Amy.Belanger_at_kohls.com; sigia-l-digest_at_asis.slis.indiana.edu
Subject: Re: SIGIA-L: How users react to pop-up windows
I think we need to make a distinction between different kinds of popups. The
article you sent was about advertisements. However, I'd be interested in
what people think about functional popups (wizards).
A functional popup enables a user to complete a specific task and:
* Not lose their context (the page they came from never goes away)
* Not be distracted by other navigation - while they're in the popup wizard
(be it a one-step or multi-step wizard), they aren't confused by other items
typically on the page, since they are constrained to only what is in the
popup
* Related to above point: Have clear action - either Save or Cancel
Popups are a surprisingly political issue where I work. We wrestle a lot
with whether or not we should keep our actions in pop up wizards or just
have page refreshes. We have the popups for the reasons cited above but have
the following concerns:
* Severe conflicts with AOL browsers (this is an issue for our audience)
* Appears too "technical"
* Goes against format of many typical sites such as Yahoo!
* Not part of our discussions, but an interesting point in the article Amy
passed on - that vision-impaired people rely on the large headers at the top
of the page and are thrown by the visual clutter of popups. I think in my
case, specifically, this isn't an issue, however, since we put a large title
on our popups and they dominate the screen with their size.
I'd welcome your guys' thoughts on this topic - the use of popups for
functional purposes as opposed to advertising.
Thanks!
>From: Amy.Belanger_at_kohls.com
>To: sigia-l-digest_at_asis.slis.indiana.edu
>Subject: Re: SIGIA-L: How users react to pop-up windows
>Date: Wed, 7 Feb 2001 09:04:19 -0600
>
>Interesting article on the hatred of pop-ups, posted to WAI-IG list today.
>Hope this helps your fight against pop-ups. It mentions the negative effect
>they have on the disabled using the net, as well as some software out there
>to prevent pop-ups.
>
>http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-4719798.html
>
>Lucie Melahn <lucie_at_cloud9.net> wrote:
>
> >>The trouble is, I can't seem to find any documentation for what I assume
>to
> >>be universal hatred of little windows.
>
>Amy
>
>Amy Belanger
>
>Web Usability Designer
>Kohl's Department Stores
>
>
>
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