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dark patterns

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    Scarcity & Queues Entry #0459

    Why last few remaining is a stock statement, not a stock level

    The label says the shelf is nearly empty. The shelf is always nearly empty. The scarcity is in the sentence, not in the warehouse.

    Adept
    The hidden part #0459

    The number on the page is not a reading from a sensor. It is a sentence written to produce urgency, and the sentence does not change when the warehouse does.

    Open file
  • No visual on file
    Choice Design Entry #0236

    Why toggling a setting is easier than reading it

    A toggle takes a tap. Understanding what it controls takes a paragraph. The action arrives before the comprehension does.

    Novice
    The hidden part #0236

    A toggle is a decision reduced to a gesture. The ease of the gesture is not evidence that the decision is easy.

    Open file
  • No visual on file
    Choice Design Entry #0232

    Why a confirm dialogue wording decides the click

    A cancel button labelled with self-criticism is harder to press than one labelled no. The option is present and its cost has been raised.

    Novice
    The hidden part #0232

    Both options remain, and one has been made expensive to say. Price can be added to a choice without touching the price.

    Open file
  • No visual on file
    Choice Design Entry #0227

    The reason cancelling takes six steps and subscribing takes one

    The click that starts a subscription is bright, central and immediate. The click that ends it is buried, grey and surrounded by questions you did not expect.

    Adept
    The hidden part #0227

    Effort is allocated against the exit. The path in is short because the company wants you there; the path out is long because it wants you to stay.

    Open file
  • No visual on file
    Choice Design Entry #0249

    The reason a countdown on a form is a design choice

    A timer on a screen reports nothing about the world. Someone selected the duration, and often the timer resets for the next visitor with a fresh number.

    Master
    The hidden part #0249

    A truthful countdown and a fabricated one render identically. That is what makes the honest one worthless as evidence.

    Open file