I’ve been working on this for a while, but let’s make it official: I started a little Tumblr-like microblog about software craft and quality!
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@mwichary BTW, this might already be on your radar, but in case it isn’t: https://animationobsessive.substack.com/p/how-the-little-guy-moved
@debcha Ha, literally 15 minutes ago I was holding Mechner’s both Karateka and Prince of Persia diaries in my hand.
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@debcha Ha, literally 15 minutes ago I was holding Mechner’s both Karateka and Prince of Persia diaries in my hand.
@debcha This post is great. Will definitely include. Thanks!!!
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I learned about this cool exhibit at ACMI in Melbourne today, and immediately had to write about it.
It simulates working at a help line for a videogame company in 1993, complete with fictitious games, and a physical 300-page binder of various documents. Amazing.
https://unsung.aresluna.org/this-sounds-completely-impractical-and-we-love-it/
@mwichary it's so well done! I might actually play it with my support team
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@mwichary it's so well done! I might actually play it with my support team
@relsqui Please share your thoughts!
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@relsqui Please share your thoughts!
@mwichary I've only played the online version -- not expecting an opportunity to get to Australia any time soon -- but I found it really clever and just infuriating enough. mechanically it's kinda like keep talking and no one explodes, but without the time pressure. and solo. and with dialogue.
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@mwichary I've only played the online version -- not expecting an opportunity to get to Australia any time soon -- but I found it really clever and just infuriating enough. mechanically it's kinda like keep talking and no one explodes, but without the time pressure. and solo. and with dialogue.
@mwichary (but yes will report back if I actually get the team to do it. I'm thinking of fomenting a conversation about documentation processes)
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@debcha It’s the best. So inspiring.
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I learned about this cool exhibit at ACMI in Melbourne today, and immediately had to write about it.
It simulates working at a help line for a videogame company in 1993, complete with fictitious games, and a physical 300-page binder of various documents. Amazing.
https://unsung.aresluna.org/this-sounds-completely-impractical-and-we-love-it/
I wrote a little bit about molly guards, or UI that protects you from other UI!†
I’m very curious if you have other examples I missed.
(† Not related to the street drug.)
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I wrote a little bit about molly guards, or UI that protects you from other UI!†
I’m very curious if you have other examples I missed.
(† Not related to the street drug.)
@mwichary I loved your point about how confirmation dialogs for closing/destructive actions are sort of a molly guard too!
I'm also thinking about the super annoying thing that Chrome does when you Command-Q to quit, where it wants you to hold down the keys to execute the command.
And, maybe a bit more of a stretch, the cars where if you want to open a locked door from the inside, requires you to pump the handle twice?
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@mwichary I loved your point about how confirmation dialogs for closing/destructive actions are sort of a molly guard too!
I'm also thinking about the super annoying thing that Chrome does when you Command-Q to quit, where it wants you to hold down the keys to execute the command.
And, maybe a bit more of a stretch, the cars where if you want to open a locked door from the inside, requires you to pump the handle twice?
@andy Oh, those are good! It’s interesting how people are divided on the ⌘Q thing. I love it personally, but I see how it depends on your usage patterns.
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@andy Oh, those are good! It’s interesting how people are divided on the ⌘Q thing. I love it personally, but I see how it depends on your usage patterns.
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I wrote a little bit about molly guards, or UI that protects you from other UI!†
I’m very curious if you have other examples I missed.
(† Not related to the street drug.)
@mwichary About reverse Molly guards: Netflix uses one to nudge you into watching a next episode from a series. I consider this a dark pattern, because it's a debatable default.
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@mwichary About reverse Molly guards: Netflix uses one to nudge you into watching a next episode from a series. I consider this a dark pattern, because it's a debatable default.
@doekman I agree! I think Apple TV and YouTube also have it, but it’s toggle’able.
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@doekman I agree! I think Apple TV and YouTube also have it, but it’s toggle’able.
@mwichary It's there, but only on the web interface...
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I wrote a little bit about molly guards, or UI that protects you from other UI!†
I’m very curious if you have other examples I missed.
(† Not related to the street drug.)
@mwichary this setting for airpods pro
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@mwichary this setting for airpods pro
@svenni Oh, yes! I always found it a bit awkward.
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I wrote a little bit about molly guards, or UI that protects you from other UI!†
I’m very curious if you have other examples I missed.
(† Not related to the street drug.)
In which I celebrate the craft of Flickr’s original, amazing URL scheme: https://unsung.aresluna.org/unsung-heroes-flickrs-urls-scheme/
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In which I celebrate the craft of Flickr’s original, amazing URL scheme: https://unsung.aresluna.org/unsung-heroes-flickrs-urls-scheme/
@mwichary I remember when this was the norm! It was everywhere for a lot of the web sites I was involved with in the olden days. I have always done URL surgery. Probably comes from comfort with command-line interfaces and knowing how the backend software works.
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In which I celebrate the craft of Flickr’s original, amazing URL scheme: https://unsung.aresluna.org/unsung-heroes-flickrs-urls-scheme/
@mwichary that was the first web API I ever used. I didn’t appreciate it nearly enough until I used others.
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In which I celebrate the craft of Flickr’s original, amazing URL scheme: https://unsung.aresluna.org/unsung-heroes-flickrs-urls-scheme/
@mwichary Yes! Flickr was what made me pay attention to URLs as well. The thing I thought was a bit strange at the time is how the URL for the profile page was at a separate "root" path, `/people/mwichary`, which made the profile and photostream feel like two separate apps in a way. I remember wondering about that a lot!
