society – Terence Eden’s Blog

Highly Predictable Interactions

@edent — Tue, 29 Oct 2024 12:34:30 +0000

I remember the first time as an adult I ordered a takeaway. I picked up the phone, menu in hand, and prepared to do battle. The person on the other end of the phone didn't speak English, my menu was out of date, they couldn't understand my address, and I didn't have the right money when they finally delivered.

Stressful, annoying, and - until relatively recently - commonplace.

When services like Just-Eat and Deliveroo came in, I suddenly was a lot happier ordering from local restaurants. Online ordering offers a highly predictable interaction.

I can take everything at my own pace. I can see the total cost as I go. I can be confident that my address has been understood. My card is automatically charged.

It is bliss.

Many interactions are unpredictable. For example, ringing up for a doctor's appointment (will I get through? Will the receptionist laugh at me?) or buying clothes (do they have my size? Will the shop be open late?).

Thankfully, it seems that the world is slowly drifting towards an embrace of predictability.

Yesterday, I needed to book a boiler service. I looked at half-a-dozen local companies and picked the one with an online calendar. Normally I'd ring up an engineer (with their arms halfway up a flue) and try to negotiate a mutually agreeable date and time. Then spend the day worrying about whether they'd accept card payments. Instead, I flicked through their calendar, selected a slot, and paid online.

The engineer doesn't waste time looking through a diary. I don't have to spell out my address over the phone. We each gain a little bit of calm.

The journalist Marie Le Conte has a different perspective:

… humans need friction. Convenience is alluring but it is dangerous, because getting used to it means forgetting that being alive isn’t meant to always be easy. We should run our errands in person and queue at the Post Office and eat in restaurants because it is good to remember that sometimes we have to wait around, or go to several shops because the first one didn’t have what we needed. Resilience is one of the most important traits a person can and should develop, and it works like a muscle. Glide effortlessly through life and, when something bad does happen, because it always will, you won’t know how to react.

The introverts are winning

And, surprisingly, I agree! There's nothing quite like wandering through a new city, peering into the restaurants, and going on a culinary adventure. But imagine if you went into a restaurant and they told you they only take payment in obsolete Deutsche Mark. Not predictable and not fun!

I don't think a desire for predictability is about being antisocial. Nor is it about dividing people from each other (I have an unfounded theory that many of the people who bemoan having to place a restaurant order by app are generally those who made wait-staffs' lives hell). But it is a recognition that complexity and unpredictability are delightful in context.

We should have unpredictable experiences. But our lives are greatly enhanced when interactions are highly predictable.

Of course, not everyone is the same. For some people, unpredictability is an enrichment activity. People with relatively simple and predictable lives seem to derive benefit from uncertainty. They enjoy the complex interactions, ill-defined challenges, and uncertain outcomes.

That's great for them! I'm happy for them to call for restaurants and plumbers. They can spend all day wandering around hoping they get to their destination.

But, for lots of us, unpredictability is pain.

Taking the road less travelled is only exciting when you choose to take it. Otherwise, you're just lost.

Works on my machine

@edent — Sun, 03 Jan 2016 11:55:58 +0000

If you've ever reported a bug, you'll have seen the dreaded response "works on my machine."

So, I was using a small open source project (I'll leave it anonymous for now) when I noticed a bug. Not a show-stopper, but one which would affect and annoy lots of users.

I wrote as detailed a bug report as I could:

Scroll Bars Always Showing In Browser

In browsers X and Y on platform Z, I notice that the scroll bars are always showing, even when the content doesn't require it.
This is confusing to new users (like me) who will try to scroll when it isn't possible and think that the app is broken. It also trains users not to scroll even when there is overflowed content.
Here are screenshots showing the problem [image].
I think that the problem is in layout.scss, but I'm not able to test it.

Ok, not the best bug report in the world, but it provides documentary evidence of the problem, why it is a problem, and a route for fixing.

The answer I got back from the developer was, you guessed it...

I've tried this on OSX and it works fine.

Well... ok... good for you, I guess?

Another user chimed in.

I've tested this on Windows 7. Here are screenshots showing the problem in 3 different browsers. I also found this a bit confusing.

Again, came the reply:

It works for me. Not really sure it's worth fixing.

You can see how frustrating it is, right?

Along came another user:

This is also affecting me on Windows 10 - see screenshots. The fix is pretty simple - on layout.scss line 123 change overflow-x: scroll; to overflow-x: auto;.

The developers' response was predictable:

The original works for me. I don't see any issues with the layout. I'm reluctant to make a change which doesn't help me. It may introduce problems later on. Besides, I'm not sure if anyone really needs it.

And with that, he closed the issue as WONTFIX.

I don't know about you, but I find that infuriating! When people give you a well described issue, evidence of the problem, and a fix - to turn round and say "it's not a problem; you are wrong" is a huge slap in the face and intellectually dishonest.

STOP. THIS. MADNESS!

Ah, my faithful readers, while the above tale is mostly true - it is also an allegory for something much more serious...

Your positive experience does not negate my negative experience.

People can have views and experiences that come from places that aren't readily accessible to you.

They don't undermine yours by existing.

— Jessica Rose (@jesslynnrose) December 27, 2015 Archive source

You don't get to tell people that the way they feel is objectively incorrect.

If something never happened to you - that doesn't mean it never happened.

Ignoring thousands of "bug reports" and claiming that the users shouldn't be so sensitive is to fundamentally misunderstand the nature of the human experience.

Whether people are patient or exasperated in their explanations, try shutting up and listening.

Waving away problems as "drama" means that you can't conceive of other people being in pain when you are not. That's just childish.

Saying "well I am not like that" is no different to saying "works on my machine - what's your problem?"

Denying that an issue is "real" because it doesn't affect you or your friends is logically indefensible.

Refusing to make changes when other people can demonstrate the problems they face is unkind.

Wilful blindness to reported problems makes you a quisling.

If you get angry when other developers say "works on my machine" then you should be angry at yourself for saying "doesn't reflect my experiences."

There is a happy ending to my (somewhat fictionalised) story. A few days before I posted this, the dev had a change of heart and accepted the change saying:

Seeing your screenshots and hearing how it affected specific devices forced me to action when it Worked On My Machine.

It's not hard. Listen to people. Accept their experiences even when they're different to yours. Make changes where you can to help fix things.

Your personal experiences are not the objective source of all truth!

Nelson Mandela says "Check Your Privilege"

@edent — Sat, 14 Dec 2013 11:30:14 +0000

During my commute home I like to listen to podcasts. The London School of Economics has a regular lecture series which it is gracious enough to record and podcast.

The lectures are consistently interesting - although of inconsistent audio quality - and offer a fascinating glimpse into the minds of its speakers.

Last night, the crackly audio gave way to a familiar voice; Nelson Mandela.

In this lecture from April 2000, Mandela talks about how people should comment on and judge African leaders.

One of the key point that he makes is that leaders like him came from a family with no history of education. He went to school hungry and unable to concentrate. The schooling he received was not in a fully equipped classroom, nor did he have dedicated teachers. Crucially, the language of education was not the same language as he spoke at home.

To me, it's almost the perfect "check your privilege" to journalists, world leaders, and anyone watching.